The blog, this post on 3ds Max Design 2010 especially, but am I the only one who finds grey text on a grey background hard work to read? Normally I wouldn't care as read the feed but the Area Blogs only have partial feeds, a bad practice in blogworld 
Announcement: 3ds Max Design 2010! - Area : Kens Blog
* At least they are better than the Civil blogs whose feeds keep breaking in my reader.
David Fano’s Design ReForm is a blog with tutorials and explorations in parametric modelling using applications like 3ds Max, Revit, Maya, and Rhino. I hadn’t found it, until he emailed me, so I’m really glad he did.
Go have a look, I’ve subscribed!
Web: http://designreform.net/ Feed: http://designreform.net/feed/
At the recent World Press Day Autodesk announced the demise of Autodesk Viz and their intention to “encourage” Viz customers to move to Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2009. It’s a subset of 3ds Max 2009 optimised for architects, designers, and visualisation specialists. As a Viz subscription customer I was interested to read this “encouragement” was the opportunity to give Autodesk more money (based on the US pricing in the press release):
From March 31, 2008 to July 17, 2008, existing Autodesk VIZ 2008 software Subscription customers will be able to cross-grade to 3ds Max Design 2009 for US$249**. During this same timeframe, Autodesk VIZ 2006, 2007, and 2008 customers who are not on Autodesk Subscription will be able to cross-grade to 3ds Max Design 2009 for US$895**, if they purchase Autodesk Subscription for 3ds Max Design 2009.
Autodesk Subscription will be available for purchase simultaneously with the product purchase or upgrade. The Autodesk suggested retail price for Autodesk Subscription for 3ds Max or 3ds Max Design will be US $495* per year.
* International pricing may vary. ** International pricing may vary. This promotion only applies to Autodesk VIZ purchases made prior to February 12, 2008.
http://www.worldpressdays08.com/pages/doc/products/3ds_Max_Design_2009_press_release.pdf
Here is the justification for Subscription from the Autodesk website in my region;
Simplify your technology upgrades and boost your design productivity with the complete software, support, and training package from Autodesk® Subscription. With Autodesk Subscription you get the latest releases of your Autodesk® software, incremental product enhancements, personalised web support direct from Autodesk technical experts, and self-paced training to help extend your skills.
http://south-apac.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=1157326&id=3868490
An email arrived recently addressed to “Dear valued Autodesk® VIZ Customer” including this statement:
In the coming months, we will be working to manage the transition of VIZ customers to 3ds Max Design. As part of this transition, all Autodesk VIZ development efforts are being transferred to 3ds Max Design, and there is no plan for further development of Autodesk VIZ software.
Given Autodesk decided to kill Viz and transfer all development to 3ds Max Design surely “the latest releases of your [my] Autodesk® software” is now 3ds Max Design?
While 3ds Max Design is a far superior application it would have been decent to recognise the subscription commitment by migrating current Viz Subscribers with no cross-grade fee. I didn’t decide Viz was inadequate or choose to upgrade my Viz to Max. Autodesk killed Viz to simplify their code-base for development and other business reasons. Viz users wanting to remain compatible with the latest partner applications (Revit, AutoCAD, Inventor) have little choice other than cross-grade at a price. Not exactly my idea of encouraging valued subscription customers.
I'm not sure what I'll do as it will depend on the final regional pricing. If it follows the US model, as I expect, I'll drop my personal Viz Subscription and recommend the same for most of them at work. If that's the case Autodesk's attempt to "encourage" this Viz user by charging for a migration I didn't want/need means they'll probably loose a few “valued” subscribers. The price of killing Viz…
Autodesk have announced their “2009” product releases including AutoCAD, AutoCAD Architecture/MEP and Revit Architecture/MEP. While there is a lot to see in these products some of the announcements made today regarding acquisitions and subscription are just as interesting. It’s a month or so before the release products ship but via the MyFeedback program I’ve had access to a few of them for a while. There are some major changes in all the applications and lots of refinements, although some I’d classify as bug fixes. These are my highlights from the releases, I’ll follow with more detail in future posts. To maximise browser compatibility I’ve shared animations (captured with Camtasia) in .gif format which does limit colour and gradient rendition. The static captures are a better guide to the true appearance, in my case as seen on Windows XP, and details may change between now & release.
AutoCAD 2009 – It’s the User Interface…
While there are lots of refinements the major impact is how AutoCAD looks and feels. If you’ve recently upgraded to Office 2007 things might seem a little more familiar but AutoCAD veterans are in for a shock. AutoCAD has adopted many of the principles and general layout of the Microsoft Fluent UI however, unlike Office, Autodesk’s interface allows full customisation. It’s all new from the “A” (for AutoCAD) desktop icon to the “AutoCAD” Button, Menu Browser and Ribbon. Even the old status bar text toggles have changed to swish new icons. The focus shifts from tools to tasks as, like Office, the interface attempts to present tools and controls relevant to your work-flow. If your priorities differ the AutoCAD Ribbon allows the same level of customisation as the previous toolbar UI. Unlike Microsoft Office, AutoCAD also retains the old UI so those who can’t live without the legacy Menu/Toolbar model have still that option. Of course the command line, dynamic cursor input and keyboard shortcuts are there for those who prefer the keyboard approach.
AutoCAD Architecture 2009 – Refinement, Refinement…
As usual AutoCAD Architecture inherits many of the AutoCAD features, but interestingly not all. It makes less use of the Ribbon and won’t use the mode-less Layer dialog seen in AutoCAD. It features improvements to Walls (Cleanup and end-caps), Spaces and Project Navigator to aid work-flow. Perhaps my favourite feature is a tiny one. When you have over a hundred live projects the ability to close the current one from Project Navigator, without opening and finding it in Project Browser, is awesome!
