Saving Rendered Image

[bryn]

I finally accept that my interior renderings in finally quality renderworks are taking 3-5 hours on this project, but they are also taking another 3-5 hours to export to a jpeg file. Is this normal for the view to re-render during the saving process and take the same amount of time as the original rendering? If so, is there any way to cut that time? Is there a quality difference between an exported jpeg image (144 dpi) and a png screen shot? The exported images need to be printed on 8.5"x11" photo paper.

bryn

G4/800 dual

OS 10.4.8

1.25GB RAM

VW 12.5

[Ray Libby]

To avoid rendering twice, use the Render Bitmap Tool in the Visualization tool palette. jpeg is a lossy format, resulting in data being tossed to compress. png is a lossless format.

[propstuff]

bryn,

Apart from the above;

If you start the render in the mode you want and then use ESC to stop it as soon as it's started to render, you can then go straight to the Export dialogue.

Also, if you zoom right out so the perspective window is tiny, it will render the screen much quicker, and is completely independant of the export resolution.

HTH

[bryn]

So, Ray, if I use the render bitmap tool with it's resolution set to full, what setting determines the resolution? I've tried using 144, 300 and 600 for the camera view, and also for the export resolution, but the result always looks like a 72 dpi screen shot with the jaggies.

bryn

G4/800 dual

OS 10.4.8

1.25GB RAM

VW 12.5

[bryn]

Nicholas, tonight I'll also try rendering the way you suggested to see how much time I save. The client wants 40-50 renderings, but wants his CDs asap, so I need to wrap this job up before my patience wears as thin as the client's.

bryn

G4/800 dual

OS 10.4.8

1.25GB RAM

VW 12.5

[Kevin]

I have not tried it, but there is a batch render function. This might help you render more than one view overnight.

[bryn]

Thanks, Kevin. I'm reading up on batch rendering right now.

bryn

G4/800 dual

OS 10.4.8

1.25GB RAM

VW 12.5

[grant_PD]

40-50 renderings at three hours each equals a lot of rendering time. In the first post you mentioned printing to an 8.5x11 sheet. In your latest post you mentioned CD's. I would suggest going for the minimal resolution you can get away with. Does your client want to print from cd's onto paper? Either way you'll be weighing the pros and cons of buying a second "render farm" machine by about rendering 4.

[bryn]

Grant, I've already considered a second machine, but that also means another copy of VW, which I don't usually need, and I wanted to wait until the spring to replace my present computer. The CDs I meant was the client's construction documents (His drawing files and rendered exports won't even fit on a CD). He is ready to build, but is still making changes. I have been rendering parts of this drawing for over three months and most of them have to be redone because of his changes. He wants a file of 8.5"x11" photos to go with the drawings so the subs will know exactly how he intends the house to be finished. Thanks for the assistance. I can usually figure things out with the help files, but the experience of others is just as valuable, if not more so.

bryn

G4/800 dual

OS 10.4.8

1.25GB RAM

VW 12.5

[Dave_Donley]

Hello Bryn:

You can render as a viewport and have control over the sheet layer DPI and not have as many rerenders happening. The old skool way is to use the Render Bitmap tool, which has the same DPI feature. The DPI is relative to your page - so a 1" x 1" bitmap at 300 DPI will be 300 pixels wide by 300 pixels tall.

Three to five hours sure sounds excessive even on a G4. There must be some geometry that is overly detailed or is there a lot of reflecting glass surfaces??

To tune geometry, one thing to try is to look at the model in wireframe, and zoom in on the parts that are black. Sometimes excessive geometry will be so detailed that the wireframe view of objects appears as if it had a solid black fill, because there are so many lines.

Are there a lot of sweeps with very small increment angles? Is this geometry imported DWG meshes?

BTW on the Mac you can select and copy a rendered viewport (or rendered bitmap), then paste into the Preview application (File->New From Clipboard), and save it out as a file.

If it has problems coming in, set the viewport fill to solid instead of no fill.

HTH,

Dave Donley

dave@nemetschek.net

Edited November 1, 2006 by Dave_Donley_At_Home

[bryn]

Dave, I think you just gave me an answer to why my first renderings were so much faster than the past three months. The client gave me fixture numbers for his Kohler sinks, lavs, wtr. closets, tubs and faucets, which I downloaded from the Kohler website. They render very realistically, but have a lot of meshes. There are also a lot of windows, glass cabinet doors, interior glass doors, wood floors with reflectivity and granite counter tops that reflect. There are aprox 30 rooms with crown and base (actual profiles).

Most of my experience with rendering has been on exteriors, with very few interiors. That lack of experience, along with a "perfectionist" client, has really snowballed this job. He is very satisified with the renderings I have given him, but he is comparing my rendering time to his Broderbund $50 home design software, and can't (or won't) understand why I can't "click" and have instant results.

Thanks for all the help. This job will be a good experience; not profitable, but a lesson well learned.

bryn

G4/800 dual

OS 10.4.8

1.25GB RAM

VW 12.5