3D Visualization
This is the part that gets outsourced the most, still many firms do 3D inhouse. With Revit and other BIM tools, 3D model is generated by default but what do you use for a rendered presentation? moreover, during the early design stage Revit may be an overkill. Everybody and their kids use sketchup these days but the sketchup look has gotten kind of old- there's no doubt that sketchup is quick and easy to learn but you can't go for some high profile presentation with a bunch of sketchup renderings! I have heard about VRay for sketchup and some of the examples look really cool.
I used 3D Max in college (I guess it was called 3D Studio back then) and it's still in use today. And then there's nothing like the good old study model!
I'll be interested to know what you guys use at school or work. And if you have any examples of VRay for sketchup (or any other software) work that you or your firm has done please post the images or link here. I'm specially interested in the before and after looks -with sketchup and VRay.
I used 3D Max in college (I guess it was called 3D Studio back then) and it's still in use today. And then there's nothing like the good old study model!
I'll be interested to know what you guys use at school or work. And if you have any examples of VRay for sketchup (or any other software) work that you or your firm has done please post the images or link here. I'm specially interested in the before and after looks -with sketchup and VRay.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sabu Francis on -
I've just put a small flash presentation of a row house project designed in TAD http://ww3.teamtad.com/Presentations TAD does very fast, quick'n dirty visualizations within the software itself. Each visualization is a dynamic one. That means, once TAD renders it, you can actually walk around/inside it. Here is an example http://www.sabufrancis.com/themes/presentations/alt2walkinside.swf
I use this feature in TAD extensively as I keep designing. No waiting period at all. Once the design gets finalized, I export the model to POVRay and render it there. I wonder why POVRay is not popular among practicing architects. It is a highly respected rendering software and been in existence for several years and is available on many platforms. It is free, and can give commercial software a pretty stiff competition. See their hall of fame http://hof.povray.org Main site is http://www.povray.org
When you install TAD, it comes with a built-in freeware renderer called Virtualight http://www2.asro.kuleuven.ac.be/asro/English/HOME/SBs/render/virtua... It does a reasonable job of rendering but occasionally it does not render holes correctly.
TAD also exports to Renderman (RIB files) Renderman is a data standard set by Pixar. Renderman is used in the Pixar rendering engine. That is the best possible renderer you can have according to me but it is frightfully expensive. Pixar rendering can be seen in all their movies. E.g Finding Nemo. That is the power of Renderman. Thankfully, now there are some free renderers which take RIB files and render it the way Pixar does. The best among them is Aqsis. It has now grown up quite a lot. Earlier there was an even better one called BMRT (Blue Moon Rendering Tools) but it was removed due to some copyright issues with Pixar. BMRT was so bloody fast I guess they got scared. But Aqsis is doing a good job too. Get Aqsis here: http://aqsis.org/
Unfortunately the downside of using Renderman (RIB files) is that it gets you involved in writing shaders, and you may have to do lots of tweaking. (Even POVRay does, but there are tons of shaders available for POVRay) So I have avoided that route. Even though TAD does produce good quality RIB files, I am yet to get a good example. I am hoping that someone else would get excited and take an example to completion.
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Permalink Reply by Louis Rood Joseph on -
I have used sketch before, I have it. but I'm not a fan. The simple stuff is quick and easy, however, as soon as I want to do something complex I think it's too convoluted.
I use primarily FormZ for 3D Modeling. It's not as quick and intuitive to pick up as SketchUp. However once you understand it, which is not that hard with a little effort, I think the possibilities are limitless. The rendering is pretty good, especially if you understand how to use the textures or how to modify and create your own.
Creativeness and Imagination is your best friend. I like 3D models because it gives me a lot of options, I use that same FormZ model to quickly cut my plans and sections and test my design. Thus it gives me a lot of production speed. It doesn't work quite like BIM/Revit/ArchiCAD. However, it's free form modeling and I don't get caught up in the BIM overkill while having more modeling range than most BIM applications.
Take a look at the FormZ website http://www.formz.com/gallery/user_page.php
Photoshop is the kicker for me. I think it is a must have, specially for adding entourage, and anything not worth spending time modeling. It's great for creating textures for Formz or anything else for that matter. A friend of mine uses sketch up and exports line drawings for the perspective and does all the rendering with photoshop. You could replicate this process with a scanned hand drawing/sketch or study model picture. You can use photoshop to embellish the drawing/model, or simply use the drawing/model as a guide to create your photoshop rendering. Having a library of people, trees, textures, and various things you would want to put in a rendering means more production speed. Frankly, the more skill you have with Photoshop, the better; You could bypass the 3D computer modeling all together. Of course that means producing plans and sections is not as fast.
You can check out some of my work here
If you want to see my friend's SketchUp+Photoshop renderings, shoot me a private email and I'll be more than happy to provide you his link. I just don't want to post it here without his permission.
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