Most of the 3D design programs are running on both Windows and Mac, but there are some exceptions. For example, neither 3Ds Max or the famous 3D modeling software SolidWorks is available for Mac users. So, what is the best 3D modeling software to use with a Mac? Here are all of the best 3D modeling software for Mac you can use! Architectural Rendering Software This software is commonly used by architects for visualizing the workflow. They will be able to fit this into the existing workflow and it will allow users to quickly turn the 3D CAD designs into images, videos, and online 360 degree presentations. You will be able to add other features to the videos. MeshLab, a mesh processing system, for user assisted editing, cleaning, filtering and rendering of large unstructured 3D triangular meshes (typical 3D scanning meshes). The system relies for mesh processing tasks on the gpl VCG library (vcg.sf.net). Cheetah3D is a powerful and easy to learn 3D modeling, rendering and animation software which was developed from the ground up for Mac. So jump right into the world of computer generated imaging, create 3D artwork for your next iPhone game or make your first animated character.

1. Rendering Software For Mac
2. Best Render Software For Sketchup Mac
3. Best 3d Render Software For Mac
4. Best Render Software For Mac

These days, there’s plenty to like about the little 3D modeling program that could. SketchUp has transformed in the past decade - from bastard brain-child of a couple hippie University of Colorado ‘graduates’ to full-fledged visualization powerhouse. The journey was not an easy one, it its rise to competent modeling program has been aided by its compatibility with some of the most powerful plugins and pieces of rendering software the market offers.

SketchUp is here to stay, and might be just what you need to get your feet wet in the 3D modeling, rendering, and visualization industry. Master these plugins, and be on your way to producing images and animations the Rhino bullies on your block only dream of.

And no matter where you stand in your skill level as a computer-savvy rendering artist, SketchUp has something to offer. It’s fast, nimble, and...er...sketchy. It’s as easy a way to put ideas on paper as it is a tool to design and produce. The user-friendly nature of its parts and pieces lend themselves to be easily approached by beginners, and fun to master for professionals. Get to know SketchUp, so when you open up this war chest of auxiliary plugins, you’ll be ready to make full use of their potential.

Here are the best plugins for Google Sketchup.

1 | VRAY

Everyone who’s set foot inside a design studio knows what VRAY is. What many of us design nerds don’t know, however, is that VRAY is fully compatible with SketchUp via an equally as user-friendly plugin. If you’re looking to get photo-realistic renderings out of SketchUp, VRAY is probably where you’ll want to look first. It comes complete with a material editor (thank God because SketchUp’s is AWFUL), and all the other useful tools you’ll need to produce pro quality images and animations.

Better yet? You can get VRAY up and running in SketchUp for no charge to yourself (unless you consider signing up for an email newsletter a ‘charge’ - which you might). VRAY serves up a base set of tools and materials to you for free, with the option to put a bit of skin in the game for their full bevy of options and setting. It’s not a bad deal, and should give you enough to see if your SketchUp chops translate to the world of 3D visualization as well.

2 | JointPushPull

Hi there SketchUp user. Ever get tired of that regular old push/pull tool and its rather stunted ability to...push and pull? Well, you’re in luck! JointPushPull is a modeling plugin that features 6 specific tools for turning your model into a digital gumby. The tools are joint, round, vector, normal, extrude, and follow. I won’t deep dive into what each tool does from a technical standpoint, but rest assured: mastering this plugin will shave hours off modeling time. Hours you can spend learning VRAY for SketchUp because if you didn’t hear me before IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

3 | CurviLoft

So, you thought SketchUp was a child’s tool used for making rectilinear garbage cubes? WRONG! With CurviLoft, you’ll have all the power you need to start building curvilinear models that you thought were reserved for programs like Maya and Rhino. Curviloft consists of 3 tools: loft by spline, loft along path, and skinning. In practice, the tool works similarly to the ‘follow me’ tool, only rather than a simple extrusion along a path, CurviLoft is able to connect two different shapes along a path. That’s right. This is next level.

Tools like CurviLoft should really be packaged in with the base software. But since Google is too busy trying to map the entire world (universe?) in images and 3D models, I guess a simple download will have to suffice.

