Hello everyone, I hope you're all doing well. Today, I entered a contest being put on by the American Drafting and Design Association (ADDA). Since I am working to become an architect/drafter, I enjoy entering contests such as these to participate against other hopeful architects. But, to the point at hand. Since this contest has several fields, I have decided to enter the field of an exterior render of a residential house plan. Luckily, the house plan has already been provided so, all I need to do is provide an exterior render. I was wondering since most of you here are professionals or very experienced in the field of 3-dimensional rendering, what program would you suggest I use for the creation of this home? I plan on creating a model of the house in Poser 4 and importing it into AutoCAD 2002, and work with it from there. But, I was wondering if it would perhaps be better to use 3D Studio Max or perhaps even Bryce 5 for such a project. Please, give me your suggestions. Thanks and have a great day, ~Mac D.

Poser really isn't a 3D modeling program. it is a 3d animation and kinda/sorta rendering program. Your instincts are right go with 3D MAX or one of the free modelers. Since you are a student (if you're not a pitifully poor student). If you're not locked into the floor plan there are a lot of free houses at 3DCafe.com You may also want to check out virtualinteriors.com they have wonderful stuff for inside and outside. you'll also need plants, lighting , and other things again 3D Cafe has a lot of good free stuff that is well organized. good luck

You could also download the Rhino eval copy for modelling. You'd have 30 days to use it. I think you can also download the Flamingo renderer eval as well. Not only is Rhino a great program, but the company is as well! http://www.rhino3d.com

http://www.virtualinteriors.com isn't working for me. Is there an alternate link to follow?

Poser is definitely NOT the way to go here. I have created figures in Poser and exported them out to be read in AutoCAD files. I would recommend a couple of options. First, in general, for this type of work, particularly if you are using (or have) AutoCAD already, 3D Studio-Viz by Discreet (the same fine people who brought you 3D Studio Max): Viz is primarily an architectural building/rendering tool and comes with lots of architectural type textures. Another option is Accurender, put together by the folks who make Rhino. Accurender acts as (essentially) a plug-in that you activate directly within AutoCAD. Again, lots of architectural-type materials here too. Finally (for me anyway) Autodesk makes a program called Lightscape which is excellent at creating arcitectural renders and has quite an extensive library of various lights (e.g. sodium vapor/halogen... many listed by manufacturer and model)---but, to be honest, all my renders using Lightscape have been interiors (with PoserPeople imports)---so I don't know how well it does the outside, but head over to Autodesk.com for a look around. I know Viz and Lightscape can be purchased with student discounts making them fall into a more reasonable price range. Not sure about accurender.

Okay...get the eval of Rhino. If you do autocad, you probably can pick up how to work rhino in less than a day. (Go straight to the commands index, and memorize the ones you want to use.) I have Max, as well...but, due to all the functions, it has a steep, steep learning curve. Rhino is a very good, stable program. Although, that Discreet Viz sounds somewhat interesting. Best of Luck, Poppi

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

Here's my reccomendations: 3D Home Architecht Deluxe 3 Not only alot of fun and architechturally-oriented, but the non-pro version is under $25. The models export in .dxf format. http://www.cdromshop.com/cdshop/desc/p.047956302017.html Or, if you want to do it from scratch, get POV and Moray. Very easy to use, and I personally prefer a solids modeler for this sort of project. Plus, POV is free, and Moray is free to try, $60 to register. Also, there are tons of user-made addons and plugins. POV is also one of the best renderers I've seen. http://www.povray.org/ http://www.stmuc.com/moray/

Thank you all very much for your suggestions. Since djthomas spoke so highly of 3D Studio-Viz, and since our lab will be recieving that software shortly, it seems like I'll be using that as the way to go. Thanks again everyone for your assistance, I truely appreciate it. I hope you all have a nice day. ~Mac D.