standard software for architectural visualization

[rhapsodyosx]

I am a student in Digital Media and i have been trying to figure out what is used for architectural visualization*in industry. AutoCad was my first guess..but are others such as Maya, 3D StudioMax, Archicad, lightwave, etc. used that often? If anyone could give me a idea..even if not exact i would be great appreciative. I can seem to get no answer from no one. Forgive my ignorance in asking this question.

[manta]

Hello,

there is no standard, any of the software you mentioned can be used, including alot more, its a matter of preference, some people find certain softwares easier for them, the easier it is for them, the faster they can get their work done.

 

Start downloading some of the learning editions of the varios softwares and try them out, which ever one makes the most sence to you, is the one for you.

[manta]

By the way,

I'm sure that price is a big deal since you're a student, you can get IntelliCAD

for like $170.00 , that along with XSI for $495 could be all you would ever need,

just a thought...

[manta]

Hm perhaps I spoke too soon, after reading a bit, I find that XSI has a real problem importing .dwg or .DXF so you would have to buy a translator also,

I hear that BLENDER has DXF import, and thats a free program, you can connect it to YAFRAY which is a free render engine.

[rhapsodyosx]

Thank you for your information. I have started to learn Maya, but i havent been able to change the units..inches, feet, etc. That made me think that perhaps maya wasnt a good idea for architecture.

[Videha]

take your time and read thru this great forum and your awnser will be

your own. i guess most used is Autocad and Max but there are great things done with different Apps have a look

[mbr]

FormZ is the msot used in architecture. In Arch viz it'd be Max/Viz.

 

That may all be changing, though, considering how expensive Max is compared to the competition.

 

I've seen wonderful thigns done with every promgram, so you can't really say one is 'better'. Max has TONS of plugins and things, like models and texttures, that yo ucan easily fine, which is great for this industry 'cause it's just not worth my time to learn how to make that perfect flower when I cna buy one for $20!

 

You can get an educational version of Max (and I use Final Render for a renderer - it's greta and fast, and there are educational versions).

[Frosty]

If you are interested in FZ, be sure to check out their Joint Study Program. $100/yr gets you a fully functional lease.

[Brian Cassil]

I would have to say that the most common in the industry is Viz/Max. I'm not saying it's the best thing to use, just that it's the closest thing to a standard that exists for arch viz, at least here in the US.

[rhapsodyosx]

When you mention 3D Max/Viz... do you mean 3d studio max with some other viz package? what is Viz. thanks again

[rhapsodyosx]

If you are interested in FZ, be sure to check out their Joint Study Program. $100/yr gets you a fully functional lease.

 

I just looked at the crucialperception site, does anyone know what software was used...Im assuming FormZ

[Brian Cassil]

What I mean is 3d Studio Max or 3d Studio Viz. 2 different programs, but very similar to earch other. Baisically Viz is the same thing as Max but without a lot of the animation capabilities and therefore about half the cost. In almost every other way they are exactly the same.

[rhapsodyosx]

At academicsuperstore.com FormZ is listed as almost $800, is that correct?

Thats a little high for academic pricing.

 

 

FormZ is the msot used in architecture. In Arch viz it'd be Max/Viz.

 

That may all be changing, though, considering how expensive Max is compared to the competition.

 

I've seen wonderful thigns done with every promgram, so you can't really say one is 'better'. Max has TONS of plugins and things, like models and texttures, that yo ucan easily fine, which is great for this industry 'cause it's just not worth my time to learn how to make that perfect flower when I cna buy one for $20!

 

You can get an educational version of Max (and I use Final Render for a renderer - it's greta and fast, and there are educational versions).

[Christopher Nichols]

FormZ is the msot used in architecture. In Arch viz it'd be Max/Viz.

 

I think that you will find that FormZ is loosing ground as architects want to render more and more,and rendering in formz just doesn't cut it anymore. Plus they have the deal with the pain of translating the file.

[rhapsodyosx]

If FormZ is loosing ground whos picking it up?

I seem to see a lot 3dmax stuff on here. Is Maya used that much in this field? The alias website talks about architectural viz, but there isnt much listed on here in the maya forum thread.

 

Thanks again for all the information.

I think that you will find that FormZ is loosing ground as architects want to render more and more,and rendering in formz just doesn't cut it anymore. Plus they have the deal with the pain of translating the file.

[Christopher Nichols]

These polls may help answer your questions... don't think maya has much or any of the market share.

 

http://www.cgarchitect.com/vb/showthread.php?t=7757

http://www.cgarchitect.com/vb/showthread.php?t=7758

http://www.cgarchitect.com/vb/showthread.php?t=7759

[Frosty]

I just looked at the crucialperception site, does anyone know what software was used...Im assuming FormZ

 

I model in FormZ and Cinema 4D. All rendering is Cinema4D.

[Frosty]

At academicsuperstore.com FormZ is listed as almost $800, is that correct?

Thats a little high for academic pricing.

 

That could be the correct Edu purchase price, but AutoDesSys has always offered a Joint Study Program through many many schools - check with yours. This program allows you to lease a time encrypted version, fully featured most recent release, for about $100/yr. Manuals can also be purchased for about another $100.

[Crazy Homeless Guy]

i would say that max and viz are far and away the most common in arch viz field, but that does not mean they are the best. viz gets a lot because of its association with autocad, and it is pushed as a rendering solution for architecture. max gets a lot from its due to its already enormous user base. there are lots of options for max, lots of people scripting, which makes it appealing, even though it is a glutenous program.

 

i have seen a lot of people using cinema for arch over the past couple of years.

