Quote Originally Posted by PoolDoc View Post
How long did it take you to do those drawings?

What tool did you use?

(Uh, if you wanted to make drawings of how common pool parts and components work . . . I can put them where LOTS of people will see them!)


I used 3d studio max (an autodesk product), this was a pretty simple drawing because there are very few irregular shapes and no modeling; just cylinders, rectangles and tubes, so not much time involved, the software does most of the work, including attaching the material properties (drag and drop plastic) and lighting. Also allows you to animate; probably would have taken 30 seconds to get the fan turning and maybe 15 minutes to get a convincing flow of water. The software is truly amazing in what it will do and how quickly it will do it. Downside, 3d max is fairly expensive.

For those that want a cheap entry into the world of 3d modeling go to www.Blender.org and download the latest version of Blender. It will do "everything" 3d max will do, is free, is open source and there are a ton of free tutorials and a huge user community that are constantly putting more free stuff up on the web. If you need a 3d model of a motorcycle, or fork, or birthday cake, or diving board . . . there is one out there that you will be able to bring up into Blender and either modify it or, use in a scene.

For the first timer, all this stuff will look scary at the start, but if you will dedicate an hour to reviewing the software and videos you will be surprised at how much you can do with very little experience. And I should add, no artistic talent is required, just the ability to recognize the various shapes that make up an object and scene, and a sense for proportion (although there are tools included that can assist with that as well).


Jim