It seems a bit of a “missed opportunity”, not a feature. So why is “CPU rendering only” a good thing? There isn’t even an option to invoke the 600 Cuda-cores on my laptop’s standard graphics card. Looking at the marketing images, the target audience appears to be existing CAD users, or creative media-types who’ve probably already invested in good hardware. To be fair though, I don’t have the $500 Animation add-on, I’m only driving the “Pro” version so I know I’m missing out on some more goodies. There’s a collection of canned animation cycles, but if you want to get a bit more advanced, it’s certainly not the animators dream. It’s time consuming and certainly not “easy”. To blur one object more than another becomes a complex task of animating objects at different speeds. Functions like motion-blur and caustics are on/off toggles. Sadly, this is also where I started to find some limitations. It’s not a living organism that changes between uses, you just get used to where the buttons are – so “easy” is a bit of a meaningless quality here. Software only becomes “easy to use” as you become familiar with it. If you want a bit more, then you need to go digging. So if you want an image-in-a-can, then I really can’t argue, it’s certainly down there with the easiest of all the rendering software. But Keyshot really is superbly easy to use: Import – wait – image! You can then spend some time lighting and texturing, but that almost-instant image surprises you every time. Let’s be honest, “easy to use” usually translates as “limited features”. Bring on some updated importers and this might catch on! Change the CAD model and the Keyshot scene updates – I would describe as “fast”. If you are lucky enough to have either an old copy of your favourite CAD product, or other geometry-creation software that’s one of Luxion’s favoured partners, then the new “Live Linking” your models will certainly be of interest. That’s not particularly “fast” in my book. You’ll very quickly discover that the importers for mainstream CAD products like Solidworks & Inventor are 2 years out of date, Alias needs to be installed, Maya needs to be licensed… (Hang on – Maya? Why would you render in Keyshot if you already have Maya installed and licensed?) So if your CAD software is up-to-date, you’ll have to export your models as an alternative format, then import them into Keysot. But you’d hardly describe the product as being the “fastest” when discussing model import workflows. It makes focussing on the task of say lighting, or texturing, an absolute joy without having to close a bunch of other windows. With most rendering solutions, you can quickly lose your model under a pile of dialogs and windows, but the new UI in Keyshot 5 keeps these windows in check by allowing you to stack, dock, stack-tabbed and so on. Keyshot 5 is the “fastest” – at what? Fastest at sucking you in with its new slick new user interface – yep. The rendering software market is a crowded and often confusing place but Keyshot pitches itself as “fastest and easiest to use 3D rendering and animation software available” so I’m going to take a look at both claims. Is it perfect yet? Well, you’ll need to read on to find out, but if you’re looking for a canned demo of what’s new, there’s a video further down this page that wraps it all up nicely. I’d buy it just for the new user interface, but there’s so much more in this release. But they have, and they’ve done it in style. It’s hard to imagine how you could take the most loved-up rendering software of 2013 and make it better. “Dino-bike” (Model Credit: Flying Kiwi Motorcyles)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |