I’ve read all about the new AI tools, so updated to the very latest version…but the tool icon isn’t there. Help is wasn’t much help.
So, I’m now wondering, are these tools only available to those that have switched to the subscription model as opposed to the permanent license+annual maintenance model (that we are on)?
On that subject, in case people aren’t aware, Luxion are forcing all users to subscription at the end of this year. Our reseller contacted us recently to say this was happening…but we get a 3 year reduction on subscription (well, OK, it still costs more than we pay for annual maintenance, so nto a reduction).
Hi Kevin,
In this topic from Remko you’ll find the answer: Studio Ai button missing - Help and Troubleshooting - Luminaries
It’s indeed only available in the subscription model.
Thanks Oscar. Who’d a thought it eh? 
Not like a software company with a new CEO to try to introduce new features only to those that conform to the extracting more cash out of customers sales model!
So the question I then have for Luxion is, how are we supposed to test this out and evaluate the “value” - are they seriously asking us to download a trial version to test this?
Are they trying to retain customer or just trying to bump the prce for a takeover by sticking “AI” into the offering?
Does anyone actually use this yet? The examples on the site are “meh” to say the least. Maybe switching to Vizcom is a better solution.
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I think a big advantage is the fact that it’s all locally, if I would work on designs which are not in store yet and under NDA the last thing I would do is use a site like Vizcom to process my data since that’s in the ‘mighty’ cloud. I don’t like clouds because I think it’s a hostage model for data. As long as you pay, you’re ok.
Instead of downloading the trial or switch to a subscription you could also install some AI locally, think that’s the good thing about AI that you can use it without having to pay a lot to one of the hundreds ‘unique’ online based tools. The way it’s implemented within KeyShot is pretty friendly I think so that can be an advantage since not all open-source installs are that friendly to either install or use.
With a few weeks old I don’t think many have already used it seriously and depending on what your renders are it can be a great addition and time saver as well as completely useless.
If you render products at white backgrounds for some catalogue there’s not much added value. On the other hand, If you like your products stand out more on some nice backdrops or accompanied with some props that add context to the model it can be a time saving feature.
I like to do some online racing with some other oldies and we like to have our own liveries and instead of showing the liveries from in-game I thought to just get the low-poly game model in KS and let it create a background.
It’s not perfect by any means but I also didn’t spend more than a few minutes on it.
I can imagine it can also help to guide clients into a certain direction for overall looks. Just let it fix some different directions, show the roughs to the client and work on the final using AI or actually model/create the backdrop and props. I personally think that can really save a lot of time but as said, it depends a lot on the kind of renders you create.
Same with all other AI tools, you have to practice a lot to get good results. I personally don’t see AI replace any designer soon. But for some things like getting some inspiration or a certain direction it can be a nice help and time saver.
In the end AI is till limited, especially if you need high resolutions so maybe in the future KS will also implement an AI upscaling model instead of having to do it in 3rd party software.
Wow, a subscription only feature…
If the AI ran in the cloud I could see an argument to why it would be subscription only, since Keyshot would have a running cost for the servers. But this move is just a way to persuade/force customers to move away from licenses.
Keyshot starts to look more and more like Autodesk and Adobe.
Nice visuals. Be interesting to compare the background generation to Photoshop AI and ChatGPT/Mid Journey.
We’ve used these alongside Krea to enhance scenes.
What we all really want is AI that takes the base CAD data and applies materials/scenes that we control. Nothing there for that yet, there are always compromises and iterations needed. Of the stuff we pay for that’s restricted to Adobe tools as part of Creative Cloud and OpenAI as it does more than just images.
The bottom line is that Luxion are a bit sneaky here announcing new features but cutting out a lot of their user base. That’s not how long term relations work.
As of the end of 2025 Luxion are stopping support/availability of upgrades/maintenance plans for perpetual licences. If you want to use Keyshot you have to switch to a subscription model….which incidentally is about 1.8x the annual cost of maintenance.
They are offering a 3 year transition discount option (but after year 1 you’ll still pay more).
The biggest issue then is stop paying you don’t get access to the software.
They tried this a couple of years ago and many objected so they backed down. But they have a new CEO now so they are pushing it again and that’s what all this AI stuff is all about.
We,ve already transitioned away from Keyshot to Twinmotion for our AEC work and whether or not we stay will depend on how testing goes with other tools over the next few months. Which is sad as we’ve been users of Luxion products since it was in beta.
My guess is they are looking to be bought so expect to see them being swallowed up in the next couple of years anyway.
I’m not against subscription. Most of the system we use are subscription products. We have multiple Adobe cloud team licenses for example. But the difference I see is that Keyshot subscription is just a cash grab. Up the price without actually giving customers what we actually need. Better materials, better settings, better interface, better stability. That’s the issue.
The rest of the rendering market have caught up or are catching up fast. Most can import CAD data now. Many offer full modelling/animation as well. I know quite a few companies that are in the process of switching to Blender for example, which for design phase visualisation can be set up pretty much like Keyshot these days.
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I actually wanted to test InvokeAI which has all freedom in generation settings with KS to see if it would be nice if KS would open up some setting in its interface. InvokeAI is not that well known but has imo the most friendly interface and installation is also simple. Happens latest version has a bug so I couldn’t install the actual models needed. Bug is fixed but need to wait till the installer is updated.
There once was a startup which created a dedicated AI model for fabrics, but they are gone already. When I saw that startup I also mentioned to KS that it would be awesome being able to generate materials using AI. To do so you most likely need to create an AI model purely trained on textures. That would mean you need massive amounts of textures with very detailed descriptions for a nice result. Will be a multimillion operation to create one.
I don’t know if you used Adobe Substance Sampler which can use AI to turn images into materials. Still, you need to have an image, and AI will help you to enhance it or make it seamless etc. I haven’t spent a lot of time with Sampler and my results really varied a lot.
And I agree that many companies don’t really care about long time existing customers, weather it’s software or an internet provider. It’s not that different than how Adobe and others went to the subscription model. Not paying for a subscription means no new features.
I don’t really understand why they not just stopped with the perpetual/upgrade licences end of this year so till than everyone can use AI for the time being. Don’t see benefits on either side for this strategy.
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For us the increase in cost will be even higher since we are many employees who share floating licenses. Now we need a subscription for each of us if we want to keep the same flexibility as before.
Yes, it seems like they want to increase profits to make them more attractive in the market. They just risk pushing away customers - especially since their software hasn’t increased that much in functionality to justify the price increase. We are also looking at Blender or just using the render functionality embedded in our CAD software. They have become better and better over the years.
We are looking at Substance right now, looking at just expanding our Adobe licenses as it would still be lower cost than subscriptions to Keyshot. I think the big difference between Keyshot subs and Adobe is that when Adobe did it they opened up access to all the tools, and to be fair they continue to add useful features (and that’s not even including the AI side). As subs go, Adobe are in our “worth it” category.
Keyshot are in our “doubtful” category as they haven’t added any new features that are worth a hike in costs (the AI is 3rd party and you can do exactly the same for less in other systems). Had they focussed on the core toolsets - material, lighting, interface, assets THAT might have been worth it.
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