3D software for illustration / visualisation

[Stevenwhoward]

Impressive stuff guys! I've never been too happy with a lot of the 3D work I see technical illustrators do (plus I'm not that into using 3D myself), but this stuff is excellent quality!
Don- where are the tutorials for Turbocad. I have it and someday hopefully will have time to figure it out. I recognize some of your work on the cover.

James- didn't know that Sketch up could do stuff like this. I have it and it is a bit touchy to use, but if it can produce a result like this I'd definitely want to learn those techniques.

[jhatch]

This is the future, the rest of us 2D guys are doomed. Griff is my favorite 3D artist, his site is filled with amazing engines and all kinds of art: http://www.griffwason.com/

[Don Cheke]

Impressive stuff guys! I've never been too happy with a lot of the 3D work I see technical illustrators do (plus I'm not that into using 3D myself), but this stuff is excellent quality!
Don- where are the tutorials for Turbocad. I have it and someday hopefully will have time to figure it out. I recognize some of your work on the cover.

Hi Steven,

This is a link to my TurboCAD Tutorials page: http://www.textualcreations.ca/Textual% ... 0Page.html

This is a link to my TurboCAD Tips page: http://www.textualcreations.ca/Don_Chek ... _Tips.html

[Don Cheke]

This is the future, the rest of us 2D guys are doomed. Griff is my favorite 3D artist, his site is filled with amazing engines and all kinds of art: http://www.griffwason.com/

No doubt that 3D is the future (and 'now' is the future) but that doesn't mean that 2Ders are doomed, just that they need to change with the times. Everything changes and we all need to keep up or we (actually our skill set) becomes obsolete. That doesn't mean that what we know/knew does not matter, it just means applying much of it differently. Just because we were forced to sell our drafting table and square at a garage sale doesn't mean we won't/don't use the drafting standards that we learned. Much of that is still important and transfers well to the new medium.

It is my belief that 3D will be eventually be used for everything - virtual reality (which already exists - however primitive), holo ads, novels, and movies, etc. There is no escaping it. If you have not done 3D before I suggest you give it a whirl - you would be amazed how much it is like working in the real world, much more so than trying to think in 2D.

Already more and more people are demanding 3D visuals of products of all kinds and thanks to 3D PDF it is possible to deliver to the masses. See example here: http://www.textualcreations.ca/Process% ... ersion.pdf (6.13MB)

As in any field there are those that shine brightly...

Griff's work is very good, indeed.

Here is another fellow's work that I think is top notch. He is a fellow TurboCAD user.

http://members.shaw.ca/richardbrehm/mech_p1.html

[Don Cheke]

This is the future, the rest of us 2D guys are doomed. Griff is my favorite 3D artist, his site is filled with amazing engines and all kinds of art: http://www.griffwason.com/

Thanks so much for this link! He is so prolific it will take days to look it all over, but I think I will. Lots of inspiring stuff there. Wow!

[matt_lorenzi]

Yikes, you guys are scaring me...

While I'm up to the reality that 3D is coming and here to stay, I'm wondering how much I want to delve into it. While I'd like to learn an interface, I can't see myself competing with some of what is out there.
I guess it also comes down to client needs.
I would imagine a maybe less detailed 3D rendering done in Illustrator would be more cost effective than something similar done in Cinema 4D. Also how easy would it be to do a cut-away in Cinema 4D?
I can see Illustrator still being well suited for infographics, as well edibility of paths is still a plus for me.

[theglenster]

Yikes, you guys are scaring me...

While I'm up to the reality that 3D is coming and here to stay, I'm wondering how much I want to delve into it. While I'd like to learn an interface, I can't see myself competing with some of what is out there.
I guess it also comes down to client needs.
I would imagine a maybe less detailed 3D rendering done in Illustrator would be more cost effective than something similar done in Cinema 4D. Also how easy would it be to do a cut-away in Cinema 4D?
I can see Illustrator still being well suited for infographics, as well edibility of paths is still a plus for me.

i see software as just different tools in my tool box, i just use whatever gets the job done. its a good idea to have a working knowlage of most of the tools that are out there, you never know what the next job will be.

3d is not the future, its here right now. my old colegues in the auto industry are no longer drawing line work in 2d, they are given the caddata and they then manualy explode and arrange the parts then simply render the data as a line work.
it has many advantages such as easy corrections, the same data can be animated, it can also be passed along to someone who will maybe make a high quality colour rendering for marketing. the indroduction of 3d has actualy helped the technical illustrator to have a broader range of work land on there desks.

whether something is easyer or quicker to produce in C4D or ilustrator is like compareing apples and oranges. typicaly though, if your doing a cutaway for a client they will provide you with the caddata. in that case you could knock out a photo-realistic rendering of an engine cutaway in 1 day, try doing that with illustrator

i was a purely 2d guy that started 3d as a hobby, but then ended up being a purely 3d guy
and as i am quite biased, give C4D a go, the Demo will let you save your work for 40 days, you might like it

[matt_lorenzi]

Hey, I'll have to C4D a try...but might have to upgrade my computer first

[Don Cheke]

I am pleased to see a new participant in this forum. Hi Matt.

I have to agree with Glen. Last month I spent a couple weeks creating 3D visuals for a major drink company's upcoming campaign of in-store semi-permanent drink displays. They had many ideas and numerous configurations of each version. In all, I created about 200 quality renders. I could never had done this if I had to draw it all in 2D.

I say keep at the 2D work as well as it definitely has its place. It is an art form of great importance, and I think there will always be a place for it. I also think that there are things that can be much more easily achieved in 2D than in 3D. It is a matter of picking the right tool for the job.

[matt_lorenzi]

Can someone give me a quick rundown on how one would use something like C4D to render say a car?
Someone mentioned inputting the CAD data? Would this then give you the surfaces, and then you put them together in a 3D space? What if no CAD data is available, how would someone proceed in creating the same car in C4D?