krishutchison Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 We are about to do a complete revamp and are going all Mac. Coming from a of background slot of this is new to me. We do not want to run Windows on Mac We are looking to produce pretty 3D images as well as nice looking 2D plans for marketing stuff ( I recomend everyone start offering that as architects plans are mostly ugly ) We want to have the 2D and 3D integrated because drawing everything twice is silly. At the moment I am leaning towards archicad because it produces the best looking plans and is supposed to be fast for 3D. I am a bit stuck on what rendering software to use. At the moment I am thinking of switching to maxwell as it integrates well with archicad. I do not have time to trial a bunch of software. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francisco Penaloza Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 This been talked here several times, just do a search and you'll find a lot of answers. The thing that called my attention is the way you approach this. You mentioned that Architectural plans are ugly... what you mean with that? also in what environment you will be working, it is completely different work at home at your own peace, than working in a boutique architectural office, than a large Architectural firm, Beauty has a completely different concept there. Also integrating construction drawing with 3D models is the dream of many architects and Engineers, but is not that easy as saying it should be done because otherwise is just silly. Going all the way MAC it is a though choice(believe me I been there), most of the Architectural industry is Windows base, we like it or not. If you want to offer a service to other people, you need to be flexible enough to fit all your clients, and depending of the region where you live the software they use will vary. If you will be designing on ArchiCAD, I will recommend to use Cinema 4D, and for render, whatever you please, Maxwell, VRay, Mental Ray(I will no recommend that one) or Corona and many more. If you will work with clients that use REVIT, then everything will be up hill for you, exporting those models in to CINEMA is though. Rhino is other good option, you can render with VRay too. MODO works pretty good in Macs, also the render engine is very flexible, but if you will working with a mesh that was not modeled in MODO, that will imply several hours of cleaning and setup. You could use Maya in MAC too, there you have VRAY and Mental Ray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic H Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 run windows on a mac and stick with the standard industry software Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 quite a bizarre way to do things....to decide the OS and then look at what software you'll use for production. Why revamp and retrain? Its also a little strange that you have time to switch the office from W to MacOS, retrain everyone on new software, but dont have time to test the software that will be the backbone of your business. Instead of that you'll trust the opinion of people online who you have never met and dont know their credentials? What's driving the switch to MacOS? And why do you think plans are ugly? I think they are beautiful. Less is more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyderSK Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 What's driving the switch to MacOS? It's better for graphics, all the designers use it. It's also very stable, with no virus threats. The workstations are also cheap and very powerful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 It's better for graphics, all the designers use it. It's also very stable, with no virus threats. The workstations are also cheap and very powerful. I have to disagree with all three sentiments, but I dont want to derail the OP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyderSK Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Sorry, couldn't help ;- ) The question asked for it. But the answer is more than simple, the ones left, there aren't that many for MacOS. ArchiCad/Cinema is what you get to choose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 Sorry, couldn't help ;- ) The question asked for it. But the answer is more than simple, the ones left, there aren't that many for MacOS. ArchiCad/Cinema is what you get to choose. Yes and the answer 'archicad and C4D' would drive me to look again at what Windows has to offer. C4D has gotten sloppy of late, especially with regard to their network rendering. I used to like CD4 as the 'non-autodesk' solution, but I dont believe it gives much advantage to the arch-vis crowd. The jewel in its crown is surely Mograph and thats more of a motion graphics tool than anything else. Its native renderer is quite nice. Its the best of the no frills options. VRay integration is patchy though, developed by a 3rd party I think. Max is king of the hill in our game for a reason. Namely its massive user base which generates huge user support and an extensive catalogue of scripts / plugins. If a Viz house with bags of experience decided its stylistic bent required running particular software, then fine. However, the OP seems to have had a W8 nightmare moment and said 'fxxx that, Im getting a Mac'. And everyone else in his office will have to toe the line and hate him for a while. If the OP works in an arch practice that does a little 3d on the side, then Im the wrong guy to be responding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krishutchison Posted April 1, 2015 Author Share Posted April 1, 2015 Switching to mac from windows is happening. the 3D department is small and is having to live with it. ok if you are working back and forth with designers then remodeling all