Do you like one 3d software over another?

[God's Girl]

I will be just starting out; but I want to get the best software up front. If I'm going to be carving animal/outdoor scenes along with some basic/not so basic leaf/vine/flourishes which software pkgs do you all prefer. I asked (ya never know 'till you ask) if I could purchase them, check them out, then return the ones that are not useful for me....no way, Jose'. SB obviously can't rec either; but Frank was kind enough to grab a couple of the mega books (CD's) and read some of the index..... Is it better to get the separate Wildlife and Flourishes or should I get one of the mega CDs with a conglomeration of everything?

[rcnewcomb]

The bundles tend to be pretty cost effective. Take a look at the collections on VectorArt3D.com (http://www.vectorart3d.com/collections/)

Aspire (http://www.vectric.com/WebSite/Vectric/aspire/whats_new/aspire_v3/whats_new_overview.htm) makes it easy to create your own designs or work with existing ones.

[khaos]

I love Aspire. I recommend it and the Design and Carve 1 - Wildlife Scenes (http://www.vectorart3d.com/index.cfm/www.vectorart3d.com/index.cfm/DC1_Wildlife.htm) if you intend to create great original wildlife scenery. I have both and I am most pleased. The support is top notch and the investment is sound. I envy you a bit as you will be getting the latest version and it was just upgraded. Hope this helps.

HTH,
Joe

[bleeth]

Despite the great strides made in Aspire the finest sculpturing tools around are still in Artcam. It is quite a bit more expensive but the overall abilities are at a higher level. Most of those tools do take quite a bit of practice to use effectively. All of the Vector Art 3-d files as well as many other pre-created 3-d files available from others around the world are available as Artcam relief files as well as Aspire compatible files. The two (Artcam and Aspire) types of files are not interchangeable but both import and export STL files. Customer service from Aspire is Aces and quite good in Artcam as well. The Artcam forum has suffered a bit in the last few years due to a bit too much bickering between some of the members but is still an excellent resource. If I wanted to limit my outgo I would have no trouble recommending Aspire. If money were not a factor I wouldn't hesitate to get Artcam Pro. I would not get a pirated version of Pro, although they are all over, as you probably would need training and support which you would be giving up if you did not have a registered copy.

[God's Girl]

Thank you. This forum is better than having big brothers! The outgoing greenbacks are choking me: Checked out ArtCam = out of my league; but I feel confident that Aspire 3 is going to be a dream. Did look up Vector Art 3D = it is discontinued b/c of the new Aspire - due to come out with the updated version in March, they say. May purchase it then upgrade; haven't decided yet. I still haven't run across (had the time to run across) what I'm looking for as far as flourishes are concerned. Have a feeling that those will be in the same upgrade boat as the Design and Carve Wildlife. Does anybody know about the three CD's that come with the large books (?red, blue, & green?) that can be purchased from ShopBot?
marquitta

[adrianm]

The three CD's you refer to are for the Mega Collection from vectorart.com, they're not the same as the relief models from Vector Art 3D in that they are 2d vector drawings that you can VCarve or do profile cuts on.

It's possible to use them as the basis for self-made 3d models using Aspire or ArtCam but it's not an off the shelf solution.

I use the Mega collection files pretty much everyday as I find that a nicely done VCarve piece sells for far more than the 3D equivalent once machinining and labour costs are taken into account. In the UK anyways!

The files from Vector Art 3D will work fine with Aspire 3 but the tutorial videos (done with the previous version) won't make a lot of sense which is why they have been taken off.

[dana_swift]

"The forum is better than having big brothers".. what an elegant statement that is!

Most of the time I just read and pick up tidbits, sometimes nuggets. Occasionally I add my version of said.

Caution, not all big brothers give the same quality of advise, tho they speak with a voice of similar loudness.

Most of the advise I have seen on here is uniformly good.. until it involves electricity.

D

[rcnewcomb]

Did look up Vector Art 3D = it is discontinued b/c of the new Aspire

Vector Art 3D produces 3D design files that can be used with Aspire, ArtCam, or other 3D modeling programs.

This analogy might help:
Just as you can buy fonts for your computer from companies like Linotype or Bitstream and then use those fonts in different programs like Microsoft Word or Adobe PageMaker...
in the same way you can buy 3D designs from various companies like VectorArt 3D and use or edit them in programs such as Aspire or ArtCam.

[michael_schwartz]

Aspire 3.0 is very easy to use and quite capable. A real bargain when you factor in the upgrade cost from part works. Very good support, and tutorials as well. The great thing with aspire is you can continue to use it as you would partworks/vcarve and learn the 3D modeling tools as you go. Version 3.0 which was recently released offers some very nice improvements over 2.5

When I need a basic 3D cad program I have been using the free version of sketchup. The lack of true arcs or curves is a problem since the drawings are based on line segments, and vector tools are limited. However sketchup just too easy to use, and the price is right. You can mess with the styles as well and make some really nice looking drawings.