Flamingo nXt is an easy to use photorealistic rendering solution for Rhino3d, developed by McNeel - the developers of Rhino3d (link) itself.
Flamingo nXt works from within Rhino3d, there is no need to export data and thanks to the streamlined interface it’s possible to get good results within the first few hours of use. Simply assign a preset lighting model, choose an environment, drag and drop materials from the included library and press the render button.
Realistic results are achieved by simulating the way in which real light behaves. Interior and exterior daylight simulations plus HDR image based lighting are all easily enabled via Flamingo nXt presets. Indirect illumination, refraction and complex blurry reflections can also easily be incorporated into the scene.
Flamingo nXt uses progressive path ray tracing - the rendered image refines over a number of passes. Whilst blurry reflections and complex shadows will need quite a few passes to refine, the overall scene can be viewed after one or two passes and, if judged that adjustments to (for example) lighting or materials are needed, the render can be stopped without having to wait for the detailed render to complete.
Flamingo nXt supports network rendering as standard and the processing power of two additional machines can be harnessed to speed up renders. Should more power be required, an unlimited amount of ‘render slaves’ can be added at extra cost.
Interesting features include a 3D tree library useful for architects and urban designers, alpha channel support for post processing and a number of post processing effects including lighting channels, glare, haze and glow.
Network licenses of Flamingo nXt can be shared using the Zoo – the same license manager used for network installations of Rhino3d.
There are software bundles of Rhino3d with Flamingo, this can also include Bongo the keyframe animation plugin and Penguin which simulates an artistic approach to rendering.
Flamingo nXt is competitively priced and there are no annual maintenance or support fees.
There are quite a few Rendering options for Rhino3d users, some are plug-ins some are standalone renderers. Some are faster, some are easier to use, where we can help is in explaining those many differences and helping you find the best solution for your particular focus. Contact us with questions, we’d like to hear from you.
Flamingo nXt Licences can shared / floated in the same way as Rhino3d, using the Network License Manager called The Zoo
The advice relating to Hardware and Operating System options for Rhino3d are all relevant to Flamingo:
Rhino3d and Flamingo System Requirements
There are also some sample workstations suitable for rendering with Flamingo or any of the other popular rendering plug-ins for Rhino 3d here:
Rhino3d & Rendering Workstations