Participants:

Silvia Lacayo — Head of Marketing & Communications, Render Network Foundation
Tristan Relly — Head of Operations, Render Network Foundation
Trevor Harries-Jones — Board Member, Render Network Foundation
Sunny Osahn — Ecosystem Lead, Render Network Foundation
Bob Miles — Founder & CEO, Salad Technologies
Kyle Dodson — CTO, Salad Technologies

Silvia Lacayo Head of Marketing & Communications, Render Network Foundation

The Road to Integration refers to the recently passed RNP-023 governance proposal that brings Render Network to Salad as their onchain payments layer. Real quickly, I’m Silvia Lacayo, Head of Marketing and Communications at Render Network Foundation. We’ve got the Salad team here, the Render Network team too.

We will be talking about the integration roadmap at a high level, and why we’re excited about what we’re building together. If you have been following along, you’ve probably seen some integration announcements already.

Today, we’re gonna go a little deeper into the details, but we’re also gonna zoom out and talk about the broader compute landscape — from AI demand, GPU shortages, why distributed compute networks are having a bit of a moment now, and more.

Feel free to drop your questions in the comments. Sunny and I will be checking those periodically. Sunny, do you want to say hi for anyone who just joined?

Sunny Osahn Ecosystem Lead, Render Network Foundation

Everybody, how is it going? I am Sunny from the Render Network Foundation. Some of you may be familiar with my voice from other spaces that we have held. I look after our grants program here at the foundation. So if you’re a 3D artist or somebody looking for GPU compute power, definitely get in touch.

And anybody listening to this on the replay, you are also more than welcome to leave some comments or questions or DM. We will absolutely get back to you as well.

Silvia Lacayo Head of Marketing & Communications, Render Network Foundation

All right. So with that, let’s get everybody else introduced and then we’ll jump right in. Let’s start with Bob Miles on the Salad team and we’re going to work our way around from there. Bob?

Bob Miles Founder & CEO, Salad Technologies

Thanks Silvia. Yep, this is Bob here. I’m the founder and CEO of Salad and this is actually my first X-Space. So I’m very excited to be here and cover all of those topics.

Silvia Lacayo Head of Marketing & Communications, Render Network Foundation

Excellent. Kyle, are you able to do a quick intro?

Kyle Dodson CTO, Salad Technologies

Yes, hello. I’m Kyle Dodson. I’m the CTO at Salad. And also, first time here on an X-Space, but very excited to keep this conversation going. I know I got to meet several people when we were discussing RNP-023 and excited to give some updates.

Silvia Lacayo Head of Marketing & Communications, Render Network Foundation

Excellent. Yeah, it was really good to meet you in person. It’s the benefit of in real life events like RenderCon. All right, let’s move on to Tristan Relly. Do you want to do a quick intro?

[Note: Tristan Relly’s intro audio was cut off. Silvia then introduces Trevor Harris Jones.]

Silvia Lacayo Head of Marketing & Communications, Render Network Foundation

Trevor Harris-Jones is a board member of Render Network Foundation. We can let him do a bit of a deeper dive when we get started with the first question. Let’s just dive right in.

— RNP-023 & Onchain Payments —

Silvia Lacayo Head of Marketing & Communications, Render Network Foundation

This is for you, Bob. So RNP-023 is all about bringing Render Network through the Render token as an onchain payments layer for Salad. Why don’t you give us a little bit of a background — why it’s important to move towards an onchain payments system and reward system instead of launching a standalone token?

Bob Miles Founder & CEO, Salad Technologies

Yeah, so we’ve been operating a distributed cloud for eight years now. And one of the main points of friction that we’ve really come to feel in our business operations is payment processes — legacy payment processes, centralized web2 payment processes that exist today. That’s the tooling that runs our infrastructure, runs all the transactions under the hood.

We have thousands of nodes, tens of thousands of nodes that are distributed across 180 different countries across the globe. And equally on the other side of our marketplace, we have hundreds of customers that also come from all corners of the globe. It was about this time last year that we hit a scale where we really started to recognize the friction and the pain that comes with running across a global footprint.

Just to anchor this in an example: we use Stripe today to collect a lot of payments for our customers. Obviously the internet is full of fraudsters trying to get free services. Using Stripe, there is tooling called Radar to help take against that. But what we found is that tooling is inadequate, it’s a very blunt instrument, it leads to a lot of false positives. That’s a lot of lost revenue for us and for our suppliers. And it was mid last year, we hit the scale where we really started to recognize that this is an issue for the business as we continue to scale. That’s when Kyle and I really started to look to crypto payments as a solution to this problem.

Bob Miles Founder & CEO, Salad Technologies

We dove in pretty deep. We came to learn on that journey that there’s a lot more potential than simply payments. But it was certainly the first problem that brought us to crypto payments. In the RNP, there are three milestones. The first two relate to Render payouts for our providers — we call them chefs — and RENDER payments for our customers. We quietly shipped crypto and RENDER payments a few weeks ago. And already we’ve come to learn that a lot of those points of friction are solved through onchain crypto payments.

We’ve seen already a handful of people pay for our compute services in RENDER, so we’re really excited about where this goes, really excited to give you an update on our progress, and we’re really starting to see the benefits of accepting these payments, alongside the legacy rails that we have today.

Silvia Lacayo Head of Marketing & Communications, Render Network Foundation

Well folks, you heard it here first — they’ve already shipped a payments option — which is always great to get this kind of insight, and I don’t want to say alpha because that’s such a loaded word, but basically yes — you have now heard some of the progress the team here is making.

Bob, before I move on to the rest of the team, can I ask you to tell us a little bit about what drove the inflection point in the last year that you mentioned, and I guess we can all say AI and compute jobs, but that feels a little broad; maybe give us some color about what was driving that for you guys?

Bob Miles Founder & CEO, Salad Technologies

Yeah, I’ll shorten the timeframe there and really say the last month. It’s obviously been growing over the past year, and years now, as AI proliferates. We’ve all seen it in the public stock market with AI stocks and earnings report and just the massive build out that’s going into supply to support AI and the amount of tokens that there is demand for.

The inflection point that we really noticed was the release of OpenClaw late last year — that ushered in this new era of agentic AI, which is a very different profile in terms of how tokens are consumed, certainly how many tokens are consumed, it’s an order of magnitude more than a human who is limited by the input and output by typing or speaking to a chatbot. An agent can spawn out so many more requests and consume so many more tokens for accomplishing either the same task or a much greater task.

Bob Miles Founder & CEO, Salad Technologies

We’ve all seen the AI budget blowouts in the headlines the past couple of months. Large organizations like Uber went through their annual AI budget in a matter of months. That has forced a lot of these enterprise businesses to reconsider that spend and start to think through what is a more efficient way of embracing AI without breaking the budget.

It’s really only the last couple of months where we have seen demand absolutely sky rocket for our profile compute — smaller GPUs constrained by VRAM on those consumer GPUs that limits the model size which can run — we don’t support SOTA state of the art models which have tens of billions, hundreds of trillions parameters. It’s really only the past few months that people have started to have that sticker shock from the cost of running AI on SOTA models, and they’ve started to look for alternatives — how can you route certain workloads, particularly agentic tasks, to smaller purpose-built models that are equally capable of publishing the same task or delivering the same output — that trend really accelerated the last couple of months.

Bob Miles Founder & CEO, Salad Technologies

The last month for us, we’ve been in a condition we’ve never been in before where demand has outstripped the amount of supply that we have on our network. This profile of demand is really something that can only be met by what is an enormous pool of compute resources — internet connected devices that are idle. It really takes that distributed model to bring that supply online so that it can meet the growing demand.

Trevor Harries-Jones Board Member, Render Network Foundation

Hi Silvia. Hi everybody. Apologies, I got caught by the spaces glitch there, but it looks like I’m back up and running. I’m a huge fan of the Salad team and actually love this topic. So really excited to be jumping in here today.

— Render Network’s Strategic Perspective —

Silvia Lacayo Head of Marketing & Communications, Render Network Foundation

Let’s hear from Tristan Relly — can you share the perspective from the Render side of the equation? Why was Salad strategically important to the Render Network ecosystem at this time?

Tristan Relly Head of Operations, Render Network Foundation

Absolutely. Thanks. And Bob, that was a fantastic overview. So yeah, from a Render perspective, Bob and his team reached out to us as an effort to solve the problems around payments that Bob was talking about. From a Render perspective, it works well strategically for a few reasons.

