Where to start

[josephlemons]

Hey everyone, my name is Joseph Lemons and I am a student studying graphic design. I was wanting to get into architectural visualization but dont know where to start. I have used sketchup in the past, but I would love to go beyond that. I use a 17 inch macbook pro for all my graphic work. I dont want to spend a year trying to learn Maya or a CAD program, is there anyway I can get my feet wet without going over my head. I dont have windows.

[Scott Schroeder]

Hey everyone, my name is Joseph Lemons and I am a student studying graphic design. I was wanting to get into architectural visualization but dont know where to start. I have used sketchup in the past, but I would love to go beyond that. I use a 17 inch macbook pro for all my graphic work. I dont want to spend a year trying to learn Maya or a CAD program, is there anyway I can get my feet wet without going over my head. I dont have windows.

 

The bold is the funniest thing I've read on there in months. You are either going to take the proper time to learn the programs or you are not. Half-assing it, or in your case one-sixteenth assing it, will get you no where. I hate to tell you, but if you want to be successful you'll need to use your whole ass.

[josephlemons]

If your not going to offer a professional reply, and instead swear at me like a teenager then dont bother even offerring advice.

[Cjmcphail]

Sorry if these kinds of comments come across as harsh but it is just the truth. The question you need you need to ask yourself is " is this something I want to do as a hobby or a profession". If its a hobby or you just want to muck around in your free time, then Sketch up with any of the render engines available will be more than sufficient if you "dont want to spend a year trying to learn" and alternative 3d software. If you are serious and its a profession you looking to get into, a change of mindset is needed. You need to dive head first into your software of choice (3ds max and vray for a large percentage of the industry). In order to gain employment and make half decent money, it requires you to to have a very deep understanding of your chosen software (which unless you are very gifted, wont happen in a year) and a reasonable understanding of architecture.

 

Unfortunately it is far more complex than setting up a camera, some lights, pressing a button and boom you have a killer image.

 

Just my two cents.

[christofferthulin]

If you are familiar with Photoshop you can get a long way with just decent renders from Sketchup and then do a lot of postwork. Ronan Bekerman has a good inspiration article about this matter, and Pixelflake have great tutorials as well.

[Krisztian Gulyas]

Joseph lemons - When I started I thought I will know everything about 3ds max in a year. Well, after years sometimes I still get to a point where I have no idea how to approach a problem. So if you really want to do this, then you have to sit down and practice a lot. There's no magic button that you can press. I suggests to go to classes where you can learn faster but don't expect that you'll make a living until you really know what you're doing.

 

ps: Scott Schroeder is a professional and he always gave really good advices and helped a lot of people here.

[Scott Schroeder]

If your not going to offer a professional reply, and instead swear at me like a teenager then dont bother even offerring advice.

 

The truth hurts. A year will give you a bare bones knowledge of any sort of software and will in no way make you ready for the professional world and you don't even want to put in that time. Either you will take the time, ie years, to learn or you won't. It's simple. There are no easy solutions, no push button modeling/rendering tools, nothing except dedication to learning.

 

I did give you a professional reply. I've been doing this for 10 years and I'm still learning on a daily basis. The learning never stops, if you do you slide to the realm of being a sub-par mediocre artist. You'll be the artist that loses their work to the el-cheapo overseas render sweatshops. When you are starting out the answer is so simple that you can't even grasp it. All you have to do is put in the time.

 

I'm not here to coddle anyone. To quote Hazardous, a great artist on another forum, "I don't remember people who treated me nicely, told me my work was great, coddled me and told me everything’s ok (except my mom! of course). I remember the people that took me to heightened peaks of emotional state - and encouraged me to fly on my own. People that gave me bloody knees, got my hands dirty, encouraged me to take a plunge into the unknown and abandon my fears. Those people made me a much stronger person. And that kind of person, is who I would like to be for others if they need it – because that’s all I know, that’s what worked for me and I try to share that."

[Nic H]

oooffff tough truths in arch vis getting handed out huhuhu

 

what scott said.

has taken me 11 years to become competent and to be honest, i probably only use about 10-15% of what 3dsmax has to offer.

 

best thing to do is to get a very broad overview of what 3dsmax (or c4d, maya, modo etc) can do - thats going to be the best technical base you can get.

get interested in art, films, photos anything thats going to inspire you and inform your visual approach to an extent that you just try doing stuff out and make some horrid first images much like everyone has to go through!

[BVI]

Rumour has it that they are bringing out the XDUGEF function VERY soon.

 

But seriously, you might want to check out sketchup (http://www.sketchup.com/intl/en/download/gsu.html) to get an idea on how 3D works from a conceptual stand point. If you like it, maybe try out Blender as a next step.

[Ernest Burden III]

I wouldn't worry so much about learning a program until you learn what you want to do with it. These software platforms cover so much territory you will not 'learn' them in a year or a decade. (For Mac, have a look at Cinema4D, since it doesn't need Windows, either). So you need only become aware of all the possibilities (modeling, character animation, physical/liquids simulations, digital sculpting, texturing, lighting, animation, compositing, editing, post-work etc... ). Then focus on the areas that you need to get started. But first you need a direction.

 

You should study the work being done, the history of the field and your own ideas about what you want to achieve. This stuff is art, approach it as an artist and not a technician.

[josephlemons]

OK I have just downloaded Revit 2014 and did a render and it didnt look that good, is there a program I can export the model to to get a more photorealistic render.

[Tommy L]

OK I have just downloaded Revit 2014 and did a render and it didnt look that good, is there a program I can export the model to to get a more photorealistic render.

