FAQ

GridMarkets supports Houdini, Maya, Cinema 4D, Blender and 3ds Max. See HERE for the version of these 3d solutions that we support. GridMarkets supplies the 3d software license that are needed to run your render or simulation at scale. No local licenses are needed for the submission process. Don't see the version that you need? Ping us at support@gridmarkets.com

We support a range of CPU and GPU based renderers and solvers. In addition to the built-in renderers, we also support: Mantra, Axiom, Karma, Redshift, RenderMan, V-Ray, Arnold, Greyscalegorilla, Insydium, Blender Cycles, GridMarkets supplies the software license that are needed to run the above at scale. No local licenses are needed for the submission process. For a current and complete list, see our Versions Supported page.

We support a range of CPU machines and GPU machines including . . . Our CPU machine configs: GM1600 = 16 threads/machine GM4800 = 48 threads/machine GM6400 = 64 threads/machine GM9600 = 96 threads/machine Our GPU machine configs (where OB is a reference to the OctaneBench score): OB220 OB330 OB440 OB660 OB1200 OB2400 OB4800

For the hourly option, we support machine counts from 1 to 100. (Our Daily and Weekly options support up to 150 machines.) Set your profile in Envoy to the preferred "Service Level" (per the table below) to access the desired machine count. For Rush+, to request more than 100 concurrent machines, see our Rush Plus form.

For the Hourly Plan, up to 1 Tb of storage will be allocated. We keep your data in the render nodes for 3 days, and in Envoy for 15 days as long as there are jobs for the project. The Daily and Weekly Plans provide up to 20TB of storage. Your files will be stored for the duration of the plan. A new submission for an existing project in Envoy will re-sync all the files from Envoy to the render nodes since they may reference previously submitted or generated assets. This can obviously take some time if there's a lot of data. So if you don't need the assets from an existing project then please submit under a new project name and only the files you upload will be synced. It's also good practice to delete any files from Envoy that are no longer needed as this will speed up the re-sync and start your job faster. See our File Retention Policy for more details.

GridMarkets credits are needed to pay for our rendering and simulation services. When you sign up for a GridMarkets account, 5 free credits, enough to produce 100 frames @ 2 minutes/frame using GM1600, will be added to your new account to trial our service. These free credits expire +14 days from signup if unused. As your GridMarkets render submission runs, your credit balance will reduce. A positive GridMarkets credit balance is needed to render or to simulate. If your credit balance is at or goes below zero, you will be unable to make any new or resubmit any prior render or simulation submissions to GridMarkets.

GridMarkets credits may be purchased via a credit card at any time and do not expire. We use Stripe to process your credit card payment. If you reside in a country which lacks Stripe support, we can also provide a bank transfer option. It is possible to buy credits and then to assign those purchased credits to another GridMarkets account. For example, if you are an artist doing work for a client, it is possible for your client to buy credits and then have those credits deposited into your GridMarkets account. See HERE. Need a receipt for your credit purchase? Visit us HERE. After completing the form, a receipt will be forwarded to you within 48 hours.

The cost of credits vary depending upon the purchase option that you choose. We offer the following credit purchase options: Hourly Purchases, Volume Purchases Subscription Purchases. Hourly Purchases - Credits can be purchased anytime at $US1.00 per GridMarkets credit. Use the Hourly option for one-off projects. On Demand Credits can be purchased here or using Envoy Volume Discount - Transactions over $US1000 qualify for a credit bonus, For example, per the table below, a $1000 transaction will receive 1100 credits. Subscription - A subscription in excess of $US5000 can be initiated anytime (and can be terminated at any time). Automatic payments are initiated every month thereafter, until the subscription is canceled. Each automatic payment will yield 25% more credits. For example, a $US5000 subscription will yield 6250 credits on the first automated payment. Use the Subscription Option for complex or episodic projects. Subscribe using Envoy with the PURCHASE SUBSCRIPTIONS button under the CREDITS option

As your credit balance approaches zero, we will forward a low credit warning email. Real-time low credit warnings are also available via WhatsApp. If your credit balance reduces to zero, any frames running at the time will continue to run until your GridMarkets Credit Overdraft Limit is reached. This will permit your account to go negative by the amount of your pre-set Overdraft Limit. (As you use GridMarkets more, your Overdraft Limit is increased; see FAQ "What is the GridMarkets Credit Overdraft Limit?"). When the Overdraft Limit has been reached, any pending frames will not be run and your submission will suspend. Once you have purchased credits to restore a positive credit balance, you will again be able to resume submissions and to restart any pending jobs. To add credits to your account, see "How to Purchase GridMarkets Credits."

