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Oh you have hit on one of my biggest pet peeves, especially on the internet. I feel like at some point there was this giant breakdown and personal opinions started being presented in the same language as facts
So "Iray is too slow for my personal peferences" or "Iray is probably too slow if you are planning on rendering animations" becomes "Iray is to slow for anyone who doesn't have a top of the line GPU to use at all"
And then someone like me pops in and goes ".... um actually I use Iray and my computer was midrange 6 years ago" and somehow that gets read by someone else as "what are you talking about everyone has to use Iray and anyone who uses 3delight must be an idiot" and then I think to myself "But I didn't say don't use 3delight I just said that it is possible to use Iray :(" but I don't post anything because I'm starting to feel socially anxious... and then someone mentions Blender and I know whats coming next so I throw up my hands and go to a corner to cry
In conclusion: the internet was a mistake. :)
This works great for the times I've used it
https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/139326/irayto3delight-conversion-script/p1
Iray graininess is an issue, especially when I'm aiming for a more painterly or illustrated look, and for the same reasons I usually avoid detailed skin textures and clothing textures with busy designs or patterns..
Depending on what postwork effects I'm using, grain, pores, and painted-on facial hair and skin details can distort and/or muddy the skin. Then I have to paint out all of that. It's quicker and easier to start with a render with no grain and diffuse color or already stylized ("painterly") textures for skin.
...that is the key. My system when I built it was designed to get the most out of 3DL rendering as possible since pretty much that's all we had back then. It is totally unsuited for Iray as it doesn't have a powerful GPU, while in CPU mode, just having one of my Iray scenes opened in Daz takes up so much of the system's memory resources that the process frequently drops to even slower swap mode. That doesn't occur with 3DL.
In short, my old system is better suited to working in 3DL for what I want to get out of that render engine. I cannot afford the latest and greatest hardware to "spec out" a system more suited to Iray being I am on an extremely tight fixed income.
Besides, since going back to 3DL, I find I am enjoying this hobby a lot more again, like I used to.
I use 3DL wherever I can't use iray, to put it simply.
If one of my G2 characters gets into a fight and I need wounds and scars, then 3DL.
I have no iray wounds for G2.
I'm sure there's a way to do it in iray, but they're bound to be time consuming, and
time is something I have less of every day.
Many older products look better in 3DL, anyway. (In my opinion.) (My escape hatch for
those who will say "Oh, yeah? Name one!)
Exactly this :) Enjoyable. That's why I've gone back also. I forgot how fun and relaxing making art could be. To me Iray just isn't relaxing at all lol. I have my 3 point light set up that works all the time and I can concentrate on clothes and poses and the details. I'd forgotten also until I tried it again not long ago. :)
I have used 3DL for years and love the simple lighting setup with AoA's Advanced Lighting. I love the sharp, vibrant colors and especially the crisp low light renders. Dramatic lighting is my passion and is a royal pain to do in Iray. Setting up sunlight is as simple as looking through the light towards your scene. If you want the distant light to match the sun in your background, just position and parent the light to the dome.
I'm still exploring Iray and am just starting to get the hang of it. However, I will definately say that lighting is a royal pain in Iray. I will spend 50% of my time fussing with the lighting, and have bought a ton of light sets/utilities (Marshian is my hero).
So far I can't say that I have a preference for either. Both have their pros and cons. I think before long I may be playing around with a composite image using both render engines.
I think this might clearly show how people think differently, making one renderer "easier" than the other. I can light well with 3Delight, but I find it to be a royal pita compared to Iray. Dramatic lighting is also much easier for me in Iray,
They both have their advantages, but it's been my experience that 3DL always takse me longer to set up and get what I want, and to render (I'm more into "realistic" 3D, or 3D that looks 3D, with realistic materials - not photorealism though). However, 3DL is much more "flexible" than Iray. It really depends on what you want, what your used to, and to some extent how you think, and to some extent what hardware you have.
This is an interesting thread, especially to see why people have changed from Iray to 3Delight, I think it highlights differences in tastes, skills, and thought processes within the community. I may do occasional renders in 3Delight going forward, but most will probably be Iray (not trying to diss 3Delight, just a personal preference). Now if someone where to make a full featured plugin for Pixar's Renderman, I'd probably jump all over that. Again, not dissing 3Delight, it's a great product, but they have diverged quite a bit from their humble similar beginnings. IMHO over the past few years Pixar has really added a lot to their Renderman, and the plugin (if it existed) would hopefully give us better access to some of the more advanced features (even those similar to features in 3Delight that are difficult or impossible to access through DS). Of course, that's just dreaming, so probably another reason to learn Blender
.
Reasons to stay with 3DL instead of advancing to iRay. You need a powerful computer, whether you use nvidia cards or the CPU, the older computers can't handle it (same goes for dForce). Ease of use, since from everything I have been watching and reading, iRay looks more complicated. There is also comfort in what one knowes, since 3DL has been around for a while and many people already know how to use it. IRay is a learning curve. Then there is my favorite line, newer is not always better, not in the long run.
I enjoy 3D art in all it's forms, and I can't enjoy it if I have to struggle financially and/or intellectually because someone decided it was time for an upgrade. I have seen some amazing art and animations done with 3D that didn't use iRay, so as far as I'm concerned, it's not necessary to accomplish my goals.
If the day ever comes that I can afford a more powerful computer, I can not say in all honesty that I would suddenly switch to iRay, chance are I won't. The only thing I concern myself with buying is the head and body morphs of the various models, along with the creature packs, as I don't believe I really need anything else. The rest I can get from sales, for free or make myself.
...
I tried Iray for a little while but it had too many disadvantages outweighing the advantages. (slow, grainy, technically obtuse) But I've gone back to 3DL exclusively and have no intention of doing any more Iray work.