V-Ray 5 for Rhino has been announced, with the new update bringing real-time rendering into Rhino and Grasshopper.
V-Ray 5 for Rhino is available and compatible with Rhino 6-7, and offers some key new features, including V-Ray Vision, a live scene viewer that updates in real-time, allowing Rhino and Grasshopper users to build models, apply materials and set up lights and cameras with immediate feedback.
Encouraging fast, fluid design visualisation throughout a project, V-Ray Vision aims to help users work through new ideas and client feedback from start to finish, with the ability to quickly snapshot images or output animation at any time.
Another new feature is the Light Gen tool, capable of generating a variety of lighting options automatically and displayed as a series of thumbnails, making it easier to find the best look and mood for a scene.
Light Gen produces dozens of physically based lighting variations for each project using the Sun and Sky system and a wealth of included HDRI images.
The redesigned V-Ray Frame Buffer (VFB) now includes some of V-Ray 5’s most user-friendly features, making it easy to apply finishing touches to any rendering.
Using Light Mix, users are able to interactively change the colour and brightness of any light without rendering again, creating multiple lighting scenarios from a single render.
Image adjustments like exposure control, colour balance and colour corrections can also be added, replacing the need for external image editing tools.
For extra control, render layers can be combined using the Layer Compositor to create more nuanced looks, which can be saved as presets for later use.
New Features in V-Ray 5
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Expanded Grasshopper Support – V-Ray for Grasshopper is included with V-Ray for Rhino for real-time visualization, photorealistic rendering, and animation. Now, for the first time, users can visualize their Grasshopper designs in real-time with the new Live Link component for V-Ray Vision.
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High-Resolution Material Library – The popular V-Ray material library has been expanded and upgraded with V-Ray 5’s new layering controls and texture randomization features. Texture resolutions have also been increased to 4K.
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New Sun and Sky – Improves accuracy across the board, including when the sun is near the horizon, right before sunrise and after sunset. New controls have also been added to allow users to easily customize the sun position.
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Coat Layer – Gain extra reflections on surfaces without using blend materials.
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Sheen Layer – Easily simulate fabrics like velvet, satin and silk.
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Dirt and Weathering – New controls for aging materials with procedural streaks have been added to the V-Ray Dirt Material.
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Texture Randomization – Now easier to create subtle variations in textures and materials for added realism.
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Stochastic Texture Tiling – An automatic fix for repeating textures.
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Line Renderings – Give renders an illustrative look by adding linework with global contour controls and material overrides.
V-Ray 5 for Rhino costs $790, with upgrades available for $395. Term licensing is available at $350 (annually) and $60 (monthly).
V-Ray 5 for Rhino is also included in V-Ray Collection, an annual plan that gives users full access to 15 Chaos Group products and services for $699/year.
