Hi Ron,
I doubt the Toons shader in Keyshot would work very well. Typically toon shaders work in two ways:
- They create an HBO (heavy black outline) around the silhouette of an object. This is done by calculating the surface normal's vector pointing away from the camera and this technique can sometimes can create unwanted artifacts, especially where they are not wanted.
- It creates a lighter line at the end of parts in where the vector is pointing towards the camera.
So, this means toon shaders won't like MoI's isocurves and they would not be shown, unless the model was broken up significantly, in which case other rendering artifacts will be present. And, as we all know, Keyshot won't allow you to even change vertex smoothing parameters.
Sidebar: I did manage to render the BiCar as NURBs in Keyshot. While a bit slower, the resolution is amazing!
SketchUp is without peer when it comes to creating a 'sketchy' render. And, for designers, many times it's really important to communicate ***This IS NOT a final design!!!*** This used to be done using marker renders and pencil sketches. These type of sketches do well in communicating a concept without a note of finality. Consider this SketchUp generated image:
It communicates a number of things in a sketch. Human scale. Transparent view into something already solid. Non final development of the product. Creating something like this in SketchUp is very easy. It's done completely within SketchUp (thanks now to Frenchy's Visualizer plugin find!) and the overlay is quickly done in Pshop. Also, SketchUp has a very strong component architecture, so replicating things is simple, and editing an instance updates them all.
I have been thinking of when I use SketchUp and when I prefer MoI. I think this diagram pretty much sums it up:
The design process typically has both DIVERGE and CONVERGE phases. When working with a client in the early DIVERGE stage, it's important to be nimble and generate many concepts as quickly as possible. I can easily present them in a rapid, yet elegant way.
I also like to use SketchUp for
tweaking designs before the CONVERGE phase. It's great, as are most poly modelers, for endlessly rearranging the polys to get a semblance, in block form, for what the final design should be. And the SketchUp line renders help hide inconsistencies which would show up as glaring artifacts in a more finished renderer.
I'll then go to MoI for the CONVERGE phase. In the last three months I've been able to do these things in MoI:
- A number of nice Keyshot renders based on quick design concepts built in MoI
- A wall mounted remote for house automation. I ended up creating a STEP file which then a machine shop could use to automate the milling for the final prototype. Turned out great-- and VERY accurate.
- Just last week I designed a piece of hardware for DNA testing which had to fit perfectly on top of an iPad. I created the design in MoI, then shot out an STL to Stratasys Direct who then printed the 3d model. Worked perfect.
So, for me, it's clear I need to use many different tools to accomplish different results.
