Design software.

13 years ago

What do you use? What do you like about it, what improvements would you like to have? Are you a professional or is it jus a passion or hobby for you?.

I am retired but used to use ArchiCAD, Alias Wavefront, Artlantis, Solidworks and Cinema 4d. ArchiCAD is great SW but they missed the mark by only marketing/catering to architects, Alias Wavefront is now Maya and is owned by Autodesk whose marketing strategies are good but whose SW is less than desirable and licensing is the worst in the industry. Artlantis is a great stand alone renderer very affordable but really needs a modeling SW to create the models, SolidWorks is for designers who design the own fixtures, mechanical items etc. and is breaking into the architectural market and will probably be the leading SW in the future because of their marketing and Cinema 4D is what it is which is a very good modeling and rendering SW that only lacks the ability to create construction documents or run a CAM machine for one-offs (or mass produced) designs.

Are there enough people here with an interest in this topic?

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Comments (7)

htnspz
13 years ago
I'm a pro and there are several programs that get used in the industry. Of course AutoCad is still the primary floor plan maker with Revit becoming it's possible replacement. They both have their strengths. AutoCad is great in that beginning phase where you are still working out a floor plan and is still the most comfortable for me to use, where Revit is superior in the phase where you are already solidifying items like windows. Revit also is superior in 3d because it builds a 3d environment as well as sections etc while you are building the floor plan. Autcocad's 3d is unintuitive and difficult to learn.

As far as 3d software, Sketchup is that great first place you visit where you are trying to work out massing and check proportions etc. It looks very cartoonish and unfinished unless you use a 3rd party renderer. Google recently took away the ability to import dwg into the program unless you purchase the pro version.
3ds Max is becoming the standard for 3d rendering because it is so lifelike. However, it's terribly time consuming and expensive to purchase.

I haven't heard of Solidworks being used for Interior Design because there are better programs that will help visual spaces better. They are a better fit for Engineers and Product Designers. I haven't heard of alias or wavefront.
htnspz
13 years ago
Oh I just saw Alias is now Maya in your posting. I have heard Maya is very good for 3d modeling and rendering but I hear of 3ds Max being used more universally amongst design firms.
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chris11895
13 years ago
Hi, I'm building a home and noticed your post mentioned google sketch up only let's you bring cad files into the pro version now. Is there a software a homeowner like myself can use to rearrange furniture in my cad plans (and doesn't cost $500!)?

Thanks in advance for any help!
Christine
htnspz
13 years ago
You can make a pdf of your floor plan and import it into sketchup, draw a line in feet and then size the pdf to get the accurate scale.
If you want to try a free 3d program, try autodesk homestyler. There isn't as much flexibility and they use a bunch of retailer options to help sell their products, but it looks easy to use, it's free and it looks good.
gwbr54
13 years ago
I was SO annoyed when Google stopped allowing (free) import of AutoCAD files. If I had known, I would have just stayed at my old version of SketchUp.
htnspz
13 years ago
I know!!!I looked for an older version but never found one! And we all know how much fun 3d autocad is...
chris11895
13 years ago
Thanks for the responses!