Archviz people: What modeling software do you use?

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I was curious what software packages all you architectural visualization people use for modeling. Do you use AutoCAD, 3ds Max, Rhino, etc.? Please list what software and what version - comments on why you like your package are more than welcome. :slight_smile:

I’ll start off:
-AutoCAD 2004 (primarily)
-3ds Max 5 (very seldom)

I use AutoCAD 2004 (plain jane version…no Architectural Desktop) for most of my modeling, then if there is a particular shape or feature that AutoCAD can’t do well (like terrain), then I’ll use 3ds Max 5. I’m pretty fast at AutoCAD (actually I’d call myself really fast), but there are times when I wonder if there might be a better solution out there… Just curious to see what everyone else uses. :smile:

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I just use Autocad cad to clean up the plans … get the text and stuff off, and use them as blueprints in max …and do all my modelling in max.

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I use Rhino.

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I just dont see the point in using any other App to model archviz models than Max

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I agree with Natty, for most of works.
But for some models I use Rhino, that is very fast, flexible, and can work with nurbs as max really will never be able to do.

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How do you convert models from rhino to max? Tesselating, then exporting as obj?

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I always found that IGES was the best format because it imported as Nerbs Mesh.. but that was a couple of years ago now.

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there is a very good plugin to import directly the Rhino files into max.
If I well remember, you can find it for free at the Rhino website

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i use 3ds max to extrude and build from plans i cleaned up in ACAD, just as natty described.
Latly i tend to do the extruding part in ACAD aswell, and i plan to learn to do most in ACAD.
we have some building educated people that prepare our stuff in ACAD then i import to 3ds and they do it a whole lot quicker than i can in 3ds.

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I use autocad mainly working from elevations for building exteriors.
I can model much quicker in autocad and i prefer the way autocad handles object snaps etc.
I use viz for tricky shapes although my viz modeling is a bit poor at the minute.

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I just use Autocad cad to clean up the plans … get the text and stuff off, and use them as blueprints in max …and do all my modelling in max.

Same

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i use autocad to fix/create clean polylines and hatches, which i extrude in max.
i also often use archicad for modelling, it is really fast for non-fancy architecture (walls, windows, doors).

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yep, Archicad here as well mostly because about 50% of our work is already modelling in archiCAD by drafties. I find it really fast but it is a bit poor when it comes to polycount!

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Interesting… I was expecting a lot more formZ… has it become unfashionable? I always find it useful to model in the program you are going to render in. Spending 1/2 your time trying to convert and cleaning up models seems like a waste of time and money.

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yep .. i totaly agree with you cpnichols..

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Thanks for all the great replies! I really like AutoCAD for its building-block-like simplicity. You draw a shape, extrude it, slice it, etc. This allows lots of freedom when modeling buildings. However, the part I find frustrating is the creation of things like doors, windows, etc. For example, whenever I want to create a window in AutoCAD, I have to subtract a box out of the wall, then create a series of several boxes for things like the trim, the frame, the glass itself, etc. While I can go through the commands for things like that pretty quickly, I wish there were a simpler way. I know AutoCAD Architectural Desktop has a window creation tool, but there are several drawbacks (it never seems to offer enough flexibility, plus the windows and doors created aren’t solids-they’re meshes).

Natty, I don’t necessarily agree with you that modeling in a different software package is a waste of time. Perhaps it’s because my 3ds Max modeling skills aren’t the greatest, but the command line in AutoCAD allows me to flyyyy through the modeling process. The object snaps in AutoCAD also seem to work better than in 3ds Max. Do you use the object lines that you import from AutoCAD as shapes to extrude for the walls, or do you draw primitive shapes like boxes on top of the imported lines?

I noticed a couple of people mentioned ArchiCAD, which I have heard about before but have never had the opportunity to use. The only thing I worry about again is lack of flexibility. Sometimes parametric software packages are fast for fairly standard geometry, but then when it comes to creating custom shapes, they become more cumbersome than helpful.

Finally, there’s Rhino. I’ve played around with Rhino a small amount. What I like about Rhino is that it has a command line (hopefully the user can modify the names of the commands like in AutoCAD). Rhino seems like a cross between AutoCAD and 3ds Max, and it can handle the creation of complex curves (unlike AutoCAD). I think I’ll download a copy of Rhino and try it out to see how I like it…

Anyways, thanks for all of the input. Probably over the next month I’ll be evaluating some of my options (AutoCAD 2005 Arch. Desktop, Rhino, ArchiCAD, and 3ds Max) to see how I could improve my workflow. More replies are welcome!

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For me, modeling in max is like trying to shave a cat. Neither me nor the cat would be very happy with the result. :slight_smile:

Saving time by getting clean, accurate models is precisely why I use Rhino. I use Power Translators from nPower to open 3dm files in max/viz.

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its down to personal choice… i use max because i am fast with modelling, i used Acad since realese 12 and did all my modelling in there, but you are very limited … for example once you have created a model in Acad its not easy to adjust it … sometimes it was easier to start again … but in max or rhino you can drag Point’s around to fine tune your model.

The snaps in max could be better but the snaps in Acad can be a pain when working in 3D .. 2.5D Snap in max is great and i use it all the time … something you cant do in Acad..

I just import the splines from cad into max so that my model is to scale.. that use that to trace my max model out.

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I use 3DSMAX, photoshop for touch ups. I tried working with cad a few times and I find it to be rigid and archaic, with 3DSMAX I can spit the modelling out three times as fast as I would in Acad.

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My story is a lot like Natty’s starting in Acad 12 at the time I could not have imagined modeling only in Max, I was a boolean master :stuck_out_tongue: , next my company used Data cad for a few years, it was actually pretty fast to work with, but it had a limitation of 32 vertices to a surface :stuck_out_tongue: so all the arches and curves had to be modeled in Max. Next we moved to Archicad, it definately has it’s strengths but like Acad it can produce some pretty ugly meshes. Nowadays we only use Acad for cleaning up line work wich is imprted into Max and used to snap to and extrude with. We can model a house in Max as fast and accurately as in any other software so why bother with the others. With Maxscript we are able to automate much of the proccess and it just keeps getting easier and easier. Still don’t have a “build house button” but we are getting closer, our roof builder is a breeze.