Render, when one really drills down at its essence, is an infrastructure layer for a decentralized economy. There are subnets that use the Render infrastructure — and that’s what is really at play here for Salad. Where Salad works well for Render is that they’re also a decentralized GPU network, they have established, proven paying customers and usage from Salad’s marketplace. So once the integration into the Render ecosystem is complete, that will drive immediate onchain activity.

And once fully integrated, will include Render burns and increase token utility, particularly around the payments and rewards side.

Tristan Relly Head of Operations, Render Network Foundation

There are some other aspects that we also like about Salad. They’re a product-led team, and they’re operating as a front runner in the emerging GPU space — testing agentic use cases, running them on their own GPUs, really dog-feeding their own ideas. That alongside an active revenue growth plan with a strong customer pipeline are all good signals. And Salad doesn’t have its own native token, so there’s no competing back-end infrastructure that softens the overlap. We think there is a really meaningful synergy here that works well for both Salad and Render.

Silvia Lacayo Head of Marketing & Communications, Render Network Foundation

Yep, totally agree. Actually, I want to get Kyle in here to give us a perspective on the product side. But right before that — Trevor, anything to add here that Tristan Relly hasn’t touched on?

Trevor Harries-Jones Board Member, Render Network Foundation

Yeah, sure. Thanks. Well, a couple of things. To me, the deal was very much about scale — bringing exponentially more nodes to the network overall and more revenue was definitely enticing. I really view this deal as almost the compute client’s version two. We went through trying a different format with some other partners.

What stands out here to me, I agree with Tristan Relly on the competing token — but above and beyond that, I think the community did a great job structuring this around onchain revenue as a KPI. And I think that is a great innovation and a good structure to put us in as we look out towards potentially other subnets and partners.

— Product & Technical Perspective —

Silvia Lacayo Head of Marketing & Communications, Render Network Foundation

All right, I actually want to dive into onchain payments a bit more. Kyle, if you have the opportunity, walk us through from a product or technology perspective — what is this promising to unlock for you guys? And it’s totally fine to be honest about what challenges you’re foreseeing as you onboard onchain rails.

Kyle Dodson CTO, Salad Technologies

Yeah, the promise of what it brings really goes back to where this conversation started — looking at where this space was going, and today it’s pretty clear everybody can see it, right? This explosion of agentic workloads, and the legacy payment systems just don’t work. They don’t really scale. They push people into business models and workflows that lead to other problems downstream.

Render has built existing infrastructure — it’s accelerated for us, right? That exists, this community exists. It’s something that now we can build on top of and integrate with — that ecosystem is already there. So bringing that in now allows us to facilitate these use cases that really just haven’t made sense and aren’t working as they’ve been scaling.

Kyle Dodson CTO, Salad Technologies

We have a lot of customers coming from web2 backgrounds. It’s really now about bringing this bridge where web2 customers can come in and continue to use this distributed infrastructure layer onchain as we integrate and build this out on top of the Render Network’s infrastructure. The challenge is getting all those dots aligned with the rapid pace at which tools, agents, and infrastructure are being built.

Kyle Dodson CTO, Salad Technologies

Having the APIs, the onchain data, and really being able to see and drive this forward — I anticipate it will help Salad, but also more broadly speaking, the Render Network, as far as demonstrating that these distributed decentralized systems are scalable, they work, and they are handling actual enterprise jobs.

Silvia Lacayo Head of Marketing & Communications, Render Network Foundation

The other day I was trying to explain how I send and receive payments onchain to some folks who had never tried it themselves. For them it wasn’t necessarily clicking. So there are sort of apps or layers on top of the existing rails, but underneath it, there’s a lot of inefficiencies. Kyle, could you paint a picture for the audience as to what some of those inefficiencies are?

Kyle Dodson CTO, Salad Technologies

Yes. A lot of legacy payment solutions take a lot of time — sometimes weeks for settlement for various transactions. When you have a customer who’s ready to scale up, it gets into the weeds of business processes. All of these providers — our chefs — distributed machines running all over the world — those providers get paid for operating that. We can get stuck waiting on the speed of traditional institutions just being able to send and reconcile transactions, which with Render Network’s infrastructure obviously doesn’t exist — it happens so fast that we can get to a state of being productive quickly.

Kyle Dodson CTO, Salad Technologies

Fees are also a huge factor. In traditional payment rails, fees scale quickly. When you pay by credit card, vendors are just marking up their services to account for these additional fees that intermediaries are taking. Being able to bring those fees down is hugely impactful.

With agentic use cases specifically, it pushes companies into models where people need to do very large bulk purchases of credits just to work around that — more capital locked up just to work around legacy rail problems.

Kyle Dodson CTO, Salad Technologies

It’s not just on the customer side. We also have the providers — the chefs. Similar types of issues exist. Providers earn rewards and they’re looking for rewards that are valuable and easily convertible to other forms of value. Render is plugged into infrastructure that provides various opportunities for the providers. We’ve had a lot of providers ask us in the past — they’re really interested in holding tokens, participating in the economies that exist there. This gives us that door into that.

Bob Miles Founder & CEO, Salad Technologies

You mentioned in your question there, you were chatting to a couple of friends and this friction is not something we really experience in the developed world. But if you take that same pain point and apply it to agents — a wave that we see forming is: how do agents go and pay for different services? In our case, GPU compute cycles. They can’t go and KYC with a bank and get a credit card themselves. And all of that friction that Kyle just described is not compatible with an agentic world where you have ‘millions, tens of millions, billions of these agents interacting online.’ You really need a different payment rail — Render, Solana, or something like that — to facilitate a lot of these smaller rapid transactions.

— What Changes for Node Operators / Chefs —

Silvia Lacayo Head of Marketing & Communications, Render Network Foundation

Can you walk us through specifically what changes for Node Operators?

Bob Miles Founder & CEO, Salad Technologies

Yes, so there are three milestones as part of this RNP. Milestone one and two — that’s Render payouts for chefs, and Render payments for customers. Those are relatively trivial. As I mentioned, payments has already shipped. Chef Render rewards is built, it’s just in testing, so we’re measuring that in weeks until that goes live.

Bob Miles Founder & CEO, Salad Technologies

We want to publish our integration plans — the how we go and accomplish that — in the coming weeks. While the cost of making any changes is low, before we go and pick up the tools and start building this, it’s a very big integration. We can get feedback from the Render community and also from our chefs.

Bob Miles Founder & CEO, Salad Technologies

When RNP was approved a couple of months ago, we did hear from our chefs — those are our compute suppliers. They did have concerns. A lot of these are gamers — they are not even crypto adjacent, they are in a different world altogether, and they’re used to very stable earnings from their compute resources. We have to really think about how do we preserve that experience with them whilst delivering on what’s required in that RNP.

We’ve got some really compelling ideas around how we scratch that itch for our chefs. Many of them really are so far from the crypto space they’re not even aware of the benefits that can come here.

— Macro Opportunity & Compute Landscape —

Silvia Lacayo Head of Marketing & Communications, Render Network Foundation

Tristan, I wanted to engage with you on the opportunity at a macro level. What can this unlock for other industries, and why is compute particularly interesting for the segment we’re in?

Tristan Relly Head of Operations, Render Network Foundation

Yeah, super interesting. The opportunity is very broad. It starts off with any compute load that could be run in a containerized environment. And as these use cases evolve — which is happening fairly quickly — the use cases shift. For example, if we went back 12 months, the idea of using a distributed network for AI model training really didn’t make any sense. But fast forward 12 months and we’ve actually built a pilot for training a Gaussian splat model — it demonstrates that training can work in a distributed environment.

Tristan Relly Head of Operations, Render Network Foundation

Another filter: what are the jobs that don’t require extreme machine-to-machine speed and can operate with a few milliseconds of additional latency? AI inference fits that bill. And then: not everybody wants their data fed into one of the larger AI businesses for privacy reasons, and they want to run their own model. The decentralized environment allows you to access compute and set up your own model and run your inference inside an environment you control with your own encryption.

Tristan Relly Head of Operations, Render Network Foundation

From there it expands to potentially a Cambrian explosion of opportunities. You could set up an app store that draws compute from decentralized networks and allows people to access bespoke models that make usage more accessible. There are also very interesting use cases around breaking up workloads for high-security industries — for example, the banking industry has financial information it wouldn’t want to run on a decentralized network, but it also has to process large volumes of publicly available information around rules and regulations in different jurisdictions. Those workloads can be done on a distributed network.

