Cadalyst - August 2008 - (Page 18)

cadalystlabsreview By Ron LaFon Combining photography and high-quality 3D rendering, illustrator Rodrigo Gelmi (São Paulo, Brazil) used Adobe Photoshop and Luxology’s modo software for the complex modeling presented by Volkswagen’s “Spider Machine,” which depicts a Volkswagen easily outrunning a multiarmed, spider-like tractor. (Car photo by Hilton Ribeiro) C ommunicating design ideas and concepts — whatever they might be — seldom can be done better than by showing them to someone. Thanks to great software applications and ever-increasing computer horsepower, turning a product or building design into a visualization that mimics reality has become a standard way to communicate intent or troubleshoot, convince a client, or promote your company’s capabilities. Visualization is a rapidly growing segment of the software industry, and the accuracy and visual fidelity of these images has become so sophisticated that it’s often difficult to believe that they’re not photographs of a real-world product or home. This roundup review looks at some of the remarkable visualization applications currently available. Increasingly Prevalent Technology Computer-aided animation and visualization have managed to make ideas visible in ways that touch us all, in broad areas of our day-to-day lives. Look no further than this 18 summer’s early blockbuster movies — Iron Man and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull — to see how visualization has affected the entertainment industry. For the designer, it’s remarkable to have these tools readily available, even if your aspirations don’t reach quite as far as Hollywood’s cinematic marvels. Not everyone can look at a CAD drawing and make the leap in imagination to the finished design. Fortunately, today’s software tools make it possible for nearly anyone to see and experience design ideas by transforming detailed and accurate CAD drawings into visualizations. Applications range from creating a virtual building walk-through to show a client that the design meets his or her specifications to preparing advertising campaigns to identifying design flaws early in the product-development process. For this design visualization software roundup review, Cadalyst requested the latest software version from vendors that specialize in visualization applications, whether stand-alone products or applications designed to run www.cadalyst.com cadalyst August 2008 http://www.cadalyst.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Cadalyst - August 2008

Cadalyst - August 2008 Contents Editor's Window CAD Central Tech Trends: Rotor Bug Strikes Again Cadalyst Labs Reviews: Digital Dreams — Visualization Software: Make Your Design Visions a Reality Maple 12 — Math Software AutoLINE 2009 — Linetype Management Add-On Deep Access — Digital-Media Asset Management Software View Point: Examining the Autodesk–Bentley Agreement CAD Manager: Managing Multioffice Mayhem MCAD Modeling: Do You Need Modeling Standards? AEC Insight: Modeling Technology for Building Engineers CAD Cartoon Issue Indexes Hot Tip Harry: Better Living with Objects and Smart Entities

Cadalyst - August 2008

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