I was wondering if someone could tell me the best program to use to model a house... and is there something out there that will take a picture or a sketch and create a 3D model from the picture? Thanks.

Well I suppose Autocad or a similar prog is the best at that sort of modelling but they're very expensive, cos they're aimed at industry. Almost any 3d modeller will model a house why not try Wings3d (link above)it's probably the easiest modeller to learn and fun to use. There is at least one app that is supposed to create a model from pictures, I can't remember the name and don't know how well it works. Baz

Attached Link: http://www.sams3d.com

You are right BazC, we use AutoCAD, to do all our work, but that is the only modeling software we know how to use, for modeling and there are lots of software (modeling) that can do this....go to the Cinema4 forum and ask for some advice from them, that is a really good software and I think it is affordable for most. Sharen

Attached Link: http://www.sketchup.com

I think Sketchup makes a 3D project from your sketches, and there is a downloadable demo. Costs a bit though. You can see what it does in the training videos section, lots of movies of it in action.

This is worth taking a look at. http://www.caligari.com/products/trueSpace/ts5/Courses/Architecture.asp?Cate=Courses Caligari will give you a copy of Truespace 3.2 for free (try their main page) and sell you other versions for relatively little money. However, you want to ask yourself how much effort you want to put into building a 3D house, and for what purpose. Truespace makes architecture simple and fast, but it has a learning curve. Its only simple and fast if you invested in learning the program. This is true for all the general purpose 3D modelers. Truespace is a mid-level complexity 3D modeler. If you just want to make a model of your dream house and be done with it, you might want to try one of the $79.00 programs in the PC stores. Some of them are pretty good. Punch! Super Home Suite is probably the best of them. These let you ramp up a house pretty quickly (30 minutes with no prior experience), but the tradeoff is that you've got to work with pieces the program "pre-defines." Sometimes, you can't model things you want because they're not in the standard package. Super Home Suite is supposed to export a model that you can import into the general purpose packages, but I never had any luck with that.

there's some dedicated packages that just do houses out there for around $50-100. If you're in the US, check Lowes, big hardware places (they come and go so fast). Have a neighbor who got one to design his dream home. Oh, also, the person above me seems to have a better idea..aint that life.

Attached Link: http://www.floorplan.com

The cheapest and neatest program I've seen is IMSI's Floor Plan. I have a screen shot at www.annsartgallery.com/fp.html

There is a modeling program called "Canoma" which allows you to create 3D models from photographs. You might do a search to find out if it is still around. God luck

Try Rhinoceros. I did this inside the first week in Rhino with no AutoCAD training. I bought AutoCAD LT 2002 at the same time and can say that unless it's absolutely necessary, you will be happier with Rhino. They have Student Discounts here on Rhino.

If you are in College and its copacetic with your instructor, they might let you work with Rhino considering you can save your files in both DWG and DXF. I know people who use AutoCAD everyday and have told me that they haven't run across a single command for AutoCAd that can't be used in Rhino.

It depends what sort of model you want and what you intend to do with it. When I was planning my house extension I needed a quick 3D model that I could show my wife ("I can't understand drawings") so that she could visualise the various options that I was considering. This I did by creating a series of obj files using nothing more complex than a text editor.

Nice house joe. Is that a pagoda style roof?

I need to replace my roof. Insulation needs and so forth, so I figured it would be just as cheap to replace the design with a Truss Assembly which includes a second floor.The design is constructed from ABS Plastic Pipe which, by more than chance, is what I use for my Turbine design. This roof is designed to implement my turbine to create electric energy from the desert heat.

My wife of 23+ years is from Korea-where we met- so why not model it after the Shin Palace in Seoul?