Hey guys,
So I have a very basic computer with a GPU that is not supported by Indigo Render. Thus my renders take a very long time. In fact, on just 800x600 resolution, renders go on for 24+ hours without end. I eventually just stop the render after that long. But this seems inordinately long for a low-res render as this. I was wondering if there was an easy way to speed up rendering time, say by reducing samples or something. I have noticed that after about an hour or two, the render usually looks good enough, and most of the graininess has gone. 

Let me know please, thanks!

Davide

from the Indigo FAQ






-------------------------------------------------------------------
liebe Grüße vidi

meet us here

Thank you for the speedy reply. Since I will be using iClone for animation, I am wondering how this will work for animation? How do I tell iClone not to continue on ad infinitum, so that it can move on to the next frame?

In iClone can you set this in the Indigo render setting menu


-------------------------------------------------------------------
liebe Grüße vidi

meet us here

See picture...
You have to select a "range" of frames to render.  (You shouldn't have to, but you do.)  You can pick the start and end frames to be the same (such as "1").
Then you have two options:

• Render a certain amount of TIME, in SECONDS
• Render a certain amount of SAMPLES

If you watch your scene render once in Indigo and pay attention to the statistics at the bottom of the screen.  You will start to get a feel for what works well for you.  I prefer "Samples" but that's just me.  While watching your render, the "automatic updates" get farther between, but you can click the "Update Image" at the top of the window any time to see what it really looks like.
One other thing I promote is to increase the "SuperSampling Factor" from the default value of 2 to 6 or more (I like 8).  It *can* help you get better results more quickly.
Lastly, post a picture.  We'd love to see what you're doing.  :)

---

iClone 7... Character Creator... Substance Designer/Painter... Blender... Audacity...
Desktop (homebuilt) - Windows 10, Ryzen 9 3900x CPU, GTX 1080 GPU (8GB), 32GB RAM, Asus X570 Pro motherboard, 2TB SSD, terabytes of disk space, dual  monitors.
Laptop - Windows 10, MSI GS63VR STEALTH-252, 16GB RAM, GTX 1060 (6GB), 256GB SSD and 1TB HDD

Thank you, that is truly very helpful. I am learning something new by the minute on these forums.

I am reading through the manual now, and noticed also that a higher supersampling value can help produce a less grainy image quicker. I'll have to experiment once I upgrade my card. 

Thanks again,

Davide

Ok, I think I found a way of lighting that renders very fast. Here is a test render I did on basic primitives. This image rendered in just 1 minute on a GT 640 (a $30 card).
This image uses no iClone lights at all. Only two planes as an emmisive surface (set in Indigo settings). I set Indigo to "Background Color" (This is important....since "Sun & Sky" and "iClone Lights" seem to produce very hard shadows, and increase render time).
Adding an iClone light to the scene seems to more than double render time.
Adding a dome or room likewise more than doubles render time.
The material I used is a simple marble material loaded from the Indigo material editor.




The only downside, is this is what you see in your viewport;

Very nice, ThriceGift.
One minute?  Very impressive.

Fully enclosed rooms increase Indigo render times.  A 3-sided room allows light rays to exit, and no longer be used in the calculation.  Light rays that stay in the room keep reflecting and scattering nearly forever.  (That's all in layman's terms, not exactly technically accurate.)
I also found that glass or gems or anything that allows light to pass through it, especially if real refraction is involved, also increases the amount of rendering time.

There are a whole lot of options in Indigo that aren't yet exposed to iClone's Indigo plug-in, such as various rendering algorithms and material options.  An Indigo expert would learn when to use what features.  That is not me; not by a long shot.

---

iClone 7... Character Creator... Substance Designer/Painter... Blender... Audacity...
Desktop (homebuilt) - Windows 10, Ryzen 9 3900x CPU, GTX 1080 GPU (8GB), 32GB RAM, Asus X570 Pro motherboard, 2TB SSD, terabytes of disk space, dual  monitors.
Laptop - Windows 10, MSI GS63VR STEALTH-252, 16GB RAM, GTX 1060 (6GB), 256GB SSD and 1TB HDD

I noticed that as well. Rather than using the iClone window, I have to go into the Indigo Render if I want to change certain settings, such as the material displacement, bump, etc. I am hoping that in time the developers of the plugin will incorporate more of these settings natively in iClone.