Rendering Software Advice

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I’m currently working in a firm that solely uses Archicad for its drafting but recently, the firm that I’m working in has decided they would like to branch out into doing 3d rendering for both clients but also for marketing/advertising purposes. Up until now they have out sourced all rendering to another firm but would now like to proceed with doing it ‘in house’.

Essentially, I would like some information, on the pros and cons of differing rendering software, regardless of whether they are compatible with Archicad. I’ve done some research and heard a lot of good things about 3ds Max/V-Ray (the quality that can be achieved looks amazing); any information on this would be great.

I have listed some of the key bits of information I’m seeking answers for but, also would appreciate any other advice, partially from those in the NZ market.

• Ease of use/learning
• Quality (wanting a software that produces a mid-high-end quality).
• Cost
• Time it takes to render
• Type of computer equipment needed to support the software
• Personal experiences

I realise there are other topics on this forum that are like mine, but I just wanted to ensure I had the most relevant and up to date information.

Thanks

[Erwin Edel]

Steve wrote:
Shaani,
Before you invest in any traditional rendering software ( hi-end or not) you should consider a different way to get what you need. With good hardware and high-res screen you can get better screen captures than those examples. 16K screens, 5G technology are already here ( for some) It seems quite possible to me that traditional rendering engines are not going to be cost effective much longer?
If you can, demo Lumion 9 Pro and take some screen shots and see if they are better than the renderings you can make. The screen on my 17" laptop is sufficient to give me some very good images. I would post some screen shots here but I have already posted some elsewhere. Besides, you will want to see for yourself on your own computer. I stopped making as many renderings when I realized that the people I was sending them to didn't have screens to view a decent rendering anyway. In terms of what is useful for communications during the production of construction documents, screen shots are more than adequate for me. https://www.screencast.com/t/FjuR5Tt8j
https://www.screencast.com/t/KSovHkpwSROm

We're not doing screenshots, but 'small' renders for this very reason: 195x135 mm at 300 dpi is more than enough to print out at A4 full size if needed and most of our clients end up looking at the render on phones or HD screens where rendering out anything bigger is a waste of time. With cinerender and relatively decent settings for exterior renders these take less than 3 mins typically and you can just work on other things in your project while these render in the background.

[Steve Jepson]

Erwin wrote:

Steve wrote:
Shaani,
Before you invest in any traditional rendering software ( hi-end or not) you should consider a different way to get what you need. With good hardware and high-res screen you can get better screen captures than those examples. 16K screens, 5G technology are already here ( for some) It seems quite possible to me that traditional rendering engines are not going to be cost effective much longer?
If you can, demo Lumion 9 Pro and take some screen shots and see if they are better than the renderings you can make. The screen on my 17" laptop is sufficient to give me some very good images. I would post some screen shots here but I have already posted some elsewhere. Besides, you will want to see for yourself on your own computer. I stopped making as many renderings when I realized that the people I was sending them to didn't have screens to view a decent rendering anyway. In terms of what is useful for communications during the production of construction documents, screen shots are more than adequate for me. https://www.screencast.com/t/FjuR5Tt8j
https://www.screencast.com/t/KSovHkpwSROm

We're not doing screenshots, but 'small' renders for this very reason: 195x135 mm at 300 dpi is more than enough to print out at A4 full size if needed and most of our clients end up looking at the render on phones or HD screens where rendering out anything bigger is a waste of time. With cinerender and relatively decent settings for exterior renders these take less than 3 mins typically and you can just work on other things in your project while these render in the background.

Is the 3 min rendering any better more useful or better quality than a screenshot? That may depend on the graphics card, screen, and screen capture software - I don't know. I would also be interested to know if it makes any difference in the CAD program you are using. Does ArchiCAD display better than other programs? I think it might. I don't know. But it is worth finding out before you invest in rendering software that may take an hour to do what you can do better with the press of a button. This is another reason why we need a benchmark file for ArchiCAD rendering. And perhaps why there isn't one.
In any case, CineRender does an adequate job for most things without a lot of learning and practice.
But still, if there is a way to get what you need with the press of a button, that is worth looking into I think.

So what kind of screen would be best for screen captures, or does that even matter for the quality of the screen capture? I use Snagit 2019 which seems good to me.

[Steve Jepson]

ShaaniMN wrote:
...The aim is for most photo-realistic rendering software available....

It all depends on how much money you want to spend for it
Checkout this video
https://www.chaosgroup.com/architectural-visualization

And the Architecture Showcase https://www.chaosgroup.com/architectural-visualization#showcase

[Lingwisyer]

VRay is an amazing renderer when you have a good quality material library and there are a multitude of render layering options which improve flexibility in post but it is not the easiest to learn. It is also not native to AC... In my opinion it is a bit overkill if you are wanting to just use it for the occasional marketing or client request.



Ling.

[Erwin Edel]

Steve wrote:
Is the 3 min rendering any better more useful or better quality than a screenshot? That may depend on the graphics card, screen, and screen capture software - I don't know. I would also be interested to know if it makes any difference in the CAD program you are using. Does ArchiCAD display better than other programs? I think it might. I don't know. But it is worth finding out before you invest in rendering software that may take an hour to do what you can do better with the press of a button. This is another reason why we need a benchmark file for ArchiCAD rendering. And perhaps why there isn't one.
In any case, CineRender does an adequate job for most things without a lot of learning and practice.
But still, if there is a way to get what you need with the press of a button, that is worth looking into I think.

So what kind of screen would be best for screen captures, or does that even matter for the quality of the screen capture? I use Snagit 2019 which seems good to me.

Hey Steve, we've been doing a combination of photorender with sketch render and a bit of photoshop for years. I've seen what GPU renderers can do, but for us it would be another bit of software to get. It's just ease of something that works and we are comfortable with.

In Archicad you can 'undock' the 3D window and set the size in pixel to what you would like. Don't forget to turn on antialiasing. Doing these steps for me feels like taking as much time as just firing up another render in the background. But that's just personal preferences.

The examples you've shown look great and show that it helps to have a better library of assets to populate the view for a bit more realism.

[derekjackson]

Other options worth considering are Maxwell and the new Corona (beta?). Both can produce quality equivalent to VRay's output, although they come with a similar level of complexity. However, they both play well with ArchiCAD, so exporting / importing isn't a hassle.

But as the others say, CineRender is a perfectly decent renderer. We get great results with it when used well.

[Steve Jepson]

derekjackson wrote:
Other options worth considering are Maxwell and the new Corona (beta?). Both can produce quality equivalent to VRay's output, although they come with a similar level of complexity. However, they both play well with ArchiCAD, so exporting / importing isn't a hassle.

But as the others say, CineRender is a perfectly decent renderer. We get great results with it when used well.

I agree. I think CineRender is a completely adequate solution for ArchiCAD.