V-Ray focuses on rendering. Rendering, also called image synthesis, involves generating a photorealistic or non-photorealistic image from a 2D or 3D model using software to analyse and configure remarkably real-looking and attractive imagery. The image created by the software is called the render. 

V-Ray is popular with a broad range of people in all sorts of sectors, all of whom use it to transform their designs into awesome photo-realistic and creative images. As you can imagine architects in particular love the tool’s outstanding capabilities, as do their clients, simply because it turns flat architectural designs into extremely real-looking, wholly convincing images.  

How does it create magic? It’s a bit like having a virtual camera inside SketchUp. V-ray uses something called ray-tracing, a clever way to build an image by tracing the paths of light from the camera through pixels in an image plane, then cleverly simulating the effects as it comes across virtual objects. Creating different effects simply means the programme traces different rays. 

Expressed another way, V-Ray is a rendering engine that harnesses illumination algorithms like path tracing, photon mapping, irradiance mapping and something called ‘directly computed global illumination’ to build real-feeling imagery and animation. It illuminates exteriors and interiors with natural light using either the Sun and Sky system or a Dome light to set up image-based lighting. The resulting scenarios are presented as thumbnails for you to easily apply to your scene, to see which you like best.  

There’s more. You can also use V-Ray to make amazing animations. It cleverly renders the animation sequence as separate frames which you join together later to make an animated clip. No wonder it’s so popular with everyone from architects and product designers to Interior designers and landscape designers, as well as artists, animators and all sorts of other creative types.