4 | Podium

Podium is another rendering plugin a la VRAY, with a reputation that’s slowly building towards James Bond proportions. I’m not really sure what I mean by that, but trust me, it’s good. Podium offers a vast material library off the bat, and like VRAY, offers a free trial that gets you started without ponying up any cash. Do this. Every renderer has a specific taste and tolerance for their software, so taking the Porsche out for a test ride before forking over a second mortgage is probably your best course of action. Take it from me: Podium is great. It’s an incredibly powerful alternative to VRAY, and fits into SketchUp like a tailored Italian glove.

5 | Purge All

Keeping your model clean and organized in SketchUp can be an arduous and infuriating task. It’s also a completely necessary one, as your layers and model components can spread like the plague if your model gets large enough. Purge All is a simple, yet essential plugin that pretty much does exactly what you think. It purges all. This plugin is more robust and precise than SketchUp’s default purging tools, and even gives you a full report of what got tossed in case that component of your silhouetted ex-girlfriend waving goodbye to you was something you were saving for a rainy day. Purge. Purge often. Good talk.

6 | Twilight Render

I’ll be honest. Twilight Render isn’t quite there yet. It’s a free rendering plugin that will give you decent image output and a respectable library of materials But be clear, VRAY this is not. I’ve included it because software like TR are incredibly important to the growth of the visualization industry. It’s a capable bit of software that works well with Sketchup and allows people to - for free - become completely familiar with a rendering tool. In fact, it’s a lot like SketchUp itself in that way.

If you’re a professional rendering artists working for Shumaker Shumaker and Chu in Brooklyn, this isn’t the program for you. But if you’re Joe Everyman looking to breakthrough in a fun and rewarding industry, Twilight Render is your huckleberry.

7 | Mirror

It seems silly that a modeling tool as ubiquitous and commonly used as ‘mirror’ has to be added onto a base modeling software, but such is the case. Mirror was created by Frank Wiesner then perfected by TIG in version 3.1, and is probably the first piece of software you should Frankenstein onto SketchUp once you boot it up. It’s simple: select object to be mirrored, select surface or line for which to be mirrored, mirror. I get it, SketchUp, you’re trying to be lean and mean, but could we splurge for a proper mirror tool? All praise Frank Wiesner.

8 | Brighter3D

I love Brighter3D. It’s quickly becoming one of my favorite rendering engines for use with SketchUp. It advertises an easy-to-use interface with a simplified toolset but plenty of rendering power under the hood. Brighter delivers, offering seamless SketchUp integration and a snappy preview tool that give you an accurate sample image in a matter of seconds. It uses unbiased rendering technology to produce lightning fast results. The future is brighter, indeed. Sorry. I’ll leave.

Rendering Software For Mac

For photorealistic rendering of 3D images and videos, 3D rendering software is a must have. Most 3D modeling and animation tools have their own internal renderer. At times the capacity for internal renderers to produce high-quality, photorealistic images and video is limited. In such cases, an external renderer can be used; one that will improve the quality of the render. Here are some of the top 3D rendering tools for the creation of amazing projects.

Lumion 3D

Capture your audience’s attention by making great presentations using Lumion 3D. You can create flythrough videos and fantastic images using this tool. Lumion is used by 61 of the top global architectural firms. It has a simple workflow, allowing users to get started within a short period. The render engine is one of the fastest in its caliber.

AutoDesk 3D

This is a design, visualization and rendering tool that is used in the design of motor vehicles, building, and a host of other products. The render tool can be used to bring videos, still images and even abstract designs to life. The real-time render engine allows you to view your project as you proceed, allowing for faster realization of ideas.

KeyShot

For an awesome, accurate and fast realization of your 3D creations, KeyShot is the perfect render engine to use. It has a real-time render workflow that allows you to see your animations and images become real as you create them. The time required to complete projects is reduced by the inbuilt environments and materials, which you can assign with a click of your mouse.

Indigo renderer

This is an unbiased, physically based 3D rendering tool that uses physical calculations of light to give you the best photorealistic renders ever. The tool comes with plugins that can be used by several 3D modeling software, across many platforms. The application of this render engine has produced some of the most breathtaking videos and images ever seen.

3DS Max

3D design, modeling and animation software, used for a wide range of creative projects. Whether you are creating a cartoon or a realistic scene for a commercial, this software gives you the tools to accomplish this with ease. It is also used for the creation of architectural designs and flythroughs.