 

Thats hilarious. Did you read what everyone else posted? I think you'd be better off doing photography, there's a little button on top of the camera that you press and you get a photo-real image.

[josephlemons]

Thats hilarious. Did you read what everyone else posted? I think you'd be better off doing photography, there's a little button on top of the camera that you press and you get a photo-real image.

 

If your not going to take my post seriously and give me a professional answer DONT BOTHER COMMENTING!!!!!!!

[Tommy L]

Im sorry, youre right, no-one here knows anything and never helps anyone out...

Like any profession, if you are just starting out then you should do more listening than talking. You've got some real industry veterans offering you advice and you seem to think what they say is 'unprofessional'. Go back and re-read the posts, especially the one from Ernest.

[josephlemons]

All I asked was if there is a better way to render images using Revit 2014 and he seemed to think that was funny, thats not funny at all, I wanted an answer not someone to make fun of my question

[Scott Schroeder]

OK I have just downloaded Revit 2014 and did a render and it didnt look that good, is there a program I can export the model to to get a more photorealistic render.

 

As has been stated more times on this forum than it needs to be.... It is not the rendering software, but the artist, who creates the photo real rendering. You can use Vray, Mental Ray, Octane, Thea, Corona, Maxwell, and so on and still never achieve the look you are going for unless you learn the software aaaaannnnnddd the rendering system involved. If you put a low quality model into Vray or whatever rendering system is hot at the moment, no matter how awesome your rendering skills are, you'll just end up with a low quality model that looks okay. You know the old saying goes, "You can't polish a turd."

 

On top of that, there is one step further than just learning the ins and outs and what buttons to push and that is learning what makes art look good. What a spec map is for and how that differs from a glossy map. How to use bump maps, displacement maps, normals, and the list goes on. It is about putting in the little details in your image maps, the dirt and grime and human wear and tear. Balancing warm and cool color, using shadows to define shapes and structure. None of which can be done in Revit by the way. Revit gives you a good enough render, but you'll never get that great render out of there.

 

Good rendering is a technical process but also an art form, so approach it as an more of an artist rather than a technician. This isn't an easy thing to learn and it takes years upon years of practice. Just start small, expect it to suck at first, but learn form your mistakes and grow as an artist.

 

For what it's worth, we can't help you with your Revit issue unless you post an image.

[josephlemons]

All I want to know is what plugins are available right now for Revit 2014 that can be used for rendering. Thats all I want to know, just give me a list

[josephlemons]

is there a way to export models from Revit into 3ds max I have the student version of Revit 2014, should i get the student version and export that way

[heni30]

You can do a forum search for past threads on the subject - there's a lot.

 

The reason you're being chided is because you're kinda naive and not showing the proper respect and humility before the masters (in direct proportion to the scathing level of the reply). Even though people have explained several times that it's a long and arduous process you still seem to want a quick fix presented to you.

 

It's kinda like barging into a orchestral rehearsal at the Julliard School of Music and blurting out "I want to play the violin - what are some quick exercises I can do in order to play Paganini's variations in a year.

 

The path of the architectural renderer is a difficult one, my son; fraught with pain, suffering, and sacrifice.

 

But once mastered, ...............it still is difficult and thankless.

 

Don't mind me..............just workin' late on a rendering.

Edited August 7, 2013 by heni30

[josephlemons]

No I all I want is for someone to list all of the third party rendering plugins available for Revit 2014, I dont understand how hard that is to do, it seems like a simple task

[heni30]

I think the Revit forum would be your best bet for that.

 

As far as Max goes, most people seem to agree that importing from Revit is problematic unless the Revit modeling was carefully done with exporting in mind.

 

I once asked if a client-supplied Revit model warranted a price discount. Several people said they would charge extra if they had to use a Revit model.

Edited August 7, 2013 by heni30

[Scott Schroeder]

Here you go because Googling "Revit Rendering" is such a difficult task.

 

http://www.indigorenderer.com/revit/

http://www.maxwellrender.com/index.php/products/maxwell_render_suite/plugins/

http://lumion3d.com/revit/

http://render.otoy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=28935

http://www.twinmotion.com/showcase/news/revit_plugin.html/

 

You'll still probably have a poor quality image, but have fun.

[Cjmcphail]

Here you go because Googling "Revit Rendering" is such a difficult task.

 

http://www.indigorenderer.com/revit/

http://www.maxwellrender.com/index.php/products/maxwell_render_suite/plugins/

http://lumion3d.com/revit/

http://render.otoy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=28935

http://www.twinmotion.com/showcase/news/revit_plugin.html/

 

You'll still probably have a poor quality image, but have fun.

 

Ill add

http://www.lumenrt.com/solutions/poster.php?s=Architecture

[Guest calumreid]

Yeah, i was about to say, whats so hard about Googling it or looking up the hundreds of posts on this topic, not just on this site.

[M V]

Joseph, without harsh criticism (even though I agree with all the other posts before this one), I will give you the quick answers you are looking for...

 

Revit - rendering capability on it's own sucks

 

Maxwell has a new plugin for Revit but I took a look at it and it's still very young and needs to come quite a ways but if you stick with Maxwell in Revit and really hit the pavement running with it, you can create very realistic images.

 

Here is how to learn how to use it in an hour -

 

Most of us use V-Ray, but as a Maxwell and V-Ray user, I think Maxwell is quicker to learn and potentially be creating very realistic images in a week or so. The nice thing is that you stay in Revit and don't need to learn Max which can easily take 5+ years just to feel comfortable in. The one thing I like about Maxwell is that it has many plugins, that are all free, so once you learn it, you can use it in Max, Revit, SketchUp, etc etc.

 

Good luck. Post some examples when you get rolling.