Mr. Koji Kikunaga has his office in Shinagawa, Tokyo, and has involved in creating a lot of 3D perspective models to convey images of stores, interiors, products, exhibitions, events, etc. by using Shade3D, which he has used since his college days.

More than 20 years ago, when Mr. Kikunaga was enrolled in a technical school, hand-drawn perspectives were still the mainstream, both in business and in school curriculums. When he was invited to his former teacher's home with other students, he saw Shade for the first time. At the time, there were several other computer graphics software available, but Shade was a domestically produced software with the Japanese interface, and the functions and concepts of operation seemed very familiar to me as a student.

Mr. Kikunaga majored in product design at technical school and modeled "a future wheelchair" with Shade3D as his graduation work. Since that time, Shade3D has been an indispensable tool in his work.

At a watch and jewelry interior design company he joined after graduation, the employees used only drafting with a drafter and hand-drawn perspectives. "Since I was the only one who could use Shade3D, I was given a high-spec Mac computer right after joining the company and took over all perspective production for the company", he said. After gaining experience in space design at a restaurant design firm, a home remodeling company, and a company specializing in designing exhibition booths, Mr. Kikunaga went freelance and began working in a variety of fields, focusing on exhibition perspective works requested by the clients from his time at the companies.

▲ Manipulators' size-adjustment feature helps in the efficient design of exhibition booths.

"Shade3D is attractive because of its ease of modeling work. In terms of architectural CG, it is easy to create most things such as walls, columns, windows, and doors. In particular, the free-form surfaces are very useful, and it is possible to draw almost anything using a combination of square and circle swept surfaces". In addition, Mr. Kikunaga also likes the three-view function, the easy texture setting, and camera operability. He says, "When I create a drawing of trade show booth, which is a frequent occasion for me to create, I often use a function to switch to the manipulator with a single shortcut key and adjust the height and size of the wall by clicking on the values on the drawing".

Mr. Kikunaga specializes in perspective creation and says that he can generally finish modeling in one day, or three business days at the most, by importing a plan drawn with CAD software into Shade3D in the DXF format. I love to create event perspectives and always try to convey entertainment and excitement. The Shade3D's ease of use and expressive capabilities are a big help for that.

▲Plans for a new swimming pool and rest area in the garden of an existing store (left and middle) and a "Enjoy Tea Party in Snow Globe" event (right) held at a commercial facility in Minato-ku, Tokyo. These 3D perspectives are modeled by importing floor plans made with CAD software into Shade3D, and he completes modeling in about three business days at most.