Silvia Lacayo Head of Marketing & Communications, Render Network Foundation

You saying that right now, Tristan, reminds me of exactly a year ago. We were at Permissionless in New York City and Trevor was talking about a brand new study that had just come out about how it actually is possible to train models on decentralized networks.

Fast forward 12 months, Trevor — do you think that the capabilities possible on decentralized networks, coupled with onchain payments as the layer that reduces friction, is gaining traction?

Trevor Harries-Jones Board Member, Render Network Foundation

Well, I think there’s definitely compute traction as a whole first. The growth that you’ve seen on state-of-the-art providers — Anthropic’s growth, OpenAI’s growth — is absolutely staggering. But when you dig a little bit deeper, one of the really interesting stats: 60% of OpenRouter’s traffic had moved from more traditional US providers to open-weight, lower-cost Chinese models. And when you look at the makeup of those models, in many ways they’ve taken those papers we were talking about a year ago and have built on them, doing some amazing things in terms of making them possible to run on consumer hardware.

Trevor Harries-Jones Board Member, Render Network Foundation

People realize that you don’t need to use the state-of-the-art model for every calculation. In fact, for the vast majority of calculations, a cheaper model that can run on a decentralized node may be a better choice. Where I see the industry as a whole now is really needing to open up and educate around those aspects — and you’re seeing it emerge as agents come to the fore. The great thing from the crypto perspective is that a lot of that focus has been on the crypto-agentic intersection, which I think is really exciting and quite important.

— Crypto Natives? The Salad Team’s Journey —

Silvia Lacayo Head of Marketing & Communications, Render Network Foundation

Bob and Kyle, were you guys crypto natives before we started talking?

Bob Miles Founder & CEO, Salad Technologies

I certainly followed the space, but a lot of this is very new to me. It was really that moment a year ago where we did an audit of friction for our customers, and our legacy payment rails really stuck out. That’s when we started exploring other options and diving more deeply into the space. I won’t speak for Kyle, but I wouldn’t call him a crypto native yet.

Kyle Dodson CTO, Salad Technologies

Yes, that’s a fair way I think to describe where I’m at on that curve — not a crypto native yet. When I joined Salad, we started really in that heyday of mining — and that came with, when Bob founded the company, the start of seeing that there was this explosive demand for computational power that was going to outstrip supply. It’s been a long bet, but it keeps showing and it keeps coming up.

Kyle Dodson CTO, Salad Technologies

We started working with the Golem Network team, kind of testing some of these ideas and thinking about where things go. And really for me, that was the very eye-opening experience of diving deep and really seeing these things that I had learned and knowledge accumulated over the past several years, but now really thinking forward to all those challenges I was talking about before. Things didn’t pan out the way we wanted with Golem Network, but chatting with the Render Foundation — it just makes so much sense. I am moving on my way towards crypto native.

— Q&A — Audience Questions —

Sunny Osahn Ecosystem Lead, Render Network Foundation

Thank you so much for sharing that perspective, Kyle. Let’s see if we’ve got any questions from the audience. We do have one question from Jay — a longtime supporter of the Render Network. His question: ‘Where do you see overlaps and where do you see competition between Salad and Dispersed? I understand that they are two different providers, but if both use the same rails — i.e. Render — which provider should an operator join, and will the reward level ultimately be the deciding factor?’

Trevor Harries-Jones Board Member, Render Network Foundation

Jay, lots in that. I think yes, there are two services in Dispersed and Salad offering similar compute offerings. But when I think about their acquisition strategies, most of it is very much inbound — they’re not necessarily targeting a similar group of customers with overlapping sales teams. So I haven’t seen a ton of inbound overlap.

But when we think about the node side, one of the areas that really excited me about having these subnets was the ability for spillover. We were hearing from Salad that they’ve shifted from a challenge of finding enough revenue to finding enough nodes. In that circumstance, it would be great to have Dispersed really be the overflow for those nodes if they can’t source them themselves, and vice versa on elastic type jobs. So I’d hope to see deeper and deeper integration between the various subnets as time goes by.

Bob Miles Founder & CEO, Salad Technologies

Yeah, it’s actually a conversation we’ve had recently with others at Render — how do we think about this overflow capacity? We’re very focused on the RNP at the moment, but I can see us walking towards a future where that actually works to favor both Dispersed and Salad. There’s a slightly different offering in terms of the target persona on the supply side. But I definitely see those synergies that you described, Trevor.

Sunny Osahn Ecosystem Lead, Render Network Foundation

Thank you, Trevor and Bob, for the answer. Jay, I hope that kind of answered your question. I think to finish things up, we are going to finish off with a lightning round.

— Lightning Round — Exciting Use Cases —

Sunny Osahn Ecosystem Lead, Render Network Foundation

What is it that you are excited for in terms of use cases? Let’s go with Bob first.

Bob Miles Founder & CEO, Salad Technologies

Distributed training. It’s definitely in the research category right now, but it is starting to get a lot of traction. We have a customer in that space. We’re very excited about the demand that we can bring beyond just inference.

Trevor Harries-Jones Board Member, Render Network Foundation

I’m really excited that we’re moving splat training onto decentralized nodes. What we see in the current year is really the convergence of AI creation and traditional creation. Splats are such an important part of that — they’re a format that allow you to move seamlessly back and forth between them. It’s even a central piece on Apple Maps. Very excited that training aspect is something we can do on decentralized GPUs.

Tristan Relly Head of Operations, Render Network Foundation

Yeah, I think I mentioned it earlier — the decentralized training, just because it’s the frontier of what could be done here, is a real draw. It’s really cool to look at the case studies that were presented at RenderCon — for example, live risk tracking for satellite insurance. And there are really interesting use cases around breaking up workloads for high-security industries.

Kyle Dodson CTO, Salad Technologies

Yes, one use case that I get very excited about on a personal level is actually drug discovery and simulation — medicine, human health. The idea of how we can accelerate finding cures and solutions to diseases. The timelines to actually test and demonstrate efficacy are being condensed. The change of pace and the progression we’re seeing there is a space that just gets me really, really excited.

Sunny Osahn Ecosystem Lead, Render Network Foundation

I think if that were ever going to be a network in itself, it should be called the Mycelium Network. I’m going to hand over to Silvia.

— Closing —

Sunny Osahn Ecosystem Lead, Render Network Foundation

Thank you, Sunny. And I couldn’t agree more with Kyle. In fact, one of the case studies we saw on Dispersed had to do with improving replicability of scientific studies using compute. In some ways, nothing is more important than our health. So I think that’s a great place to wrap things up.

Huge thanks to everyone from the Salad team, the Render Network team, and everybody who tuned in. This was the first stop on the Road to Integration and we’ve got plenty more to share in the weeks and months ahead. If you’re not already doing so, make sure to follow both Render Network and Salad on various channels — X, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. — for future updates. We appreciate you being here and will see you at the next one.

Bob Miles Founder & CEO, Salad Technologies

Thank you everyone. Take care now.

Render Network x Salad Technologies: Road to Integration (Part 1) was originally published in Render Network on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Stepping Into Fantasy Worlds, One Render at a Time

The May edition of Render Royale transported us into Fantasy Worlds, with magical realms, dreamlike cities, and surreal landscapes brought to life through 3D rendering. Artists from across the globe used Octane and Blender Cycles on render.x.io to create their own vision of the fantastical.

In all there were 19 entries with the vast majority submitted under the Octane category, and 2 entries under Blender Cycles.

First place = 1000 USDC
Second Place = 500 USDC
Third = 250 USDC

After a wave of stunning entries, our judges, Amrit Pal Singh (Toy Faces), Jess Wiseman (Blender educator), and Matt Milstead (mograph.com) cast their votes.

Octane Render Winners

🥇 The Light Beyond by Sajjad Salem | X Instagram
Human tendency to seek hope and meaning even in the bleakest of circumstances. The empty dystopian space reflects emotional desolation, isolation, or a crumbling world — either external or internal. The girl represents a fragile sense of self or humanity clinging to hope.

🥈rayCAST.00 by REVILO | Instagram Threads tiktok
Left in stasis, subject “00” must depart from its vessel to explore what lies beyond the cold walls that has kept it dormant.

🥉DICE by Deneth | X Instagram Facebook
This is representing the journey of a dice. It is rolling through different sceneries with different skins, leaving a trail (legacy) behind. In the end, the journey doesn’t stop. It has to keep rolling. But the environment is just artifacts from your past now.

