OctaneVR is available now for free for three months. Check it out.

Buy Modo Indie
about £229 on Steam
I did, the renderer is superb, plus you get a virtually full
version of modo
When you get past Modo's quirky flow i.e action Centers/hauling,materials
being created from layers e.t.c
The prebuilt lighting/environment and preset Materials are fabulous.
The render settings compared to Mental ray are so easy
I was going to buy Thea render to work with
my registered 3Ds max 2012
I bought Modo Indie instead and import from Max into Modo Indie

Philip Moyles

Can't wait to see some of your renders!

I'm leaning solidly towards Thea Render because it's got an unbiased engine and it has a "studio" version that doesn't require a completely separate poly app just to render Moi creations. It also is the "next up" from the free Kerkythea renderer I've used for a few years now. It's materials are also easy to deal with.

But there are other rendering apps I find to be adequate.

I've come to find that really it has more to do with the 3D modeling program a designer uses as typically, the rendering is done as a peripheral to their modeling environment.
So with Blender, you can use Cycles, with 3DS Max, Rhino and etc, you can use all kinds of 'third-party' renderers. I really found V-Ray to be appealing.

Aside from UI and ergonomic creature-comforts, and aside from polygon and material handling, I'm hoping that somewhere out there someone has done a thorough comparison of each rendering platform (and method engine.) I'm sure they exist. It would be nice to see with the eye which one blow you away with its realism and which ones look 'fakey'.

Render result quality is also very subjective I know; from interiors to exteriors, differences in the rendering and presentation intent of the scene.
Renders that look superb for stunning interior architectural scenes would not work so well for showing the nuances of a killer product shot. And the same for animation.

I suppose, it would be equally as hard to discriminate between the better modeling platform... to each his own.

stanfordbunny + moi + importobj + distortcurves + vclone + octanerender :)

That's pretty cool, make the timbers pine and it will look a little like glued matchsticks :)

Martin
(TpwUK)

So that's how the kids used up all the glue!!!

Nice one Max!

cycles inside blender for free,

Thea render is great, Octane is awesome ;)

Working as an architectural illustrator requires that I work fast to make it profitable. I avoid using rendering software because the architecture is only half of the image. The landscaping, shading, people, etc are what connects buildings with the real world while conveying ambiance. Those non-designed elements are often very difficult and render without a lot of trial and error and a powerful machine.

So I used a digital/hand hybrid method. During the conceptual phase of a project I would print on paper quick and dirty 3d views fairly light on detail. I would sketch over the printout on tracing paper while adding trees, people, cars, landscaping, clouds, birds, water, and any needed architectural fenestration. I would then scan this and hand color it with a tablet as a layered photoshop file. The linework would be the top locked layer with a multiply transparency and each individual element gets its own layer such as: glass, wood, stucco, roofing, grass, tree trunks, flowers, shading, highlights, etc. I have custom pens for each layer that I use on all of my illustrations which made it a faster process.

My answer is technically hand rendering with software, which doesn't exactly give you what you are asking for.

So I will add my approval for keyshot. Yes it is expensive, but you make up for it fast with hours of time saved. It's so easy to use it should be illegal. The only downside is that you are still left with the need to frame your buildings with the real world, which is not easy to render.

If anyone would like to download my pen libraries let me know and I will post a link. They are large.

-Jason