Parts Render Quality on Rebrickable

[DrJB]

Was not sure where this question belongs so ... if Mods think of a better place, please move accordingly.

I've been looking at the pictures/renders of parts on Rebrickable and they are the best quality out there. Were these obtained from the same geometry as those for other sites/packages or were they totally redesigned? (that's a huge task).

Most likely the site owner generated those with his own render settings. Anyone knows?

[Blakbird]

Nathan Thom is the owner of rebrickable and it a member here at Eurobricks. I am quite sure those images start with the same LDraw library that everyone else uses, but they look like POV-Ray renders of the LGEO parts. If so, I assume he renders a library of them in advance and stores them rather than render them on the fly, but I'm just guessing.

Edit: Turns out the FAQ on Rebrickable already answers this question:

Your parts images look amazing, how did you make them?
They are generated by 3D rendering software, based on the models available from LDraw.org. The main tools involved are:
   LDraw dat files
   POV-Ray rendering software
   L3P conversion tool
   Python scripting
   PostgreSQL database
Additionally, the rotating 3D models of parts make use of the Brigl renderer written by Nicola Lugato.

[jantjeuh]

Are you referring to the LDraw renders that we use for older parts (and 3D views, where available), or the Element ID renders that we use for newer parts?

Edited March 27, 2015 by jantjeuh

[DrJB]

The element ID, whenever you're showing a parts list for any given MOC.

Thank You BlakBird ... good find.

[jantjeuh]

The Element ID renders we obtain directly from the LEGO image cache.

[DrJB]

Thank you Jan ... somehow those renders look better than the actual parts.

[jantjeuh]

These are the same renders used in TLG's official instructions I think. Hence the same black/DBG confusion may arise.