Create stunning photorealistic images and videos from any CAD system, real life photo, or even a quick napkin sketch.
IMAGE RENDERS COMPLETE IN 60 SECONDS.
Chief Architect Ray Trace is Chief Architect's Physically Based rendering technique for residential and light commercial design views. It turns the working plan into a more realistic interior or exterior camera image, using the model's walls, cabinetry, furnishings, assigned materials, lighting, sun, backdrop, and camera settings. Compatible hardware enables GPU ray tracing, while the wider Chief workflow also supports refined ray-traced presentation images. It is most useful when the drawing model needs to remain the visual source of truth through design development and client review.
Chief Architect Ray Trace is strongest when the Chief plan remains the source of truth: a saved perspective camera inherits the home's geometry, cabinets, furnishings, material definitions, fixtures, sunlight, backdrop, and lighting decisions. Its Physically Based views can use ray-traced lighting, reflections, soft shadows, and emissive area-light materials, so it suits a designer who is refining an interior, exterior, kitchen, or bath directly in the plan. RENDERCAD fits a different presentation step: start with a well-composed Chief Architect camera screenshot or exported design image, then create a polished photoreal visual or explore a visual direction without rebuilding the scene for another renderer. The image is a presentation interpretation, not a replacement for the Chief plan or its specifications.
In Chief Architect, rendering is connected to the residential design model. A practical native workflow is to finish the room or exterior, choose a perspective camera, check material scale and texture properties, then tune daylight, fixtures, or emissive surfaces before refining the Physically Based view. This makes Chief Ray Trace valuable for checking how planned finishes, openings, and lighting read from the same camera used for design decisions. The result remains closely tied to the modeled geometry and the choices recorded in the project.
For a RENDERCAD workflow, use a clean, high-resolution Chief camera view with the framing, key surfaces, and major furniture already visible. It is useful for an early client presentation, an interior mood image, an exterior curb-appeal concept, a listing visual, or marketing collateral when a fast visual variation is more important than adjusting every ray-trace setting. Keep Chief Architect as the authority for dimensions, building details, selected products, and final material specifications. RENDERCAD can enhance the visual story of that view, but it should not be used to validate plan accuracy or make construction decisions.
Screenshot the CAD viewport you already have, render in the browser, and download a client-ready still or video without exports, plugins, or GPU setup.
Modeled by CADSharp in Onshape. Rendered with RENDERCAD.
Add, change, or remove referenced objects with the stroke of a brush.
RENDERCAD uses a maintained selection of image-generation models for different rendering tasks. Results can vary by model and input, so compare generated output with the source design before relying on geometry, materials, or dimensions.
| Feature | RENDERCAD | Chief Architect Ray Trace |
|---|---|---|
| Engine | Generative AI | Physically Based Ray Tracing |
| Output | Images + Video | Rendered Chief Architect camera views and presentation images |
| Resolution | HD / 4K | Controlled by Chief Architect output and view settings |
| Image Speed | Image renders complete in 60 seconds. | Interactive previews to longer final views, depending on scene and hardware |
| Video Speed | Videos complete in 2-5 minutes. | Not a video-first renderer; walkthrough export depends on scene and hardware |
| Scene Set Up | No separate local scene | Uses a Chief Architect plan with a saved camera, assigned materials, lighting, daylight or backdrop settings, and Physically Based rendering options |
| Input | Screen Snip | Chief Architect plan model, perspective camera view, or exported camera image |
| Materials | 2,600+ Textures | Chief library and custom materials with editable textures and properties; Physically Based views can use emissive surfaces and material maps |
| Backgrounds | 1300+ Backgrounds | Tool-dependent |
| Conditions | 40+ Effects | Tool-dependent |
| References | Up to 6 Per Render | Varies |
| Hardware | Cloud (None Required) | Desktop (Windows/macOS) |
| Install | None | Chief Architect desktop installation; Physically Based Ray Trace requires compatible hardware |
| Cost | from $9/mo | Included with paid Chief Architect software |
Compare the workflows side by side and choose the one that fits the next task.
Skip a separate local scene build. Pick a condition, material, and background while RENDERCAD handles the image-generation step. Image renders complete in 60 seconds.
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RENDERCAD™
Use the browser workflow directly, capture a selected view with the desktop app, or start from the browser extension.
Get StartedCommon questions about RENDERCAD and this workflow
RENDERCAD avoids much of the scene, shader, and local-renderer setup used by traditional rendering tools. Users still need to prepare a useful source image, choose suitable options, describe the intended result, and review generated details.
RENDERCAD starts at $9/month with credits that refresh monthly - predictable costs with no upfront investment or perpetual license fees.
RENDERCAD is designed to create more polished, realistic-looking presentation images from a source view. Results vary by input and settings, and generated images should be checked against the original model before they are used to communicate exact design details.
RENDERCAD can generate a visual interpretation of a described or referenced material without requiring shader parameters. It does not guarantee physically measured or specification-accurate material behavior, so validate critical color, grain, reflectivity, and finish details against approved references.
Describe the wood species and finish you want, and provide a reference image when scale or grain direction matters. RENDERCAD can generate a wood-like visual treatment, but it does not replace model-level texture mapping or guarantee an exact, repeatable grain pattern.
With RENDERCAD, upload or snip a clear image, describe carbon fiber, and add a material reference when exact visual direction matters. Image renders complete in 60 seconds.
Yes. Request a golden-hour look and describe the mood or direction you want. The generated warmth, shadows, and light direction can vary between results, so compare important design details with the source image.
Describe an environment such as a sunny forest or urban street and use a reference image when needed. Image renders complete in 60 seconds without building a local scene file or environment map.
RENDERCAD's Create Video workflow generates a video from a single image and provides Camera and Product Motion controls. Videos complete in 2-5 minutes.
RENDERCAD can generate orbit-style motion from a single image using a Camera option. Because the motion is inferred rather than rendered from a complete 3D model, review geometry and hidden-side details before publishing the result.
Usually. Generation runs in the cloud, so it does not occupy a local renderer. Keep the relevant browser workflow available as required, and expect normal network and browser resource use while the job is submitted and results are loaded.
RENDERCAD processes generation in the cloud, so it does not require a dedicated local rendering GPU. You still need a supported browser and internet connection, and normal browser, upload, and download activity can use local device resources.
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