What 3d Modeling is Best for Me?

[ohmyhead]

Hi all.

I am having trouble deciding if Chief Architect is the right program for my needs. I have read through much of the threads here (which I appreciate by the way) but still am not sure what direction to head.

Currently, I do no 3d rendering and I am not in the architectural / building world at all. That said, I am needing a program where I can create 3d residential architecture purely for the graphical content. I have no need at this time for BIM, nor do I need to get into plumbing, electric, framing, etc. I just need to create beautiful exterior and interior pictures (with furniture, landscaping, etc.) that are photo-realistic. I think I have it narrowed done between CA, ACAD Architectural, or Revit but that is where I get lost.

I need to be able to quickly model these environments. CA libraries are very appealing to me, and I probably would very rarely have a need for a custom symbol. However, I don't understand how CA would work with 3d Studio Max - which seems to be the preferred rendering program on the AutoCad platform and Arch Viz community. Do I even need 3d Studio Max to get photo-realistic output?

Side note: My work will compete directly with real photos so I truly need output that is 90% as good as real photos.

I would appreciate any feedback / direction that you are willing to share!

Thanks,

Nickole

[sutcac]

It sounds like Chief is probably a good bet for you. There are various export options for the model you create in Chief like 3DS. Personally, I (and others here that do very high end renderings) use the VRML export and use the
Accutrans converter software to create an XML file that can be open in Thea Studio, a very high quality rendering engine.

See this thread-

http://www.chieftalk.com/showthread....ghlight=render

And also the link to the Chief to Kerkythea/Thea Converter below in my signature line.

[David J. Potter]

You can download a free trial version and see for yourself.

If all you need for your purposes is space planning and simple isometric, 3-D renderings then Home Designer titles or any Chief Premiere title will serve you well (Home Designer titles run from as little as $100.00 to 500.00 and Chief Premiere titles $1,500 and up).

I cannot tell, exactly from what you have posted what you may or may not need or want but you can download free trials of either Chief Premiere or Home Designer Pro and see for yourself before buying.

DJP

[lbuttery]

David:

the free trials don't allow for saves
which I think also prohibits exports ???

Lew

[ohmyhead]

The post I made last night is still not posted here. It included a link - are those prohibited?

[lbuttery]

links are permitted

are you sure you submitted it ???

try again...

Lew

[jcaffee]

So, if I understand correctly, you are after a tool to quickly cobble together residential structures? The output fromwhich will then be imported into 3ds max, LightWave 3D, etc for instant "photo-realistic" renders? hm!

I think you are being unrealistic. Can CA Premier be part of your workflow? Yes! But if you're after the quality of photo-realism found within the self-identified Archvis sector, then--well, you're gonna need a bigger boat.

I might suggest getting involved at the forums over on Ronen Bekerman's blogsite @

http://www.ronenbekerman.com/

You can see end results and ask what software/hardware/training folks endured to be able to produce their art.

jon

[ohmyhead]

Thank you for responding. Just for added clarification:

I am needing to render to this quality output (see attachment).

Sutcac: Will your suggested workflow get me there? I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but I was locked out of the links you said to click on.

David: I have a trial version of CA downloaded, but I can't save or export a file so I'm not sure how to test it out properly. Add that to my confusion about rendering programs, workflow, etc....that is why I'm relying on all of you experts.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Appreciate you taking the time...

Nickole

[ohmyhead]

Thanks, Lew. It worked this time.

Jon - I appreciate your direction. I really may need a bigger boat and just don't know it. I truly thought I could build a room / house in CA and then inport that data into 3d Studio Max to get photo realistic output.

Sounds like that is wishful thinking?

Is the issue that CA doesn't provide appropriate data for that, or is the issue me not understanding there would be more steps to work flow?

[dshall]

I thought CA could turn out something similar to the picture in post #8, am I wrong?

[jcaffee]

If the picture is an example of what you're after, then CA/Thea Render is completely capable.

If, you're after something like the attached, then you'll need that super yacht

(image is NOT my work)

jon

[ohmyhead]

I see. I think I'm starting to grasp what you are saying.

Can you compare / contrast CA/3d Studio Max/Vray workflow versus CA/Thea Render. I don't understand why one would be better than the other.

Nickole

[lbuttery]

Nickole:

some areas of the forum are blocked until you have X posts

contact CA's customer service and they can assist with access

its to slow down spammers

Lew

[jcaffee]

Nickole,

It's all about the poly-count, or number of polygons used to model. High poly-count (3ds, mudslide, massFX, Lightwave 3D, etc.) provides greater detail, but you need @ minimum Workstation class hardware to function effectively.

Low poly (CA, Lumion, Octane, etc.) gives less "realism" but, these tools will work fine on PC grade hardware (with the right video card)

On top of functionality, there is cost and training time. I can have somebody vaguely functional on CA in a matter of days if they bring general PC graphics skills (Photoshop, SketchUp, Visio, etc.). Whereas I've seen kids coming out of years at Full Sail who can't tell their bottom from a hole in the ground as a CG "artist".

As for cost, a good budgeting rule-of-thumb is that the 3ds solution will be 10X greater for software/hardware/training than the CA-class solutions.

Hope this doesn't add to your confusion. If what you're after is the quality output of the photo you posted, then like I mentioned, CA is more than capable.

jon

[Dermot Dempsey]

Take a look at the gallery on our main web site:

http://www.chiefarchitect.com/produc...es.html#render

All of the images were generated by Chief Archtitect. If the quality of the images is suitable for what you need, then you should be able to use Chief Architect to model and render the images you want. If the rendering quality is less then what you need, you can still use Chief Architect as your primary modeling tool and then export the models to another rendering tool.

Either way, I would recommend that you get either the Interiors or Premier product. Both of these have the built in Chief ray tracing engine and both have the ability to export your completed 3D models. You can also call or contact our sales department for more information.