Blender 3D

This is an open source, free tool that is used for fantastic 3D creations. You can create cartoons and photorealistic images and videos using this tool. It comes with two inbuilt render engines, namely Blender internal and Cycles. The tool also works with several external render engines such as Yafray and LuxRender.

Maxwell Render

Create plains, trees and grass that looks like it was shot with a high-definition camera, using the internal libraries of this versatile 3D rendering software. The render engine works well with other 3D design tools such as Sketchup and Modo. Create fantasy images and breathe life into them with this versatile tool.

Sketchup

Create 3D models and renders by simply drawing. With Sketchup, you only need to draw lines and shapes, and then stretch and pull the surfaces to turn them into 3D designs. You can make anything that your mind can imagine. This is a 3D rendering tool that has been dubbed as one of the easiest to use in the industry.

Shaderlight

A 3D rendering tool for Sketchup that uses cloud computing in its workflow. You now have access to unlimited computing power to bring the most resource-intensive creations to life, within a short period. The render engine allows you to buy a full license, or one that you can use as you go, starting from as little as $50.

Other 3D rendering Software for different platforms

Best Render Software For Sketchup Mac

Oddly, most of the 3D render tools are designed for Windows and Mac. However, due to the high demand for mobile solutions, there has been an increase in the development of 3D tools for other platforms including iOS, Android, Ubuntu amongst others. Here is a list of these 3D tools.

Wings 3D

This is a free 3D rendering tool for Windows with advanced sub-division modeling for the creations of lifelike images and videos. It comes with a built-in AutoUV mapping tool for easy assignment of the most complex textures. It exports to the most common 3D formats. NOTE: you cannot animate the models in this tool.

Clara.io

Clara.io is a free 3D rendering software that can be used on an Android system. The tool runs on a web browser and unleashes some powerful tools to help you realize your 3D creations. The material library is vast and allows for photo-realistic texture application. The tool is quite fast and great for the creation of quick visualizations and animations.

Autodesk 123D

Best 3d Render Software For Mac

This is a free 3D rendering software for Mac OSX, among other operating systems. The various tools allow you to design, create and render 3D models with power and speed. The program supports 3D printing and you can bring your creations out of your computer and into your real world environment. There are thousands of free models that you can use for your projects.

Houdini Apprentice

The free version of the professional Houdini FX, used on Linux. It is great for hobbyists, Students and Artists to create their designs, before moving on to the commercial version. You get watermarks on your renderings and there is a limited render size. Otherwise comes with a lot of powerful features built-in for your creative projects.

LuxRender – The best 3D rendering software for 2016

This is an unbiased, physically based 3D rendering engine. It comes with advanced, state-of-the-art algorithms that calculate light flow based on physical equations. These calculations allow for the most photorealistic renders that you have ever seen. It will be hard to believe that the image or video that you are watching was not created using a real-life camera.

What is 3D rendering Software?

These are tools that are used to bring 3D models to life. Whether you are creating cartoons or realistic scenes, you can achieve all these using these versatile tools. They read the texture characteristics, and the lighting to create the images and videos that you want. Some 3D rendering tools are free while others are commercial; some come inbuilt into the modeling software, while others are external. The choice of your 3d rendering tools should be dictated by the project that you have. Some scenes are simple and do not use a lot of system resources, making it ideal to use the inbuilt render engines. Other complex scenes may require the use of external, cloud-based, 3D rendering engines.

How to install 3D rendering software

Some of the 3D render engines come pre-built into the modeling and animation software. By simply clicking the installer, you not only install the modeling tool but the render engine too. However, in the case of external render engines, you may have to install plugins, which will allow them to work within your modeling tool. If you want to export to a format that can be used by the render engine, then you can do so, directly from the modeling tool, or look for export plugins. In some cases, you may have to go through a complex installation process where you change file paths in your system tools, but these cases are few.
Basically, 3D rendering tools are ideal for people who want to impress their audience through imagery. Just like the musician uses instruments to enthrall their listeners, 3D modeling artists depend on the render tools to bring their creations to life. What good would a 3D modeling and animation tool be, if it could not render the designs into captivating images and videos? The tools have several features and you should go through each carefully before deciding on which render engine to use.

Best Render Software For Mac