Top 5 3D Rendering Software to Choose in 2018
In 2017 we saw a massive influx of render engines into the rendering and animation industry as well as an uprising in new versions and new features being added to older render engines.
In this article, we will focus on listing out the best render engines that ruled 2017 and are already the favorite in 2018. The list is compiled with respect to Render Boost render farm technical views. This list is also made up of render engines that are currently being used by our render farm users with a keen observation of their excellent performance in carrying out renderings.
In order to pick out the best render engine, there are things you need to look out for. These includes rendering speed, its user interface, adaptability or let’s say support for different modeling software as well as its ability to use GPU power for rendering.
1.V-Ray
VRay is a render engine that makes use of advanced principles such as global illumination algorithms, path tracing, photon mapping, irradiance maps as well as directly computed global illumination.
- Developer: Chaos Group
- Standalone: Linux, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows
- Plug-ins: 3ds Max, Blender, Cinema 4D, Maya, Modo, Nuke, Rhinoceros, Sketchup, Softimage
- License: Proprietary commercial software
2.KeyShot
Keyshot has proven to be the fastest and an easier to use 3D rendering software. It can be mastered in just few steps. Its friendly learning curve offers you the chance to start creating beautiful visuals on the go irrespective of the 3D model you are designing.
- Developer: Luxion, Inc.
- Standalone: Windows and Mac (32-bit and 64-bit)
- License: Proprietary commercial software
3.Octane Render
Octane Render makes use of the video card within your PC to render amazing and photorealistic images. They are pretty fast and allows you to produce stunning visuals in less than no time. This is highly favored when compared to traditional CPU based render engines.
- Developers: OTOY (present), Refractive Software
- Standalone: Windows XP and later, Mac OS X Lion or later, Linux
- Plug-ins: ArchiCAD, AutoCAD, 3ds Max, Maya, Revit, Inventor, Softimage, Blender, Carrara, Cinema 4D, Lightwave 3D, Modo, Daz Studio, Poser, Rhinoceros 3D, SketchUp
- License: Proprietary commercial software
4.Arnold
Arnold is a well-advanced Monte Carlo ray tracing render engine. It was built to tackle the needs of a feature-length animation or visual effects.
- Developer: Solid Angle
- Standalone: Linux, Windows and Mac OS X
- Plug-ins: Maya, Softimage, Houdini, Cinema 4D and Katana
- License: Proprietary commercial software
5.Redshift
Redshift is one of the popular GPU-accelerated biased render engine. Its offers users with the ultimate flexibility and control coupled with the speed to perform any kind of rendering.
- Developer: Redshift Rendering Technologies, Inc.
- Standalone: Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8 (64-bit only)
- Plug-ins: Maya, Softimage
- License: Proprietary commercial software
Without doubt, the above render engines will take the top spot on the list of most powerful rendering engines. The oldest among this rendering software list are VRay, Keyshot and Arnold. However, with the continued introduction of new versions as well as updated features back in 2017 these old render engines have become the go-to software for most users.
Among 3D users who make use of our rendering services, a few of the above software in the list have worn their hearts. They are, VRay – thanks to the addition of a GPU technology and the incorporation of a Hybrid and VRay-RT versions. Arnold came with the introduction of a 5th version with many new features. KeyShot is loved for its improved rendering speed as well as its simple and friendly user interface plus the support for animation rendering. It also included KeyShotXR which boosted its popularity amongst 3D software.
There are two GPU-based render engines on the list – Octane and RedShift. They have become greater competitors ever since they were upgraded in 2017 – bringing quality to rendering. And if everything stays as it is, we see them surpassing most rendering engines in 2018.
At RenderBoost render farm, we provide support for all the render engines we have mentioned on the list. And all users, both old and new can begin to render as soon as possible using our powerful CPU and GPU rendering servers. Besides that, we have an excellent technical team to provide you with full support for a wide range of 3D modeling software.
