hi guys, im particularly interested in learning to use 3ds max, i am currently usind autoCAD for Architecture / structural use, would 3ds max be:1) useful for my kind of work2) is it similar to autoCAD?3) is it easy to learn?Thanx

DOUBLE POST MAN!! C'MON!!

Autokarl: From the Autodesk website itself.
 
Autodesk® Inventor® products offer a comprehensive, flexible set of software for 3Dmechanical design, product simulation, tooling creation, and design communication. Inventor takes you beyond 3D to Digital Prototyping by enabling you to design, visualize, and simulate your products.
 

Autodesk® 3ds Max® and Autodesk® 3ds Max® Design software provide powerful, integrated 3D modeling, animation, rendering, and compositing that enable artists and designers to more quickly ramp up for production. The two versions share core technology and features, but offer differentiated experiences and specialized toolsets for game developers, visual effects artists, and graphic designers on the one hand, and architects, designers, engineers, and visualization specialists on the other.John Connor2011-02-04 16:22:27

1. It would be useful for creating great looking renders of your projects, but it is not a drafting program.2. No, it's not similar to Autocad. For one thing, there is no command line. And as I said before, it is not a drafting program. The 2D drawing functions are very basic. It is a high end 3D modeling and animation program.3. It's a pretty robust program, but it's about as easy to learn as any other. It just takes time to get comfortable with the interface so that you know where everything is and what everything does. You just have to be dedicated and put in the time. The more you work with it, the easier it gets.

yeah?

[QUOTE=karlt83]yeah?[/QUOTE]

Is that a question?



What do you hope to gain by using Max? Do you want to create 3D renders
of
your projects? You should be able to do that with the Autocad
Architecture program that you already have. But I can tell you from
experience that rendering in Max is infinitely better than rendering in
Autocad. You have much more control over lighting and materials. And
there are tons of render settings to help you tweak the rendered output
so you get exactly what you want.

But if you think you're going to use it for drafting plans, forget about it. Max isn't that type of program.