Liquid Cooling Render Gallery

[Mick64]

Dayam, how do you guys do this stuff. I notice that often your work takes no more than a couple of hours for you do make the entire model (not including rendering time). Is there a program that is best to use (I have sketchup, but I HATE IT)? I'd like to avoid using CATIA or AutoCAD...

What do you hate about it? I've found SketchUp to one of the easiest modeling programs to use. I know it's a bit quirky, but once you've get a grasp the basic techniques, you'd be surprised how quick you can knock up a simple design...

[FrostyPanda]

What do you hate about it? I've found SketchUp to one of the easiest modeling programs to use. I know it's a bit quirky, but once you've get a grasp the basic techniques, you'd be surprised how quick you can knock up a simple design...

I hate that the learning curve is really weird. I'm fine with super complex programs such as After Effects, Photoshop, and Premier (yes I realize they are all adobe, but I bought the cs3 master collection with no experience and I have figured out basically everything in them) but when it comes to simple looking UI's with weird settings, it bugs the crap out of me.

So I've been searching the web, and I've found a few programs i'd like you all to rate as far as powerfulness and ease of use. Cost is not a problem.

3D modeing:
Softimage XSI
3DS Max
Maya
Lightwave
Inventor 2009

Renderers:
Maxwell
VRay
Mental Ray
Kerkythea

@Metric: 4870x2 coming soon???

[Mick64]

I hate that the learning curve is really weird. I'm fine with super complex programs such as After Effects, Photoshop, and Premier (yes I realize they are all adobe, but I bought the cs3 master collection with no experience and I have figured out basically everything in them) but when it comes to simple looking UI's with weird settings, it bugs the crap out of me.

So I've been searching the web, and I've found a few programs i'd like you all to rate as far as powerfulness and ease of use. Cost is not a problem.

3D modeing:
Softimage XSI
3DS Max
Maya
Lightwave
Inventor 2009

Renderers:
Maxwell
VRay
Mental Ray
Kerkythea

@Metric: 4870x2 coming soon???

Sorry, I've had little experience with other modeling software, but what programs I have tried have just been way too complicated and far too time consuming. Hopefully, someone in the modeling business (such as evil) may be able to point you in the right direction...

[Waterlogged]

I hate that the learning curve is really weird. I'm fine with super complex programs such as After Effects, Photoshop, and Premier (yes I realize they are all adobe, but I bought the cs3 master collection with no experience and I have figured out basically everything in them) but when it comes to simple looking UI's with weird settings, it bugs the crap out of me.

So I've been searching the web, and I've found a few programs i'd like you all to rate as far as powerfulness and ease of use. Cost is not a problem.

3D modeing:
Softimage XSI
3DS Max
Maya
Lightwave
Inventor 2009

Renderers:
Maxwell
VRay
Mental Ray
Kerkythea

@Metric: 4870x2 coming soon???

I know of the first 4 modeling programs from my game modding days. No first hand experience with any of them though. From what I recall, they are all pretty powerful programs. I have a little experience with a stripped down verson of 3ds Max called GMax which is free if you can still find it online. That was a few years ago and I'm not sure if there is any support still around for it. I used it (along with an actual CAD program) to rough out a few ideas for a FC block for a 7600GT when I was still over at DD. Never did get around to a full render like in this topic.

Here's a LINK if you want to browse the topic the pics are in.

[evil-98]

I hate that the learning curve is really weird. I'm fine with super complex programs such as After Effects, Photoshop, and Premier (yes I realize they are all adobe, but I bought the cs3 master collection with no experience and I have figured out basically everything in them) but when it comes to simple looking UI's with weird settings, it bugs the crap out of me.

So I've been searching the web, and I've found a few programs i'd like you all to rate as far as powerfulness and ease of use. Cost is not a problem.

