There are plugins for ArchiCAD 15, ArchiCAD 14, Vectorworks 2012 and Vectorworks 2011. There are also plugins for Autodesk Revit 2012 and Google SketchUp 8.

You can download your plugin today for access to Artlantis 4’s enhanced rendering engine and iVisit 3D technology, which simplifies the process of sharing virtual tours of models online and via mobile devices and tablets.

Integrated CADS Services (ICS) is an authorized distributor of Abvent products in New England and can answer questions about sales and services for such technology (800-383-5195).  You can learn more by visiting Abvent online.

There is also an update to Artlantis 4 itself, taking the version to 4.0.16. You can grab that here.

Maxwell Render for SketchUp is now at version 2.5.15. It brings forth Maxwell Fire-based material preview and several changes and fixes. New auto-focus functionality has been added to the camera, new network rendering menu options, new output options and more. There are also several OS X fixes for those using SketchUp and Maxwell on Macs.

Maxwell Render for Cinema 4D is now at version 2. 5.1.6 is a minor bug fix only. The primary change here is the added support for QuickTime textures in Cinema materials. There were also several key fixes in this update, including a crash that occurred when creating a new material (on OS X/R11.5/R12/32-bit only) and a fix of redundant cameras during the exporting of animations.

Those are the latest updates for Maxwell Render. Also, back in late April Houdini was also officially supported with a plugin, compatible with Maxwell Fire as well. To learn more visit them online here.

The company is therefore calling on CD4 and Maya users (on both Mac and Windows) to help them finalize plugin development by joining their internal beta program for Carbon Scatter.

What is Carbon Scatter?

For those C4D and Maya users not in the know, Carbon Scatter is e-on software’s plugin software tool that integrates e-on’s powerful EcoSystem algorithms directly into the host application, allowing users to populate native scenes with millions of instances, and render them within their renderer of choice.

01 - Carbon Scatter has powerful population technology, runs inside other 3D apps like Maya and Cinema 4D.

Notes on Carbon for Maya and C4D

• Carbon Scatter will initially work with the mental ray and V-ray renders for Maya only
• Carbon Scatter for CINEMA 4D will work with that program’s excellent native rendering engine
• Carbon Scatter will work within Maya 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 and C4D R 11.5 and R12 for 32 and 64-bit versions on Mac and Windows.

To learn more visit: www.e-onsoftware.com

Ozone 5 implements the Spectral 3 (tm.) cutting-edge technologies developed by e-on software for the simulation and rendering of atmospheric effects. The software behaves correctly according to nature’s rules. New features include:

• New support for V-Ray and advanced MentalRay renderers
• Super-fast rendering technology
• Cloud Cross Shadowing (break-through algorithms enables accurate cloud shadow casting on other clouds)
• Extensive library of over 150 predefined atmospheres

01 - Ozone 5 now shipping from e-on Software. Creates realistic skies in most 3D software packages.

Ozone 5 is available for Windows and Mac (Mac Intel only) for both 32 and 64-bit platforms. The product retails for 295.USD. To learn more visit this link.

Every real, as opposed to virtual I guess, project that we architects do has a site. The site might be an empty field or an infill one with existing buildings all around. It could also be an existing building with work done on the outside or even the inside. These days many of us are designing in 3D creating nifty little 3D models of our work that often just float around in space with no reference to the actual site. Or we may create the site and its surroundings virtually to have a place to put the model. But for the client and for the completion of the design process what could be more illustrative than to see the new structure on a photo of the actual site.

This can be done using Vectorworks importing a picture and then matching the exact angle and perspective of the picture with a 3D view of the Vectorworks model. It’s not too difficult if we know the exact position of the camera, the angle, the focal length, et cetera, of the imported picture. But I can tell you from my own experience that what might not seem too difficult can take hours of messing around and trial and error to get a result that even seems close to reality. This is assuming you know the details of the imported photo mentioned above, but what if the client just hands you a picture taken from some random location?

Cameramatch

Cameramatch solves all of these problems and once one learns how to use the program the “photo” of the site combined with the model of the proposed project can be accomplished in minutes using just about any random photo–not hours. Time savings on just one of these should more than pay for the 100.USD cost of the program and from then on it’s just more money in your pocket.

