Chaos Corona is the photorealism specialist of the Chaos family: a renderer for 3ds Max and Cinema 4D built for archviz, with a reputation for producing stunning images with almost no setup. The saying in the community is that you learn Corona in a day and fall in love with it in two.
Professional CAD Systems is an official Chaos distributor in NZ. Talk to us for Corona licensing: local advice on the right tier, one NZD invoice with GST handled properly, and NZ-hours support.
What's new
Corona 15AI ideation meets physical accuracy
Corona 15 for 3ds Max and Cinema 4D folds Veras AI ideation into every subscription and keeps pushing photorealism with new material and lighting tools.
- New
Veras AI ideation included
Every Corona subscription now includes Veras, so you can explore design directions from your scene before committing render time.
- New
Glints in the Physical Material
A dedicated Glints layer recreates sparkling surfaces such as snow, car paint flakes and glitter without heavy noise maps.
- New
Gaussian splats meet GI
Imported Gaussian splats now interact with Corona's global illumination, grounding captured environments in your lighting.
- Improved
Faster animation parsing
Scene parsing for animations is significantly quicker, trimming per-frame overhead on long sequences.
Available in
Built for 3ds Max and Cinema 4D
Corona plugs into the two staple tools of dedicated archviz studios.
3ds Max
The archviz production standard, with Corona's full toolset. Windows.
Cinema 4D
The same photorealism and workflow for C4D studios, on Windows and macOS including Apple Silicon.
Photorealism without the fight
Corona's defaults do the heavy lifting: physically plausible lighting and materials that look right out of the box, an interactive renderer that updates as you work, and controls that read like photography rather than physics homework.
Set the scene, then iterate with AI
Fill scenes from the Chaos Cosmos library, scatter vegetation and detail with built-in tools, and explore design and mood directions with Veras AI before committing render time.
One workflow, designed for archviz
Physically accurate cameras and lighting, lifelike materials, volumetrics and animation tools carry a project from first concept to final presentation, and Chaos Vantage interoperability adds real-time exploration on the Collection tier.
Solo vs Premium vs Collection
Every tier is the full Corona renderer; the ladder adds assets, AI credits and Collection's real-time and animation extras.
| Feature | Solo | Premium | Collection |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corona renderer for 3ds Max and Cinema 4D | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cosmos assets and materials | Up to 15,000 | 18,500+ | 22,000+ |
| Monthly Chaos AI credits (Veras AI included) | 100 | 500 | 1,500 |
| Licence model | Named | Floating | Floating |
| Anima 3D and 4D people | - | - | ✓ |
| Chaos Vantage real-time exploration | - | - | ✓ |
What Corona users say
My continuous pursuit of excellence and innovation led me to Chaos Corona, a tool that has revolutionized our workflow and redefined our creative expression.
Nikos NikolopoulosFounder & Creative Director, Creative LightingWhat attracted me to Corona in the first place was its simplicity. It just felt a lot easier to use than many of the other render engines I have used in the past.
Steven BrackiFounder, Bracki CreativeI think everyone should try the Corona and Vantage interoperability out. It has a lot of power, and the speed is unmatched. Anything which makes us 3D artists less of technicians and more of artists is a way forward in my opinion, and Vantage is one of them.
Learning
Learn Corona
Free official Chaos resources to get your team producing photoreal work quickly.
Help docs and courses
Official Corona documentation and structured learning for 3ds Max and Cinema 4D.
Chaos forums
Ask questions and swap techniques with the worldwide Corona community.
Chaos blog
Artist interviews, feature deep dives and archviz workflow articles.
Corona FAQs
Do I need separate 3D software to use Corona?
Yes. Corona is a rendering plugin, not a modelling tool: it runs inside Autodesk 3ds Max or Maxon Cinema 4D and renders the scenes you build there.
Is Corona a CPU or GPU renderer?
Corona is a CPU-first renderer, which is part of why it is so predictable: no GPU memory limits and no driver drama, and it runs on any reasonably modern processor. Real-time GPU exploration is available through Chaos Vantage on the Collection tier.
Does Corona run on a Mac?
Yes, with Cinema 4D: Corona supports macOS including Apple Silicon. 3ds Max is Windows-only.
How does Corona compare with V-Ray?
Corona optimises for simplicity and archviz-perfect stills; V-Ray optimises for range, from BIM hosts to film pipelines. If you live in 3ds Max or Cinema 4D and want beautiful images fast, Corona is the shortest path. Plenty of studios run both, and we can help you pick.
Is there a free trial?
Yes, 30 days with full features. Talk to us before it ends and we will have licensing ready to go.
Can I buy Corona from you today?
Yes. Corona is joining our online store soon; in the meantime we quote it on enquiry with NZD invoicing and the usual local support.