Well I do custom residential work. I have been playing around today with 3d and I am getting pretty scared. I am using surface technique. I have walls in place, finally. Moving up to the fascia and realized that there is a crown up there. I have no idea how to make this crown work. Complex shape right?
Well, yes and no. if you've got straight crown, it's not difficult. Draw the profile using 2d polylines. Make sure the entire profile is a closed entity. type ext (for extrude) and hit enter. type in a length and a taper, hit enter.
If your crown has dentil (sp?) detail , create 3d solids the size and shape of the negative spaces, then subtract them from the original crown.
For custom residential, I would think there are very few shapes you cannot make with 3d solid operations. Adding and welding (union command) shapes together, slicing along planes, extruding closed polylines.
As I said, I don't mess with surfacing too often. Most of my work is done with 3d solids. I really don't know the pros and cons of surface vs solid.
My boss doesn't want to spend any money on new programs. Right now I have no work so he said I should see what can be done to a clients house we are currently building. Just to see if it is possible.
Good thing about accurender, $400. Not a bad price for the package. Higher end stuff can run well into the thousands... However, you'll want to tackle 3d before you get into renderings.
IMO, one of the biggest challenges for first time 3d folks is the navigation of 3D space. Keeping things on the proper planes, moving them in the proper directions, etc. It's really not that hard to do the basics though. Keep working with it!