RAY TRACE OR PBR


decorators3
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It seems like every render i see on CA Facebook community  has used and external AI program to add realism.  Is this the norm  now? In addition  to CA upgrades I have to purchase other software?  CA has great interior rendering options  but are lacking in exterior realism .  I do a lot of exterior  for clients , They send me their house plans . I create the 3D model  adding various cladding options giving the client opportunities to see the finished house before buying the products  , great way to decide which siding or stone looks and suites the house style. 

 

If CA cant provide exterior realism like their interiors. what software can I  purchase without  costing me and arm and a leg. Lumion is out of the question based on cost.  Even Twinmotin is over 1000.00... 

 

I have heard of cloud rendering services that are pay as  you go but the one I was hoping to use FOXRENDERFARM is not compatible with Chief 

 

Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated

 

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3 hours ago, decorators3 said:

but are lacking in exterior realism .

Respectfully, I would disagree. There are many CA users producing very realistic exterior renderings. The level of quality is largely dependent on 3 main factors:

  1. your skill / knowledge
  2. your hardware
  3. and most importantly your clients budget.

https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/gallery/image/6019-exterior-1-5/

No doubt some of my images are better than others (of my own)...almost entirely driven by factor #3 from the list above. And FWIW, I almost never use any other software!

If you're having issues, I would hone in on the above list and ask myself which one of those factors is the simplest to improve.

To improve #1, you'll need time. Maybe some training

To improve #2, you'll need money.

To improve #3, you'll need to improve #1 & #2:)

image.thumb.png.c4785caf6162237ac65592f5f03ef74d.png

 

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When properly massaged, Chief can produce some great exterior renderings.It's all in the lighting and materials.

X15 PBR-RT:

445401479_EastonCraftsmanPBR02a.thumb.jpg.2e2092cc1373a8e768cd6a771c99a80c.jpg

 

888558409_6RippiningalePBR-RT01a.thumb.jpg.4f04169d9c9141e6a2bc47127ba19a0a.jpg

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3 hours ago, decorators3 said:

Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated

If you were willing to pay a render farm, how much would you be willing to pay someone who also uses Chief to render for you? Or, what kind of budget would you have for training?

Who knows, that may cost less than you might have thought. I might train / mentor or render for you as would others. It would all start with a one-on-one conversation.

 

You need to be comfortable with the person helping you and that person would need to examine one of your Chief files so that through a discussion, together you can identify the areas for improvement that would benefit you the most.

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1 hour ago, robdyck said:

Respectfully, I would disagree. There are many CA users producing very realistic exterior renderings. The level of quality is largely dependent on 3 main factors:

  1. your skill / knowledge
  2. your hardware
  3. and most importantly your clients budget.

https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/gallery/image/6019-exterior-1-5/

No doubt some of my images are better than others (of my own)...almost entirely driven by factor #3 from the list above. And FWIW, I almost never use any other software!

If you're having issues, I would hone in on the above list and ask myself which one of those factors is the simplest to improve.

To improve #1, you'll need time. Maybe some training

To improve #2, you'll need money.

To improve #3, you'll need to improve #1 & #2:)

image.thumb.png.c4785caf6162237ac65592f5f03ef74d.png

 

Thank you for your candid rely.  Well received.  Your  rendering looks so much more realistic especially the windows ,  I have been playing  around with windows glass trying to get the look you have.. I will take your advise and run with it.   

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1 hour ago, ericepv said:

When properly massaged, Chief can produce some great exterior renderings.It's all in the lighting and materials.

X15 PBR-RT:

445401479_EastonCraftsmanPBR02a.thumb.jpg.2e2092cc1373a8e768cd6a771c99a80c.jpg

 

888558409_6RippiningalePBR-RT01a.thumb.jpg.4f04169d9c9141e6a2bc47127ba19a0a.jpg

I'm using Ray trace maybe better to use PBR RT?? My grass looks flat compared to your images.  I guess I need to get back to the knowledge base and start again

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29 minutes ago, robdyck said:

If you were willing to pay a render farm, how much would you be willing to pay someone who also uses Chief to render for you? Or, what kind of budget would you have for training?

Who knows, that may cost less than you might have thought. I might train / mentor or render for you as would others. It would all start with a one-on-one conversation.

