Marketing Floor plans

[Esmalls]

Not only can it be done in Chief, but it can be done faster!

Gary,
You holding out on me?

Please share this valuable info.


There are some excellent ideas being presented on here with regards to exporting to layout and adding CAD blocks, as well as custom polylines...etc.

This raises an entirely different issue.

Ease of revisions.
My Builders are notorious for approving a marketing plan only to e-mail me a day later w/ revisions. I dont not want to have to revise the floor plan, and then go back and revise added CAD blocks, layouts...etc.

[Esmalls]

Try sending a Top Ortho floor image to the layout and overlay with text there. The result is almost identical to Softplan. No need for you to lose business over this.

If your waiting on Chief to add this enhancement, you may be out out of business by that time.

Top ortho image doesnt show the doors swing arcs at all, and window dont looks good. Even if I cross section down on them.
If adding text was my only issue Id be thrilled.

[WendyWelton]

For those not quite following what "orthographic top view" means, or how you get there:

Floor overview form the Ortho menu



Then from the 3D menu - View Direction - Top



Then from the Rendering Techniques button - Standard



And if you want to get really fancy - put some shadows on it using Final View with Shadows.



Yes, you have to add your own text. Send that image to a layout, and add your text.

[WendyWelton]

And doors that you set to show as open in 3D will show as open.

Now this isn't to say I don't also wish we had something sexy that could be done quicker, with the room labels, to scale, etc. I agree with that wish. I'm just posting these so those who can't tell what the advanced users are talking about can get up to speed.

[WendyWelton]

And hmmmm - not sure why my cabinets and furniture aren't shadowing...

[gteacher]

Doors can be shown open (but you still can not see a frame) and you can cheat, somewhat, and increase window frame depth; you can simulate a door somewhat by using a polyline w/fill slightly wider than the wall . Other than that I didn't say they are identical-- But pretty close. Your not going to win them all.

Wendy beat me to the trigger.

[WendyWelton]

And a raytrace of that ortho works nicely. Well, except you can't see plants in a top down, but they produce shadows.

Of course, raytracing every plan is more time than most folks will want to spend.

[Gary Doski]

Gary,
You holding out on me?

Please share this valuable info.


There are some excellent ideas being presented on here with regards to exporting to layout and adding CAD blocks, as well as custom polylines...etc.

This raises an entirely different issue.

Ease of revisions.
My Builders are notorious for approving a marketing plan only to e-mail me a day later w/ revisions. I dont not want to have to revise the floor plan, and then go back and revise added CAD blocks, layouts...etc.

What Wendy said is what I was talking about. Thanks Wendy!!

[Grantbd]

Here is a pic of a floor plan created by a local designer for a builder I also do work for. He uses Softplan and created these marketing floor plans right through Softplan without any need for photoshop or photo editing software.
I am losing some of my marketing plan business to him because I cannot create this with the colors on the furniture, fixtures...etc without exporting and editing in photoshop. Not to mention if any changes are required, I have to export and do it all over again.
As far as I know, I cannot get the furniture colors, fixtures, cars, doorways to come out like this if I try to do any color overviews. also, text cannot be added to color overviews.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to produce something that looks like this within chief? If not, does X4 address this issue?

Thanks In advance
Eric

We have all lost track of what Eric has asked for. Go back to the first post and have a look at his attachment. Can anybody answer his question?

[dshall]

We have all lost track of what Eric has asked for. Go back to the first post and have a look at his attachment. Can anybody answer his question?

Thank you Grant, you are absolutely correct.... I have an idea that I will check on in the morning...... bottom line.... I do not seen any door swings or windows in the views that have been presented.

[builderlfd]

Check out this prior thread (post #7) where Charles was able to do a remarkable floorplan all in Chief.

http://chieftalk.com/showthread.php?...render+overlay

[sutcac]

I had forgotten about that one. Good idea to send them both to layout.

[Grantbd]

I know I prattled on about cad boxes earlier but I cant help but believe that Erics view is totally cad based. Big thick lumpy lines, a bit of texture which Chief is totally capable of providing via the countless custom fills. Room polylines in back with the solid colour and custom fills in front with transparency checked if you want a floor. Erics dont have a floor. This has to be the way surely, and dont call me shirley.

[gteacher]

Surely:

All symbols appear to be standard 2D SP symbols - including the cars. I found most of them without too much effort. They were painted with either a solid color or texture (pattern image) and I believe put on different layers to get the right color outline. The kitchen counter-tops look like they were drawn with the counter top tool -- maybe not. Don't know how the color gradations were done. This is definitely just standard stuff in SP.

AND ---- I STILL believe Chief's Ortho's look better.

[Grantbd]

Surely:

All symbols appear to be standard 2D SP symbols - including the cars. I found most of them without too much effort. They were painted with either a solid color or texture (pattern image) and I believe put on different layers to get the right color outline. The kitchen counter-tops look like they were drawn with the counter top tool -- maybe not. Don't know how the color gradations were done. This is definitely just standard stuff in SP.

AND ---- I STILL believe Chief's Ortho's look better.

Gerry, yip, Ive been looking and $100 will buy you a sack full of 2d symbols on any amount of websites as you allude to. Floor overviews do look cool for sure, but for me , the potential for dimensioning and scaling from a true plan view is the way. Surely