Yes! Actually, to be more precise, we charge by the machine-second. Our Hourly pricing is all inclusive (i.e. Hourly pricing includes the cost of the machine, operating system, software licenses, data storage and egress). There is no minimum usage charge for our pricing-by-the hour option.

Yes! Render as much as needed by the day - for a fixed price - including up to 20TB of storage. Our Daily pricing is all inclusive (i.e. Daily pricing includes the cost of the machine, operating system, software licenses, data storage and egress). Learn more HERE.

We have prepared a calculator (see HERE under "Hourly Plan Calculator) to help you estimate the cost of a GridMarkets submission. Using the free credits provided when you received your GridMarkets account, submit 5 to 10 representative frames. Enter the frame times for those samples into the calculator - and an estimate will then be generated. Submission costs are determined by your choice of: renderer, machine configuration, and machine count . These options are all configurable from within the Envoy portal.

Yes! Students qualify for a 15% credit bonus (i.e. buy 10 credits and get 11.5). For current students interested in receiving the GridMarkets credit bonus, first, signup. Then, using support@gridmarkets.com, email us a copy of your current student ID ensuring that the enrollment start and end date of your student registration is legible. We will reply with an update to your request. Finally, when you purchase credits, email us again at support@gridmarkets.com with the purchase ID and amount and we will arrange for your bonus to be added to your GridMarkets account. ​

Yes. The more you spend, the more you save. HERE are the details on our volume bonus.

First . . . create your free GridMarkets account - see HERE. Once you create your GridMarkets account, 5 free credits (enough to produce 100 frames at 2 minutes/frame using GM1600) will be added to your new account to trial our service. These credits expire if unused +14 days from account creation.​

Second . . . Download and install our render manager: Envoy. Envoy is used to install the plugins for your modelling software to submit jobs, view & manage your jobs, and up/download your files. There's also a mobile-friendly version to view your files and submissions on the go. Envoy download buttons can be found HERE along with a "Getting Started Video" (with "Setup Suggestions" at the video's end).

Thirdly and lastly . . . Launch your Render or Simulation to GridMarkets. See our pages specific to each service, Houdini, Maya, Cinema4D, 3dsMax and Blender for a video on how to submit.

We are happy to get involved in your submission if you are having issues. Contact us at Support@GridMarkets.com. We also offer a Managed Services option - whereby a member of the GridMarkets team joins yours to help to prepare and optimize your scene for submission within your budget and timeline.

Contact us by email at support@GridMarkets.com. Or, if you wish to arrange a virtual meeting, use THIS link.

GridMarkets has implemented a credit overdraft mechanism that kicks in whenever your credit balance reaches zero. Once a zero credit balance is reached, the mechanism monitors the number of negative credits accumulated and then stops your running submissions once a credit overdraft limit for your GridMarkets account has been reached. For example, if your credit overdraft limit is set to 5, then any running jobs will be stopped when your credit balance reaches negative 5 credits. Stopped submissions will not be restarted and subsequent submissions will not be started until a positive credit balance is restored. Your credit overdraft limit is set by GridMarkets management. Among other factors, the limit is a function of the number and sizes of GridMarkets submissions over time. You can determine your credit overdraft limit by viewing your GridMarkets profile in Envoy. After selecting "Profile", your GridMarkets Credit Overdraft Limit will appear at the bottom of the profile page. Here is an example.

Submissions will suspend when credit balances drop below zero. Any frames that were rendering prior to suspension will continue to completion, but frames that are Pending will be stopped. To render the remaining frames, top up your credit balance and restart the job. To resume a stopped job (or to rerun failed frames), select the "Restart" button and select “Non-Completed Tasks” from the dropdown.

To resume a stopped job, or to rerun failed frames, select the "Restart" button in the job portal and select “Non-Completed Tasks” from the dropdown. See HERE for more details.

No. By default, we use public networks for data transfer.

If you have experienced an “Upload failed” message after attempting to initiate an Envoy upload, this may be the result of a web protection service blocking Envoy’s efforts. See HERE for further details.

Yes, via our API - please send an email to Support@GridMarkets.com for details.