Introduction
When I mention 3D design I am not referring to all the areas 3D work is involved, instead I concentrated this essay on product design, as a 3D artist I find the process of creating a simple product then creating a 3D model fascinating. 3D design can be anything from a simple mug to a massive beach side condo the possibilities are endless. For this essay I have looked into what packages can be used to create these models, what qualifications might be needed in this area of work, companies that create 3D product design for a living and what they look for in an employee. I will also look at the difference between CAD and 3D packages and deadlines.
CAD and 3D
In the product design community there are two ways you can go you have your CAD (Computer Aided Design) or your 3D software. The big difference is the use of these programs from a personal point I can not use a CAD program they are not to my taste, they are for more of your graphic design student. Now on the other had you have your 3D software packages such as Maya, these are simple to use and can be used for games and animations so your not limited to set tools.
Qualifications:
To become a 3D product or concept designer there are many qualifications you can achieve to enter this line of work, though not always are these necessary. In any industry some companies will only hire the people who have qualifications to back up there skills however some will hire you depending on how good your work is and if you can deliver what the company asks of you to.
There are courses that specialise in this area of work such as the Swansea Institute of higher education who run a BA Hons course for Product design or Doncaster College Animation and Game art FDA.
Qualifications that are related to this area are 3D design, Animation, Game, CAD and Product design, though saying this people who are skilled in areas such as Graphics and Illustration are sometimes hired then are trained in the package they will use.
Qualifications are not everything, if you know the package a certain company is using and you have a good show reel of work then the company may hire you for your skills.
Packages
There are so many different 3D software packages available on the market with big name brands such as MAYA or 3DS MAX, however there are some smaller brands as MILKSHAKE.
Most of the design companies will use a major brand product as these have better features, Nova Design are a leading product design company which use MAYA as their main 3D software.
Garmin International use a CAD program created by Solid Works, this allowed them to design some of there GPS systems before they began development on them.
DGF Design is a leading product design company they have created many concept cars for Ferrari, they use Discreets 3DS MAX as their main 3D software.
As you can tell to enter this industry you must be willing to change the software you are used to using, there are so many different packages out there so it becomes a simple matter of adapting to your environment.
Companies
There are hundreds of companies all over the world that create 3D concept or product design. Not to mention the hundreds of other companies that hire freelance or have their own team working on their own product or concept design.
I will now look at a few different companies that do product design or create software packages that you will use in this area of work.
Alias now I know Alias create Maya and other products however Alias do have a staff that have been used to create products. Alias is one of the biggest 3D companies on the market in today’s age, many other companies use their state of the art software not just for product design but for many other areas of 3D work.
Discreet is another leading 3D software company they are the proud owners of 3DS max, this software is also used in many different areas of 3D work.
Lightwave 3D, these are a smaller company than the ones above but have got a good fan base of followers, their program is a simple to use software, it can be used in all areas of 3D work, it is created by the company Newtek.
Solid works are a leading company on the CAD side of the 3D world; they have created loads of different CAD packages that are used separately or together to create product design.
Nova Design is a company that have spent the last 17 years in the product design area, they work with Maya software and mainly create electronic product design, and they are a rather small based company.
