So how long does it usually take to produce 1 single render with let's say an average PC/Vcard? I have no clue about these things...Are we talking minutes or hours?
That varies so much it's incredible.
But if you want to average it out? Average hardware (not good/not terrible), average level VN quality image? 45m-1h is reasonable when you include render time. Hardware actually matters a LOT, low end hardware an image might take 1 hr to render and still not be great quality, requiring a lot of postwork in photoshop or w/e, whereas high-end hardware that exact same image can be done at relatively high quality in under 20 minutes.
But again, it varies a lot. There is *so much* that will affect the time it takes, both in production and the actual rendering of the image, that it really could average out from anywhere from 5-15 min per image, to well over an hour per image.
Also it matters if you're using say daz (or even blender. Blender tends to render faster but most people will take a lot longer on the setup part of it), it's going to be a lot slower than if you're using honey select images. But we'll use daz for a baseline example here:
A single quick image, with a simple background and 1 or 2 characters, on middling hardware? It might take 30 to an hour to do the initial setup, and then another 5-10 min for each image in the series (Series here being defined as images that happen within the same scene, with the same characters), plus 20-30 min each to render.
As you increase the number of characters, and the complexity of the background, both the rendering and setup time increase - to the point where you could easily spend hours on the setup, and then 20-30 min per each image in the series, plus 30+ min per image to render.
Mostly though, I'm just trying to use average numbers, as the actual numbers like I said, vary a LOT, and even by dev. Some people could average 20 min total spent on each image (rendering plus design), some average hours per. So there isn't really a great answer to that question.
Some people focus more on raw image quality, so the actual rendering takes longer (sometimes into the hours). Most people try to find a balance between speed and quality, so the average is somewhere around the 20 minute mark. Some people prioritize speed over everything, so they might finish the render in under 10 minutes.
To give a slightly different answer: This again varies a lot, but many devs produce between 5 and 15 images per day on average. The "most productive" devs end up producing 20+ per day. 20+ per day is usually reserved for people who are either insane, or basically do this full time. Of course some devs produce 20+ per day, but at a much lower quality, but for these purposes that doesn't really count.
Seriously, if you consistently put out more than 20 a day on average, you're either certifiable or you work on stuff full time, it's really not reasonable otherwise. (Again this is all assuming solo dev. More people working would obviously change the numbers a bit).