3D modeing:
Softimage XSI
3DS Max
Maya
Lightwave
Inventor 2009

Renderers:
Maxwell
VRay
Mental Ray
Kerkythea

@Metric: 4870x2 coming soon???

when it comes to modelers or any 3D based design software you need to understand the principals before you can judge a software. no matter what software, its all user driven.

personally i use 3DSMAX and Inventor not be mistaken both are completely different software and have completely different agendas but are both owned by Autodesk (they are the Adobes of the computer aided design world)

3DSMAX is a more free world type modeler, where modeling is done mostly organically (ie no set unit of measurements depending on the user) and is consider simple as a 3D application. Inventor on the other hand is a Solid CAD modeler (Computer Aided Drafting) which takes numbers and makes a solid out of it.

For our particular use Inventor/Solid Works/Rhino/Sketch up would be the best options generally because they are better and making objects of this sort quicker and more effectively.

Now if your looking to model or organically and/or more conceptually then 3DSMAX/MAYA/LW/XSI/MODO/ETC would be a better choose.

as for Renderer, that is a completely different store. They all do the same thing (make a picture) but they way they do it may vary from each other. I personally use Vray, Mental Ray, and Maxwell. ill switch between those 3 depending on the kind of render im looking for. for our use maxwell would be best simply because its much easier to create realistic renders for simple objects. I wont get into much about the renderer but speed wise maxwell is the slowest (takes more time to get a clear image) Vray maybe the fastest and Mental ray is tricky but a very powerful renderer.

I hope that helps. ill be happy to answer any Qs you guys have

[FrostyPanda]

when it comes to modelers or any 3D based design software you need to understand the principals before you can judge a software. no matter what software, its all user driven.

personally i use 3DSMAX and Inventor not be mistaken both are completely different software and have completely different agendas but are both owned by Autodesk (they are the Adobes of the computer aided design world)

3DSMAX is a more free world type modeler, where modeling is done mostly organically (ie no set unit of measurements depending on the user) and is consider simple as a 3D application. Inventor on the other hand is a Solid CAD modeler (Computer Aided Drafting) which takes numbers and makes a solid out of it.

For our particular use Inventor/Solid Works/Rhino/Sketch up would be the best options generally because they are better and making objects of this sort quicker and more effectively.

Now if your looking to model or organically and/or more conceptually then 3DSMAX/MAYA/LW/XSI/MODO/ETC would be a better choose.

as for Renderer, that is a completely different store. They all do the same thing (make a picture) but they way they do it may vary from each other. I personally use Vray, Mental Ray, and Maxwell. ill switch between those 3 depending on the kind of render im looking for. for our use maxwell would be best simply because its much easier to create realistic renders for simple objects. I wont get into much about the renderer but speed wise maxwell is the slowest (takes more time to get a clear image) Vray maybe the fastest and Mental ray is tricky but a very powerful renderer.

I hope that helps. ill be happy to answer any Qs you guys have

So would i be able to use 3ds Max for this stuff, or should I buy inventor also? I'd like to limit to one product, but for this stuff would Inventor be the best (i hate sketchup)? I haven't read up on the other two much, but I notice that you use inventor and you're models are amazing (not saying its the software, but if Autodesk is the "Adobe" of this field, I'm piqued)...

[Metric]

What do you hate about it? I've found SketchUp to one of the easiest modeling programs to use. I know it's a bit quirky, but once you've get a grasp the basic techniques, you'd be surprised how quick you can knock up a simple design...

+1, Sketchup really only takes an hour or so to get used to and maybe an hour more to figure out all of it's little tricks. I've ran SolidWorks which is probably one of the closest commercial offerings that match the modeling style of Sketchup that I've tried so far (which I actually prefer since it supports splines that I can directly export from Adobe Illustrator as a DWG).

Bentleya: I've been using Adobe Illustrator to do those designs which I then export as a AutoCAD DWG and import into Sketchup.

FrostyPanda: Hopefully sometime this week (got finals coming up :|). As for modeling and rendering, 3Ds Max and Maya are commonly used modeling applications for general 3D and Inventor is more aimed towards product design it seems. Rendering wise, any of those will work, Evil-98 uses Maxwell, so if you had any questions, you could probably ask him. Kerkythea is OSS, so far I've found it to be a very nice renderer, but it may lack the 'finished and polished' feel to it as it's still being developed and has some bugs here and there.