5 Best Car Design Software in 2024

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Nowadays the market offers many effective CAD programs for various purposes. 3D printing technology is used in the automotive industry as well. The best car design software will help you create an automotive project in just a few steps. It will be also useful for designing or manufacturing a vehicle.

Top 5 Car Design Software

  1. Adobe Illustrator - With fast rendering
  2. Adobe Photoshop - Rich set of drawing tools
  3. Autodesk Alias - With multithreading
  4. Autodesk 3DS MAX - Easy and robust modeling
  5. Blender - With advanced sculpting tools

Keep reading this guide to learn what advantages 3D printing and 3D modeling software can offer to a specialist in the automotive field. Although you can hardly find automotive software on the market today, there is a great variety of programs with effective tools for vehicle production. In this article, we will compare several tools to help you find the best car design software for your projects.

1. Adobe Illustrator - Our Choice

With fast rendering
  • Full integration with the Creative Cloud
  • Offers you customized options
  • Create resizable images
  • Vector illustration
  • Very steep learning curve

Verdict: For many people, car models have to be real and made from the ground up, and Adobe Illustrator is the go-to program for this. However, there are many options out there, so when you are looking at what is the best car design software for your needs, it may not be easy to figure out which one is the best for you. For example, some people use CAD software to create their drawings, while others prefer to do everything themselves using Adobe Illustrator.

If you want something a bit more complex, Adobe Illustrator might be the program for you, especially if you already have some experience in the modeling field. This program is full of special features, such as layers, and allows you to paint with any type of program. The best feature of Illustrator is probably the drawing tools, which allow you to manipulate your model in amazing ways with the stroke and color selections you make.

adobe illustrator interface

2. Adobe Photoshop

Rich set of drawing tools
  • Slick interface with lots of help
  • 3D design capability
  • Object selection based on AI
  • No perpetual-license option

Verdict: Photoshop is a well known professional image editing software which allows you to make changes, from simple image modifications to complex and detailed photo retouching. Photoshop is an excellent example of a drawing program. There are many types of drawing tools available with Photoshop such as drawing tools, gradient tools, and eraser tools.

The tool in Photoshop that is useful when modeling cars is the AutoShape toolbox. This handy tool box allows you to create specialized shapes such as square, oval, circle, or rectangles, as well as a variety of textured objects. With AutoShape, you can create any shape using the dimensions you specify, or even save a custom shape. Texturing tools can also be accessed and used while in AutoShape.

adobe photoshop interface

3. Autodesk Alias

With multithreading
  • Dynamo integration
  • Easy to use
  • Enhances design reviews with VR
  • Customer service is not good

Verdict: Autodesk, the creator of the best 3D modeling software, has come out with a new generation of car design software called Autodesk Alias. With an emphasis on providing creative alternatives to traditional 3D car simulators and other computer based car applications, Alias brings the virtual world to your drawing table.

By combining Autodesk Car Design software with some of the most well known car accessories around such as Autodesk Scaleform software, it allows you to create lifelike models of your favorite cars. The best car design software has always given car hobbyists the ability to show off their creations to the greatest extent possible, but now they can do it right in the comfort of their own home.

autodesk alias car design software interface

4. Autodesk 3DS MAX

Easy and robust modeling
  • High-end rendering
  • Low latency and crash count
  • Flexible interoperability
  • Fast render times
  • Limited animation tools
autodesk 3ds max car design software logo
Autodesk 3DS MAX

Verdict: Autodesk 3DS Max is the industry leader of digital drawing tools. It has all the features you will need for creating realistic designs for cars, trucks and all other items that require detailed modeling. But in order to get the best results, you need to make sure that you choose the Autodesk 3DS Max car design software that will work best for your needs.

Autodesk 3DS Max allows users to create their own designs based on their favorite models of cars and trucks. This software gives you the ability to export and save your car's model in different file formats, which will allow you to edit them according to your taste.

autodesk 3ds max car design software interface

5. Blender

With advanced sculpting tools
  • Great for animation
  • With Cycle Render Engine
  • Python scripting
  • Steep learning curve
blender car design software logo
Blender

Verdict: Blender is a revolutionary new program that allows you to quickly and easily create amazing looking cars from multiple layers of design, all done right in your own home. If you've always wanted to get into the modeling business but felt that you just weren't good enough, this could be your chance at a successful career.

The best part about the software is that it is designed to be easy for anyone to use. The fact that it can be used by anyone, regardless of their experience with modeling or car design is a great advantage that makes this program a real hit and creates many Blender alternatives.

blender car design software interface

Eva Williams

Lead Content Writer

Eva Williams is a talented family photographer and software expert who is in charge of mobile software and apps testing and overviewing in the FixThePhoto team. Based in New York, Eva earned her Bachelor’s degree in Visual Arts from NYU and work 5+ years assisting some of the city’s popular wedding photographers. Having worked on over 100 wedding photoshoots, she now is good at working in challenging conditions, from unpredictable weather to high-pressure events.

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Tetiana Kostylieva

Head Editor

Tetiana Kostylieva is the Head Editor and Content Creator of all FixThePhoto blog articles, bringing years of creativity and expertise to the team. Her career started in 2013 as a caricature artist at events in New York, where she honed her eye for detail and her ability to connect with people. Now, she leads our editorial team, testing new ideas and ensuring every piece of content is both helpful and engaging.

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