how to gain the next level ?

In last few days after making visualisations for my project of Cultural Centre I realised how bad I am at making them. I regret, that I still don't use 3ds max, i work like :
autocad -> sketch up -> kerkythea --> then repairing all in photoshop and finally designing the layout in Corel Draw. Sound complicated, but I’m quite sure, that’s not enough. I know I should learn how to use some programs like 3ds max or something similar (but what?).

Me and my friends decided to choose 3ds max. But there comes my question…
We are able to go on course (about 20hours in one weekend, and about 125euro. That’s quite expensive for us…) or buy something like “3ds max. bible” book by K.L. Murdock (that’s also in polish, so it’s easier to understand than English tutorials…)

But I’m not sure which is better? What do you recommend? Next year we’re going to get enginner’s degree and at our enginner’s project we would like to present in appropriate way.

Help us.

Magda, Ilona and Carlos

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Permalink Reply by Magda Kosmowska on March 12, 2011 at 6:47pm

Thank You :)

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Permalink Reply by ® irgeorgellanespecore on March 12, 2011 at 10:08pm

Congratulations! Hope to see more of your works via pencil or any digital work. Nice to hear about the winning! ;) XD

best,

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Permalink Reply by Magda Kosmowska on March 14, 2011 at 3:12pm

Oh, thank you so much ! :) Sure I'll post something new soon. I'm thinking about my new projects, one office building (that'll be my engineer project ) and one restaurant. And of course I have to learn drawing with tablet... great fun, but's not as easy as it seems ;)

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Permalink Reply by Mark Connors on April 19, 2011 at 12:47pm

Hmmm. Interesting discussion of pencils & mice. All tools have their advantages and disadvantages, appropriate uses and inappropriate applications. Many, if not most, tools are still in use today, including the stone chisel.

And congratulations, Magda on your competition success ! Ask your friendly jurors what they think about the balance of presentation form with design content.

However, the original question went unanswered - in order to learn new software : attend expensive seminar, or buy a book ?

My short answer: Time = Money; Which do you have more of ?

I've found professional training to be very useful in shortening learning curves. I have also gone to some not-so-great classes, or ones not matched to what I was looking for . I can rarely afford the classes, so I usually press ahead with determination, occasional frustration, and consuming plenty of time. In these cases, and when the class is a distant memory, a good reference book helps a LOT.

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Permalink Reply by Scott Ebert on June 15, 2012 at 11:47pm

I would have to agree and focus on design. Let visualization software handle the presentation and use REFLEX Render. You can check out a demo for it at http://www.aaecs.com/reflexvideo... I hope this helps! Many of the world's largest firms are using it...

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Permalink Reply by ali javed on September 16, 2012 at 1:23am

HI MAGDA,

I STILL BELEIVE AT ARCHITECTURAL THESIS LEVEL A COMBINATION OF AUTOCAD, SKETCHUP &PHOTOSHOP IS THE BEST OPTION YOU HAVE. 3DS MAX IS TOO TIME CONSUMING & COMPLICATED IN COMPARISION TO SKETCHUP.

BESIDES U MAY ALSO USE PLUGINS IN SKECTHUP FOR RENDERING & AN ALMOST SIMILAR OUPUT MAY BE ACHEIVED THAT U MAY GET IN CASE OF A 3DS MAX RENDERED FILE.

I PERSONALLY USE SKETCHUP & M FINE WITH IT. REST ALL THE BEST :)