Models created in sketchup
Solidworks model of a engine
models created and rendered in 3ds max
reflcting upon all the 3d modeling program we used this semester - 3ds max, soliworks and sketchup. i found Sketchup is probably the most commonly used, it is easy to use and learn you can create some nice simple shapes with it but the things you create with it has no interior structure, or the things that you make are just lines and planes not a real solid, sketchup is also just a program for beginner designers, if the model is complex and has lots of curves it will be very diffcult to draw in sketchup and it will come up with lots complex/unwanted lines and planes. The textures in sketchup are also very simple low res textures that offer no depth or shadowing effect to the model.
Solidworks is a very precise program that is more commonly used by engineers, you can create complex shapes with it that could be curvy or spherical which is hard to do in sketchup and everything you create in it is a solid which makes it easier to cut than in sketchup, you are also able to assemble separate models into one big assembled model and make the parts work together to make an animation. but this program is just designed for architects it has some small problems in it that just makes it very hard for architects to design what they want with it. One other major problem with solidwork is the textures in it are of very bad quality and give it a cheap feel so the final model doesnt have a really good quality feel to it.
In 3ds max you can create anything you can think of into a 3d model, it is the most powerful modeler out of the 3 programs, it can create models with curved surfaces and have a very nice smooth finish, you are able to create environments that is almost life like, so even allot of game development companies will use this program. In 3ds max you can also do very beautifully coloured renders of very high resolution making it a perfect choice for architects to model and then render. Animating the models you make is also avaliable in 3Ds max making it the best modelling program out of the 3.
