Jump to content
  • 46

Twinmotion Plugin + Sync


Tom Klaber

Question

Recommended Posts

  • 0

Should probably start a new post with this Lumion stuff.. but here seems good for now. This will be the last time, sorry for hijacking the Twinmotion thread..

 

Old Lumion and new Lumion 8 comparisons..

Render time 30secs... still getting used to this..

 

version 5 - with sketch effects - 

Render01.thumb.jpg.88b128691db5cb634da9aded17a0663a.jpgRender06.reduced.thumb.jpg.9cd23c237f71db73ec5eb73405609039.jpg

 

version 8 - with 'realistic' preset - no post-production

External_01.thumb.jpg.9ad242a416cc7b22b99c6c8621cb05d1.jpgExternal_07.thumb.jpg.945d2f029911f9ad4a51351b980915a3.jpg

Link to comment
  • 0

Vectorworks should certainly work to create a direct relationship with Twinmotion.  The ability to beautifully, and rapidly animate/texture a model is so much better in Twinmotion, but the export/import of complex models from VW often fail and crash Twinmotion.  Would love to have a direct relationship so that this process simplifies and becomes streamlined.  

Frankly, I am tired of waiting 24 hours for uniquely lit interior render in VW and longer for sub-par animations in Open GL.  

 

Gregg

  • Like 4
Link to comment
  • 0

I just looked at Lumion more closely.  The quality of the renderings seems to be nicer than Twinmotion.  What is the learning curve on it?  Is the expanded library pack worth it?  We are strapped for time - so I am always hesitant to implement some new isolated workflow - but if it was anything like Twinmotion - the learning curve is so flat that we would gladly pay the steep price.

Link to comment
  • 0

I would say its a bit less intuitive than twinmotion.

+'s for Twinmotion:

+ Twinmotion has object editing of import objects (moving internal components of import model) whereas Lumion cannot manipulate imported models.

+ Twinmotion VR export is a much smoother process

+ 360deg Video export (animated path)

+ Object hierarchy helps with keeping model organised

+ Interior Renders

 

-'s for Twinmotion:

- render quality is not the greatest for exteriors

 

Lumion is pretty much the opposite to the list above. Apart from the interior renders for Lumion are also very good.

 

For me personally Lumion produced better quality renders than Twinmotion, albeit with a not-easy-to-get-used-to interface.

Put it this way, I know someone who uses 3dsMax with VRay, and she dislikes the Lumion interface with a passion 🤣, and at the same time can't understand how it can produce renders at that quality, in under a minute. After a year, she's still getting used to the interface with complaints every now and then.

 

However don't get me wrong, any of these programs are powerhouses in the right hands. 

 

side note: this was when I trialed out the Twinmotion 2018 version. Havent tested the 2019 version. We are on Lumion 8.5

 

I also +1 that vectoworks play nicely with these two rendering packages.

 

Edited by twk
  • Like 3
Link to comment
  • 0
  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Ive been using Lumion 8.5 a good bit today, its kind of an odd UI. It WORKS but it isn't similar to much that I've used before, other than maybe a clunkier version of the Sims 3 game UI. However, the end results come so fast and are of high enough quality that I suspect many would gladly pay the $1,500ish price for it. If time is money... well it prints money.

 

This does represent a big change in workflow however, the materials HAVE to be the ones included in Lumion, you cant for instance (at least as far as I have seen so far) bring the textures you made in Vectorworks in. This means you could simply leave your model grey in Vectorworks and then in the Lumion UI, select the objects you wanted to texture and use their textures. BUT if you texture the objects in Vectorworks first, when you import the model into Lum (ideally we'd have an interchange plugin as suggested but for this testing im doing it manually) then the items that had textures are easily select-able and are grouped together for the purposes of applying materials to them after the fact. So my design summit model of the house I was able to texture in 5 quick slaps of paint. 

 

The pre-baked nature of these materials is exactly what lets them render so quickly and look so good in any environment, so it would be kinda foolish to NOT take advantage of them if you already bought them in my opinion, but it does dramatically alter workflow. You'd have your final renders just as images taken from Lumion on sheet layers I suppose, or deliver them via a different means entirely like a portfolio PDF or series of videos.

I like the possibilities, establishing a good flow between the two even WITH a plugin i think would take some doing. But in the end, again, if the end look is spot on for a user, I would easily think the UI clunk and oddness is a smallish mountain that is totally worth climbing.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
  • 0
9 minutes ago, Jim Wilson said:

The only "bad" news about Lumion is that it's Windows only, Twinmotion however is Mac/Windows.

 

However, they are both very similar tools, and I would suspect that establishing a workflow and/or plugin with one would benefit the others directly.

 

For this reason i think that twinmotion could be a good choice for VW users

  • Like 1
Link to comment
  • 0
1 hour ago, Jim Wilson said:

You'd have your final renders just as images taken from Lumion on sheet layers I suppose, or deliver them via a different means entirely like a portfolio PDF or series of videos.

 

Not including renders (or textures) in a drawing set is a fantastic way to keep file size down when collaborating with colleagues that don't need a 300MB sandbag bringing their 2015 MacBook Pros to a standstill. Whenever possible, I reference the model file for rendering in a new file.

 

Plus a major selling point for Twinmotion is all of the entourage you get (along with the slick UI wrapped around the Unreal engine). And the idea of my renders becoming screenshots taken in real time? I can live with that workflow disruption.

 

Plus, you know... volumetric lighting.

 

We're already at a point that static images are losing ground to animations anyway. Overheard a year ago, "They won the bid with static images?"

Link to comment
  • 0
2 hours ago, ericjhberg said:

 

For example wood grain, posts/columns have a vertical wood grain, while horizontal slats have horizontal wood grain. Using Lumion textures, you can only map one direction per texture, but in VW you can manipulate the direction of textures per object.

 

Insert here, a chance to show off a little...

 

Nice..

 

We do the same with our material workflow.

 

FBX has been working quite well for us as well.

Previous VW version exports to FBX caused problems with flipped normals. 2017 onwards fixed this.

 

Link to comment
  • 0

Those shots rock!

Another question.  I'm getting a lot of crashing on imports from VW in all the different file formats.  I am not sure my uses for VW work translate well to TM or Lumion.  I am in the museum exhibit design field and often create renderings that rely heavily on 2D graphics, image props with backgrounds, and odd geometry in artifacts.  I am not sure i the crashing is because of these elements, but when some fo them do come through, the image props now how an opaque square around them, thus losing their value.

Jim, or anybody, have you had any luck importing image props with transparent backgrounds into TM or Lumion?  See attached mage as a sampling of what our output typically is and how heavily it's relient on props and 2d graphics.  

Entrance For Animation.jpg

Theater .jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
  • 0
  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee
40 minutes ago, Greggoid said:

Jim, or anybody, have you had any luck importing image props with transparent backgrounds into TM or Lumion?


I did to some extent with Lumion, I believe it calls them "Billboards", but I did not experiment with it long, I was immediately distracted with their 3D people libraries. I plan to look into the interchange between Vectorworks and Lumion and Twinmotion more and do some writeups.

Link to comment
  • 0
On 10/31/2018 at 5:41 PM, Jim Wilson said:

Ive been using Lumion 8.5 a good bit today, its kind of an odd UI. It WORKS but it isn't similar to much that I've used before, other than maybe a clunkier version of the Sims 3 game UI.

1

Have you tried Twinmotion yet?  It is a very strange UI too - also very video game like.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Answer this question...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...