Now I have to admit that I have had a few start-up issues. The instructions, who wants to read instructions, are detailed and one must read them and follow them. One must also be familiar with the base program, which in this case is the latest Vectorworks 2011, by Nemetschek Vectorworks, Inc.. Cameramatch is also available for earlier versions. I have been at fault in both cases. I just got the new version of Vectorworks and I don’t really like following instructions. I know I’m not alone otherwise they wouldn’t have a ‘quickstart’ guide in just about everything we buy these days.

Here are before and after photos of a little house we are working on in the Czech Republic. It’s actually a teardown and rebuild of an existing structure attached to another house. The photo used was taken at random by the client. We have not even been to the site.

Cameramatch works by aligning a 3D view of a model in Vectorworks to a photo’s specific perspective. The general idea is you are going to model something in Vectorworks from the vantage point of a specific photo, whether you re-use that photo as part of your final visualization product or not.

In the top image below we start with the basic establishing of 3D reference points in the photo taken. (see image 01). In the second photo below you “align” your 3D model created in Vectorworks (or possibly created in another program and brought into Vectorworks) to the Camermatch object in the annotation space of the viewport. (see image 02).

01 - Cameramatch 2011. Locations of dots and lines indicate found perspective guides for the model.

02 - Cameramatch 2011's process and interface. The 3D model aligns with guides established through the Cameramatch object.

This was just my second attempt at using the program; so don’t think that it’s the best that can be done with the program. Go to the site www.panzercad.com and look for some examples done by others to get a better idea of the true potential of the program. And after we make some revisions to this design requested by the client I will make a better version of this one.

“Titles like Dante’s Inferno, Dragon Age: Origins, EVE Online and God of War III prove Turtle to be a lighting tool that any Maya game studio should consider,” says Magnus Wennerholm, CEO of Illuminate Labs.

Turtle is a top notch photo-realistic rendering engine and while the software is popular in the gaming market, non-gaming clients include industrial heavy-weights like Lockheed Martin, Volvo and Sony.

To learn more about Turtle visit them here: www.illuminatelabs.com

New in Bonzai 3D 2 beta 2

There are several new features in this latest beta 2 release. Here is a list summary:

• Multiple object parameters in the Parameters tab of the Tool Options palette are available
• Content groups are now embedded into project files
• Content groups can now be edited directly in the project
• Groups can now be edited
• Objects can easily be isolated when working in complex models
• NURBS curve and surface tools have been enhanced
• Control over the color of object edges has been added

Bonzai 3D 2 beta 2 offers 3D dimensions, 3D clipping planes (non-destructive sectioning), a Walk-through tool, new NURBS tools for blending, merging, and extending curves and surfaces, overhauled printing, adjustable size of tool icons, improved view navigation workflow and more.

There are also new features in the RenderZone beta 2 plugin for bonzai 3D. There is new decal support, baked textures, partial area rendering and Sketch rendering.

The RenderZone plugin offers photorealistic rendering including global illumination and ambient occlusion. It is compatible with formZ RenderZone Plus and allows the smooth transfer of rendering information between two applications. Bonzai 3D 2 beta 2 includes a watermarked version of the RenderZone plugin.

To learn more visit them here online: http://www.bonzai3d.com/bonzai3d_homeN.html

Artlantis 3 and Artlantis Studio 3

Abvent has improved its photo-realistic rendering with an improved radiosity engine which is even faster than the previous version. There is also new management capabilities by layers, better management of media and simplified controls for lighting.

Artlantis 3 has a new transparency slider that works with billboards and plants. There is no longer any need for photo editing. You can now detach elements of the 3D model and keep them as internal components in your 3D scene using the polygon selection tool. With Artlantis 3 you can search for and replace any missing media components on your hard drive, as well as delete them.

Artlantis 3 has a new structure for layers for the management of scene objects, 3D plants, lamps, animated objects and billboards. You can also add or remove your own layers. ArchiCAD users will appreciate the ArchiCAD export plugin which allows you to select the layers you want to export to Artlantis 3.

The brand new radiosity engine is developed specifically for architecture and is both faster and more accurate. Abvent claims no other product on the market matches Artlantis 3’s radiosity engine in rendering speed and precision. Predefined settings for both interior and exterior make setting up scenes much easier for beginners while advanced users will appreciate the “expert” interface.

