CAD Garage Blog

CADgarage summer news-formZ, Artlantis, ArchiCAD, MODO, Maxwell Render and more

The beginning of summer has brought us great weather and long nights but for this week no specials at www.CADgarage.com but a lot of news is starting to roll out for this normally quiet time of year. So even though we like to close a little early on Fridays in the summer we will be working extra the rest of the week to keep up with new products and promotions. So here's a little list of what's happening:

 

 

MODO:

We are pleased to announce we recently became resellers for The Foundry's MODO. I've been looking at this product for quite sometime after hearing great things from MODO users. And lo and behold they contacted us! MODO is truly a next generation 3D modeling, rendering and animation tool for the creation of high quality content. We have now added MODO to the 'garage HERE where you can purchase professional and student license as well as upgrades. We will be adding plug-ins and training materials soon. For more information on MODO visit their web site HERE.

Maxwell Render:

I've always loved Maxwell Render's incredible lighting effects and many of our 3D modeling software clients have been using it as their rendering tool for years. We have sold it in the past bundled with some of these tools such as formZ during promotions and we currently offer the Maxwell Render plug-in for Artlantis Render & Studio. And now we are authorized Maxwell Render resellers and can provide you with the standalone version of Mawell Render, the Maxwell Render Learning Edition and Maxwell Render for SketchUp HERE.

formZ:

The beta of formZ 8 has been out for awhile and we expect to hear some news on the release soon! AutoDesSys is also expected to announce a few other interesting updates and products soon. Stay tuned!

But in the meantime you can take advantage of our formZ 7 + Maxwell Render bundle and save 30% on the combined price. And you will receive a free upgrade to formZ 8 when it ships! You can find this in our AutoDesSys section HERE. This bundle promo applies to formZ Modeler, form Z RenderZone and bonzai3D.

ArchiCAD:

Graphisoft began shipping ArchiCAD 18, the latest release of their renowned BIM software. All the third party developers are hard at work updating add-on libraries and plug-in tools for ArchiCAD 18. Watch our blog for future posts on releases from D3 SmartParts, Cadimage Tools, Cigraph's ArchiSuite and more!

Artlantis:

No news here-we just finished the Artlantis "Give Me 5" upgrade promotion and many of you took advantage of the discounted "any version" pricing that we offered to get upgraded to Artlantis 5. But it's always a good time to throw out some reminders on other things that Abvent and CADgarage have to offer for Artlantis Render and Studio users.

Tutorials:

    There is a very complete collection of video tutorials that can now be found on Abvent's site HERE.

We also have some links to download the Artlantis Beginner & Advanced Training Guides on the front page of our Artlantis section HERE.

Artlantis Media Store:

    The Artlantis Media Store has continued to grow with new media and shaders added to provide you with the tools and flexibility you need to get quality renderings out the door. And there is a lot of free content on the store as well. You can download a 17MB PDF HERE that shows some of the items that are available and how many credits they cost. You will need to purchase credit vouchers for many items and we have Credit Vouchers available HERE in 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 credit sizes so you can get as few or as many shaders and objects as you need!

 

Happy modeling & rendering

Greg Conyngham 

 

Artlantis Render & Studio "Give Me 5" Promotion

 Give Me 5 Promotion

Just a few days left until the sale is over-order your upgrade soon!

Abvent is pleased to announce that starting April 4th, earlier Artlantis v1, v2 & v3 licenses will be upgraded to Artlantis 5 for the same price as upgrading from v4. This promotion ends Sunday, June 15th.

We want to hear you say: "Give me 5!"

 If you're on older versions v1, v2, v3 or v4 you will see some big changes in version 5 that will increase your productivity and improve the quality of your renderings. Here's a short list of some of the new features in Artlantis 5:

• Interface-Modern redesign and easier to use!
• Perspective-Infinite ground with altitude and material
• Media-InApp Media Store
• Preview Controller-Move, resize and rotate shaders & objects
• Light-Volumetric light effects
• Heliodon-now with "God rays"
• Animation (Studio only)-Optimized for precise control
• iVisit 3D (Studio only)-Now create VR objects

 For more detail on the new features checkout the What's New on the Artlantis web site or look on the upgrade links below. Updated plug-ins are available for Revit, Rhino, SketchUp and ArchiCAD!