 

myself, i was taught 3d in formZ, and still use it almost exclusively for my modeling. formZ had great potential. in my opinion, it is by far the best architectural modeler available. people coming from other apps complain that it is hard to learn how to use, but i suspect they are simply using the wrong tools.

 

formZ has a lot of tools that do not perform well, the give you errors, and do not really explain what is wrong with the model, what is keeping the operation from working. this is mainly because formZ tries to be to precise. but the precision is what also keeps it strong as an architectural modeler. if you stick with the base tools, you can build amazing architectural shapes efficiently, and with greater precision than autocad.

 

i have had trouble recommending formZ to anyone after they released version 4. version 3.xx was efficient, fast, and light weight. version 4 was the opposite in my opinion. things started reacting slowly, the interface became a little less friendly, ect.. my friend insists with the recent release of version 5.0, that they fixed the speed problem, but i disagree. i still use version 3.9.5 by choice, but i am getting pressure from my coworkers to start using the new version. as far as i am concerned, i have no need to switch from 3.9.5, but i will explain that a little later.

 

Christopher is correct in saying that formZ is suffering a lot from rendering. it always has, and the company openly admits that they consider their product to be a modeler, and not a renderer. they have always licensed a stripped down version of lightworks render engine to handle the rendering. the lightworks render engine is dated in itself. they are making improvements, but todays engines are still far superior.

 

we added 3dmax and vray to our lineup of tools about a year ago. we dropped lightwave (don't confuse with lightworks, the render engine). not because we hate lightwave, actually i love it compared to max. it is quick, and responds well. we choose max, because of the number of resources available for it, which includes vray.

 

while christopher is right about the rendering problems, i disagree about the file tranlation problems. since Max release its file link extension, i can export my model from formZ via dwg, and seamlessly link into the max environment for texturing, rendering, and animating. and the nice part about it is that i can still be working on my model in formZ, and simply update it in max with 3 button clicks. i have been extremely happy with this, and have said so many times. this is why earlier i said i see no reason for me ever to use a version after 3.9.5 of formZ, even though we own 5.0. 3.9.5 has all of the tools i need to build extremely high quality architectural models, models that would be a pain in the ass with max. i can build these models with out getting pissed at the slowness of the newer versions of formZ. i use 3.9.5, and then link them into max. so i have a high quality accurate modeler, paired with vray through max.

 

one of the major areas where formZ has suffered is its inability to reference or link files from one model to another. this is something users have been requesting for years, and it has been ignored. form me, this is one of the strengths of other programs. we actually have people working on different parts of a formZ model, then linking them through scene referencing in max as a work around.

 

there are people on this board that have purchased formZ, and just leave it sit around, because of the learning curve. maybe someday i will write a tutorial on which tools are worthless, and which ones are worth while.

 

i have never used cinema, so i don't know what kind of program it is, but max doesn't get a full nod from me either. i love it for vray, but not for the program itself. if i had my way, vray would work with lightwave, and lightwave would adopt max's FileLink extension, so i could keep formZ version 3.9.5. i could really do my work fast then.

 

if you want to see how prominent formZ is for our field, just look at when the last post was made in the formZ area of the forum here at cgarchitect. although there is slightly more representation within architecture firms than what is reflected here.

 

thanks for reading if you made it this far.

[William Alexander]

people coming from other apps complain that it is hard to learn how to use, but i suspect they are simply using the wrong tools.

 

imho, it's like an old cabinetmakers's workshop. A lifetime of aquired tools and jigs for every and very specific tasks creating faster, more intricate & ornate work. Personally I prefer the tools in the old shop rather than Home Depot's.

 

Wrong tools, using chisels as screw drivers- but maybe you need to know the difference first .

 

WDA

[ndela]

In France, I don't think we use Maya for architectural... Much more Viz, AutoCAD, or litlle CAD software (depends on the compagny size).

Max & Maya are much more designed for sfx, cg or game... (that's my opinion)

[Frosty]

imho, it's like an old cabinetmakers's workshop. A lifetime of aquired tools and jigs for every and very specific tasks creating faster, more intricate & ornate work. Personally I prefer the tools in the old shop rather than Home Depot's.

 

Wrong tools, using chisels as screw drivers- but maybe you need to know the difference first .

 

WDA

 

That is about the best analogy of the situation I've ever read. FormZ does have around 200+ tools and nearly unlimited combinations of tools (ie using the hammer and the chisel together).

[Crazy Homeless Guy]

imho, it's like an old cabinetmakers's workshop. A lifetime of aquired tools and jigs for every and very specific tasks creating faster, more intricate & ornate work. Personally I prefer the tools in the old shop rather than Home Depot's.

 

Wrong tools, using chisels as screw drivers- but maybe you need to know the difference first .

 

WDA

 

maybe you should submit that to formz as a user comment. they would probably use it in their book promo release that they put out every year with users work and comments about the product.

[rhapsodyosx]

The consenus i seem to get is that Max or Viz used much more than maya. THe only bad part is that the department at school has pretty much standardized on Maya...used to use a combination of max, etc. I guess i can teach it to myself later, but at the same time having to learn maya in two classes is a bit annoying.

Does anyone out there use Maya for Arch Visualization?

[IC]

Just learn Maya. Learn all you can about it. Softimage, Maya and (especially)Houdini experts are in big demand due to the steep learning curve involved with them.

 

There are people using it for visualisation-just not very many. It doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it-quite the contrary, in fact.

 

In general terms, Maya is just about as good as 3d software gets. It's renderer gets a bad press but that never stopped people using Max. Especially with all the external options now available.