Quality Setting options on the Rendering dialog allow you to specify the desired quality for the rendered image.
To present a design to clients, you typically want a high quality rendered image. However, high quality rendered images can be slow to generate. For testing purposes, you may want to generate a draft quality image quickly. Specify the Quality Setting option on the Rendering dialog.
Quality | Relative Render Speed | NVIDIA mental ray | Autodesk Raytracer |
---|---|---|---|
Draft | Fastest | Render as quickly as possible to get a general idea of the rendered image. The image contains many artifacts (small inaccuracies or imperfections in the rendered image). | Render as quickly as possible to produce a preview image. Lighting and materials are approximated and shadows lack details. |
Low | Fast | Render quickly with a better level of quality and several artifacts. | Not available. |
Medium | Medium | Render with a quality that is usually satisfactory for presentations, with few artifacts. | Render quickly to produce a preview image to get an overall impression of the model. Rough and semi-rough materials are approximated. This setting works best with exterior scenes without complex lighting or materials. |
High | Slow | Render with high quality that is satisfactory for most presentations, with very few artifacts. This render quality requires a long time to produce. | Rendering takes longer than Medium quality. Lighting and materials are more accurate, especially specular (metallic-type) materials. Soft shadows and reflections are rendered with high quality. This setting works best with Interior and exterior scenes that have simple lighting. |
Best | Slowest | Render with very high quality and a minimum of artifacts. This render quality requires the most time to produce. | Renders with high lighting and material accuracy. Soft shadows and soft reflections from semi-rough materials are rendered with a high quality level. This render quality is especially effective with complex lighting environments and requires the most time to produce. |
Custom | Varies | Use the settings specified in the Render Quality Settings dialog. Render speed depends on the custom settings. (To edit the custom render quality settings, select Edit in the Setting drop-down.) | Use the settings specified in the Render Quality Settings dialog. Render speed depends on the custom settings. (To edit the custom render quality settings, select Edit in the Setting drop-down.) |