I have installed Luxrender as "Standalone"
all works fine...just...
but now how import something inside ...a 3D file for example? :)

Open Files gives only "lxs, lxq" format !
Not import something... :)
http://www.luxrender.net/en_GB/standalone
The big help on line even in French ;) speaks about tons of things but not about this simple subject! :)

I must miss something! :)

Hello Pilou,

use it by Blender. Well integrated. Material setup, hdr maps, lighting and so on differs from the Standard, but once setup a file, you can use it as template. Very slow, but brilliant results - a physical renderer.

Have a nice day
Karsten

yes I understand the integrated version but was curious of the "Stand Alone" version!
So always perplex! :)

Bonjour Pilou,

It's been a few years since I last used Luxrender myself, and I used it from Blender.

I guess the Luxrender stand-alone version is merely its render module, and you'll need a host program like Blender or SketchUp to create a Luxrender format scene (LXS), with Luxrender materials, lighting, camera, etcetera.

Good luck,

Metin

———————

visualization • illustration • design • 3D (print) models — https://metinseven.com

Hello Karsten!

@You : "...use it by Blender. Well integrated...Very slow..."

Every time a put again my hands on Blender I understand how badly I misjudged it.

OK. It's true. Its Cycles rendering engine is not the fastest of the market but with a powerful GPU (for example my 1080 Ti) it has very good results.

And mostly, I think it is a sort of "Swiss Army knife" into the world of CG.

For example, when it comes to rendering or applying a post process elaboration or dealing with textures and mapping, it is very difficult to find a task that can't be performed by its powerful node editor.

In fact for the moment, although my knowledge of Blender is pretty limited, actually I'm testing it exclusively for rendering purposes and
for what I'm seeing so far its Cycles engine it's very good both in terms of performance but above all in terms of quality.

And the fact that it is TOTALLY free...well...it's a game changer :)

Not fast as Thea Render but undoubtedly much more versatile.

Ciao!

MoI to Octane Standalone - case closed ha!

- Rich

Hi Marco,

I guess Karsten meant that Luxrender is slow, not Blender or Cycles. :)

@You : "...Octane Standalone..."

Octane....great package!! Very powerful with a powerful GPU!

Unfortunately it's $399 :(

Ciao!

Ho...yeah!

Luxrender....for what I've tried some times ago it's a snail :)

Terrific photorealistic results but unless you have tons of cores or a super powerful CPU (like xeon)....
Maybe with a Tesla or even with a "consumer" Gtx 1080 Ti like mine, the results could be a little better but...

Life's too short to see a gauge bar reaching its end :)

Ciao!

Hi Stefan,

I try to answer in this thread on question from http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=4446.193

I probably know, what you mean... for example here http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=8600.10

... reflection on chrome axle inside suspension spring isn't align correctly.

( I hope that Zarkow will not be angry at me, because I admire his creativity, scene compositions and illumination of render ... we try to analyse only Octane performance :-) )

I think that sharpening of image can accentuate this artefact on the other hand right settings of render kernel inside Octane can improve this artefact, especially Filter size ( "Sets the filter size in terms of pixels. This can improve aliasing artifacts in the render. However, if the filter is set too high, the image can become blurry." ...source here https://help.otoy.com/hc/en-us/articles/115001714686--Pathtrace-Kernel )

As you can see from render a lot of "hot pixels" (fireflies) are visible....a very simple trick can be used to reduce/eliminate them... it is good to set double render size as required and then resize the picture by 50%, then hot pixels disappear, you can try it if you download the origin Zarkow's render DIN A3 size.

I've found quite good Octane tutorials ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXUE-39fwug&list=PL0DBA6671E0A1743B )

Mik

Yeah...But leveraging that against the typical revenues of a job / time saved I think it's a valid purchase ;)

- Rich

Hi Marco,

I plan to compare Octane vs LuxRender standalone both in Linux version, so I am curious to know the results :-)

Ciao
Mik

Hello Marco,

yep it's a snail, but the only way is to use a physical renderer, if you want to test the look and feel in some applications. Target isn't a beautiful Rendering or photorealistic Rendering - more a realistic rendering in the meaning of a Simulation. e.g. optical Systems. So everyone has a different Point of view.

Have a nice day
Karsten

Oh yes Karsten!
@You : "...different Point of view..."

You're right.

In fact for me the key feature is the speed rather than photorealism :)

Have anice day.

Hi Mik,

thanks for the detailed response. I think the trick with rendering larger images and then reducing them in pixel size afterwards
helps also to reduce the aliasing issues and not only getting rid of fireflies, without using the filter, because it should give the
render engine "more room" to draw those areas. At least, i remember this from long time ago when reading about render tips.

Best regards
Stefan

Hi Stefan.

@You : "... think the trick with rendering larger images..."

Yes, undoubtedly in this way you can get a less pixelated final image but at a cost of much more render time.
I you render a frame at 4K resolution and then you perform a scale down to a FullHD res, for sure you
will get a better looking image but the initial render time is increased by 4x!

If the time is a key, this method is not good at all.

You can get better results in terms of time and also, is some circumstances, in terms of quality,
if you use a software like Affinity Photo or others to apply a post process effect to the rendered images.

Furthermore...I've tried also the (now official) "Denoising" feature of Blender 2.79 and in many circumstances it can offer great improvement to the final render at a cost of a small fraction of increased time (about 20%).

Ciao!

Hi everyone.

Just in order to close an open discourse...

After many considerations and tests I decided to get rid of the trial version of Simlab Composer Pro.

This was the third time I've given this software the chance to be included into my current pipeline,
but another time, and this time is the last time, I understood that this product makes no sense to me, now.

As I said I've invested my money into a "consumer" but powerful GPU (1080 Ti) and Simlab is CPU bound.
Furthermore its material database library is not better than the one I have with Thea Render,
and for all other "rendering things" I can leverage on Blender with its GPU Cycles engine,
and Blender can offer tons of features and is totally free.

If I decided to invest my money on a powerful multicore CPU (Ryzen or Threadripper or i9) rather than a GPU, maybe I could have given to Simlab another chance.

Have a nice day to all and thanks anyway for suggestions :)

Ciao!

Marco (mkdm)

Ah....the old ever green Blender's "Suzanne" :)

(Via FotoSketcher....thanks Pilou)



Ciao!

Hi Marco,

> If the time is a key, this method is not good at all.

I prefer quality over quantity and if i need super duper fast renderings
i can use a french Supercomputer... :-)


> You can get better results in terms of time and also, is some circumstances, in terms of quality,
> if you use a software like Affinity Photo or others to apply a post process effect to the rendered images.

Since this is a rendering tips and tricks thread it would be helpful for the general audience if you could
show us an example (original with some aliasing and one reworked with Affinity Photo).

Best regards
Stefan

Hello,

has someone tested CADRays?

- Karsten