Differrent CAD & Image Manipulation Programmes

AutoCAD

AutoCAD is mostly used for 2D drawings by architects, designers, draughtspersons, etc. It is used to create floor plans, blue prints, etc.

Advantages: It makes very precise drawings. It gives the advantage that you don’t need any measuring tools such as compasses, rulers, protractors, pencils, erasers, etc. It is more time consuming than traditional drawing. The drawings you make can be edited along the process. AutoCAD gives the ability to create 3D drawing as well, which could be rotated. With traditional media any of the mentioned advantages aren’t possible.

Disadvantages: It is expensive to buy individually. Every update might make it a bit difficult for the user as he/she needs to learn again the new updates.

Autodesk 3D S Max

It is mainly used by professional designers for animation, product/interior design and animation. It could also render the 3D object created.

Advantages:The software has realistic results. It could be used for virtual character modeling and animation. It is very efficient because you could create the reflections for the created product and has also camera. The camera is to take images and also for videos of the finished product. It could also do rendering. 3Ds max is also known for the gaming industry. It is also used to created visual 3D prototypes.

Compared to Maya software 3Ds Max is the best to work with for interior and architecture. It is also much easier to use than Maya.

Disadvantages: It is slower than Cinema 4D. It has no effective tools as Cinema 4D. It is more expensive than other software. It requires a good strength computer not like Cinema 4D.

Maya

Maya is 3D design software which is used mostly by professionals. It is used to created film animation, TV programmes, visual effects, video games, architecture design, etc. it is very similar to 3Ds Max.

Advantages

It is used in many industries for design making. It offers the ability to create realistic simulation. It has the advantage of creating a render in real time.
 Using traditional media won’t create effective 3D designs. Also it is better to use than trying to construct designs with materials, as you could edit or change whatever you want. Therefore designers will be more creative when modelling, animate etc by having the opportunity to create 3D design using shadow and light. Maya provide camera management, mostly used for animation.  

Disadvantages

As any other 3D software Maya takes a large size of memory on the computer and that might make the computer slower. 

Inventor

Inventor is a CAD software for 3D creations. It is normally used by professional mechanical engineers. It is used for creating parts and gives specific details about the part created.

Advantages

It is mostly used to create simulation of 3D mechanical designs. It can make the 3D product very realistic that gives you the ability to present the form, fit and function of the product. From the 3D drawings you can create its sketch in 2D. Inventor has also the advantage to make the product work as it will be in real life for prototype purposes. The 3D products could also be rendered from the same software.

Disadvantages

Takes a lot of space on the computer and it is very expensive to buy.

Cinema 4D

Cinema 4D is used for the film making industry, for product design and industrial animation. It is able to create realistic scenes.

Advantages

Compared to 3Ds Max, Cinema 4D is much easier to learn and use, can create In motion graphics, it is faster to render and can integrate with After Effects. It can also create 3D products and creates very realistic scenes.

Disadvantages

Takes a large amount of space on the memory.

Rhino

Rhino is a CAD 3D software, which gives the possibility to create products, etc.

Its geometry is based on NURBS (Non-uniform rational basis spline) which is a mathematical model.

Advantages

It is very accurate when making 3d models for prototyping design. It is much faster than 3Ds Max and there’s no need of special powerful features/specs for your computer. Basically is it can be used on any laptop or computer. It is also easier to learn than 3Ds Max. It is also cheaper to buy than other softwares but still can be used professionally. It has the feature to render any object you produced.

Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is image manipulation software it is mostly used by photographers, graphic

designers, etc. It is used to edit any kind of image and can make the image look better or with a higher quality. It is the most known software for image editing from around the world.

Advantages

Available for both Windows and Mac. The more you learn the more you can improve skills and practice and experimentation are the key to learn. The tools are very easy to find because they are on all sides of the work area. It is easy to just simply adjust colours, hue & saturation, etc.

Disadvantages

Expensive to buy. It is designed to be used by professionals so it’s a bit challenging to use for the first time. It takes a lot of space on your computer.

Illustrator

It is vector based drawing program. It is mostly used for creating illustrations, cartoons, posters and logos. Illustrator is mostly used by Graphic Designers.

Advantages

No pixels will be seen. Creates very precise sharp lines. Creates artworks perfect to print at high resolution. It takes low space in computer storage. Can be scaled up without losing quality or resolution. It gives you the possibility to express your creativity digitally if you’re not good on paper (free hand).

Disadvantages

Very difficult to produce realistic image. Not designed for image editing, so if you need to edit a photo better to use Photoshop. Might be difficult to learn as a beginner.