Image Credit Arup Connect

08 – Intro to 3ds Max/Civil View

Few software programs can claim dominance in so many industries in the way that 3ds Max does. I can personally attest to how overwhelming it can be the first time you open it and see a new interface with so many buttons and options. But fear not! Civil View can save the day as I discuss in this, the 8th episode of the Civil FX Podcast.

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I’ll be honest, 3ds Max can probably give you the best results if you are creating a 3D visualization. To get to that point, however, you (typically) need expensive software, specially trained software users and the knowledge to bridge the gap between CAD software and this software most often used for video games and blockbuster movies.

I have focused most of the past few years developing different methods for taking data from the CAD linework stage to fully rendered, mostly because I’m not comfortable with 3ds Max and don’t always have access to it. That said, it is the software often used in the creation of the best visualizations I have seen so I feel more than obligated to cover it on the Civil FX podcast. In fact, I probably should have covered 3ds Max in conjunction with the Civil View plugin even earlier on.

Civil View is the glue that makes 3ds Max the real alternative to CAD users and this is the angle I have been focusing on in my 3ds Max testing.

This is the link to the list of all of the movies that have been made with (in total or in part) using 3ds Max 

Civil View product page

Pricing options for the Infrastructure Design Suite that contains both 3ds Max and Civil 3D (you need both for the Civil View plugin to work)

Awesome YouTube video showing the Civil View process in action:

Thanks and please let us know your own experience with 3ds Max or Civil View below in the comments!

Image credit to Arup Connect