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Owlet renderer

eworc
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eworc polycounter lvl 4

In case anyone is in  need of a unbiased renderer.  You can get owlet and some other software in a package for $16.48.  5 days left.  Owlet is $499 on their site, so I would say this is a no brainer.  Testing it since yesterday and it is pretty good.  The software package on stacksocial is for mac but the license will work on windows as well.  Not certain about any of the software other than owlet in that scope.  This is the first I have even seen Owlet, so maybe it's new to others as well.  For those that really like it, maybe buying two licenses is a good option in case you want to not register it until another year and perhaps that would give you another year of updates versus paying $249.  That's just speculation on my part but for $17, it may be a wise bet.

https://stacksocial.com/sales/q2-2016-pwyw-mac-bundle

http://boxshot.com/owlet/

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  • Daf57
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    Daf57 greentooth
    Hi - thanks for the heads up on this. Seems like a great bargain for sure!

    One note tho - not sure that buying 2 will work as you suggest. I saw this under the licensing section:

    License deadline: redeem within 30 days of purchase

    Thanks again!
    Daf

  • eworc
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    eworc polycounter lvl 4

    Daf,

    Yup, you are right about the redeem.  Not a big deal when you look at the current feature set as is.  Pretty much complete.  I know it has caustics but I haven't checked out to see if it has dispersion or other advanced render ability.  It does have a bump channel in the texture option but not something like displacement, sub-poly or otherwise that I can see.  All in all, it's a nice renderer and well worth the money.  Is it worth the full price, not for me, since it's a hobby for me but at this price point, it's an obvious purchase.  Quick test with some camera DOF.

     

  • eworc
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    eworc polycounter lvl 4
    2 days left...not many chances to get a $499 unbiased PBR Renderer for this price.
  • myclay
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    myclay polycounter lvl 11
    What are the advantages of owlet over those unbiased rendering solutions cycles(free)/octane(~$559)/Furryball(~€359)?


  • eworc
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    eworc polycounter lvl 4
    Advantages?

    OctaneRender (Doesn't run on a mac since it requires Cuda) and especially Furryball (which doesn't run native on OSX) have some steep hardware requirements $ and cost as you state where Owlet doesn't have those requirements and for two more days, a license can be purchased for <$17 and you get 12 other software applications with it.  Sure, Owlet doesn't have all of the features or speed of those other two but it has more than enough features to be used as a good unbiased render solution.

    Cycles...you are forced to use Blender, which in itself is a disadvantage in my opinion, so it's not a stand alone solution that can be used by any DCC application.

    I'm not trying to suggest Owlet is the best thing since sliced bread but it's pretty good and feature rich, right now for a version 1.2.

    I  guess I was just surprised at a lack of reaction for software this polished at this temporary price point.  Admittedly, I don't know about the core capabilities of Owlet, how close it is to Maxwell, for example but my tests show it to be a capable solution that is fairly quick to get good results.


  • eworc
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    eworc polycounter lvl 4
    Owlet render 2min without DOF, with DOF and Maxwell render, same time, 2min.  On a crappy i5-1.9GHZ work laptop.  Owlet looks pretty good to me and subjectively better.  Lighting is not the same but it's close enough for an evaluation of the renders in a basic scene with nothing done to them.  Not certain why the Maxwell .PNG file is so much larger.



  • myclay
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    myclay polycounter lvl 11
    thanks for your opinion.

    totally convincing that owlet is a glorious renderer for mac users.

    The images which are hosted on the owlet website http://boxshot.com/owlet/gallery/
    which I presume are there to advertise its features and superior quality over the vast competition makes me
    vary to even spend those $17 while its being sold in a bundle with a couple other apps.

  • eworc
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    eworc polycounter lvl 4
    It's apparent that they developed Owlet as a render option for their main software package, Boxshot 4.  That software is specifically for those working with packaging for advertising.  Hence the type of renders they showed in the gallery.

    I posted renders more relevant to this forum using Owlet, so I don't know why the need for all the sarcasm.  I simply was letting others know of a viable unbiased render solution, that a license could be purchased for a small amount during a temporary window.


  • myclay
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    myclay polycounter lvl 11
    Since their product line and presentation isn´t at all pleasing in my eyes
    -even for that little amount of money, it would have been wise to simply
    ignore the offer and to keep the mouth shut, I clearly failed to do so and
    hope that you are happy with the purchase and of course wish you the
    best in producing great stuff with it. :smiley:
  • Jonas Ronnegard
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    Jonas Ronnegard polycount sponsor
    Well it could for all we know be a great software, but they are in desperate need of some better sample shots.
  • eworc
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    eworc polycounter lvl 4
    Jonas,

    I wouldn't disagree with you on that point.