Revit Architecture 2009 – Exceptional Rendering…
Yes, Revit could always render, thanks to Accurender, but invariably it looked “OK, except…”. For 2009 the factory have incorporated the high quality Mental Ray render engine as seen in Max, AutoCAD and other products. This change alone would justify Revit 2009 for me but there are many other improvements. Sadly apart from an “R” desktop icon (get it?) Revit has not benefited from major UI changes other than the View Cube and Steering Wheel 3D viewing controls seen in other Autodesk products. The new render UI is delightfully simple and credit to the team. Inter-operation between Revit and Max has also been improved.
Other announcements:
That’s all for now, it’s time for bed!
Cadalyst have an article about the Fiat Scratch, a car design concept created with help from AliasStudio, Photoshop, AutoCAD & 3ds Max.
Much is made of it’s factory fresh “scratched weathered look” but Fiats tend acquire that as they age anyway. The thing is they keep going regardless, the scratches just adding “character”. The idea of multi-colour layered paint to highlight the cars age, rather than hide it, is also interesting. I think my old battered stone chipped White Uno, with it’s greyish under-coat, is pioneering this!
Wear Your Fiat Like a Pair of Old Jeans - Cadalyst.com
London-based architect-turned-vehicle designer Uros Pavasovic has traditionalists scratching their heads…
Joel posted these for the intended audience, comic book artists, but I think many of the techniques for composition/lighting apply to both PowerPoint and rendering.
Joel Johnson: Wally Wood's 22 Panels That Always Work: Unlimited Edition
Ask any working comic book artist who has been in the business for more than ten years about "Wally Wood's 22 Panels That Always Work", and they know of it like it was the bible.Once shrouded in secrecy, Wally Wood would selectively give assistants and those close to him three 8×10 photocopies of comic panels that bore the absolute essence of drawing comic book panels. 22 images in total, they held the secret to a comic book illustrator’s success, and those who learned from them benefited from the master’s wisdom.
via drawn
Last night I attended the Autodesk New Zealand Design Masters Quiz (2007 Launch event). It was a mix of serious, well mostly serious, software demonstrations and quiz show fun. “Pre-Quiz” Dealer and Customer presentations showcased the full product range with AutoCAD, Revit, Inventor and Map demo’s featuring in the quiz.
A highlight was New Zealand Olympic Gold Medal Triathlete Hamish Carter. The tale of his journey to Olympic glory was great to hear. He also assisted TV’s Ric Salizzo run the quiz giving away loads of prizes, unfortunately not to Table 22!
Photos below: Some of the crowd (approx 400), Hamish Carter
It was also an opportunity to catch up with fellow Kiwi beta testers Chris Needham and Darren Myles (photos below by Shaan Hurley). Thanks to the Autodesk NZ team for a great evening.
Details for the New Zealand Autodesk 2007 Launch event are on-line. It changes every year, as the format is refined, but this post about the 2006 event shows it goes far beyond the average software launch. Register now at the Autodesk NZ site.
- When: Tuesday May 9th 2006
- Place: Aotea Center, Auckland, New Zealand
- What:
- Pre-Event In-depth Technical Presentations: 13:00 to 16:50
- Design Masters Quiz: 17.30pm to 20.00. Compete and win in a team based quiz, hosted by well known television presenters.
Highlights:
- In depth Technical Presentations.
- More Prizes! - More Food! - More Fun!
- Chance to meet Shaan Hurley “Between The Lines AutoCAD Blogger” and Autodesk My Feedback (Beta) Program Manager.*
* Ok I added that last one but you will, Shaan’s going to be in NZ for the event to answer all your toughest AutoCAD questions 
Update:
Autodesk have made Knowledge Base articles available via RSS Feed . Now you can subscribe to product specific feeds and get notification when articles are posted.
Add these to existing RSS Feeds for product related Autodesk Discussion Groups and Autodesk Blogs and you have a huge information resource that’s working for you.
The image shows my current Autodesk related RSS feed list. Imagine visiting each of these sites to see what content is new. It would take ages.
With RSS you subscribe to the feed. Periodically your reader scans the feeds to see what content on each site has changed since your last visit. You can then easily scan or search the results. It means you know what is there but read only what you really want to see.
Don’t waste time finding information, let it find you!
For more information about finding and using the feeds see: Between the Lines: Autodesk adds RSS feeds for product knowledge base
Back in January I posted about Dilbert's Ultimate House which was a collaborative design project to find the perfect home for the comic strip geek legend created by Scott Adams. The readers contributed ideas, both serious and not so serious, which they thought would suit the cubicle dwellers home life.
Raj Raheja, of Heartwood Studios, did the "Virtual construction" using AutoCAD & 3D Studio Max 5.1 & 6 which he said "Was a lot of fun!".
The plans for are now available in DWF (Design Web Format) from Shaan’s Between the Lines blog. If you don’t have the free DWF Viewer Shaan’s post has a link to download it.
The DWF drawing set has 2d plans, elevations and a couple of renderings. If you’re planning a house have a look at Dilbert’s, you may see something worth considering. It would be neat to see some 3d DWF’s of this project!
Congratulations to Beau Turner on winning the BTL Video contest. I first met Beau “virtually” via his blog “will render for food…” and it was great to meet him and his family in person at AU last year.
He kindly gave me a shirt with his blog name on it (see pic right) and when I wear it I get a few comments. Non-design folk’s sometimes think it refers to the other definitions of “render”!
ren·der
tr.v. ren·dered, ren·der·ing, ren·ders
Computer Science. To convert (graphics) from a file into visual form, as on a video display.
To reduce, convert, or melt down (fat) by heating.
To coat (brick, for example) with plaster or cement.
Change is Good
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