Blender Cycles Winners

🥇 RNDR Temple by Omid Pakbin | X Instagram Facebook Threads
A towering marvel — symmetrical, powerful, and enigmatic. The composition evokes a sacred monument lost in time, rendered with stunning detail and depth.

🥈 The First Hufflepuff by nothaslu | X Instagram Threads
Charming and full of wonder, this imaginative take on a fantasy-inspired city feels lifted from the pages of a magical novel.

What’s Next?

We received dozens of incredible submissions — from floating islands to mystical temples. A huge thank you to every artist that entered.

Your work makes the Render Network a place where creativity and compute come together in powerful new ways.

June Theme: Urban Utopias

This month, we leave fantasy behind and move into the future.
Urban Utopias is your chance to imagine the cities of tomorrow with green skyscrapers, skybridges, AI-integrated design, or futuristic ruins reclaimed by nature.

• Render your scene using Cycles, Octane, or Redshift at render.x.io.
• Submit by June 25
• Prizes: A share of 5250 USDC + visibility across the Render Network’s channels
• Free rendering credits are available to help you get started

Enter now at renderfoundation.com/royale

Join the conversation

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Render Network Render Network Foundation Knowledge-base

🏆 Render Royale — May 2025 Winners Announced! was originally published in Render Network on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Render Royale is here and it’s your monthly chance to shine!

Hosted by the Render Network Foundation, Render Royale is a global 3D art contest designed to celebrate creativity, technical skill, and imagination from digital artists all over the world. Whether you’re a Blender wizard, a Redshift pro, or an Octane aficionado, this is your invitation to step into the spotlight.

Why Render Royale?

At its core, Render Royale is about pushing boundaries. Each month, a fresh theme will challenge artists to explore new ideas and create unforgettable visuals. The only requirement? Your render must be completed using the Render Network — the decentralized GPU rendering platform trusted by thousands of 3D creators.

Artists receive free Render Credits to help bring their visions to life, plus a shot at cash prizes and global recognition.

Who Can Enter?

If you use Blender (Cycles/Octane), Redshift, or Octane Render, and you’re rendering on the Render Network, you’re eligible to enter.

Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a rising talent, Render Royale is open to you.

What’s the Theme This Month?

Every month brings a new theme. For May, it’s all about Fantasy Worlds.

Think magical landscapes, mythical beasts, dreamlike cities — whatever fantasy means to you. This is your chance to show off your storytelling and world-building skills in 3D form.

The deadline to submit your work is May 25th.

What Can You Win?

Each month, the top artists in each render engine category — Redshift, Octane, and Cycles — will receive:

• 1st Place — $1,000 USDC
• 2nd Place — $500 USDC
• 3rd Place — $250 USDC

Plus, there are opportunities for your work to be showcased at major industry events like RenderCon, IBC, and Art Basel.

How to Enter

1. Render your scene using the Render Network.
2. Submit your work at renderfoundation.com/royale before the 25th of the month.
3. Sit back, share your work on your socials with hashtag #renderroyale, tag Render Network, and see how the community responds!

What Makes Render Royale Different?

Render Royale isn’t just a contest — it’s a community-powered celebration of 3D art. By building it on the Render Network, artists can access high-performance rendering, free credits, and a platform that values their time and talent.

This is about more than prizes. It’s about being seen, getting inspired, and leveling up your craft alongside a global creative movement.

Ready to Join the Render Royale?

Head to renderfoundation.com/royale to learn more, view submission guidelines, and enter your work.

Get your ideas rendered, your name out there, and your art in front of the world.

Enter. Render. Win.

Introducing Render Royale — A Global 3D Contest Powered by the Render Network was originally published in Render Network on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

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During December 2024 we held an Advent Contest where users could upload works and win prizes throughout December until the last day of Advent. Over 200 entries, and $40,000 USDC won!

The support from the community has been astounding. So you can expect there to be more contests from us in the future!

Prizes were as follows:

• 1st Place: $1,000 USDC
• 2nd Place: $500 USDC
• 3rd Place: $250 USDC

So, without further ado here are all the winning entries!

3 Dec

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12 Dec

13 Dec

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17 Dec

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24 Dec

25 Dec

Thank you to all the participants, of which there were a total of 183 unique entries, and 218 entries in total.

We will be announcing our next contest soon!

As always, join us on our socials and weekly Spaces on X to join the conversation!

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SHOWCASE: Render Advent Contest 2024 was originally published in Render Network on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

In a recent Render Foundation Spaces on X, Jules Urbach, CEO of OTOY and founder of Render Network, shared an inside look at the major achievements made possible through the collaborative technology and tools of OTOY and Render Network during the making of “765874 Unification,” a celebratory piece marking the 30th anniversary of Star Trek.

During the discussion, Jules detailed the innovative processes behind the creation of the viral short film. The conversation revealed how Render Network is transforming digital content creation and enabling creators to push the boundaries of what’s possible in film, art, and storytelling.

Here are some high level takeaways from the chat that highlight the innovation and vision driving Render Network…

Redefining Production with Render

One of the standout moments from the interview was the exploration of how Render Network allowed for Unification to come to life, a technically ambitious short film featuring groundbreaking achievements in rendering and digital artistry.

“This was not a super expensive production, but we did stuff that I think, you know, we were showing it to other people in the industry… and they were shocked. Like, ‘Did that CG? You guys did that?’” — Jules

The ability to achieve this level of quality and realism with streamlined resources is a testament to Render Network’s potential to democratize high-end content creation.

Leveraging Machine Learning for Artistry

The conversation also highlighted the innovative use of ML to simplify traditional processes like digital prosthetics and 3D modeling. While the OTOY team has been leveraging digital prosthetics with digital doubles for over 15 years, and even won Academy Awards for their work on Benjamin Button and Avatar, what set this project apart was the ability to save hours of labor — remolding 3D models of actors’ faces because of improvements in technology..

“We didn’t have to put dots on the actors’ faces or spend hours remolding 3D models of their faces. Machine learning helped streamline that process, and the ability to render as quickly as we did — thanks to Render Network — was transformative.”

This integration of AI and GPU rendering creates new opportunities for artists to focus on storytelling and creativity rather than technical hurdles.

Empowering Artists through Tools and Resources…

Render Network isn’t just a tool — it’s empowering creators with cutting-edge resources. Urbach’s vision still remains the same after years of building…

“We’ve always aimed to build tools and infrastructure at Render Network that enable creators to tell amazing stories, and this project was a testament to that vision.”

From digital prosthetics to set extensions, the tools developed for Unification are being refined and made accessible for the next wave of creators.

Making the Impossible — Possible

The “Unification” short was not only “technically incredibly ambitious” but also an emotional narrative that deeply resonated with audiences and industry leaders alike.

“So many of the things we were doing had never been done, as far as I know, in any sort of production. There are scenes rendered in CG, obviously on Render Network, that we were then matching to the plates.”

This ability to innovate while maintaining the emotional aspect of storytelling shows how technology and artistry can seamlessly come together.

Pioneering a New Era of Digital Creation

The Render Network is more than just a rendering platform — it’s a catalyst for creativity, innovation, and storytelling. Through projects like “Unification,” the team is not only showcasing the power of the network but also paving the way for future creators to dream bigger and achieve more.

“Whatever we pioneered while creating this short —digital prosthetics, digital doubles, set extensions — it’s all about distilling that innovation into tools that empower artists through Render Network.”

Social media is taking note of Unification and its seamless blend of tech and storytelling — see The Archive’s Dave Blass discuss the inner workings of the remarkable combination of tech with traditional acting and filmmaking used in Unification.

Building the Future of Rendering

The space concluded looking ahead as Black Friday approaches, Render Network is preparing to release new tools and integrations that will make these technologies even more accessible. OTOY’s Phil Gara highlighted upcoming plans to:

• Integrate AI tools directly into 3D creation pipelines to create a unified platform for all forms of synthetic media creation.
• Create a seamless bridge between creation software like Octane and AI image generators and the unlimited compute on the Render Network.
• Expand support for holographic rendering and immersive content creation, accelerated by GPU rendering and AI imaging.

The ultimate goal is to create a “next-generation rendering pipeline” where 3D artists can harness unlimited compute power for any creative need.

Stay tuned for a huge Black Friday deal — with more details about the upcoming plans for Octane and new Render Network integrations!

Stay at the forefront of these exciting developments by following the Render Network on X, turning on notifications, and tuning into our Twitter Spaces for the latest updates and discussions.

