I have read some advice on calibating monitors here and on other forums as well
as youtube etc. and have tried, half heartedly i admit, to get my dual monitor set up
to display the same.

Not much luck. If I drag an image half on one screen and half on the other there is a distict
difference.

If any of you have some suggestions on calibrating techniques or software recomendations or
articals that explain the ins and outs I would very much appreciate your assistance.

After I get my monotors squared away, I will move on to printer profiles so I can more acurately
print what I am seeing on my screen.

Thanks

Paul

one other thing, Is there not a spell check feature on thstopic page?

I have found that the most sure way to make section cuts behave is to make a layer
called "sectioncuts" and place your section planes on that layer. Also make a style called "sections on" that
has sections active and showing.

Now when you make your scene you just make sure the section cut layer is off and use the "section on" stlye.

you do this for each scene with the appropriete section plane active and be sure to hit update when its all set.

Hope this helps

Paul

I use it for work in Architecture, but I also have found it to be a
good tool for

Child eduction & entertainment.

The kids & I designed, modeled, rendered & built these birdhouses over a two
month period. I kind of used the project to quiet down the "I don't know what to do"
days.

This really makes a lot of sense! I have been tempted to do it for
quite some time, but have not pulled the trigger because of what is probably an
Unfounded fear.
What if one day Drop box ceases to exist? I have been using drop box
for some time for a component library, but I back it up on my own hard drive periodically
"Just in case".

I guess the same could be done with the plug in folder. If one was to back it up each time
a new plug in was added there would always be an up to date copy available if the drop box
site went down or away or I was working without an internet connection....

Am I being overly careful?

Now you have me thinking about how beneficial this would be in the office...5 work stations
all synced to one plug in folder.

I need to do this. Please tell me I have been a worry wart and I have nothing to fear.
Paul

ummmmm.....ahhhhhhh....errrrrr....duhhhhhhh...
........wow!

Paul

@solo said:

Regardless of what your price is it will always be undercut if the client is shopping you in China.
Switch the news on and all you hear is Jobs, jobs, jobs yet businesses still outsource to cheaper suppliers overseas, so I guess it's a catch 22 as they need to stay competitive and give their clients competitive prices, outsourcing is cheaper but the downside is more lost jobs at home.

My advice is NOT to try compete on price, you literally will starve, you do not have their extremely low cost of living, Compete on quality and service.
Make the experience a good comfortable one, make the client your friend, understand what they want to achieve, use your experience to suggest creative options, be available for questions, changes and general discussions, be flexible and accommodating. Present your best work and set a high standard, once your client exhibits your quality works it will be difficult for them to ever exhibit anything less in future, a good visual is like crack Cocaine, give them a good product/experience and they will return.
Archviz is more than just a pretty picture, we are a service, well sell dreams.

Frame the above and hang it in your office.

Paul

Good grief!
Un freaking real!

Paul

Thanks a lot!

The bar is now so high I don't think I will ever reach it.

Pretty amazing collection!

pmo

It is not easy balancing on the line between photo real & Artsy.

You are a master at acheiving that balance.

Realy, realy, nice!

pmo

bjornkn, thanks for explaing the subtleties to me.

Apparently the image is deeper than I am.

p

I agree with evryone that this is just excelent work!
But...the background tree directly in the center has the halo effect and my eye
just can't get past it.

Also, the swan seems to be swimming in something other than water.

I know...picky, picky, picky.

the composition is great!

paul

Edson.

Very neat project...I mean neat as in cool to look at as well as neat in an orderly way.

Nice work!

paul

Hi escape artist.

photoshopping in your suroundings can work very well.

The image here is not a good example, because of the image resolution, but
you can see that photo realism could be achieved fairly easily.

I just googled "old cottage images" and grabbed a photo of a cottage with a similer
view as yours and cut your grass and background out.

With good resolution images this works well.

p

Icedkasz,
Sure, I can talk a little about layers and components etc.

They are the key to sanity in modeling. I have just recently started to be more disciplined about keeping things organized and have developed an imperfect, but workable layer setup. I make layer names that will keep like items near each other in the layer manager. For instance,
001_furniture_exterior-rear patio
001_furniture_exterior-front patio
001_furniture_exterior-side yard
002_trees_rear yard-distant
002_trees_rear yard-close
002_trees_ front-boulavard

018_section planes

You get the idea. What this allows me to do is set up scenes with objects out of the view to be turned off so my render time is shorter. It also allows me to set up working scenes that turn most everything off so I don't have trees and stuff in my face when trying to select a wall or move a window.

Groups and components are of course the key to good modeling. Everything should be one or the other. I make each wall a separate group and open it to place windows. Facia, freize boards, soffits, roof plans are all individual groups. What this does is allow a systamatic process to be used when I have to move a wall or adjust an overhang or...

It seems like a lot of extra work compared to modeling free style and just going as fast as you can, but it has been my experience that you pay for it big time in the long run.

If you are disiplined with groups and components your model will be easier to modify, smaller in file size, and will make your renders and scene set ups much quicker and smoother.

That is the short answer to the question.

Hey Steelers05, Thanks!

No question about it Omnikron. 2d plans are here to stay.
Before I am done with this business though, I will do a job with
computers and large screens on the job site. Just because it will be cool.

Pretty good Idea Peter. The only draw back is that it creates some fussiness when the building changes. If the changes were not too substantial it would not be the end of the world to have to update the overlay lines. I am ok with the way the shadows and texture give the elevations depth instead of line weights. Another thing I have done is to actually photo real render the elevations and put them in layout as images. They look great and line weights are not an issue, but it is extra work creating the render and adjusting them to scale in layout.

I guess we just keep trying.

p

Oh boy!
Just plain terrific!
Paul

d12dozr - Thanks Neighbor.

Peter - Thanks for the nice comments. Heres an update on my work flow. I am now playing with using the sketchup elevations in layout at scale in my construction set of plans instead of converting them to cad files. What I do is just add notes and other information as well as dashed foundation lines in layout so I can keep the model intact and only have to change that when things need to be adjusted. This keeps us from dumping the model when we move to cad and eliminates duplicating effort. The textures and shodows look great printed at 1/4" scale on our large format non color printer. Some old schoolers may take a while to embrace this technique because it looks different than traditional line drawings, but from where I sit it only makes sense to stay with the model since were developing it for design and presentation purposes anyway.

Bryan - I have never received a "wow" before. Thanks.

Open Spaces- We are not Architects but we fake it pretty well. Thanks.

p

This thread started a little over a year ago. At that time I promised
a finished photo of the home.

Here it is. Our clients are settled in and happy.

I have three other threads that were started about the same time a year or so ago and each one of those are being finished up.
I will post those finished shots as well.

Thanks for your interest and comments along the way.

Paul

Hi Martin, I am a Podium user and I agree with Gaieus that you
should look to the Podium forum for help.

The issues you are experiencing sound render related not sketchup related.

When you post your question at the Podium forum give as much
info as possible

ie podium version your using, preset used, image of render, etc.

Also If you are new to podium, check out the lighting and other tutorials found
at the Podium forum.

Good luck, hope to see your post.

Human Verification

(supodiumforum.websitetoolbox.com)

Paul