Introduction to Maxwell

Courtesy of Cityscape Digital (www.cityscapedigital.co.uk)

What is Maxwell Render?

Maxwell Render™ is a rendering engine based on the mathematical equations governing light transport, meaning that all elements, such as emitters, materials and cameras, are derived from physically accurate models. Maxwell Render is unbiased, so no tricks are used to calculate the lighting solution in every pixel of a scene; the result will always be a correct solution, as it would be in the real world. Maxwell Render can fully capture all light interactions between all elements in a scene, and all lighting calculations are performed using spectral information and high dynamic range data.

Due to its very nature, Maxwell Render enables users to create accurate and extremely realistic images. Maxwell Render is a recognized standard in architectural visualization, product design, jewelry, film production, scientific research and other high-end rendering markets, and the leader in render quality.

Maxwell Render is a rendering engine that accepts models and scenes created in 3D or CAD applications. Several of these applications are directly supported through a Maxwell Render plug-in; others can be used in conjunction with Maxwell Render by importing the geometry into Maxwell Studio, a component of the software.

Why Maxwell Render?

Easy to use

Maxwell’s approach to rendering is based on real-world units and settings. It is not necessary to learn strange new concepts and a long list of render parameters such as “radiosity bounces”, “photons” or “final gathering” that are based purely on computer graphics terminology, not reality. For example, the settings of the Maxwell Render camera work and adjust just like the settings of a real camera and the strength of the lights in your scene is based on real-world units. Because of this, it is straightforward to create and render scenes, and set-up times are extremely low compared to other renderers.

In addition, Maxwell Render has a truly interactive preview tool, Maxwell Fire (Fast Interactive Rendering). Maxwell Fire provides instant results while setting up a scene. You can preview your scene’s lighting and materials in seconds.

Unrivalled realism

The technology behind Maxwell Render is physically correct and unbiased, enabling users to create materials, set lights and cameras, and render scenes, all in a hyper realistic manner resulting in images that are indistinguishable from photographs. Maxwell’s physically correct creations and data can help architects, designers and VFX supervisors understand what lighting inside or outside a building would look like once realized, or what a final product would look like in production.

Good value

A Maxwell Render license not only gives you access to the most realistic renderer on the market, you also get free plug-ins to a wide range of popular 3D and CAD applications, including Maya, Cinema4D, Rhino and SketchUp, so you can use Maxwell Render while staying in the comfortable environment of the modeling software you are already familiar with.

For a complete list of available plug-ins see: Plugins

You also get access to an online library of hundreds of free and ready-to-use materials, plus other resources like textures, skies, free tutorials and community support.

A complete package

The Maxwell Render software package provides a complete solution, with a rendering engine, a fully interactive preview tool (Maxwell Fire), a material editor, an editing application, and a series of free plug-ins all in one. The application offers a range of features needed to prepare, edit and render perfect images in a comfortable and straightforward fashion, such as Multilight, Sub-surface scattering, Stacked materials and Displacement.

For a complete overview of all features available in Maxwell Render, see: Complete Feature List

Something for everyone

Maxwell Render is the best solution for users with all kinds of requirements, needs and backgrounds. For instance, Maxwell Render’s physically correct simulation helps architects and designers to envisage how natural and artificial light will affect their creations.

Automotive-, jewelry- and product designers can work with the thousands of free, ready- to-use shaders that come with the software. And Maxwell’s realistic lighting enables them to create images that look like photographs, saving the high expenses of actual studio shoots and giving a clear idea of what the final product will look like.

Artists in the VFX and film industry will find that Maxwell Render’s robust and easy to use network system provides the speed and control they need in their complex pipelines and the demanding environments they work in.

Key Fields of Application

Architecture & Interior Design

Maxwell Render is the perfect solution for the high end, photo quality visualizations that architects and designers need. The physically correct simulation helps to envisage how natural and artificial light will affect creations, and high-level integration with many major 3D and CAD applications provides a fast and straightforward workflow. Innovative features like Multilight enhance the workflow even further.

Industrial & Product Design

Used extensively in the automotive, jewelry and product design industries, Maxwell Render offers a complete package for designers. While it is possible to create unlimited numbers of physically correct materials, the software also comes with a library of thousands of free, ready-to-use shaders. Maxwell Render’s physically correct lighting enables designers to create images that look like photographs, saving high expenses of studio shoots.

Film & TV Production

Maxwell Render is a new render option for the VFX production industries, offering extremely realistic and easily variable lighting solutions for advertisements and films as already seen in several high-end productions. Maxwell Render’s robust and easy to use network system provides the speed and control needed in the complex pipelines and demanding environments of high-end film and TV production.

Maxwell Documentation