Modo + ArchiCAD?

[Anonymous]

Hi guys, I've a few questions and I hope you'll help me make final decision.

First things first. My wife makes first steps in interior design using ArchiCAD (edu license for now) and I need something to be helpful in modelling objects for her. Every time she needs specific model/object she has to find it online or create it herself using ArchiCAD. This software has some modeling tools, but they are very basic and IMHO not efficient, so it's huge waste of time. That's why I came up with idea of helping her by using different tool for modeling and rendering. I'm not new in CGI, but I haven't used any 3D software for almost 10 years. A decade ago I used 3ds and rhino (just for fun).

So, as I said, I think I might need a nice tool for object modelling. Is Modo the one I should think of? I also consider Modo as a good rendering engine. As everyone knows most ArchiCAD owners use Artlantis for rendering purposes. In my opinion it's too simple, however it might be a good choice for people like my wife. Is it a good idea to use ArchiCAD + Modo? Or maybe it would be better to buy upcoming Artlantis 5? It's really simple and made mainly for CAD users, however if I had to spend money on separate rendering engine I'd choose Maxwell Render (v3 to be released soon).

I know there's a lot of questions, but I'd like to make a decision and move on. One last thing, what is the best way to share (import/export) files between ArchiCAD and Modo? Is there any hope for good cooperation between those two applications?

[Eduardo Rolon]

Quick answers:

1. Check the Morph tool (tutorials and examples in Graphisoft youtube channel) for modeling complex shapes it should get you 80% of what you need for Interior Design.

2. I like Modo but I prefer Cinema4D for its ability to link to AC. For example reate basic shape in AC using Morph, send it to C4D and then send it back.

3. For rendering Artlantis is good enough and since she is a student it is free, but going back to C4D I use a AC-C4D plugin to send and update my AC model in C4D and Vray for rendering.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for reply. My wife isn't a student any more. She got ArchiCAD (1 year edu license) on a interior design course. However she didn't receive Artlantis license. I think of buying any necessary software but I want to make it right and avoid wasting money. BTW, I saw Morph tool but Modo tools seem to be way better, it's obvious (ArchiCAD is not a 3D modelling tool). It would also be more efficient if we had 2 different tools - my wife ArchiCAD for main projects and me using something different like modo for modelling purposes and renderings.

[Eduardo Rolon]

If you enjoy using Modo I see no problems you can export from AC as 3DS, OBJ and DXF/DWG and Modo should be able to import the model without problems.

For importing from Modo you can use 3DS (need the 3DSin plugin installed in AC, from help archicad downloads link), DWG or DXF and create library parts from the file. Beware that the amount of polygons affect the speed of AC and you don't want to create a vase that has more polis than a 10 story building.

As always you should do some trials to see what workflow is best.

Following links are to some of the C4D stuff in Graphisoft site that can help decipher the procedure to follow in Modo.

http://www.archicadwiki.com/Cinema4D

http://www.graphisoft.com/downloads/addons/cinema_4d/index.html

[Anonymous]

For importing OBJ, FBX, 3DS, or DAE files, the best solution is to buy this plugin for ArchiCAD. It does an amazing job for the price. The interface is robust and offers some control over scale, the layers of the object to import and control over materials. This is for me, one of the best add-ons to hit ArchiCAD in a while!

http://www.day8design.hu/modelport/documentation/

Attached is a screenshot of the results of various objects using both OBJ and FBX

[Anonymous]

detail

[TMA_80]

great find.

[Anonymous]

I use modo for arch viz a fair amount, and have experimented with Unity, and am currently beta testing Lumen RT 2015 (pretty slick tool for that use) and for me, having learned C4D, 3DS & Maya, modo was the best fit.

OBJ out of ArchiCad into modo, easy work resurfacing as all the polygon material tags come through, all the original ArchiCad materials come through - you only need to edit the ones you feel are inadequate for the given render.

modo is a powerful and intuitive modeling environment, and with the addition of the mArch tools has some architecture-specific workflows which work smoothly and well. There was a plugin for modo 701 & 801 called mesh fusion which I used a fair amount which they've now simply included in modo 901, which gives powerful and flexible booleans whilst keeping good sub-division surfaces, - a very nice trick I have to say. With 901 now having both PBR and the original award-winning modo renderer, there's very little I can't tackle with the toolset.

If this doesn't help or you need more details, PM me or we can email.

[Anonymous]

I also have been using modo and ArchiCAD since modo 401. In fact, I am doing some renders right now with 901. The nice thing about using these two ands I have model in great detail and save the object out in OBJ and then use the ModelPort plugin to import the detailed model into ArchiCAD. Model port makes this a two way street whereas with out it, you can only go from ArchiCAD into modo.