KERKYTHEA TUTORIAL: PART 1 BASICS
Monday, January 17, 2011 | ALEX HOGREFE
The video describes the steps I use when creating a base image for architectural illustrations. Kerkythea is simple to get started with, but has sophisticated settings to produce very professional final outcomes.
Kerkythea and the Sketchup Plugin can be downloaded HERE. The Plugin can be found under Integration along with easy install instructions
If used correctly, Kerkythea can be quick. However, as you fine tune the rendering settings, add more lights, soften the shadows, give the material textures and bumpmaps, you will quickly find out that the rendering times exponentially grow. I will most often do the bare minimum, to get my rendering times down, then put more effort in post processing. However, there are times when spending the extra effort to add nice textures and lights outweigh the time it takes to post process in photoshop. Either way, it's good to know what pieces significantly alter rendering time.
Things that extend rendering times:
Multiple lights. Adding more lights slows the rendering time. Lights that are made up of many surfaces, such as a sphere, make it even worse.
Lots of geometry. This one is obvious, but using a lot of trees or just really big models will really increase rendering times. Deleting part of the model so that only objects in view remain is something I do a lot.
Complex textures. Textures with a lot of reflection or shininess really slow things down. Use these textures sparingly.
Soft shadows.
Presets. Choosing the right preset makes a big difference. Photonmap-High+AA03 seems to be the quickest for me. Metropolis Light Transport looks the best, but can take days to render.
Reader Comments (5)
Thanks for another great tutorial.
How about one on that rendering post production?
Thanks a lot for your tutorials.They really helped a lot.
Can't wait to see the next parts of the Kerkythea tutorial.
Congratulations for your amazing works ;)
muchisimas gracias por tus tutoriales, y tus trabajos son impresionantes.
Your site is an excellent resource! keep doing what you do!
HI
TANX FOR YOUR POST:d
IF IT IS POSSILBE YOU UPLPOAD YOUR MODEL AND WE CAN GET IT AND PRACTIC
AND COPMAIRE RESULT ...IT WILL BE GREAT;)