Now clouds can be animated in Artlantis 3 scenes by activating the wind’s parameters in the heliodon inspector. You can add movement to water with the new Water Shader, adding life to your 3D scenes with animated rivers, lakes, pools and seas.

Artlantis is now compatible with the Autodesk 2010 product line and has numerous import plugins available for many CAD and 3D programs, including ArchiCAD and Vectorworks. There is a new technology for export plugins which opens up options for OBJ, FBX, U3D, DWF and SKP files.

To learn more and see some demo videos visit Artlantis online here.

ASGVIS was actually formed in 2005 as a visual imaging studio providing 3D visualization services for a variety of clients but has spun into a custom software development house as well, enabling its team of visualization professionals to work along software developers to service its clients and extend software suites deeper into developing markets. Mac OS X continues to be seen as an expanding market opportunity. 

Vray for Mac OS X SketchUp

While there are already other very good photo-realistic rendering plugins for Google’s Mac version of SketchUp, Vray is one of the most popular renderers in the AEC visualization market and has served as a rendering plugin of choice for Autodesk 3ds Max and McNeel’s popular Rhino. 

Now Vray is coming to Mac OS X compliments of ASGVIS and SketchUp. This post from their blog is actually from late May but it was new to us and we have written into ASGVIS to get an update which we hope to post ASAP. 

01 - Blog post by ASGVIS of their upcoming Mac Vray plugin for SketchUp.

If you have an interest in Vray on Mac OS X then definitely write this company and share your thoughts. We should note that there was a more up-to-date post from late June that spoke about concurrent Mac and Windows software development on this Vray plugin. The goal being of developing them at the same time for release at the same time. 

To read the blog post and see more images go here.

Version 1.1 Features

This latest version introduces new abilities, including the ability to drive dimensions between geometric objects included into one group. Enhancements of the graphical user interface include a new toolbar button that simplifies the access to the online help and improved usability when selecting two dimension arguments with a mouse. 

Version 1.1 adds native Mac OS X support after porting LGS, a variational geometric solver developed by LEDAS, to Mac OS X. 

“In our work we were seriously inspired by the constantly growing user base of our Driving Dimensions plugin for SketchUp,” said Dmitry Ushakov, Director of Product Management for LEDAS. “In less than eight months after we released a first public beta, about 10,000 SketchUp users from 125 countries downloaded it from our website. With its growing popularity [the] Mac OS X platform attracts more and more attention to CAD developers. We are excited to offer advanced parametrization tools integrated with a popular free 3D modeling software on the Mac.”

A free version of Driving Dimensions 1.1 for SketchUp 6 and 7 for Windows or Mac can be downloaded here: http://drivingdimensions.com/download/

There is also a Pro version of Driving Dimensions which retails 45.USD. To learn more visit them online here.

ArchiCAD users can take advantage of C4D’s intuitive organic modeling toolset to create or modify breathtaking architectural structures of almost any shape. Functions like Bend, Twist and Magnet give architects complete artistic freedom for their creations. 

“One of the most important factors of quality of any software connection is the level of workflow support,” said Miklos Szovenyi-Lux, vice president of product management at Graphisoft. “ArchiCAD and Cinema 4D made a tremendous job to make a “round-trip” communication workflow virtually seamless.”

“We are delighted about the depth and quality of integration Graphisoft and Maxon can deliver to our mutual customers. We are confident that we will able to tremendously extend the creative possibilities of the architects of the 21st century,” states Harald Schneider, chief technology officer at Maxon. 

Availability

The new plugin is available via C4D’s integrated online updater system (read more about this in our latest product review of C4D R11 Architectural Edition here) and requires the latest C4D add-on from Graphisoft and can be downloaded here.

Neatworkz distributes a rich set of tools that provide a high-degree of automation while placing the minimum constraints and restrictions on the designer. Drawings can begin life as vaque ideas and take shape and become more involved and resolved as work progresses. 

Neatworkz - Add-on systems design tool for Vectorworks.

Neatworkz is based on an open system design principle, making drawings both human and machine readable. Nothing is hidden, all data is stored in the drawing and can inspected and modified using standard Vectorworks commands. 

