3D Modeling Programs and 2D Skillsets

Ive had some classes in autocad maya and matchmover, mostly 3D composting and 3D animation. what kinda stuff are you looking to do with 3d.

Me as well, primarily maya, nuke and houdini which is more of a visual effects environment. Definitely depends on the medium this 3d is meant for

Message member yuck and ask him.

I know he has a fair bit of experience using CAD programs and 3d design.

if you're looking to model objects definitely go with sketchup. just download it and start--it's super user friendly and highly intuitive. if you're familiar with computer graphics programs they're all fairly similar with a toolbar etc etc so I found just starting out and looking for specific help when I couldn't figure something out was easiest. here's a good resource from fresh start to advanced: http://www.sketchup.com/learn/videos

don't bother with autocad for 3d modeling unless you're getting very detailed and find sketchup too limiting--it's not nearly as user-friendly and will mostly be a headache. it's easier in some ways, but mostly not.

as for illustrator/photoshop it's a little easier to do some internet lessons first. lynda has some good ones and there are free ones all over youtube. it really helps to have something specific that you want to do when learning it, but there are some tutorials that highlight the most important tools/techniques. then you can figure out what you wanna do specifically. I learned some stuff in a basic graphics class but I mostly figured it out through trial and error and tutorials. note that the two have different applications and have limitations where the other will be more suited for a task, even when they may seem similar (note that the pen tool has very different purposes for each as I wish I had known earlier haha). if you aren't sure of each's purpose look into it to make life easier!

basically you can search for anything in google and there'll be some sort of tutorial to help.

Thanks Link., I'll fire a pm his way.

To everyone else, thanks for the pointers.

To clarify, a lot of what I want to do is architectural and more specifically for terrain and landscape architecture. A lot of the job positions, grad programs, and internships I'm looking at either demand working knowledge/skill or would just make my life easier as I progress further into landscape architecture. I know ArcGIS is also involved in these directions, but a lot of the firms/schools/etc. seem to use AutoCAD pretty darn frequently.

Dunno if that helps anyone with further suggestions.

I've found a few books, particularly for SketchUp that are aimed at sculpting land and architectural modeling. But if anyone has any other ideas that'd be great too.

If you are working on primarily architecture, I would highly recommend AutoCad Revit. It is very simple and is designed with an architect or landscape terrain builder in mind.

Im pretty versed in 3d design. Ik blender 3d, sketchup, and autocad. Any questions feel free to shoot me a pm

i was in a landscape design program and am now considering an architecture master's degree. i'm not sure if better programs focus more on graphics training, but in mine it was basic teaching and then a lot of experimentation.

arcGIS isn't really used for modeling, but is important for larger scale planning and geography.

autoCAD is extremely important as it's the best way for construction documentation, but in my opinion and seemingly as more of an industry standard, it is reserved solely for CD's and SketchUp for 3D stuff. With that said, I think for completing most of the really nice graphics you'll see, Revit and Rhino are the go-to. Sadly I don't have experience with them...

Good luck with LA, there's super interesting stuff happening now and really rewarding work! if you haven't seen the ASLA's honor awards there's some really inspirational work being done, both by students and professionals.

Have you started playing around trying to draw anything in 3D? If so in what programs? And what programs have you mostly used for 2D. If you get comfortable modelling 3D objects in AutoCAD, then AutoCAD Architecture and Revit would be really good platforms for landscaping.

Yea, I wanted to be an architect, but after a some soul searching I believe LA is where I want to be. Definitely some fascinating stuff going on, recently finished Waldheim's The Landscape Urbanism Reader. A little old, but I've been tracking some projects online--really psyched on what Thomas Woltz is doing.

I knew that GIS isn't used for modeling per se, but having some fluency in it seems like a good idea in the long run.

I've played with Rhino, pretty fun and not too hard to use. But it was brief and I don't have it on my computer.

Architects I talked to seemed to use Rhino to model and then Maya to post process and give the design "life"

Right now I have SketchUp, Archimedes, Terragen, and Blender for 3D.

For 2D I have: PS, Illustrator, InDesign, and the rest of the CS5 suite stuff. (My brother got it for me through his education discount.)

I was also fortunate enough to pick up a barely used Wacom Intuos tablet from him that he wasn't using for a solid price.

So, I'm fortunate to have a very full toolbox and a great desktop, now it's time to play.

Currently I've just been trying to make objects--starting with basic stuff and performing extrusions.

I'd love to get AutoCAD Architecture or Revit, but... let's just say I'm no torrenting wizard, at all. And I'm just not there yet skillwise.

I found a book on amazon for using SketchUp in landscape applications, fairly high reviews so I'll check that out I think.

Thanks for the all the help guys!

And for those with experience, I'll drop some PMs your way as time goes along! Much appreciated!

If you're in school (highschool or college) you can get PTC Creo for free. It's a pretty advanced and more for industrial design rather than architecture. There is a lot of online tutorials and stuff for it.

download here: http://www.ptc.com/company/community/education/

tutorials: http://learningexchange.ptc.com/tutorials/listing/sub_product_id:14

Autodesk offers most if not all their products for a 2 year free student edition.

I'll look into that. I'm between right now -- finished my BA a few years ago and am working to get into graduate school. Probably University of Washington. Sometimes being a "student" for those trials isn't complicated, I'll look into it, thanks Toast.

The student version of AutoCAD is what I use. Signed up for it 4 years ago in highschool and I still have it so...? It wasn't hard to get either, there was only like 3 or 4 fields I had to enter in. It's only pitfall is the watermarking of page edges, and if you transfer work into it from a full program they can't be removed. For learning how to draw and creating stuff at home it's easy enough to work around.