Disapointed with CA library / material


Sabine77
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Hi All, I am a beginning interior design student. I purchased CA Premier student edition to start learning the program and play around a bit. I have not yet taken any CAD classes in school so I don't have any other programs to compare too...

I do however feel as though CA library options and materials are a bit dated. 80% of what is available looks like it is from the 90's. The materials for the most part are awful. Even with the bonus and manufacturer downloads I struggle to find tile, etc that I would actually use in a design. The textiles, oh man... don't get me started! 

The light fixtures, furniture is pretty bad too. Am I missing something? Is there somewhere I can go to download more modern items? I have tried 3D warehouse ... that is somewhat helpful. Anywhere else?

Is there a program that is better suited for just interior design? 

Thanks so much! I hope I don't sound like a total brat ;-) 

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2 hours ago, Sabine77 said:

Hi All, I am a beginning interior design student. I purchased CA Premier student edition to start learning the program and play around a bit. I have not yet taken any CAD classes in school so I don't have any other programs to compare too...

I do however feel as though CA library options and materials are a bit dated. 80% of what is available looks like it is from the 90's. The materials for the most part are awful. Even with the bonus and manufacturer downloads I struggle to find tile, etc that I would actually use in a design. The textiles, oh man... don't get me started! 

The light fixtures, furniture is pretty bad too. Am I missing something? Is there somewhere I can go to download more modern items? I have tried 3D warehouse ... that is somewhat helpful. Anywhere else?

Is there a program that is better suited for just interior design? 

Thanks so much! I hope I don't sound like a total brat ;-) 

The way fair catalog is pretty extensive and adds some modern furniture, you can always request furniture and finishes in the symbols and content section of this forum.. I personally have a huge catalog, just make the request... most of the CA users that are on the design side have the full suite of manufacturer and extended catalogs available on the website as well as downloading external content.. just make sure poly-counts on external models are low

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This issue of library items is a tough one due to how many styles there are to cover, and I think Chief does a comparatively good job with content included with SSA.  Sure, I think the content styles could be updated a little.

 

Most modeling apps you need to find collections and download or make your own library. Do some searches and you can join sites that sell specific resources certain design styles...

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Sabine - I agree with you, a lot of the design materials (textiles, tile, etc.) leave a lot to be desired. I would advise that you learn Photoshop or a similar graphics program (if you haven't already) ASAP, and learn how Chief uses images as textures and materials in the program. Once you figure out how to create tileable materials, you will be able to get the look you want (using images you can find on the internet) of materials that you would like to use in your designs. There are great free resources on using Photoshop to create tileable materials (just use google) as all 3D programs need textures to make the models look more realistic. Many manufacturers have textures on their websites that you can use to create materials in Chief.

When it comes to 3D models, that's a bigger hill to climb. The more complicated the item, the harder it is to create from scratch. Chief has gotten a lot better with Bonus and Manufacturer libraries, and is well worth SSA. Otherwise, 3D Warehouse, 3D Sky, and Syncronia are good resources. If you want to see some great examples of 3D artists at work (to learn about their techniques) check out ronenbekerman.com. It will blow you away - but the tools and tactics they use can be applied to Chief in limited ways.

Good luck!

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