A series of movies demonstrate the application here. You can tour the application interface with this interactive web page here. Neatworkz is priced at 250.euros.

Turtle 5

A new redesigned user interface streamlines the unified workflow for easier handling of applying surface transfers and texture/vertex baking. Performance has been heavily optimized throughout Turtle 5, especially for global illumination calculations, which together with a new adaptive anti-aliasing scheme allows for superfast previews as well as very high quality images. 

“We are very happy to see the result of Turtle lighting in titles like Gran Turismo, Mass Effect, Killzone 2 and Tomb Raider Underworld” says Magnus Wennerholm, chief executive officer of Illuminate Labs. “Turtle 5 raise the bar even further, setting a new standard for pre-computed lighting.”

Turtle, its product for Autodesk Maya, is the only product on the market that combines advanced rendering technology with sophisticated baking functionality in one integrated toolset.

Ozone 4.0 Atmospheric Plugin

This plugin works with leading 3D software suites like Autodesk 3DS Max, Maxon’s Cinema4D, NewTek’s LightWave, Autodesk Maya and Autodesk Softimage XSI. 

Ozone 4.0 implements Spectral 2 cutting-edge technologies that provide accurate simulation and rendering of atmospheric effects. New features include:

• Breakthrough Spectral 2 and Volumetric atmosphere models – based entirely on real-world atmosheric behavior including volumetric clouds, accurate light dispersion, and natural phenomena such as Godrays. 
• Real 3D Clouds – high optimized volumetric cloud layers that you can fly through or easily simulate realistic low-lying fog.
• Super-fast rendering technology – highly optimized rendering technology to power through complex effects.
• Animated Clouds and Sunsets
• Extensive Library – Over 150 predefined atmospheres

Open Beta

In fact the company has its own official Bunkspeed HyperShot for SketchUp Blog. On this blog you can read about the latest news on the plugin which is, as mentioned, currently exist only in beta form. On this blog there are several excellent series of examples used. Most focus on architectural or interior environments. 

With the Hypershot SketchUp plugin you can export your entire scene into HyperShot itself. This works differently than other photo-realistic plugins for SketchUp wherein the plugin adds rendering tools to SketchUp. On the blog they write:

“We designed the plug-in and HyperShot with a simplified toolset to help you concentrate on two things: getting your images done as efficiently as possible, and having fun while your doing it.”

HyperShot SketchUp 7 Plugin for Mac and Windows.

To learn more visit this page.

A QuickTime animation from Maya with EITG Sonica v.1.0

Since the spring of 2008 Electric Image Technology Group has had in place a public beta of Sonica v1.0. The move to deliver innovative plugins for other leading 3D software packages is a new strategy to bring the Electric Image brand and EITG’s presence into new 3D markets. Sonic is the first in a planned series of plugins for Autodesk Maya.

Sonica v.1.0 is available for Mac Maya 7 and Mac Maya 8. It is also available for Windows Maya 7, 8 and 8.5.

LightUp for SketchUp plugin adds realistic real time lighting (sun, lights, et cetera) to your SketchUp models featuring ambient occlusion, fresnel reflections, and skybox backdrops. Specular maps and normal maps are supported along with point and area light sources.

Stunning results produced with new LightUp plugin.

Tim noted that LightUp 1.2 does something special that both Podium for the Mac and other SketchUp renders don’t, it bakes and wraps HDRI (high-definition render images) textures and shaders onto a SketchUp model so that you can rotate the model in real time complete with photo-realistic lighting. (see image below).

LightUp helps produce better QuickTime animations that are more photo-realistic.

There are several YouTube hosted videos here of LightUp in action and the image above is a QuickTime demonstrating LightUp’s ability to produce real time photorealistic to interactive SketchUp models.

The current version according to the website is LightUp v1.2a and is the first retail shipping version available also for demo download. A license copy of LightUp is 149.USD.

Like other photo-realistic render plugins, SU Podium 1.5 for Mac runs entirely within SketchUp 6 Pro, from start to finish. It uses SketchUp features such as textures, background colors, groups and shadows to achieve impressive results. SU Podium 1.5 for Mac is 179.USD.

To learn more visit the SU Podium site here:

http://www.suplugins.com/