 

You need to be comfortable with the person helping you and that person would need to examine one of your Chief files so that through a discussion, together you can identify the areas for improvement that would benefit you the most.

I like that you're in Canada. I'm in Newfoundland so the cost would NOT be US dollars, training and/or discussion sounds good especially identifying areas where I improvement.

 

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Quote

 

I'm using Ray trace maybe better to use PBR RT?? My grass looks flat compared to your images.  I guess I need to get back to the knowledge base and start again

 

 

Yes, PBR RT is going to look better and be sooooo much faster than CPU ray tracing.  The grass in X15 is going to make a big difference all by itself.  Not sure if your video card supports it but you can check your video card status in preferences and see if "hardware ray tracing" says "yes".  I have an NVIDIA RTX 4070 and the speed is amazing compared to the CPU ray tracing.

 

You might also want to check out the ray trace videos that Chief has that are marked for "GPU ":

https://www.chiefarchitect.com/videos/playlists/103/ray-trace.html

 

This recorded webinar might also be good:

https://www.chiefarchitect.com/videos/watch/10251/real-time-ray-tracing-setup-optimization.html?playlist=171

 

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4 minutes ago, DBCooper said:

 

Yes, PBR RT is going to look better and be sooooo much faster than CPU ray tracing.  The grass in X15 is going to make a big difference all by itself.  Not sure if your video card supports it but you can check your video card status in preferences and see if "hardware ray tracing" says "yes".  I have an NVIDIA RTX 4070 and the speed is amazing compared to the CPU ray tracing.

 

You might also want to check out the ray trace videos that Chief has that are marked for "GPU ":

https://www.chiefarchitect.com/videos/playlists/103/ray-trace.html

 

This recorded webinar might also be good:

https://www.chiefarchitect.com/videos/watch/10251/real-time-ray-tracing-setup-optimization.html?playlist=171

 

thanks I will.. trial and error .. constant learning curve...

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12 hours ago, decorators3 said:

I like that you're in Canada. I'm in Newfoundland so the cost would NOT be US dollars, training and/or discussion sounds good especially identifying areas where I improvement.

 

Another Canuck! I've assisted others and they've been able to make drastic improvements in only 1 or 2 hours of training. As I mentioned, the first step would be a brief conversation by phone or, preferably by Google Meet, the 2nd step would be for me to inspect a plan file. Then we can determine the best type of training method for you.

I'll go out on a limb and guarantee that you will be beyond impressed at what you'll be able to learn in short order!

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17 hours ago, decorators3 said:

I'm using Ray trace maybe better to use PBR RT?? My grass looks flat compared to your images.  I guess I need to get back to the knowledge base and start again

 

Undoubtably yes, PBR-RT is the way to go nowadays, especially since I see you have a RTX 3070 now, especially since Materials that look good in CPU Raytrace don't in PBR-RT so it best to stick with PBR-RT for that reason and of course the HUGE speed difference.

 

Mick.

 

 

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4 minutes ago, Kbird1 said:

 

Undoubtably yes, PBR-RT is the way to go nowadays, especially since I see you have a RTX 3070 now, especially since Materials that look good in CPU Raytrace don't in PBR-RT so it best to stick with PBR-RT for that reason and of course the HUGE speed difference.

 

Mick.

 

 

yes Mick Im starting to realize that now .. I appreciate all you replies.  this forum is so good for feed back and help

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10 minutes ago, decorators3 said:

yes Mick Im starting to realize that now .. I appreciate all you replies.  this forum is so good for feed back and help

 

Forgot to add earlier to try turning OFF Refraction in the PBR Camera Settings and see if it helps with Glass, sometime you want it sometime not I find, and PBR-RT is quick enough now to try it and see both ways ......also make sure that the Denoise Option is enabled , it was a game changer in x15 , and word is things look nicer in X16 if a TAD slower in PBR-RT.

 

 

Mick.

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On 3/5/2024 at 7:35 PM, decorators3 said:

I'm using Ray trace maybe better to use PBR RT?? My grass looks flat compared to your images.  I guess I need to get back to the knowledge base and start again

In X15 - Terrain / Grass Region / Polyline Grass Region

 

https://www.chiefarchitect.com/videos/watch/192/creating-procedural-3d-grass.html

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