3D programs....currently rendering in cad 2004

Hi,

I am trained as an interior designer, but now do freelance 3d rendering and some 2d layout work. I have only ever used cad and render with in cad (2004) I have been told time and time again there are faster programs that can plug into cad for rendering? Does anyone have any recommendations? I am most likely going to upgrade to cad2013 with-in the year as my work load has picked up quite a bit.

I tried to attach some jpegs of the work I do...

I took cad courses in college but self taught myself 3d.

Hi,

I began as an interior designer but now do cad work freelance. I mainly do 3d renderings for the commercial laundry industry. I currently use cad 2004 for all 2d and 3d. Rendering takes FOREVER! I took cad classes in college but only 2d, 3d I have learnt on my own over time. I have heard there are many programs that can plug into cad to render...any suggestions? As I am taking on a great amount of work I plan on upgrading to a new workstation, cad 2013, and hopefully something that will make rendering and modeling a lot faster. I will attach some of my current work, which I hope to improve to a more realistic quality.

So...any suggestions?

Thanks,

Melissa

Your two threads have been merged. Please don't post the same question more than once.

 

As for software, upgrading to the latest version of Autocad is a step in the right direction, but if you're doing interior design, you might want to think about going with Autocad Architecture or Revit instead of just plain Autocad.

 

For rendering in Autocad, The built in Mental Ray rendering engine, in the post 2006 versions of Autocad, can produce very photo realistic images. The problem is figuring out how to get the results you're after. It has been my experience that the Autocad materials and render settings are very limited and difficult to work with in comparison to other 3D applications.

 

One option for rendering with Autocad would be Accurender.

 

Another option would be to take your Cad models into Sketchup and use Vray or Maxwell for rendering.

 

But no matter what route you choose, rendering is time consuming. If you want good, high quality images, you just have to wait for them. Or, you get a program like 3D Studio Max and build yourself a render farm. That's really the only way to truly speed up your renderings.

If you do upgrade to AutoCAD 2013, you may be forced into buying a bundled package like AutoCAD Design Suite. I'm not sure if you can get AutoCAD on it's own anymore. Anyway, most bundles come with Autodesk Showcase, which can make some pretty decent renderings of your AutoCAD models.

 

Outside of Autodesk products, you can try out Keyshot.

You can buy all the single version copies of AutoCAD 2013 your bank account can afford. Each will cost you $3750 U.S.

You can buy all the single version copies of AutoCAD 2013 your bank account can afford. Each will cost you $3750 U.S.

 

Well nuts, my reseller could only sell me the bundled suites. Time to look for another reseller...

I also agree with CAD64 in maybe look at modeling in SketchUp and using either a commercial rendering engine like Vray (very good choice BTW) or maybe even the free ones like kerkythea. It is not bad for the price (free) and works very well with SketchUp. Your images look very nice right now but yes they could look better but very good for the software you used.

I will attach some of my current work, which I hope to improve to a more realistic quality. So...any suggestions?

There is nothing bad, or wrong about the quality of these renders. They are definitely suitable to portray the visual information that's required. In fact, with using AutoCAD 2004 I'm beyond impressed. These are superb renders for that version of AutoCAD.

 

I will say that with a new copy of AutoCAD you will get more rendering tools and options to further help your realism. It's much easier to perform 3D operation in the latest version as well. If you're used to AutoCAD then I would suggest upgrading. There are a ton of great 3D programs and rendering engines and people all have their favorites, but in the end AutoCAD can do just fine.

 

Some other options would be a combo of SketchUp + VRay. It's way cheap compared to AutoCAD and I've seen some phenomenal renders from it. Might be worth looking into.

 

Well nuts, my reseller could only sell me the bundled suites. Time to look for another reseller...

The reseller was wrong, and probably only told you that to one-up you in the sale. I can't stand hearing things like this. Unlawful transactions is just downright ludicrous and absurd. However, don't consider the bundle suite a bad thing. If you have any of the vertical products of AutoCAD, then you definitely got your money's worth. The benefits of a vertical product far outweigh the extra $1k in the bundle. This is one small example.

 

Just my $0.02 is all.

Wow! Thanks for all the input!

Very helpful. I think I will began with a new version of cad. My main problem is feeling like I am spending so much time on the lighting and material mapping....I also need to brush up on my skills as I'm sure I could create more templates and save more time.

Any suggestions computer wise? Another major time eater is that my computer is a 2005 old slow machine!

Thanks!

Melissa

That's pretty old. Be sure it meets the minimum requirements before upgrading. Since you're doing 3D modeling, you'll want to exceed the minimum requirements by a good margin.

 

As for polishing off your skills, we all are here to help. Just linger around the 3D modeling forum here, and take a look in the Showcase forum as well. Post questions and get active. We all have our tips and tricks we've learned through the years and can really help you along, especially since AutoCAD 2007 changed everything about how you render with new "everything" basically.

 

So after cad2007 the rendering is set up differently? Hmmmmm.....I've used 3d max once back in college and found it somewhat easy to use but I'm a little nervous if I have to "re-learn" how to render in a later version of cad.

Stykface (and other) Thanks SO much for the input!

Don't worry, it's much easier. Everything resides on "Palettes" and "Ribbon" now, with settings more directly available.

Look through the SHOWCASE FORUM here, most should mention what they used to create the models and renders.