the time to keep up with changes is difficult so 2d/3d intergration seems better than contantly measuring for changes they may not have mentioned (this may have caused me trouble in the past) designers and documenters may not always have time to make plans pretty so offering pretty plans for marketing can add real value. yes I am asking a bunch of strangers about what they think. Have you seen a forum before? I have talked to a million software reps, but they are all 90% BS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 Switching to mac from windows is happening. the 3D department is small and is having to live with it. ok if you are working back and forth with designers then remodeling all the time to keep up with changes is difficult so 2d/3d intergration seems better than contantly measuring for changes they may not have mentioned (this may have caused me trouble in the past) designers and documenters may not always have time to make plans pretty so offering pretty plans for marketing can add real value. yes I am asking a bunch of strangers about what they think. Have you seen a forum before? I have talked to a million software reps, but they are all 90% BS. I agree, reps only really tend to know their own software, so are not the best resource for an apples to apples. So far as forums go, there are more morons who think they know everything than experienced users who donate their precious time to help others, so its tough to know what advice to refer to on a forum like this. If I responded to every post that is flat out WRONG then I'd never do anything else. To make a choice on what software a whole office should use you wither need an expert on site or a consultant. But you've got me and Juraj taking part here so you've not done too bad. What is your typical project? What is your current windows workflow? What software do the designers (architects?) use that you need to be compatible with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francisco Penaloza Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 But you've got me and Juraj taking part here so you've not done too bad. You just hurt my feelings... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krishutchison Posted April 1, 2015 Author Share Posted April 1, 2015 Thanks for the input. I have ten years of experience but have not had time to try out every new thing. People who are new to this stuff often bring new ideas. I have done everything from interior shots of a single room to massive projects that take up an entire suburb. I do minimal post processing because I usually do not have time. I do not plan to use archicad or vectorworks for stuff like furniture or light fittings. Keeping things on a limited budget I am thinking of trying out cheetah3d for that. (I am too slow with blender) Probably going to go with archicad because AutoCAD is no good on a Mac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryannelson Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 I let my pc render with 3dsmax and Vray while I photoshop/lightroom on my iMac next to it Or when i'm working in max, I watch movies on my mac haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich O Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 (edited) Maya + V-ray is a setup for Mac. If you really must use OSX. I myself used Maya for years for arch vis. The only pain is that most model libraries are for Max, which can be a pain having to recreate shaders. Mac/Maya/V-ray is not that uncommon for print/design (I guess because of the Mac aspect of those industries) V-ray is also arguably better integrated with Maya than with Max due to the nodal nature. Edited April 10, 2015 by Richard7666 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deadkaiser Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 lol Francisco Penaloza don't you know you need to have more than 1k post for anyone on this forum to respectfully take notice of your posts..... even if they just repeat what you say like use ArchiCAD and Cinema 4D...... but hey you probably have already noticed that....... anyway respect for the effort. But please note this is probably coming from a - "morons who think they know everything than experienced users who donate their precious time to help others" Tom Livings Anyway joke aside back the the OP question, OP unless your willing to spend large amounts of time exporting and rendering I personally would just stick within Archicad....... I know the quality is nowhere near what even the average VRay used can do but if you are planing as i understand it to do lots of 3d renders to accompany your plans i think it would just be quicker to do the renders in Archicad and then just seriously polish them in PS.... I assume you are beautifying your plans in PS aswell...... However if i misunderstood you and you want high quality renders and you are aware of the time it will take well obviously follow what everyone else has been recommending!! GL OP hope the mac are as good as Juraj Talcik says they are! And btw a good architectural plan is beautiful not ugly imo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyderSK Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 GL OP hope the mac are as good as Juraj Talcik says they are! I think I need to give up using sarcasm on internet forum, not matter how obvious I make it ;- ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deadkaiser Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 I think I need to give up using sarcasm on internet forum, not matter how obvious I make it ;- ). lol fair enough maybe add a or something maybe i'm slow but that was not obvious....... Nice renders BTW.... impressive work!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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