Don’t miss out on our next session and join the conversation!

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Behind the Scenes of “765874 Unification” with Jules Urbach: How the Render Network Is Redefining… was originally published in Render Network on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

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In the ever-evolving world of 3D art, the ability to create breathtaking, hyper-realistic visuals is a coveted skill. The Render Network, the world’s first decentralized GPU rendering platform, is revolutionizing the process by giving artists access to global, idle GPU power to render their work faster and more affordably.

This blog post takes a closer look at Raphael Rau, a renowned 3D artist specializing in photorealistic CGI, as part of a series of interviews with artists who use the Render Network. Rau shares his journey, experiences, and the tools that help him create stunning digital art.

The Man Behind the Masterpieces: Raphael Rau

Raphael Rau hails from Ludwigsburg, Germany, where he works as a freelance 3D artist. His background in graphic design and photography gives him a unique perspective on creating realistic digital imagery. Over time, he’s become a trusted figure in the Cinema 4D, Octane, and Blender communities, where his tutorials are a go-to resource for artists looking to refine their skills.

What sets Rau apart is his ability to spontaneously decide on tutorial topics, keeping his content fresh and relevant. Though maintaining a bi-weekly schedule can be challenging, he consistently produces engaging and educational content. He values the feedback he receives from his audience, which helps him grow as both an artist and educator.

The Viral Moment: Raspberry Pi Success

One of the pivotal moments in Rau’s career was a 3D rendering of a Raspberry Pi that went viral on social media, gaining widespread recognition. This achievement fulfilled a long-held dream when his work was featured on Level 80, a platform showcasing top-tier CGI work. For Rau, the experience was a reminder that every artist’s journey is unique, shaped by their own sacrifices and accomplishments.

From Movies to Masterpieces: Raphael’s Journey into 3D

Like many artists in the field, Rau’s fascination with 3D art started with films like Star Wars and The Matrix. These early influences ignited his passion for CGI and storytelling. Though he initially considered a career in visual effects (VFX), his focus shifted toward creating full 3D digital art, sparking his love for photorealism.

A humorous anecdote from his past highlights his dedication to the craft. During a childhood trip to Spain, Rau and a friend sneaked into a cinema to watch The Matrix, despite not understanding Spanish. Despite the language barrier, the film’s stunning visuals left a lasting impression, inspiring him to pursue a career in digital art.

The Pursuit of Photorealism

Rau’s commitment to photorealism stems from his early admiration for the Old Masters of painting and his fascination with the physics of light and materials. For him, the ability to replicate real-world light behavior in digital art is the ultimate challenge, and it’s a skill he’s honed over the years.

In the early days of 3D art, photorealism was seen as a benchmark for artistic competition. Today, Rau continues to push the boundaries of realism in his work, drawing inspiration from both classical art and modern technology.

Evolving with Technology

Throughout the interview, Rau reflects on how rapidly technology has advanced in recent years. He contrasts this with earlier technological shifts, highlighting how accessible photorealistic rendering has become thanks to modern tools and platforms like the Render Network.

For Rau, the Render Network has been a game-changer. A recent project involving translucent letters required significant rendering time on his local machine, which would have caused his office to overheat. Instead, he offloaded the job to the Render Network, saving time, energy, and cooling costs, while speeding up his workflow.

What’s Next for the Render Network?

Looking ahead, the Render Network plans to integrate more render engines like Blender Cycles and Redshift, opening up even more opportunities for artists. Rau, who favors Octane for its ease of use and built-in features, acknowledges the strengths of other engines like V-Ray and Redshift for specific projects.

The conversation also touched on the exciting yet controversial role of AI in the future of 3D art. While some see it as hype, Rau sees potential for AI to assist artists in automating repetitive tasks like UV mapping, freeing up more time for creativity.

Final Thoughts

Raphael Rau’s journey as a 3D artist is a testament to the power of dedication, creativity, and continuous learning. For those looking to enhance their own work, the Render Network Foundation offers grants for artists, providing free rendering credits to help bring creative visions to life.

If you’re a 3D artist eager to explore new possibilities, be sure to check out the Render Foundation’s grant opportunities and follow Raphael Rau for more insights into the world of hyper-real digital art.

You can find Raphael Rau’s work and tutorials on his website or follow him on social media for the latest updates.

Join the conversation

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Exploring Hyperreal 3D Art with Raphael Rau: The Power of the Render Network was originally published in Render Network on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Instagram Live Interview with Octane Jesus himself

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We had the absolute pleasure of trying out Instagram’s live feature to interview David Ariew — a first for both of us! We also thought it would be great to also share the interview on Youtube and X, as well as right here on Medium. So without further ado, here it is with a text summary and additional questions & answers below!

1 David, can you start by introducing yourself and sharing your journey into the world of digital art? What inspired you to specialize in 3D art, and how did you become recognized as the “Octane Jesus” in the community?

Hey, thanks so much for having me here today! I’ve been in the industry for about 13 years, but my passion for filmmaking started even earlier, back in college around 2006 when YouTube was just getting started. I discovered iMovie ’06 and began making live-action Zelda parodies with my friends that I would shoot and edit. Something about the software and the goofy effects really appealed to me. The ability to add to visuals in post-production and the extra layer of creative control you get through software is incredible.

In 2011, I tried Cinema 4D and was totally hooked. The ability to create entire worlds and stories within a computer blew my mind — like playing the most complex, open-ended game ever created. At that point, I was deeply into filmmaking, particularly shooting, editing, color grading, and VFX work. But 3D art took it to another level for me because I could plan and rework the shot until it was exactly what I envisioned. That creative freedom was everything.

As for the “Octane Jesus” nickname, in 2017, I started making tutorials for my buddy EJ Hassenfratz’s channel, which had a few hundred thousand subscribers. Someone in the comments said, “Hey, this guy is Octane Jesus” because of my long hair and Jesus-like appearance, and maybe also because I was freely sharing my knowledge. That comment just took off, and soon everyone was calling me Octane Jesus. At first, I wasn’t sure about it, but when the internet brands you, you just roll with it. My buddy Smearballz, another 3D artist, even photoshopped my face into a Jesus painting, and the rest is history!

2 You’ve created some amazing concert visuals for artists like Mariah Carey, Megan Thee Stallion, Missy Elliot, Zedd, Excision, Deadmau5, Keith Urban, Lil Nas X, Travis Scott, and Drake, just to name a few. How did you get into concert visuals, and how do you keep your designs so fresh and engaging?

I got lucky — my first industry job was in concert visuals. In 2011, I lived in Charlottesville, VA, where Dave Matthews got his start. His lighting designer lived there too and had created Filament Productions, the only company in town doing post-production work. I already had a good deal of After Effects practice, so they hired me. It was an incredible training ground for three years. We did all kinds of experimental stuff — burning steel wool on a black background and shooting it in slow motion, then tracking and compositing it into a sky for a post-apocalyptic look. We’d even shoot sand elements in a water tank and integrate them into CG cloud scenes. It was like being in a mad science lab!

At some point, I realized I didn’t know much about filmmaking, like what lenses to use, so I dropped my entire savings on camera gear and immersed myself in cinematography. I wasn’t a great DP, but it trained my eye for composition, and for anyone getting into 3D, I’d say it’s essential to pick up a camera and learn it as an art form. Aspects of cinematography like camera movement and lighting are crucial for making CG look beautiful and believable. That, plus a high standard for my work, is what keeps my visuals feeling fresh.

3 Your work is known for its rich visual storytelling and attention to detail. Can you walk us through your creative process from concept to completion? How do you approach developing the narrative and visual elements in your pieces?

Thanks so much! The process depends on the type of visuals. For something concrete and cinematic, like my cyberpunk work, there’s a lot of planning. I start by assembling assets, kitbashing models, and creating a pleasing composition. Then I texture the models, ensuring color harmony, add photorealistic details, and light the scene to bring out colors and textures. Character animations, mocap, and camera animations follow — and that’s just for one shot! Changing the camera angle often means re-art directing the entire scene.

For my abstract work, like my mirror box world, it’s more experimental and playful. I just move the camera around and tweak settings until something unique emerges. Processes like these feel the most creative because it’s impossible to know what the results will be beforehand.

