I glanced over that old post with the survey of who used MAX and who used CAD to model, but I wonder if it’s more telling to also question how many people who use MAX to model do this as their primary profession. See, I would love to be able to model in MAX as well as the least skilled professional here, but because I spend 90% of my time drafting and designing (although not much desiging yet) it’s extremely difficult for me to find the time to REALLY get into it. SketchUp takes about 10 minutes to learn well enough, which is why middle-aged architects in our office LOOOVE it. If there was the option for a simpler interface within MAX for new users where you do not HAVE to know all the parameter options and settings, then I think a whole lot more people like me would start jumping the fence (no immigration policy implied…) But, I also understand that the parametric abilities of MAX are what makes it so powerful, and it really does require a fairly elite group to become skilled enough to produce the quality of work that’s in this forum.
I’m caught between going about as far as I think I can go with CAD modelling and not being able to learn MAX well enough to do an entire project in it.
I’ve taken a completely backwards route with my modeling career. I started out learning CAD about 16 years ago, and switched to 3ds DOS (pre Max) after a couple years. Last year, when I switched gears in my 3d career to architecture, I discovered Sketchup. Now my workflow goes from CAD to Sketchup for most of the modeling, windows and doors, -to Max for the complex curves and details.
I prefer the simplicity of cutting and placing doors and windows in Sketchup because I can grab from a pre-made library and have auto cutout of the openings, without booleans, and messy cuts. Importing and exporting isn’t a deal breaker at all. If I stay with the .dwg format for my export/importing, I have almost no problems.
Wel, I’m quite late in this discussion but that’s because I have vray for only 2 weeks or so.. I fell on this topic while searching the forum for topics regarding vectorworks.
At school we must learn autocad. For projects, we make plans in autocad, we make a model in autocad and then we use max to make renders. I don’t like autocad for modeling, because I have to type so much. e.g. Just to move something I have to type ‘m’. For a command that is often needed I find this very unpleasant. I have to move my left hand to the other side of the keyboard… As I can read here you all have things set up for best speed. Where can I learn to do such things?
In the previous year I discovered ADT (= architectural desktop). The point of the program being BIM (Building Information Model) It means that you draw a 2d plan, you make a line, and then you attach a style to it. Say a multi-layerd wall in wood. You can add windows and doors and so on. The 3d model is made automatic.
But the setup of the whole thing was such a hassle that I skipped it.
This year I discovered Vectorworks, having the same BIM principle under the hood. http://www.nemetschek.net/architect/bimwhitepaper.php
I tried a demo of vectorworks last week and I thought it was worth a try because the interface was alot more intuïtive. So I bought a license, dongle is arriving next week I hope.. It’s Version 12.
Now the whole point of my little story here is:
- What do you guys think of BIM?
- Anyone having experiences importing .3DS files from vectorworks? (i couldn’t try because the demo wouldn’t allow me to export)
I’ve been given models imported from vectorworks to DWG which I then imported into MAX. As per usual, I found it easier to re-model the entire thing in MAX and delete the import model as I go, rather than trying to fix all the coplanar faces, flipped faces, 3d splines with no depth, etc. There is no subsititute for native geometry.
I am a 15 year Autocad veteran, but if I were to become an architect again and I needed to choose a CAD package to work in I think I would pick Vectorworks. To me it is the most aesthetically pleasing CAD package, with its WYSIWYG lineweights and shading. Its looks like Illustrator with CAD functionality. I used to visit Carlos Jimenez’ office in Houston, and they all used it there. Their CAD drawings were works of art.
I’m very pleased to hear that vectorworks is much like illustrator. My current workflow is: drawing the plan in autocad > plot to .eps > making it look nice in illustrator..
As for modeling. I’ll give the Vectorworks BIM models a try in Max anyway. Gonne post my conclusions here then. Might be useful for the architects/students among the forum. Perhaps I should start a new topic for that, bit off topic I guess :?
If the models do not satisfy, I’ll jump right into max modeling
I believe I started this thread (months ago…) anyways, off-topic, but I prefer plotting to PDF from AutoCAD and then shading it in Photoshop. Illustrator can open DXF files I think, but I never found it useful. I hope Vectorworks works out for you; I hated it after using it for two summers… the snaps were a pain in the ass compared to those in AutoCAD, but maybe they’ve been improved recently.
I plot to .eps from within Autocad. It’s a native format for illustrator. So it works perfectly. Lineweights and everything… The advantage you get compared to photoshop is that everthing stays vectors (+ filesize is waaay smaller)
I also heard the complaints about snaps with vectorworks, but as I mentioned, this is a new version (12) And the problems should be solved I hope.
When I first learned autocad, 15 yrs ago, I was fortunate to work for a firm that realized how efficient it was to fully customize the keyboard commands, so that 90% of the common commands are using left hand keys. For instance, DA for line, ED polyline, F for move, S for copy. This obviously becomes a straight memorization exercise at first, but it allows me to almost never pull my right hand off of the mouse and I don’t have to look down at the keyboard. I’ve even customized the right click on the mouse to be ‘cancel’, so you don’t have to constantly try to hit the Esc key.
So, if you stick with autocad, I’d highly recommend developing this sort of system for yourself. With it, I’m able to even model in 3d quite quickly.
I can 3d model quickly in AutoCAD, but I’ve been trying to quit using it for 3d work. I like the viewport navigation in Max 100 times better for example. Also, soon I won’t have CAD! I still find it easier/faster to do my 2d orthagonal work in CAD and import it to max for tracing, etc…but like it’s been said already, Max is much better for non-orthagonal objects without a doubt. They can be done nearly as well in CAD but it takes longer and you really have to know the autocad 3d comands very well.
I guess the formal AutoCADtraining is difficult to abandon, but I think it will be worth it.
I’d like to second the request on how best to go about learning to model in Max. I’ve been modeling mainly in ACAD for probably 8-10 years now, but I know there are vast benefits to modeling in Max. I’ve been trying to teach myself to build primitives then convert to editable poly and add details. I know it will take time, but are there any good tuts out there to expedite the process? Also, do people use the standard max poly tools or do you use ‘add-on’ scripts?
