What is Rendering? Why do I need it?

According to Wikipedia, rendering or image synthesis is the process of generating a photorealistic or non-photorealistic image from a 2D or 3D model by means of a computer program. The computational process of calculating effects, synthesizing and transforming the original design and graphics file into a rich displayable image that we can appreciate - is called Rendering. The resulting image is referred to as a render.

A scene file containing objects in a strictly defined language or data structure contains geometry, viewpoint, texture, lighting, and shading information describing the virtual scene. The data contained in the scene file is then passed to a rendering program to be processed and output to a digital image or raster graphics image file.

You can render an image (still, single frame) or a video (animation). You can also render asynchronously via a render queue (like a batch job), or you can render in real-time (also referred to as ‘streaming).

Rendering complex scenes/projects requires a significant amount of computing resources, specifically the GPU (graphics processing unit). The faster the GPU the faster it completes the render of your scene. Not surprisingly, the faster the GPU the more expensive it is. Boost for Daz offers a range of GPU speeds and rates accessible in the cloud in a pay-for-what-you-use model, so artists can now quickly and affordably stretch their creative muscles and create projects without local GPU limitations.

If you create a 2D/3D project, you will need to render it to see it in its final form - and for you to appreciate your creative masterpiece.