Artemis (Diana)

“The goddess Artemis (Diana) having a little fun.”

This is my first NVIDIA iRay render.

Reality/Luxrender has some serious competition now. At this point I am actually preferring NVIDIA's iRay to Reality/Luxrender as the skin seems to be less of a hassle for me and is more consistent. Also, there is a speed difference. iRay is faster, too. Reality/Luxrender are introducing new versions in the coming weeks that will be about 10 times faster than they are now. The gap will be closing. Of course, you are going to need a modern processor (from around the year 2009 onward) to take advantage of the speed increase in the new LuxRender code.

Unlike what the name NVIDIA iRay may imply, you really don't need an NVIDIA video card to use it. Unless of course you desire even more speed, then an NVIDIA GPU will come in very, very handy. When you do decide to purchase a video card to use with NVIDIA's iRay you will need a compatible NVIDIA video card, you can't use another brand with NVIDIA iRay; so, ATI is out.

NVIDIA's iRay comes bundled with DAZ Studio Pro (which is still free). You, also, get some shaders with the free DAZ Studio Pro package, but once you get going you are going to need more shaders and light sets. Here's a small list to get you started:

• Skin Shaders
  • IG Iray Essentials – Victoria 6 and Michael 6
  • skInRAY
• Hair Shaders
  • OOT IrayPair Hair Shaders for DAZ Studio Iray
• Cloth Shaders
  • DG Brocade and Satin Shaders Iray
  • Iray Fashion Leathers
  • Aged Leathers for Iray
• Paint Shaders
  • Paint! for DAZ Studio Iray
• Glass Shaders
  • Iray Shaders – Glass
  • Glassware Collection for Iray
  • Refracted – Iray Glass Presets
• Misc PBR Shaders
  • Mec4d PBS Shaders vol.1 for Iray
• Light Sets
  • Real Lights for DAZ Studio Iray
  • iRadiance – HDRI Variety Pack One
  • DAZ Studio Iray HDR Outdoor Environments
  • DAZ Studio Iray HDR Interiors
  • iRadiance – Studio HDRIs for Iray
  • iRadiance – HDR Mesh Lights for Iray