[sdiy] Best program for photo realistic renders of synths?

[Mike Bryant]

I use Blender for an entirely different reason but I have to say it's the most idiosyncratic UI yet invented.  Also it often changes from version to version, as though there are two competing teams working on it that don't talk to each other.  So unless you need new features best thing is to learn one version and stick to it.

Also how photorealistic do you actually need ?  Several PCB programs have 3D rendering solutions with simpler models that can be used to generate quite a good image.


________________________________
From: Synth-diy <synth-diy-bounces at synth-diy.org> on behalf of Oren Leavitt via Synth-diy <synth-diy at synth-diy.org>
Sent: 31 October 2022 23:00
To: synth-diy at synth-diy.org <synth-diy at synth-diy.org>
Subject: Re: [sdiy] Best program for photo realistic renders of synths?

Another +1 for Blender.

I use it mainly for 3D print models. You do need to set some things up
in Blender to optimize workflow for precision modelling and correct
scaling. There are many tutorials out there.

Tutorials at https://makertales.com are excellent

- Oren

On 10/31/22 2:49 PM, Davide Romboli via Synth-diy wrote:
> +1 for Blender ... free and Open Source
>
> Il giorno lun 31 ott 2022 alle ore 18:10 Danjel van Tijn / intellijel
> <danjel at intellijel.com> ha scritto:
>> I want to start making photo-realistic renders of synth projects but I am trying to choose which program is worth focusing my learning efforts on.
>>
>> We do all our 3D CAD work in Fusion 360 (PCBs are in Altium) and all our panel graphics in Adobe Illustrator.
>>
>> One step that is really important for me is to be able to take my panel graphic from illustrator and add them as decals to the 3D models. This needs to be precise in scale/position and should be easy to do or else it will be a real bottleneck for productivity.
>>
>> If I import graphics to Fusion, it is a real pain to try and scale them to the correct size and there is no option for 1:1 import. Fusion has very poor tools for this; they only allow coarse, concentric scaling (unless you manually try an enter scaling values but then you are just guessing) and it is very slow. Also, Fusion does not allow the import of vector images.
>>
>> I have taken a quick look at Blender and Rhino so far as alternatives.  Rhino allows for import of native Ilustrator files and will import at the correct scale.
>> Blender will allow SVG import but not at the correct scale. The scaling too is a bit easier to use than Fusion but it is still not ideal.
>>
>> In terms of Blender vs Rhino,  it is difficult to know which one is worth the time investment. Blender seems deeper in features, is free and has a large support community. Rhino at least offers a one-time purchase option that is not unreasonable and I like the interface better but the user community seems a lot smaller and I need to understand the NURBS approach.
>> Also, a lot of people, whether they are using Blender or Rhino, seem to do the final rendering in Keyshot (which is quite expensive).
>>
>> Does anyone have experience with these or another program?  What would you recommend?
>> I still need to make photo realistic models of UI elements like knobs and switches and for this, I am probably always going to be more familiar with the parametric cad modeling approach.
>>
>> thanks!
>>
>> Danjel
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>
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