4 What key tools and software do you rely on to achieve the unique aesthetic and high quality in your artwork?

My main tools are Cinema 4D and Octane. Both are user-friendly, intuitive, and incredibly deep. Cinema 4D is a Swiss Army knife for animation, and Octane’s unbiased render engine delivers photorealism because it calculates light so accurately. Otoy also keeps adding amazing features, like Vectron (a fractal renderer) and the photon tracing kernel for creating caustics. Features like panoramic cameras, fisheye lenses, and chromatic aberration make it perfect for concert visuals.

5 You also participated in Beeple’s Digital Art Deathmatch, which was sponsored by the Render Network. How did it feel to produce your art with so many eyes on you?

It was insanely fun! I had no time to practice because I was double-booked, but it felt like jamming live. My first render went great, even with just 15 minutes to create it. But in the second round, I had too much time to think and planned something too ambitious — I ended up losing the round. Still, it was such a unique and crazy challenge. I can’t wait to train for next year and step back into the ring!

6 What challenges have you faced working on large or complex projects, and how do you overcome them?

Problem-solving is the most important skill in this job. After a decade of working in Cinema 4D and Octane, it’s second nature. I’ve watched hundreds of tutorials for fun, and I can usually remember a relevant tutorial when a client asks for something new. The 3D community is great about sharing knowledge, which has helped me immensely. When I’m really stuck, I reach out to friends who are experts in certain areas. But 3D is all about getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. Every project has new challenges, but that’s part of the fun!

7 The Render Network provides decentralized GPU power for rendering high-quality 3D artwork. How has access to this computational power influenced your ability to take on more ambitious projects?

Rendering is always the biggest bottleneck for high-end visuals. While we’re moving closer to real-time rendering, we keep pushing the software harder, adding things like volumetrics and caustics that take time to render because they look so beautiful. And clients demand higher resolutions — 4K takes four times as long as 1080p, and concert visuals are often rendered at 8K or 12K. Even with my 8x 3090 GPUs, it’s never enough. The Render Network is amazing for jobs that need a ton of visuals fast or at extremely high resolution. It allows me to bank up tokens by offering my GPUs to the network, which I can use for bigger projects later.

8/12) With OTOY’s enhancements to OctaneRender, what features have been most transformative for your work, and how do you see these tools evolving in the future?

Anything that mimics how light and lenses work naturally is key — depth of field, realistic bokeh, motion blur, volumetrics. Otoy recently added lens flares, which I’ve been asking for years! The next big leap will be real-time rendering, like Otoy’s Brigade engine. Real-time feedback will free artists to be more creative and work faster. I can’t wait for this new wave of technology.

9 The line between digital art and immersive experiences is blurring. How do you see the future of digital art evolving with the rise of VR, AR, and AI? What excites you most about these developments?

David sees the future of digital art moving beyond traditional screens into more immersive environments, where artists can design on massive, multidimensional canvases. VR, for instance, offers a space where audiences can become fully immersed in a digital artist’s world, creating emotional connections on a deeper level than ever before. He shares his personal excitement about his shift towards these new mediums, especially through his exhibition at Digital Art Fair Asia in Hong Kong. His work, featuring Octane’s cubic panoramic camera, allowed him to build an experience that enveloped viewers in a way that evoked peace and contemplation. For him, this is where the future lies — connecting with the audience emotionally through technology.

10 In what ways do you think platforms like the Render Network are essential for the future of digital art, particularly as we move toward more complex and interactive forms of artistic expression?

Creating content for immersive environments, whether it’s VR or large-scale digital installations, requires high-quality rendering at enormous scales. The Render Network is crucial in eliminating rendering bottlenecks, which can often limit what artists can accomplish. David believes the demand for intricate and immersive experiences is rising, and the Render Network offers an affordable, scalable solution for artists who want to create without being held back by technical limitations.

11The Render Network is enabling artists to produce high-quality, AI-driven content at scale. How do you see this shaping the digital art landscape, particularly for artists looking to create in more immersive or interactive formats?

The Render Network allows artists to produce content at a faster pace and at a higher quality, which is essential for immersive environments that require multi-angle, high-resolution visuals. As AI tools integrate into rendering platforms, artists will have more creative freedom to experiment and push boundaries. This will also democratize the ability for creators to bring their visions to life, no matter the scale of the project.

12 As AI tools become more integrated into platforms like OctaneRender, what do you think will be the next big breakthrough in AI for digital art?

While David hasn’t fully incorporated AI into his creative process yet, he envisions AI eventually handling more tedious tasks, such as modeling or upscaling. Tools like Topaz Video Enhance AI are already making significant strides in improving efficiency, though he stresses that there’s still much room for AI to evolve, particularly when it comes to motion and detail retention. He believes AI’s future lies in enabling artists to work faster without sacrificing quality, but emphasizes that native rendering remains the gold standard.

Final Thoughts

David’s advice for aspiring artists is to embrace the challenges of this evolving field, find joy in the constant learning, and immerse yourself in a creative community. Passion and persistence are essential to thrive in the world of 3D and digital art, especially as technology opens up new frontiers for artistic expression.

We hope you enjoyed this interview. Follow our socials and join us on the next one!

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Render Network Conversation with David Ariew was originally published in Render Network on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

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The Render Network recently hosted an insightful X Spaces session, diving deep into the convergence of 3D assets, AI-driven tools, and the evolving creative landscape. The discussion featured industry leader Bilawal Sidhu, who joined the weekly Render Space to shed light on the transformative potential of these technologies and how they are set to revolutionize the creative industry.

The Role of 3D Assets in AI Development

One of the central themes of the discussion was the significance of 3D assets in training AI models. Bilawal Sidhu emphasized the challenges and opportunities in this space, particularly in relation to the quality and accessibility of 3D models. He pointed out that while many companies have scraped existing 3D model repositories like Sketchfab and TurboSquid, the varying quality of these assets poses a challenge for consistent AI training.

“Despite scraping from various sources, there’s a quality barrier due to the heterogeneous nature of these assets. They differ wildly in topology and texture resolution, which isn’t ideal for training high-quality AI models,” said Sidhu.

To address these issues, the Render Network is pioneering an innovative approach through its Render Network Proposals (RNPs). Specifically, RNP-011 outlines a framework for democratizing the creation and licensing of 3D assets. This initiative aims to ensure that artists are fairly compensated for their contributions while fostering a more ethical and efficient ecosystem for AI training.

RNP-011 proposes the creation of a decentralized marketplace where 3D assets are not only licensed but also verified for quality through a peer-review system. This ensures that only high-quality models are used for AI training, addressing the issues of inconsistency and poor topology. By integrating these assets directly into AI development workflows, the Render Network is paving the way for more sophisticated and reliable AI-generated content.

Democratizing High-End Compute Power

The conversation also highlighted how platforms like the Render Network are making high-end GPU power more accessible to creators and developers. This is particularly crucial as AI becomes increasingly integrated into creative workflows. Sidhu noted that the Render Network is one of the few crypto-based projects that genuinely provides value by enabling decentralized access to compute resources.

“Making compute accessible is so important, especially for indie creators who need customized solutions. The idea of a community approach to share and utilize excess GPU capacity is very exciting,” Sidhu explained.

Sunny and Phil also emphasized that this accessibility is expected to be a game-changer for smaller studios and solo operators, allowing them to leverage powerful GPUs that would otherwise be out of reach. This democratization of computing power is a key component in leveling the playing field and empowering more creators to push the boundaries of their work.

Integration with Popular 3D Tools

The Render Network team also shared some exciting updates about upcoming integrations with popular 3D tools. They are working on supporting Cinema 4D, Blender, and Redshift, making it easier for creators using these platforms to optimize and render their scenes via the Render Network.

“Blender, with its millions of users, will soon be able to render on the Render Network, offering a globally accessible, easy-to-use tool in their creative toolbox,” said Sunny from the Render Network Foundation.

These integrations are part of a broader effort to streamline the rendering process and make it more efficient for creators across different platforms. The support for these popular tools highlights the Render Network’s commitment to meeting creators where they are and enhancing their existing workflows.

Looking Ahead: The Future of 3D and AI

Towards the end of the session, the discussion shifted towards the future possibilities of 3D rendering and AI, particularly in the context of emerging technologies like the Apple Vision Pro. Bilawal Sidhu and the Render Network team speculated on the potential of cloud streaming for high-fidelity 3D experiences and how this could be a critical component in the next wave of immersive media.

“One of the most mind-blowing things about the Vision Pro was the clarity and detail you could achieve with high-end GPUs. Bringing those costs down through cloud streaming is going to be huge for the community,” Sidhu remarked.