    MYCLAY, hopefully no hard feelings on this.  Didn't mean to squelch your valid opinions, I just didn't think I was being an evangelist for Owlet on a render agnostic forum.  If I was on the Marmoset board, then I would rightly have to spend more time justifying the merits of said application.  I use Marmoset and Maxwell LE mostly for my hobby and will see if this may work for some in between scenarios.  I like the fact that different render solutions have a distinct look to them, though they are supposed to be doing the same thing within their type, so to speak.
  • Shrike
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    Shrike interpolator
    Edit: Read incorrectly - The sample images and materials all look very unrealistic and not well chosen. If that is representative of the rendering capabilities then Owlet should be avoided. The UI / UX looks nice tho.
  • Neox
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    Neox godlike master sticky
    eworc said:

    I  guess I was just surprised at a lack of reaction for software this polished at this temporary price point.  Admittedly, I don't know about the core capabilities of Owlet, how close it is to Maxwell, for example but my tests show it to be a capable solution that is fairly quick to get good results.


    Well this is a mostly game art based forum, so this means almost everyone here prefers their renderings in 60 frames per second, while some rendering can be used for presentation, many just use their native 3d software of the keyshot bridge from zbrush. There is is just little need for extra renderers, no matter the pricepoint.
    On top of that, as others have said, the preview material isn't in favor of the renderer, at all. Your renderings also do not help it either. clayrrenders like these are... so... year 2000 and i have to say the Arnold render looks better, just for the sake of having more interesting lighting and at least a hint of color.
    And 2 minutes for these results are not quick when compared to realtime rendering. Yes many things might be better, but waiting 2 minutes for one image, ugh!
  • eworc
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    eworc polycounter lvl 4
    Again, it was for anyone that wanted an unbiased render solution that didn't have one at an inexpensive temporary price point. Next time I see a deal I'll be sure to tell the community again so it can be crapped on.
  • RyanB
    eworc said:
    Again, it was for anyone that wanted an unbiased render solution that didn't have one at an inexpensive temporary price point. Next time I see a deal I'll be sure to tell the community again so it can be crapped on.
    As artists, our work gets critiqued all day, every day.  Don't expect to post ANYTHING without people critiquing it.  Learn to accept critique, that's just the way it is.
  • eworc
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    eworc polycounter lvl 4
    Dude, I didn't post any work to be critiqued.  I simply alerted the community to a specific render solution over 96% off.  DAF57 is the only one that showed some class and gave a reasonable response.  All this ball busting just means there are a few tools around this forum, that's just the way it is.  Now I know and will post accordingly.
  • Joopson
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    Joopson quad damage
    Looks like a nice renderer, probably; but like someone else said, it's hard to tell based on the shots they provide.
    They should hire some really experienced arch-viz artists who can show off what it can do.
  • RyanB
    eworc said:
    Dude, I didn't post any work to be critiqued.  I simply alerted the community to a specific render solution over 96% off.  DAF57 is the only one that showed some class and gave a reasonable response.  All this ball busting just means there are a few tools around this forum, that's just the way it is.  Now I know and will post accordingly.
    You posted three "clay" renders and wrote:
    "Owlet render 2min without DOF, with DOF and Maxwell render, same time, 2min.  On a crappy i5-1.9GHZ work laptop.  Owlet looks pretty good to me and subjectively better.  Lighting is not the same but it's close enough for an evaluation of the renders in a basic scene with nothing done to them.  Not certain why the Maxwell .PNG file is so much larger."

    Your own words are "close enough for an evaluation of the renders."


  • eworc
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    eworc polycounter lvl 4
    Joopson,
    Edited, just repeating myself.
  • eworc
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    eworc polycounter lvl 4
    FULL quote being, "Lighting is not the same but it's close enough for an evaluation of the renders in a basic scene with nothing done to them."

    RYANB,
    Edited, just repeating myself.  

    Critique of the renders in the Owlet gallery were substantive, even in the scope that their niche is "packaging" and not game art.  Critique of the render I gave in response to the lack of game art in their gallery, not so much.  I am comparing a version 1 release that costs $17 for a COMMERCIAL license to a mature version 3 of Maxwell Render that costs $99 for a Learning edition and $995 for a commercial license.  Those of you that can't put this in perspective are being silly.
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