Keyshot preview quality vs render quality

[Artbot]

Greetings,

I am still rather new coming to Keyshot and need to check on something that is important for me to understand. If I am working in Keyshot in the preview window and I want that window to be the highest quality, will the preview window keep rendering on and on as long as I don't touch or move anything? And just how long will Keyshot keep going on a particular image (in preview) before it stops? I am taking some screenshot to compare, but it would be more definitive to be told. When I'm working I'd rather let the preview start up and then I'd like to switch to a different program in another screen (Mac) and just come back and have fine detailed results.
If this possible? I am working in Keyshot with the ZBrush bridge and am still experimenting to get the best previews possible along with a better understanding of what I'm looking at inside the preview window. Rendering, I'm getting a good handle on, it's just understanding whether preview gets progressively better.

Thank you.

[guest84672]

The preview will always render until you pause it, or change the camera view or something else, and the rendering restarts.

You can always hit the render button and choose max time, max samples, or advanced settings to render out an image.

I hope this helps.

[Artbot]

... so if I keep it at preview, are you saying that if I walk away for 15 minutes, 3 hours or 24 hours, Keyshot will keep chugging away and there will be significant improvement? Or do I also need to preset certain things in the basic settings like -- Ray Bounces, Shadow Quality and Global Illumination? I just want to be as clear as I can that say, after working all day (for example) I can leave at night and find a better render in the morning. Or am I better off setting everything like say, Tim Feher would suggest, and hitting a render which runs until it reached 100%?

I am looking to understand just how good the on screen render can be, so everything you reveal will be a great aid to my understanding.

Thank you. 

[guest84672]

KeyShot will continue to render in realtime based on the settings in the "settings" tab. At some point there won't be any visible improvements to the image. Depending on settings, materials, geometry, size of the object in the scene and size of this image this point will be reached sooner or later.

[Artbot]

In that case can you provide a few high numbers where my results would be wonderful--really great--and then beyond that it's just overkill.
I will write these values down and use them going forward as my best settings. I love when the renders are the best Keyshot can achieve but I need some guidelines to adhere to.
Best case scenarios are what I need. I appreciate defining these. Thank you,

[guest84672]

It always depends on your materials and lighting you are using. Glass and other transparent / translucent materials require more ray bounces than other materials. You can set these parameters in realtime to make sure you only set them as high as you need them to avoid unnecessary render times.

[Artbot]

>>"It always depends on your materials and lighting you are using. Glass and other transparent / translucent materials require more ray bounces than other materials. You can set these parameters in realtime to make sure you only set them as high as you need them to avoid unnecessary render times."

Yes, while I understand what you're saying, if you who now have years of Keyshot expertise can provide me with some numbers as to what would constitute the very best renders, I would appreciate it. If some of the numbers overshoot because I'm using too much render power, or you are thinking I will err by putting numbers in too high for metals--that will be alright with me. I promise not to hold you accountable. Even if I spend 15 minutes more that I need to on a render, that's all right (I'm doing this at home and can render overnight as well). Not that I want to dumb down the process, I don't -- but my particular goal is to achieve the best look Keyshot can provide and I myself am not able to quantify the nuances of what many have already calibrated as the best looking results. That's really what I'm after -- the best looking results that I can get out of Keyshot.

Hopefully my quest is clearer now. And hopefully there is someone in the community who can provide me with numbers that will get me there.
Thanks again.

[TpwUK]

Hi ArtBot, you are asking for an answer to an almost impossible question. There are no numbers to offer you as each scene you will render will be different in materials, lighting, camera angles etc. The only way you will be able to get a definitive answer to your question is to keep rendering the same scene for the rest of your time on this mortal plane.

Martin

[Artbot]

Funny--keep rendering the same scene for the rest of your time on this mortal plan is exactly what I want to avoid.

But I figure, since these great tools are here (with number parameters) and since the topic theme here above is Render Settings, there might be a few fine experimenters present on this forum who are willing to share their most productive (and beautiful) settings.

Being new to Keyshot I am trying to render in Keyshot -- while continuing to work in ZBrush--and when I switch back to Keyshot find a preview render that has been cooking up a beautiful render in the background. I'm almost there -- that's my goal. Any render setting suggestions-a set for metals and a set for glass perhaps would really help my progress a lot. Again, if by overshooting some numbers, it takes longer than it should, that's okay too.

[richardfunnell]

Hi Artbot,

If you'd be willing to share a scene with me, I can recommend some render settings. Like the others have mentioned the settings can differ from scene to scene, but there are definitely good starting points depending on what you're working with.

Also, the Render Options portion of the manual (Help > Manual...) gives some a thorough overview of what the settings mean. It's very important to understand what the settings actually mean instead of focusing on specific numbers. Two very similar scenes can appear very different based on their specific properties.
For example, two glass spheres side by side will be reliant on ray bounces, where as the same scene with translucent spheres will be much more reliant on your sample settings.

You can send a file privately using https://keyshot.wetransfer.com/

[Artbot]

Thanks Richard. I will put something together and send it to you soon. Appreciated.

[Artbot]

Hi Richard,
I am halfway through your very recent YouTube Webinar on Transparent Materials (June 4, 2015) and I am beginning to see how specific materials and the related settings can vary based upon a variety of setups and conditions. I may have been too flippant wanting a just a few buttons to magically transform my objects into perfectly rendered wonders. I see also that I do have a lot to learn and that I have work and study ahead of me. So thank you for posting this.

[richardfunnell]

Hi Artbot,

More than happy to help, and please feel free to reach out if you have any specific questions!