Sunny and Phil echoed this sentiment, highlighting the Render Network’s potential to support not just rendering but also live-streaming 3D content in real-time to devices like VR headsets. This could open up new avenues for creative expression and interactivity, marking a significant leap forward in the accessibility and functionality of immersive media.

Final Thoughts

The Twitter Spaces session underscored the dynamic and rapidly evolving landscape of 3D and AI technologies. With the Render Network leading the charge, there is a promising future for democratized access to creative tools and the ethical use of AI in the arts.

As the creative world continues to merge with advanced technologies, platforms like the Render Network are set to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of digital content creation.

“The landscape is ever-changing, but what’s clear is that we’re just scratching the surface of what’s possible with 3D and AI,” Sidhu concluded.

Stay at the forefront of these exciting developments by following the Render Network on X, turning on notifications, and tuning into our Twitter Spaces for the latest updates and discussions.

Don’t miss out on our next session and join the conversation!

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Exploring the Future of 3D and AI was originally published in Render Network on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Monday’s Render Foundation Spaces on X addressed community questions about upgrading from RNDR (ERC-20) to RENDER (SPL token on Solana).

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Here’s a quick recap of some of the questions answered and a few FAQs:

Q. How can we ensure security and avoid scams on platforms like Telegram?

• Users were reminded to verify identities and never share personal information or private keys. Render Network admins will never ask for personal details, seed phrases, or private keys.

Official Channels:
Render Foundation Website: https://renderfoundation.com/
Support: https://renderfoundation.com/support
Telegram: https://t.me/rendernetwork
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/rendernetwork
Twitter: https://x.com/rendernetwork
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rendertoken/

Q. Will Coinbase support the RNDR to RENDER upgrade?

• Coinbase was the first exchange to support RENDER alongside RNDR but has not yet confirmed support for the upgrade from RNDR to RENDER. Users are encouraged to contact Coinbase support to express their interest.

Q. Is there a deadline for using the migration portal?

• There are no immediate plans to close the migration portal. Any changes to this would require a community vote.

You can find all the Render Network proposals here: https://github.com/rendernetwork/RNPs/blob/main/RNP-000.md

Q. What should I do if I encounter issues during the token upgrade process?

• Users experiencing issues can contact Render Network support through official channels or email support@renderfoundation.com for assistance.

Q. What are the rewards for upgrading RNDR to RENDER?

• Rewards are distributed based on the amount of RNDR upgraded, with a tiered system in place. More details are available on the Render Foundation website here: https://renderfoundation.com/upgrade

Q. How can I convert my RNDR tokens to the new RENDER tokens?

• Users can use the official upgrade portal at https://upgrade.rendernetwork.com/ to convert their tokens. Detailed instructions are provided on the website.

Q. What is the process for holding RNDR on a Ledger wallet and moving it to Solana?

• Detailed steps were provided for connecting wallets and completing the upgrade process using the official upgrade portal here: https://upgrade.rendernetwork.com/

Q. Will there be any changes to the migration process in the future?

• Any changes to the migration process would require a community vote, ensuring ample time for all users to make necessary upgrades.

Q. What happens if the Solana network has downtime?

• Solana has a high uptime rate of over 99%. In case of any issues, users can rely on the support provided by the Render Network team.

Q. Are there any plans to integrate more 3D content creation tools into the Render Network?

• Yes, future integrations include tools like Cinema 4D and Redshift, which will enhance the capabilities of the Render Network.

Overall, yesterday’s Spaces emphasized security, user support, ongoing upgrades, and future plans to enhance the Render Network. The active participation and questions from the Render Network community were greatly appreciated.

To stay connected with the Foundation, have questions answered, and to receive regular updates, tune into the weekly Spaces hosted by the Render Foundation every Monday at 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET / 7 PM GMT.

Join the conversation

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RNDR (ERC-20) to RENDER (SPL): What You Need to Know was originally published in Render Network on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Hey Render Community,

It has been an exciting start to the year. AI and GPU are the hottest acronyms on the lips of every tech startup we can think of. The Render Network is the first decentralized GPU network to cater to the needs of 3D artists by providing a near limitless number of GPUs to accelerate rendering workflows from days and weeks to minutes and hours. The flexibility of the Render Network allows us to also tap into the emerging sector of AI, from compute clients requiring more GPU power to the emerging sector of Generative AI.

Over the past few weeks we have collated some of the key questions from the community. With such a wide range of questions — from those getting started with creating art to seasoned veterans patiently waiting for key updates — we decided to split this AMA in two parts; an Intro and a Technical AMA.

Let’s dive in!

Render Network Intro AMA:

1. Where do we find information about the foundation?

https://renderfoundation.com/

2. What’s the purpose of the foundation?

We are a not-for-profit dedicated to maintaining the core Render Network protocol and growing its community.

3. What render engines are supported except Octane?

The main engine supported is Octane, as it scales very linearly and has support for pretty much every digital content creation app — so everyone using Octane can effectively use the render network.

Other engines are currently in alpha/beta and are due for release after further testing, bug fixing, and development etc. These are:

• Redshift (works but users need to be manually added to the beta)
• Blender’s Cycles
• You can also upload C4D files directly using the native Standard, Physical renderer, or Octane.

4. What file formats are supported except orbx?

ORBX export is a must on all 3D apps for the moment. C4D users can upload .c4d files directly (our first native integration), however we are working on making that as smooth as possible and are working on a Wizard which will help with the process. This Wizard should also be useful for developing a similar tool for Blender once we have Cycles on the network.

5. How can a PC owner add his/her own PC to the render network?

Users can apply at renderfoundation.com/gpu — there is a long waitlist but we’ll be adding more of those that sign up as usage of the network increases.

6. Is there a dedicated website for artists with simplified information about the service and it’s costs?

Currently we have our Knowledge Base, along with a few artists that have produced How-To videos. We are also working on creating more content for users.

https://know.rendernetwork.com/getting.../how-to-get-started

Here’s Brilly showing how to get started:

Getting Started with Brilly | Render Network Knowledge Base

Render Network Technical AMA

Q1. Are we getting close to completing integrations with additional render engines? Is there something that needs to be implemented before these integrations can go live, or has other work been prioritized ahead of the integrations? Do you think having more developers solely focused on the Render Network would help expedite these integrations?

Multi-Render integrations started with Arnold Render, but the near-term focus has shifted to Maxon’s Redshift and Blender’s Cycles. These integrations present the greatest opportunities and overlap with current users. Significant progress has been made on both fronts. Today, Maxon’s Physical and Standard 3rd-party CPU renderers are integrated.

Redshift is in alpha testing with promising results so far. We are working with the Maxon team to extend and refine Redshift to resolve blocking issues currently preventing us from moving to beta. This is a complex process given the decentralized architecture of the network.

We have also started integrating Blender and Cycles, showing good progress due to our experience with Redshift. We are not yet at the alpha stage but are moving in that direction with a roadmap for implementing a similar ‘Wizard’ application to make Cycles usage more frictionless on the Render Network.

The Arnold integration announced four years ago was very different from the deep C4D+ Redshift and Blender + Cycles integrations in process. The concept is to make Standard Surface a core material system standard that would work natively on the Render Network, enabling users to mix and match renderers like Arnold and eventually Brigade. Starting with Redshift and Cycles as core integrations, Arnold and UE are potential candidates for this type of deep integration if the community prioritizes.

It is not simply a matter of adding more developers; these are complex dependent systems that involve third parties.

In addition, it is important to remember that the network is not simply a distributed render farm, which actually would be much simpler to implement. The Render Network builds a layer of granular transparency in terms of provenance of art & 3D assets, which will provide future value to artists.

Q2. Has the team started marketing/pushing the use of the network to the other 99% of Octane users?

Currently, our efforts are more about pull than push, focusing more on awareness than pushing use of the network per se. This is because it currently requires a more expert-level user to get the most value from the network. The team is prioritizing making the network easier to use for the average user before broader outreach and has made significant progress. The team is in the process of completing the C4D plugin Wizard (RNP12) that simplifies moving scenes from C4D to Render and includes automated checks and fixes for common issues observed over the past four years.

The rollout of the Wizard will begin more widespread outreach and will include a prominent link to the Render Network from within the C4D Octane plugin, representing the start of a broad marketing push across C4D + Octane and C4D + Redshift users (once Redshift is unblocked by Maxon).