Promo prices for stand-alone and key-server licenses: 

Upgrade to Artlantis Render 5 from any Artlantis Render: $265/license

Upgrade to Artlantis Studio 5 from any Artlantis Studio: $365/license

Side grade to Artlantis Studio 5 from any Artlantis Render: $745/license

This special offer ends Sunday, June15th 2014 so order your upgrade soon!

Interested in getting started learning Artlantis 5? Download the brand new Artlantis Tutorials that show you how to use the new features of Artlantis 5 in detail.

 

Happy rendering,

Greg

 

To celebrate the start of spring we are offering a special savings of $150.00 off new bonzai3d licenses and bonzai3d RenderZone bundles. We are also offering a $150.00 discount when you add additional seats to an existing bonzai3d license. This special applies to purchases from March 17th through April 15th 2014. For more information or to purchase, click HERE.

There's never been a better time to save on bonzai3D!
 
Webinar:

NURBS modeling in form•Z and bonzai3d

Join us for this webinar on the organic modeling capabilities in form•Z 7 and bonzai3d. We will demonstrate the suite of NURBS tools and how they can be used together to explore, design and deliver a solution. 

Any design professional who needs an intuitive, easy to learn, yet extremely powerful set of NURBS tools to accomplish organic modeling tasks will be interested in this topic.
 
This webinar is loaded with numerous tips and tricks to assist you in creating complex NURBS shapes faster and easier than you ever thought possible. You'll be amazed how you can use organic forms to enrich your designs.
 
A question and answer session will follow immediately after the webinar.
Space is limited so reserve your place now for this informative and exciting webinar HERE.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 1:00pm-2:00pm EDT (17:00-18:00 GMT) 

Trial versions of form•Z and bonzai3d:

Try form•Z 7 and bonzai3d for 30 days for free! These trial versions are fully featured software including an unlimited number of saves and the abilty to import and export from any of the supported file formats. A trial version of the RenderZone photo-realistic rendering plugin is also included! For the form•Z trial, click HERE. For the bonzai3d trial, click HERE.

 

Happy modeling and rendering,

Greg

formZ Anniversary Sale-Save $300

Sale Extended! Save $300 on formZ until March 7th

February 14 is a special day for us as it is the 23rd anniversary of the release of formZ v1.0. And this February is also the 23rd anniversary of ICS/CADgarage.

And to show a little love on this special day we have decided to run a formZ Anniversary Special sale on new formZ licenses (and additional seat licenses) from February 14 to March 7th, 2014. For the next 2 weeks you can save $300 on formZ or formZ RenderZone!

New formZ licenses $695, reg. $995

New formZ RenderZone Bundle $1,090, reg. $1390

Additional seats discounted 30% off list prices-please contact us to purchase!

 

Happy modeling & Rendering,

Greg

SmartParts for ArchiCAD Winter Sale

Brr!

Another New England winter here and the cold air and snow just don't seem to stop. We're warm here inside the 'garage but it was 9 deg. outside when I arrived. Maybe a little retail therapy is in order to take away the chill!

To help you through these cold times we have put the SmartParts GDL libraires for ArchiCAD on sale. Neil McCann, the developer of SmartParts libraries for ArchiCAD, was kind enough to let us make this generous offer to you and help you fill your ArchiCAD library with some objects to increase your productivity.

From now until March 31st, 2014 SmartParts libraries for ArchiCAD (versions 10-17) are on sale at a great price whether you choose the full bundle with all 6 libraries, the mini-bundle of 4 libraries (great for residential designers) or an individual library.

-Purchase SmartParts Full Bundle (6 libraries) $299, reg. $399

 -Purchase SmartParts Mini Bundle (4 libraries) $199, reg. $249

 -Purchase SmartParts individual libraries $75, reg. $99

SmartParts objects allow you to customize your designs with highly parametric ArchiCAD GDL objects including architectural details, office and retail furniture, unique stairs, doors, windows and more. They complement your existing ArchiCAD libraries by adding new objects that are feature rich with parameters and for many are the "missing" objects in the ArchiCAD library. And right now they're on sale!

