3D Rendering Programs for student

[kitkatkasick]

Hello all!

 

This is my first post! I am a 3rd year student in the interior space design program at The Ohio State University and was wondering about 3D rendering programs. I've been putting my portfolio together recently so I could obtain a summer internship at an architecture firm and have found when searching portfolio websites there are a variety of 3D rendering programs that I am unfamiliar with. At OSU we use Rhino 3 and it doesn't look like we will be using anything else. I love the way the Autodesk programs look (like 3Ds MAX or VIZ) but we have never heard these mentioned in our classes. I know the basics of Alias because I am also interested in transportation design, but I don't think this program will help my interior architecture work. I was wondering what the opinions were on Rhino vs 3Ds Max and VIZ or any other 3D program and if I should branch off on my own and learn the different software- like is this a great advantage for me when applying for jobs or even just to make my designs look that much more cool! Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

-Jennifer

[AJLynn]

Rhino's a great modeling program, with an almost entirely useless render plugin. It does have VRay available (at extra cost), which would let you use it for high-end rendering. It also has Maxwell, but that's much slower for interiors than exteriors so I wouldn't recommend it.

 

Max in good for animating, comes with mental ray (a very high end render plugin) but does not have Rhino's powerwhen it comes to NURBS modeling. (Not many programs do - the notable exception is Alias Studio.) Max also has VRay as an option (also at extra cost) - as of Max9, mental ray and VRay are very similar and a matter of personal preference. Viz is like "Max Lite" - less powerful in several areas, the most significant of which (as I see it) is that it doesn't come with the most current version of mental ray.

 

If you're already an Alias user, another option to consider would be Maya - it's got pretty much everything Max does, and a few things it doesn't, and its interface is more like Alias Studio than not.

 

Knowing this stuff does put you at an advantage, but it also takes a bunch of time to learn.

[sterealkey]

Yip thats true GI Dude,

 

Theyre all good, they all have their strengths & weaknesses.

 

What I would recommend is that you do some research Jennifer. I'd say you should go for the package that will most likely land you that job you've been wanting. So find out which is the most commonly used one at the firms in your area.

 

Tip: you cant go wrong with Autodesk, all their programs are nicely compatible with each other.

[Antisthenes]

you didn't say you were planning to do CADD or animation

 

but as your school has Rhinoceros 3 , lean on them to get Rhinoceros 4, even the beta, it's been 2 years in the making and will be out very soon.

I have been using it for production for over a year now and don't look back much except to use a v3 plug-in (backwards compatibility something Autodesk strives not to offer).

CADD production so far as architectural drawings, CDs, layout, printing, not just DR, animation and 3d rendering, yes vray and Maxwell both work well , as well as it looks like Indigo, Brazil 2 and Fry render (Kray too?) are getting hooks too as McNeel's platform is that solid and a delight to work with on that level. Penguin even does render to vectors now another good customizable 'cartoon' render

Also look into Bongo for animation inside Rhinoceros if you are looking for that.