Help with basic explanation?

[bm23]

I've just started on 3ds Max a few days ago. There are a few terms that I could not find the definition on so I hope you can help me explain in laymen term.
What are mesh objects?
What are patches?

Another thing. I'm using 3ds Max to do some architectural design (I would have gone with autocad architecture but I have limited time to learn and 3ds Max is supposedly easier). What is the work flow like? The reason I'm asking is because there are so many options (basic parametric objects, editable polys, editable meshes...etc) to accomplish what I want to do. Most of my designs can be accomplished with simple boxes. I started out with sketchup and a lot of time, it's just about creating boxes, fitting them together and applying material.
-Is the workflow similar in 3ds Max? (specific to what I'm doing, that is)
-If I do not need to tranform anything, can I stick with primitives? Would I be missing out anything if I dont always convert to polys?
-While we're on the topic, when exactly do you convert to polys?

I know these are very basic questions but let's just work on the assumption that I know absolutely nothing about 3ds Max at the moment. Hope you guys can help me out

PS: to get a better understanding of what I'm doing, here's a picture of a Sketchup test render that I did a while ago.

[Cad64]

Wow! That's a lot of questions.

1. What are mesh objects?

A mesh object would be an object made up of triangles as opposed to a poly object which would be made up of quads. There really is not much difference between an editable mesh and an editable poly other than the massive toolset that is available to you when you're working on an editable poly. The editable mesh tools are rather limited. I always work with editable poly objects.

2. What are patches?

I've never worked with patches but maybe this link will help:
http://docs.autodesk.com/3DSMAX/15/E...ber=d30e142354

3. I would have gone with autocad architecture but I have limited time to learn and 3ds Max is supposedly easier.

Whoever told you 3DS Max was easier to learn than Autocad Architecture needs to have his head examined. Studio Max is an extremely robust modeling, rendering and animation program. It has one of the steepest learning curves of any 3D app, other than Maya which supposedly is the most difficult to learn.

4. Is the workflow similar in 3ds Max? (specific to what I'm doing, that is)

The workflow is similar in that you typically start with a primitive object and then just inset, extrude, bevel, etc. But Studio Max has a much more powerful toolset than Sketchup. You have a lot of control over your model and lots of tools to simplify your work.

5. If I do not need to tranform anything, can I stick with primitives? Would I be missing out anything if I dont always convert to polys?

If you don't need to transform anything then you don't need to convert to poly's. But if you do need to transform your objects then yes, you do need to convert to editable poly. That's how you access the editing tools. If you don't convert to poly you won't have any editing tools available to you.

6. While we're on the topic, when exactly do you convert to polys?

You convert to poly once you have created the primitive object to the exact size and shape that you desire. Then you convert to poly to access the editing tools.

7. Here's a picture of a Sketchup test render that I did a while ago.

The render you posted can be easily created in Studio Max using just the box primitive objects, converted to editable poly and then stretched and extruded into shape.

Hope that helps.

[bm23]

Hey! Thank you so much for the quick reply. Really answered some of my burning questions. I'll post again when I have more questions (which should be really soon )

[bm23]

I've got another question. In Sketchup, to position objects correctly, I used the tape measuring tool. I know that Max has it too though it seems a bit harder to use. My question is, is there any other tool/method that can help me align objects accurately?

[Cad64]

I'm not exactly sure how you want to align/position objects, but maybe some of these tutorials might help you find the answer you're looking for: https://www.google.com/#hl=en&output...w=1680&bih=859