Cadalog, Inc
Adam Jones - Treehouse collective
Adam Jones - Treehouse collective
Daniel Westerlund
Davor Petranovic
HDRI skies and image based lighting in SU Podium
The next Podium release will add support for HDRI skies and backgrounds for image based lighting.
Users will be able to choose from a selection of pre-installed HDRI skies, or upload and use any externally sourced HDRI background. HDR skies and backgrounds are photographed in a way that faithfully captures real-world lighting, and allow the user to simulate a vast range of naturally occuring light scenarios.
In addition to the pre-installed skies, we will provide a downloadable library of HDRI images for licensed users. And of course, you can use your own or use images you have purchased or downloaded from third party providers.
HDRI lighting provides a versatile alternative to the two Podium sky simulations and a quick, easy method for look development in your renders.
Tip — HDRI Haven is one of the best providers of free HDRI imagery out there for CG artists and visualizers.
Stay tuned for more information on the update!
Adaptive linear HDR tonemap in Podium Image Editor
Also coming in the next update - Podium Image Editor will have a new one-click HDR tonemapping option called "Adaptive linear." This is a histogram normalization function designed to fix exposure problems without losing your highlights and shadows.
By rendering to HDR and selecting the adaptive tone map, a vastly underexposed render can easily be pulled into an acceptible luminance range while enhancing areas of local contrast.
This provides a much better base for further post-processing and prevents the need to re-render an image that probably would not have been salvageable without the added robustness of the HDR format.
ProWalker discount for Podium Users is ending July 31
This is a final notice that SU Podium users can still purchase ProWalker GPU with a 50% off upgrade price until July 31, 2018.
That's only a few days, so if you plan on testing the 30 day trial to see if you'd like to add ProWalker to your visualization toolkit, now is the time to do it!
ProWalker and SU Podium share a common lighting and materials workflow, and both fully support the Podium Browser content library.
Reminder - ProWalker V1.1.5 was released last month
This was a significant update with several improvements to ProWalker's animation tools and workflow. Additionally, this version fixes the LEM Power mismatch between SU Podium and ProWalker GPU, and adds an "LEM Strength" slider to the lighting interface for making real-time adjustments to light emitting material brightness. Find a full overview of new features below:
ProWalker can now read date/time information from your SketchUp scenes, allowing for smooth shadow/timelapse animaton! Watch a tutorial here.
The following tools and features have been added in the V1.1.5 update:
- Fade and crossfade transitions - Transition smoothly between scenes and motion paths, without the need for an external video editor.
- Animate shadows - ProWalker can now read date/time from your SketchUp scenes, allowing smooth shadow animation to show the passage of time.
- More intuitive control over camera speed - You can now set an exact duration for a motion path instead of using inches/second to set camera speed.
- Keyframe easing - Camera motion can ease-in and ease-out at the beginning and end of a motion path, for smoother camera movements.
- Improved LEM support - Light emitting material brightness now matches SU Podium more closely, and an LEM strength slider has been added.
- Designate render mode, speed, and quality for each keyframe - When rendering animations with multiple motion paths, you can now set the render mode on a per-bath basis. This means you can switch between render modes for different scenes of your video, adjust the sample count/quality for each shot, and speed up/slow down the camera for each path.
Download ProWalker GPU v1.1.5
ProWalker GPU download pageRecent Podium Browser Uploads
Throughout July we added over a hundred new models to browser — Fifteen kitchen and bedroom assemblies, assorted light fixtures, shelves, end tables, about 10 vehicles, and a large set of Japanese beds and bedroom furniture.
Kid's bedroom assembly and furniture set
This example uses one of the Podium Browser children's bedroom assemblies, which we have placed in a bedroom and then finished off with additioinal Podium Browser components. Every item you see in this scene is from the Browser!
Japanese children's room, rendered with ProWalker GPU in PR Mode with 5000 samples.
Fifteen new kitchen assemblies:
Five new 2018 model vehicles
Japanese single and double beds
Assorted light fixtures
Side tables, desks, and shelves
Rugs
We're adding new content to Podium Browser every month!
Podium Browser is still only $59.00 and includes thousands of high quality, render ready components, with additional models, materials, and light fixtures being added every week. Read more about the speed and efficiency of Podium Browser here.
To see the full range of new Browser content, open the Podium Browser web page. Click on Agree, then click on Show only recent files.
Ongoing Webstore Deals
Upgrade now for a 10x speed increase during the "Processing scenes" render pass, Podium Panoramas, improved Podium Image Editor, analyse tool and material improvements.
Upgrade to V2.5 here
Podium Browser Paid content is still $59.00 for a permanent license. You will be able to access new content that is added each month as a Paid content owner.
Get Podium Browser here
The Win/Mac version of the Viso3D SketchUp export plug-in will convert your SketchUp 8, 2013 and 2014 model into a small file that can be read by the iPad 7. The Lightmap in the plug-in will also preserve the sun and shadows settings and create an ambient light for interior scenes.
Read here and download the free trial.
2nd License Specials for SU Podium V2 continues: The 25% discount on your second purchase special is still in place as it has proven to be popular. If you already own one license of SU Podium, get the second license of each for 25% off the list price. Buy here
