Wats Up

[Leak]

Im a 19 year old architecture student in New York and im really interested in architectural renderings. I joing this forum to learn how to do this the right way. Firt I would like to know what program do you guys suggest i learn how to us and pus me in the right direction for the turorials.

[pBarrelas]

Hi Leak, welcome to this great community, very soon we'll have some surprises for the community, so stay tunned!!
I'm glad to know that we have another architect among us.
To be honest, ther isn't the right software to do architectural visualization. Personaly i use Maya, Russell (aka The Allusionist) uses Viz, Roberto (aka Speedline) uses XSI and Paradipta (aka pradipta...LOL) uses Max. This means that what ever you use, it's your talent that counts.
IMHO if you choose something like Maya, Viz, Max, XSI or Lightwave, you're working with very good package, not to mention the tutorials available out there for these ones, but there is others ones out there, that might work as well!!

[TheAllusionist]

Right now is strange time to try and suggest a program since AutoDesk the company that owns Max and Viz just bought Alias, the company that puts out Maya. Basically they just swallowed up their major competition. Short term maybe not big difference in the landscape, but I think all three will become one. It really depends on your budget, I suggest you go and get the demos and give them a try to see what is most intuitive to you. Something like Viz is relatively inexpensive and has compatibility with AutoCAD, but like I said the future is uncertain. Generally for architectural visualization Max or Vis are used the most but there seems to be a big surge in Maxon's Cinema 4D and you can buy it in modules, the basic core isn't to expensive and it has ties with Archicad so your models should translate if you are using that package. I would just be leary of AutoDesk packages right now and personally I don't like how AutoDesk does business, they put stock holders first and fleece the cutomers. Good luck and welcome to the team!

[pradipta]

nice to see you are interested in the architectural rendering. it's a very dynamic field and has lots to offer. as Paulo and Russell said you have lots of softwares at your disposal. all the softwares are almost same and their procedure differes a little bit. if you can expertise in one major software you can play with others also. for architectural rendering i'd suggest Viz, 3ds max, lightwave and also cinema4d does amazing work. you can use lots of sophisticated renderer that just make your rendering more realistic and believable. yes, you can also use XSI and maya but they are a bit difficult when using for architectural modeling. it's urely my opinion although. it depends how much time and effort you can devote.

thanks for joining us and sharing your views.

[TheAllusionist]

I might add that Maxon (Cinema 4D) and Newtek (Lightwave) seem to have great people working for them (Same goes for XSI) and are great to work with, I can't say that for the AutoDesk people. I just thought I would throw that out, you should base your decision on the software, but in case of a tie, the companies reputation and your local dealer may be the determining factor.

[TheAllusionist]

P.S. I like your 'Spawn' drawing, very nice.

[Leak]

Thanks guys

[TheAllusionist]

Although, the image in your signature is awfully big every time I see one of your comments, I think there is an image attachment in the post. But I am a big fan of Spawn and Todd's work in general, and you captured it well.

[pBarrelas]

Originally Posted by TheAllusionist

Although, the image in your signature is awfully big every time I see one of your comments, I think there is an image attachment in the post. But I am a big fan of Spawn and Todd's work in general, and you captured it well.

HEH HEH HEH!!!! You're kiling me Russell!!

[TheAllusionist]

I don't see the large signature image anymore. I was just stating tht it was BIG, not that it needed to be removed, a smaller version works just fine