This will be paired with emissions set aside for creator rewards via several marketing initiatives, and the completion of the BME implementation with simplified RENDER artist-side purchasing. With these in place, the network will be better positioned for large-scale outreach, including prominently featuring Render during the largest Octane event of the year, the annual Black Friday Octane release.

In user outreach, an important factor to consider is attrition and conversion rates, with word of mouth within the tight-knit ecosystem of professional 3D artists adding to these. For now, we are focusing on catering to and learning from lead users, with the goal of being well-positioned to achieve high conversion rates on wide outreach, and we are making great progress.

Keep an eye on our socials — when we start onboarding more artists you’ll definitely notice it.

Q3. Realistically, how long do you think it will take to have the Stability AI models optimized and running on the network?

Stability AI models are currently run on the network via Compute Clients (e.g., ionet’s BC8 runs inference on a fine-tuned stability OSS model). These are not yet utilizing the BME model, and io.net is still completing their integration.

If the question relates to Emad’s RNP011, it’s honestly too early to tell as we need more information from Emad, which is one of the reasons why we have not pushed the RNP forward yet.

Q4. Are there any significant updates that can be shared regarding dynamic NFTs that the team was discussing with Beeple, $M for Metaverse, and/or the artist/creator monetization opportunities that have been discussed previously?

Nothing to share here at the moment. We have had active discussions regarding both recently and hope to have more to share as these discussions continue.

Q5. For the last two years or so, messaging has been that the team is focused on increasing network usage. Have those efforts been successful? What other approaches has the team considered?

Yes, usage has consistently increased every year since the network was formed.

There were several key learnings over this period that led to the integration of native C4D files with Redshift, a C4D wizard, Blender + Cycles, and allocating a significant percentage of emissions to artists (which started this quarter).

Q6. When will the API/SDK be open to the public?

Both Compute Client and Render APIs are available for integration, and currently have third parties working on integrations. There is no timeline on when we would make these publicly available, but it’s not hard for anyone to approach us, and if their project makes sense, gain access via the Render Network Foundation and Grants program.

Q7. Does the team think some of the functionality of the compute clients will be added directly to the network? For example, wouldn’t it benefit the Render Network to receive AI/compute workflows directly instead of through a compute client with its own token economy?

Perhaps this is more a question for the community as it would require significant engagement.

Some of the key reasons we supported an API approach include:

• As of yet, none of these compute clients have achieved hypergrowth (product market fit) using decentralized consumer GPUs. Should that change, it would provide a good reason for the community to consider a more direct approach.
• Compute clients who use render nodes drive value to the Render community. Currently, most of the Compute Clients are actively chasing their own scarce, high-end Enterprise GPUs, whereas we are focused on creators who own an abundance of high-end consumer GPUs.
• There are a lot of exciting AI applications building off popular image generators like Stable Diffusion that can run on consumer GPUs, and we think these would be the best fit for native integrations, e.g., apps building their infrastructure directly on the Render Network.

Q8. With the opt-in option for serving compute clients as a node operator and the initial writeup of RNP-011, it seems the node structure is becoming more fragmented and confusing with several layers and tiers of nodes. What are the benefits of having a somewhat fragmented node pool with some nodes being core render nodes, some nodes only serving compute clients, and others serving both?

Running separate pools per client has allowed us to limit our investment while these clients find product market fit.

The architecture for Compute Clients is very different from rendering. Each client needs a specific Docker/Kubernetes VM pre-installed along with their node software running.

Render nodes run a very thin client with the software and job streamed to them to maintain security. It will be a complex task to merge nodes.

Q9. What metric is used to determine when to add a node from the waitlist?

Utilization. We need to be closer to 10X where we are today. This is a moving target as existing nodes keep upgrading and therefore increasing the overall network OB.

Q10. What are the largest hurdles/challenges that you think the Render Network faces over the next 1–2 years?

We are in the middle of several disruptive changes:

• Open-source DCCs starting to gain traction vs. paid
• AI disrupting DCCs
• AI/neural rendering/diffusion emerging as methods for creating content
• The transition of the internet to 3D

All will need GPU power, but it will be critical to remain nimble and adapt our offering to maximize the opportunities that emerge from this.

Q11. What do you think has been the biggest missed opportunity (if any) for the Render Network over the last few years?

That’s hard to say, as the network has done really well in positioning. For example, we acted early on the Solana integration, being one of the first large networks to transition L1s, and that has turned out exceptionally well. The network also integrated AI into its roadmap in an actionable and thoughtful way, focusing on 3D AI models with DRM tools that appeal to, rather than compete with, creators and media and entertainment organizations at large.

Possibly not being able to focus on open-source DCCs earlier was a missed opportunity, but adding Blender Cycles to the network as a deep integration is a huge step forward in that regard. We are very excited about it.

Q12. In hindsight, given the current burn numbers and the recent RNP to reduce node rewards per epoch, do you think you would’ve delayed the implementation of BME until network usage increased?

If we had delayed, we would not have had the benefit of being able to allocate emissions to areas like creator rewards. My understanding from Helium is that they regularly rebalance, and a lot changes in six months.

Q13. Is there any concern about the lackluster voter participation in RNPs? Has the team thought of any ways to further promote or incentivize participation in network governance?

It is frustrating. Holders on CEXs can’t vote, and larger holders have genuine legal concerns. It is not an incentive issue; hopefully, someone in the crypto ecosystem comes up with a better solution for all, as this is a crypto problem, not a Render Network problem.

Q14. What are the top 3 things the community can do to help the Render Network?

Participate, vote, and market the project.

We are increasing our social network presence on a wide range of social platforms — we encourage you to engage with our content!

Q15. What steps are being taken to lower the barriers for integrating into the Render Network? Current RNPs like Ionet and Prime Intellect require “integration” and “plugins.” Are we moving towards a future where individuals can easily use the API to leverage the network on their own?

It’s not that simple. If we wanted to, we could give key access to nodes via API, but there are obvious trade-offs. Creators don’t necessarily want to give up root access and need to use their nodes periodically.

Otherwise, some software needs to be pre-installed (which is what we are doing for each compute client pool).

I would challenge the person asking this question to come up with a use case.

Q16. When will it be possible to use macOS or iOS as a node (iPad or MacBook)?

This is dependent on several factors:

• For render nodes, Apple devices need to achieve sufficient rendering OB (they are improving with each new M series release).
• We would also need increased usage to the point of needing to open the waitlist.
• For Compute Clients, this could be sooner, as io.net has made some progress getting Ray to run on macOS.

Q17. What do you anticipate being the greatest driver of demand for the network in the next 6 months (i.e., calendar year 2024)? Can the team be more transparent with timelines and KPIs? Given that Jules’ focus is multi-decade, it’s very difficult to understand the timeframe on certain initiatives. More frequent opportunities for AMAs with the community could help a lot of FUD that grows only because there isn’t enough communication.

It’s hard to say which will win out of all of these:

• C4D wizard
• Redshift official release and marketing
• Creator rewards
• 3D, Vision Pro, and large-scale sphere-type demand
• Expanded VFX usage
• Blender and Cycles
• Third-party render API integrations
• Existing compute client PMF
• New compute clients
• Black Friday release with tighter Render integration

Almost all have third-party dependencies, which is why timelines are not preferable. The best place to track progress will be stats.renderfoundation.com and X.

Q18. Jules once mentioned that the plan is to support Hugging Face spaces as modules. What is the status of this?

Nothing to share here at the moment, but stay tuned.

Q19. Emad is talking about some new decentralized AI project. How will Render be involved in this? Exciting!

Yes, it is exciting, but it’s still too early to tell. We are looking to Emad to provide more guidance here.

Q20. A compute client integrated with a competing crypto project before Render, even though they were announced as a compute client first. Is there anything holding clients back from integration, and will there be KPIs and deadlines for compute clients going forward?

Compute Clients, of course, have integration deadlines and performance milestones. We are continually learning from successive engagements, and our processes are always being refined. It is in our interest, as well as our compute clients, to find a product market fit and to have usage increase.

We hope you enjoyed this AMA update and found the answers enlightening. To stay informed about all the latest news, updates, and events, be sure to join our social channels. Connect with us on X, Telegram, Discord, Facebook, Reddit, and LinkedIn, to keep the conversation going and be part of our vibrant community.

Thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm for the Render Network. Together, we are shaping the future of decentralized rendering and AI technology.

Make sure to join our weekly Spaces on X, and in the meantime, tune into today’s session:

Stay tuned and stay connected!

The Render Network Foundation

Render Network AMA / Q2 2024 was originally published in Render Network on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.