Rendering Software

[Red]

Which software is the best for life like renderings? There are so many out there to choose from. Please don't mention Art-Lantis.


Is their a list out there comparing software? Pros and Cons?

[Anonymous]

Red wrote:

nicolasrivera wrote:

Red wrote:
Which software is the best for life like renderings? There are some many out there to choose from. Please don't mention Art-Lantis.


Is their a list out there comparing software? Pros and Cons?

Sorry, i have miss something, but why are you not mentioning Artlantis?

I dislike it

Wow Red, really??? Have you tried the new version, R??? How come you dont like it, its dead simple to use, the fastest on the market and it has good quality, which is improving as we speak.

Ok, you may have you reasons, but...what other software...mmm i have tryed many to do fast setups and renderes, but i always come back to artlantis, no matter what.

[Red]

Well the last few veriosn have been so sorry, but I have heard alot of great reviews of "R". But I have moved on............. Plus as I mentioned above we now have the need for modeling ("R" may be capable of modeling----I don't know)

Some people like Chevys some people like Fords. I don't like Artlantis.

[Anonymous]

Red wrote:
Plus as I mentioned above we now have the need for modeling

I don't know about you, but I usually do my modeling in ArchiCAD...

[Karl Ottenstein]

Red wrote:
Well the last few veriosn have been so sorry, but I have heard alot of great reviews of "R". But I have moved on............. Plus as I mentioned above we now have the need for modeling ("R" may be capable of modeling----I don't know)

Some people like Chevys some people like Fords. I don't like Artlantis.

That's pretty lame, Red, to say you don't like something you have not tried. (It's like the little kid who hates anything 'new' [a typical phase]. He's in the bakery with his mom: "Want to have some pain au chocolate?" "Noooo, I don't liiiike it." Translate it into English, and the kid will come running.)

Artlantis R bares almost no resemblance to Artlantis 4.5 and earlier. It is an entirely new product line. So, having used 4.5 means nothing in terms of experience relative to R.

Sure, reject it if you must model as well....

Stefan's points are true about other software, including C4D, but then Stefan is earning his PhD at the moment and is a really smart guy. The busy architect cannot be all things, and the level of expertise required to efficiently use those advanced modeler/renderer packages is more than the average busy architect/designer has time to acquire. That's why there are people who specialize in doing renderings.

For the guy who needs great images with fast visual feedback, Artlantis R and Studio are definitely worth considering. I'm personally all about productivity ... and Artlantis R and Studio fill the bill there.

If one needs to model, too, then Cinema 4D seems the logical choice because of the MaxonForm interface that permits it to be used as a GDL modeler, and building element deformer as well.

Cheers,
Karl

[stefan]

Karl, thanks for the compliments

Artlantis Studio is not out yet, but it will be everything Artlantis R is + animation. There is no modeling in any of the Artlantis versions, so if that is what you need, Artlantis is not your solution. But it's rendering engine is good (not the best, but very usable) and the program really is easy to use.

I teach VIZ Render, which is a simplified version of 3ds max, but it is still complex. And that is right behind my Architectural Desktop lesson, which is even more complex. I'm thinking of replacing it with Artlantis next year.

If you are an architect, with just a small amount of time to do a quick rendering, then the full animation tools such as Maya, Lightwave, 3ds max and Cinema4D are not the best solution.

[Anonymous]

stefan wrote:
If you are an architect, with just a small amount of time to do a quick rendering, then the full animation tools such as Maya, Lightwave, 3ds max and Cinema4D are not the best solution.

Neither is Lightworks in ArchiCAD, though this sounds odd, being that it is such a limited renderer INSIDE a architecture modeling program.

I am still waiting for someone to point me to a software that does exactly what Stefan establishes as the ideal one for architects, besides Art.lantis.

Not that I am 100% happy with this software, I had my share of problems in past versions, and R surely is ridden with quirks and bugs, and I guess version S will be worse - on account of being such a major leap.

But I really have not found out any credible alternative.

[stefan]

Rendering & CAD are two distinct specialities and it is very optimistic to think that both of them will shine in one interface: the interface to visualisation programs is by concept different from a CAD interface.

The new, more flexibel interface for ArchiCAD has means to be adapted to different tasks, so a visualization interface can place certain tools more accesible, but integration inside ArchiCAD places all the ArchiCAD interface limitations onto the integrated solution.

Lightworks is usable and Dwight wrote how to get good results, but the Lightworks settings are burried too deep inside the ArchiCAD interface to promote a direct trial/render workflow, which I love in 3ds max and which is also fairly usable in Cinema4D: the modeless "Render" dialog in 3ds max/VIZ can stay open, while you set rendering parameters and you can call renderings directly and you can adjust camera's and materials, without having to close and reopen the rendering dialogs. This is something I really miss inside ArchiCAD and no integrated rendering engine will solve this. And any external rendering engine is usually more fluent to accomplish this, provided it comes with a usable method to update geometry from the ArchiCAD model.

[Anonymous]

It is the old swiss army knife conundrum.

Of course you can have an object that has scissors, knifes, can openers, needles, compass and even an usb memory.
But if you really need, say, a scissor, you buy one. The one that comes with the knife is useless, as are all the other tools.

Same thing with software.

[Red]

Well thanks Karl I'm guess lame.............. Anyway its not life changing decision that I'm not choosing ART, but it seems that way to some people. I've explained myself enough.

[stefan]

Red wrote:
Well thanks Karl I'm guess lame.............. Anyway its not life changing decision that I'm not choosing ART, but it seems that way to some people. I've explained myself enough.

I have recently changed my opinion on Artlantis I had given up, before the new "R" was released. It never hurts to try again.