similar situation here - i was sooo worried about costs but the Midjourney Basic Plan for like $10/mo actually works amazing for getting the vibe right... definitely the most budget friendly way tbh!!

In my experience, i've been around for years but honestly i'm still learning these ai tools myself... i get the struggle! 1. EvolveLab Veras is great for SketchUp cuz it actually keeps ur geometry.
2. LookX AI handles materiality way better for high-end exteriors tbh. Midjourney is basically impossible to control for client work tho. I'd recommend LookX AI for realism!! have u tried those yet?? gl!

Quick question - are you looking for something that runs locally on your rig for data privacy, or is cloud-based okay? Ngl, I've been in the industry for years but I'm still just dipping my toes into AI... I'm always highkey worried about where my client files end up. If safety and keeping things reliable is a priority, maybe check out D5 Render? It's pretty solid. Thoughts?

I am in the exact same boat and it has been incredibly frustrating. I have been working in architectural visualization for nearly a decade, and I still havent found a single AI tool that doesnt completely butcher the specific materiality or the complex lighting setups I spend hours refining in my base models. It is honestly so disappointing.

• Constant issues with hallucinated textures that look nothing like actual building specs
• Lighting that looks okay at first glance but lacks any real-world physical logic
• The inability to maintain strict geometric accuracy while achieving photorealism I have been dealing with this for months now and still have not found a reliable answer. It feels like we are still so far off from something that actually works for a high-end professional workflow. It is exhausting trying to force these tools to behave.

just saw this thread and honestly it is so exhausting. i spent forty hours last week on a facade with specific perforated metal panels and every ai tool just turned them into gray static. it feels like we are fighting the software half the time instead of designing. it is just soul crushing when you know exactly how the light should bounce off a surface and the ai just ignores physics. if you want to try some different paths, here is how i have been handling the technical side:

• Stable Diffusion XL paired with ControlNet Depth is a decent option if you need to keep your geometry exact. it is technical as hell tho.
• Krea AI for their real-time generation. it works for quick iterations but depends on your needs for final resolution.
• honestly just skip the cloud stuff and run everything locally if you can. it is the only way to keep the textures from looking like mush.

Can confirm

Seconding the recommendation above. Veras is definitely the king for keeping things tight to your SketchUp model... Honestly, most AI is just "guessing" materiality, so you gotta give it a solid base first. I've been doing this for over 10 years and the biggest shift lately was moving to geometry-aware workflows rather than just pure image gen. If ur looking for that REALLY high-end look without spending 5 hours on a render, here’s my current go-to stack: * EvolveLab Veras – It's about $49/mo. Great for quick iterations but can sometimes look a bit "mushy" if you crank the creativity slider too high.
* D5 Render 2.7 – Honestly, this is the best value right now. The free version is actually INSANE, but the Pro subscription ($30/mo) adds AI Atmosphere and AI Denoising that handles complex lighting way better than others.
* Chaos V-Ray 6 for SketchUp – If you have the budget, this is still the industry standard for materiality. Basically, dont rely on Midjourney for professional exteriors—it's way too random for architectural precision. You need tools that actually read your 3D data. GL!

Any updates on this?