Artlantis is an application specifically tailored to architects and makes a good effort to present tools plainly. With Artlantis 2, elements can be edited, so correcting modeling flaws is simplified from prior versions. I am developing a book called "The Artlantis Attitude: Making Great Art Without Breaking Stride" because i believe it can become that easy. Almost. But you don't wake up in the morning with the skills, you still need my book.

Cinema 4D takes much more time to learn but is a more sophisticated application, especially in the way it employs material surfaces. This is the major downfall of Artlantis, even with their new "MakeYerOwnShader" tool.

"Sub-surface scattering" is how apparent material surface depth is achieved - deep car finishes, gauze draperies, etc. Cinema and most other professional applications have this kind of ability. But it takes a long time to master since there are dozens of dialog boxes to wade through. Not that basic materials aren't in their library, but if you wish to excel in Cinema, there is considerable tweaking of light and material in both Cinema and Photoshop afterwards to achieve luminous, seductive artwork.

If you are an architect looking to present design ideas, stick with Artlantis, if you intend to move into full-time rendering/illustration work, get Cinema. And Photoshop. Photoshop is like Sugar Crisp: "Can't Get Enough of that Photoshop."

I'm just playing around here, but the attachment shows how far you can get in Artlantis.

I'll be teasing you with book bits all summer to get advance orders [at a discount], but we are looking at mid-October to deliver the final product. [Can't work with those student house painters stumbling around the flower beds like drunken, stunned rodeo clowns. Or background movie extras - their arms move but the paint does not flow.] It is an electronic display companion/success coach with quick problem-solving references. You won't take this one to the can just to look at the pictures but will keep it to the side of your display as you work. This is easy to do with Artlantis since its dialogs are so tiny.

The book is exclusively about Artlantis Studio 2 because with what the application costs and what it delivers, you'd be an idiot to not upgrade.

But don't feel that you need to wait. Start in Artlantis tomorrow because it really is easy. The new release has more-or-less automatic heliodon lighting.

Everyone should own the 3D Space Navigator

I think he means this:

http://www.3dconnexion.com/3dmouse/spacenavigator.php