colored floor plan

[Allen42acj]

I have Corel Draw12,never looked at it much..Came with Print shop..

[lbuttery]

My partner just creates a .jpg in Chief and then imports into Paint shop Pro and has been getting very good results that way.

We are trying to find ways to do more in Chief so that less "Art" work is needed on PSP. Customers don't like it when you tell them that a single change to the plan requires 1 - 2 hours of redoing the Artistic stuff
which they have to pay for.

Lew

[davethedesigner]

Lew - It is true the the "artsy" stuff takes a little longer but we have gotten the times down by using programmable actions and scripts in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. In most cases using these automated routines it does not take more than a minute or two to get the look we are after. That and it is repeatable - open the picture, click on the action or script and get the result.

[JoeArchitect]

maybe someone can create and post some watercolor textures that we could import into chief and apply it to floors etc...I am trying a free demo of Impression from Autodesk...its got lots of line options and fills...i.e. pencil/watercolor etc...J

[lbuttery]

Dave:

We'llhave to look into using scripts for PSP then.

We have Photoshop but my partner is to using PSP.
But if PSP doesn't have scripts then we may have to
switch.

Thanks for the tip

Lew

[retire45]

Lew,

I have used scripts in PSP 9 from day one..

[lbuttery]

Great we will have to start checking them out

Lew

[JoeArchitect]

So lets go back to how to get a watercolor fill...mottled look...is there one in PSP etc...Autodesk Impression has great fills...could one capture them (not that we would) and import them into CA? Or can we create some somehow...in Draw or PSP etc and import them, or by scanning actual watercolor washes. Also Piranesi looks very interesting. Photorealistic renderings are ok for some presentations, those chief does very well...but I'm looking for a more artistic look. I would say alot of architects, designers and clients are as well..if I can incorporate it into Chief by importing textures all the better....would like to stay within chief as much as possible. My clients are split on how they react to realistic walk thrus, renderings..its a plus for some...and others are turned off cuz it dosent jive with the images in thier head...some react better to an artistic rendering..I think thats how they are seeing in ther minds, or would prefer to see..J

[Allen Brown]

You could always create the room fill pattern by creating a room size polyline solid 1/8" thick in each room and set the material to any texture or color, that would show up in a floor overview.

[Allen Brown]

Personally, I don't care for the look of a floor overview as is for a presentation brochure, the doors don't show up correctly, and it does not have any sort of artistic feel to it, unless manipulated by another program.

[lbuttery]

PLease take a look at the examples my partner Joe created, we would like some feedback as to how these look and areas for improvement.

http://www.chieftalk.com/showthread....light=brochure

posting #12 has the examples

Lew

[JoeArchitect]

a uniform fill color is ok...but once you see a "watercolor" fill with the mottled look there is no comparison. One can get the uniform fill look easy enough. A deveoloper I work with had some done by Ken Pieper and they are great..not sure how he does it. He has artists and digital graphic artists....Design basics does them as well...Autodesk Impression has it...and a free 40 session demo...but I'de like to bring or create similar watercolor fills into chief as a texture?...As far as doing room polyline fills thats too cumbersom...if we could just specify the floor type...that would work if the texture/color was imported into chief. Also the grass watercolor color is kind of critical and adding plants...but thats another story

[davethedesigner]

We have found that "photo-realistic" renders make the client feel like there is no room for change. We get comments along the lines of "well, I would use different tile", or "I really don't like those bar stools". That and the client will often want to see three different renders of the same room using different colors of paint and variations in rearranging the furniture.

The "artsy" hand drawn look tends to draw clients in and gives them the feel that they are working with a "concept" that is fluid and open to change. In the hand drawn look, it is obvious that the tile, paint, furnishings and anything else is simply an artistic concept that can be interpreted in any way the client chooses.

And before anyone says that we can charge the client for this - we are a construction company that primarily does interior remodeling and additions. When we show clients drawings, renders, etc. we are trying to win their business. We don't get paid until they actually choose us to do the work and sign the contract.

[JoeArchitect]

Exactly the way I feel about it Dave. As an architect I've designed over 300 houses along the way...was a contractor for 20 yrs as well...been in all sorts of situations with all sorts of client types...low end to high end Ca. coast...I like the quick rendering in CA for some clients...it confuses others that want to see all sort of options, yet don't really want to pay for that level of work in CA...the artistic rendering is a better seller ...better in brochures...better in meetings..I mean look at a Jaguar add...they are selling the model...the feeling, the romance, the elegance, they want to transport you in the adds...they dont just picture the car...I'm looking into Virtual Painter..the paint shop pro plug in...I guess we can export the CA renders into that and apply styles..also to photos. The virtual walk thrus etc just don't give you the actual feeling..the spatial experience...sometimes by showing a client a poor imitaition of the real thing...they wont like it...even if they would in real life...J

P.S. It's not how many cool things you have in a plan that will wow a client..it the absence of the one objectionable thing...that they just wont be able to get out of thier mind...

[RooMeat]

If you are looking for a VERY VERY VERY good book on the subject of architectural illustration go to Amazon.com and check out the following book:

Color Drawing, 3rd Edition by Michael E. Doyle, ISBN 0-471-74190-6

The book is not cheap but it is packed with examples from start to finish and is well worth its cost.

Awesome info.. Just purchased this book from Amazon.. AU$39.00 on sale