 

To read more about SmartParts libraries for ArchiCAD or to purchase click HERE

Offer ends March 31st, 2014 so hurry!

 

Happy modeling and rendering,

Greg

Snow day 5% off Coupon until February 8th!

It's starting to snow again here in the Boston / Cambridge area again-just a little today but mid-week looks like 7" plus! Thanks Punxsutawney Phil.

And we here at www.CADgarage.com think that it's a great time to offer you an additional discount on your purchase. We have Informatix Piranesi, Abvent's Artlantis Render & Studio, AutoDesSys formZ & bonzai3D, Maxon's Cinema 4D and many other great modeling, rendering and drafting products available.

Or maybe you just want some good winter reading? We have books on ArchiCAD, Artlantis, Building Information Modeling (BIM) and a handful of others for our Architect and designer clients. Check out our book section HERE.

But whatever you choose to purchase from now through Saturday, February 8th you can save 5% just because it's snowing.

Enter coupon code "SNOW" at checkout to receive the discount. And if you're around here take some of your savings and get a hot chocolate!

 

Happy rendering,

Greg

formZ 7 upgrade Sale-Save 30% to 45% Extended to January 3rd!

Well the 2013 year is coming to a close and our sale on formZ upgrades will end shortly. formZ had a great year with the release of version 7 and we are looking forward to seeing it prosper and grow in 2014!

Here's the deal again: formZ upgrades are on sale for 30% to 45% off depending on which version you are using. These prices are good until January 3rd 2014 (somewhere around midnight PST) and are the best deal on formZ upgrades we have ever been able to offer!

formZ 6 and formZ RenderZone v6 users:

Regulary $295, on sale for $195 for the v6 to v7 upgrade 

 

formZ below v6 users:

Regularly $795, on sale for $495 for the below v6 to v7 upgrade

 

formZ RenderZone/RadioZity below v6 users:
Regularly $1,095, on sale for $595 for the below v6 to v7 upgrade

Visit our formZ Store for more information!

We at CAD garage would like to thank you for all of your support this last year and wish you a peaceful and prosperous New Year!

Happy modeling & Rendering,

Greg

 

CAD Garage updates: Artlantis Training Guide and sale items

Brr! It's another cold day here in the Boston / Cambridge area and a bit of snow (now ice) on the ground. I missed the old CADmobile this morning (SUV) and could barely get the car out of streetside parking. But I made it to the office and enjoying a Monday of work and the space heater on my toes. And I have a few small news items and some reminders to post today.

Cadimage Tools for ArchiCAD:

The "Two for One" sale was extended but end today! If you are looking to be more productive or have specialized requirements there is probably a Cadimage ArchiCAD plug-in for you. And purchasing today is a great idea as you get another tool of equal or lesser value free! Visit our Cadimage section HERE to find out more.

Artlantis Beginners Training Guide:

We just got our hands on the PDF of the Artlantis Render and Studio training guide this morning and uploaded to CAD Garage so you folks would have easy access. It has about 11 pages of content and is an excellent getting started guide for the beginner. You can find the download link on our Artlantis store HERE.

formZ 7:

And a reminder we have some great pricing on formZ upgrades that range from 30% to 45% depending on which version you are using. These prices are good until December 31st, 2013 and are the best deal on formZ upgrades we have ever been able to offer!

formZ 6 and formZ RenderZone v6 users:

Regulary $295, on sale for $195 for the v6 to v7 upgrade 

 

formZ below v6 users:

Regularly $795, on sale for $495 for the below v6 to v7 upgrade

 

formZ RenderZone/RadioZity below v6 users:
Regularly $1,095, on sale for $595 for the below v6 to v7 upgrade

Visit our formZ Store for more information!

Piranesi 6:

We are still offering 20% off new licenses and 10% off upgrades from now until January 31st, 2014 for those of you that have new budgets at the beginning of the year.

Piranesi 6.0 new license, Regularly $795, on sale for $630.

Piranesi 6.0 upgrade, from, Regularly $300, on sale for $270.

Visit our Piranesi Store for more information!

