Newbie to the 3D world

[ritafolgado]

Hi there everyone,

 

I am an architect with about 3 years professional experienced but I haven't done any modelling or rendering for work just some minor stuff during my studies but would like to really improve my skills at modelling and rendering as it is now a very important tool and highly requested (for clients & for job applications). I did a course on 3D max, for modelling & rendering but this was so long ago and right after I bought a MacBook and therefore this software was anyway out of the picture for me. I also tried a couple of times Sketchup and Rhino, and while I managed to actually model some stuff I feel like the general organisation of my files was quite bad. I am now a bit undecided which software to learn...I would like to maybe use Rhino but I couldn't find any accessible rendering softwares for Rhino Mac...I am just not sure as I would like to learn something that could really be used with different levels of skills, like just use it for simple, well done visualisations but also with margin to improve and do it almost on a professional level.

 

So what would you recommend?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Rita

[Francisco Penaloza]

Hello Rita, welcome to the forum.

Some ideas to your question. First I would recommend to consider changing OS. There are applications that you can use on OSX but the bulk of professional software for Architecture, is Windows base.

 

If you want to stay in OSx I will recommend to use sketchup, this software is used in almost all Architectural companies, it is easy to use, fast learning, and very powerful. For rendering engines, there are several options within OSx, you have V Ray, Maxwell, Podium, Thea, Indigo and many more.

 

Rhino is way more robust modeling tool than sketchup but for Architecture sketchup seems faster to create designs concepts and prototipes.

Also within Osx is very limited to external rendering engines.

 

If you don't mind to export to render in other application you also may want to look into Cinema 4D or MODO. both have great rendering engine.

Hope this give you some ideas

[Jason Matthews]

I second what Francisco has posted. Sketchup is by far the easiest modeling software to learn. Almost every rendering software can import a Sketchup model or a format that Sketchup can export. As far as rendering software goes, you are probably not looking to create super high-end pieces of artwork and instead you are probably looking for something that does not have a big learning curve. I would recommend looking at Lumion, Twinmotion, or LumenRT. The reason for that is the ability to visualize your projects in "Realtime" and the ease of exporting stills and animations. Again, these rendering softwares are easy to use and you don't need extensive knowledge to use them effectively either.

[theeastcoastwest]

Rita, welcome to cgarchitect!

 

One important step in approaching the 3D world anew, is to try and hammer out your educational goals as specifically as possible. There are several major differences between software packages, and tons of subtle differences. Chances are, you won't be able to address many of the subtle differences until you get some first hand experience. The major differences however, can be addressed largely before diving in.

 

1. What are you going to be using your models for?

 

If you're just modeling to view them on screen, or make 3d prints of, you won't need to worry to much about peripherals such as render engine integration or material editor capabilities. If you are planning on rendering your models, try and determine the degree of realism you are looking for. If you want to get as real as possible, you'll want a program such as 3ds max, which has great integration with VRAy ( a very powerful render engine ), a powerful material editor, very decent scene management, and both nurbs and poly modeling. That being said, 3ds max is a BIG program, and can do just about everything. It is, however, seen as being somewhat of a swiss army knife, in that it does a lot of things well, but few things amazingly.

 

3DS max is a polygonal modeling tool (its nurbs support is weak) and isn't always suitable for the management of complex types of architectural components. Revit is a large-scale BIM project management type program, which I understand to be used by a lot of commercial architects. I don't personally have much experience with it.

 

Rhino 3D is a very powerful program, and their support is unbelievable. I've actually had the President respond to my emails before, and my questions were anything but urgent. Rhino lacks a lot of history support, in that you can't go back and edit previous steps. There is some native support through the "record history" function, but it's not really easy to keep focus on. Now, something any architect should be aware of, is the free plugin for Rhino called "Grasshopper3d" (grasshopper3d.com). This is the most powerful parametric modeling tool I have ever used, and it is able to do anything! It is very efficiently coded, and has a tremendous support forum. It's really a program in and of it's own, but as things stand, it's offered as a free plugin.

 

If you are considering selling your models, you should be aware that most marketplaces show a high demand for quad poly models, as opposed to triangulated meshes. Programs like 3ds max and maya will allow the creation of quads, and rhino, sketchup, and others will output triangulated meshes. Rhino does have support for UV mesh modeling, but it isn't close to being considered friendly to use.

 

2. OS

 

Unless you can't afford a windows machine, you'll want to ditch that mac. If you are a linux guy, you can piece together a pretty decent 3d package, but you won't get photoshop (the only thing keeping me on windows.) Maya & Vray both have support for linux, and there are several other programs available as well.

 

3. Extras

 

I spend most of my time rendering furniture models, which are given to me from designers which have modeled them in Rhino. So straight out of the gate, I have to make a choice of rendering within Rhino, or outputting to another program. I usually work in 3ds max with vray, so I output my Rhino models as triangulated meshes, and then import them into 3ds max. There are hitches sometimes, but it usually works well.

 

From there, most all other scene assets such as rooms, curtains, trees, grasses, or other contextual models are ones that I have created within 3DS max. So, my scene gets to be a bit of a mix-matched arena, which 3ds max handles well. (well, kinda well...) I've played with Vray for Rhino, and the UI is god-awful, and the release version is way behind 3ds max. The standard in many industries is 3DS Max & Vray, but I've noticed that shifting lately.

 

I hope some of this helped!

 

ps. 3ds max & vray also have the most available support in online forums, which helps alot when you are starting out.

[nicolacandussi]

Hello Rita! If you're thinking of exploring SketchUp maybe you can give Ambient Occlusion and SketchFx

a shot. These are SketchUp render plugins, very easy and has many great features for your projects. Users can easily manipulate the mapping by simply drag and drop plus it also has it's built-in camera effects.

 

Goodluck!

Edited July 11, 2016 by nicolacandussi
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