Artlantis Media and Shaders:

You can now purchase additional shaders and media through the Artlantis In App Media Store. To do so you will need to purchase a credit voucher HERE.

A 100 credit voucher is $125 and most shaders are only 1 credit, many are free! If you would like a PDF guide to what shaders are available send me an email and I'll send along via FTP link-it's a 17MB file.

 

Happy modeling & Rendering,

Greg

 

 

 

Artlantis 5 News and Updates for December

Abvent launches Artlantis 5.1.2.2

This important update solves compatibility issues and brings new enhancements to Artlantis 5. From now on, billboards can be edited and saved similar to shaders and objects. This much anticipated feature allows users to customize each Media type in their Artlantis catalog. The enhancements are the following:

- Compatibility with Windows 8
- Compatibility with Mac OS 10.9 Mavericks
- The iVisit Builder converts VR objects into a .vro file to be read on iOS or Android devices
- Creating your own billboards

Besides these enhancements, this update includes important bug corrections too. The complete list of fixes can be found in the ReadMe doc zipped together with the Artlantis 5.1.2.2 updater. The Artlantis trial version was also updated.

Users are notified about the availability of this update through the RSS link right in the Artlantis start-up screen. The message also contains a link to the downloads page at www.artlantis.com

Artlantis 5 InApp Media Store

Need shaders, plants, cars, people or other items to complete your scene?

Additional Artlantis media is now available for purchase directly from within the Artlantis media catalog (just click on the cart icon to browse what's available). The objects are available for individual download, making it convenient to get only what you need and have it automatically load directly into Artlantis. The media store requires the purchase of media store credits, currently available in blocks of 100 ($125) or 200 ($235) credits. Most of the basic Shaders and Media only cost 1 credit!

You can purchase Credit Vouchers for the Artlantis InApp Media Store HERE.

Artlantis 5 Upgrades

Still need to upgrade? Visit the Artlantis Store on www.CADgarage.com.  We have some great sale pricing on upgrades, new and Additional licenses of Artlantis Render and Studio HERE!

 

Happy Rendering,

Greg

 

 

 

formZ 7 and Piranesi 6 sale on upgrades and new licenses

We have some great news for those looking to save money on Piranesi 6 new licenses and upgrades and formZ 7 upgrades. We worked with Informatix to put together a end of the year special on Piranesi and AutoDesSys announced to us yesterday that upgrades will go on sale. So if you have been waiting to upgrade there is no better time then now!

Piranesi 6.0:

We are offering 20% off new licenses and 10% off upgrades from now until January 31st, 2014 for those of you that have new budgets at the beginning of the year.

Piranesi 6.0 new license, Regularly $795, on sale for $630.

Piranesi 6.0 upgrade, from, Regularly $300, on sale for $270.

Visit our Piranesi Store for more information!

formZ 7:

We have some great pricing on formZ upgrades that range from 30% to 45% depending on which version you are using. These prices are good until December 31st, 2013 and are the best deal on formZ upgrades we have ever been able to offer!

formZ 6 and formZ RenderZone v6 users:

Regulary $295, on sale for $195 for the v6 to v7 upgrade 

 

formZ below v6 users:

Regularly $795, on sale for $495 for the below v6 to v7 upgrade

 

formZ RenderZone/RadioZity below v6 users:
Regularly $1,095, on sale for $595 for the below v6 to v7 upgrade

Visit our formZ Store for more information!

 

Happy modeling & Rendering,

Greg

 

 

formZ 7 and bonzai 3D 3 updates are now available

AutoDesSys has now released formZ 7.3.1 and bonzai 3D 3.2.1 updates. These fix a number of issues reported on user forums and via email.

To update your application simply choose "Check for Update" from the "Help" menu and follow the prompts to update. If you are not using the most recent version run the update and then once more to update to the most current version.

Alternately you can access the already updated application folders here:

formZ & bonzai 3D application updates

Let us know if you have any questions about these updates!

If you're not currently using formZ or bonzai 3D or are looking to upgrade from a previous version please visit our AutoDesSys formZ and bonzai 3D section HERE.

 

Happy modeling & rendering,

Greg