Enscape 3D is a rendering program that plugs directly into your modeling program. It is a real-time rendering program which means that the objects and materials are rendered as you navigate through the model. Compared to other real-time rendering programs, it tends to be less demanding on your computer, making it a good option for…
These tutorials walk through a process for creating the AutoCAD linework for the framing plan of wooden deck. The first video discusses strategies for drafting the linework, adjusting the lineweights, and strategically copying repeating elements throughout the plan. The final design demonstrated in this video includes the framing components (post, beam, joist, blocking, and hardware)…
This video discusses working with Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) in ArcMap. Specifically, it walks through four of the surface tools in the ArcToolbox: Contour, Aspect, Slope, and Hillshade.
The following tutorial demonstrates a basic approach to creating section perspectives. The process begins with AutoCAD linework that is imported into SketchUp and extruded into a 3-dimensional model. Basic components are modeled, rendered, and exported to Photoshop. In Photoshop, images and textures are collaged to create a more vivid view of the section-perspective.
This video walks through a process for creating shapefiles for ArcMap using Google Earth Pro. It begins with creating polygons in Google Earth Pro, exporting them as a KMZ file, importing the KMZ into ArcMap, and saving the import as a Shapefile.
The tutorial walks through the steps for creating a new InDesign document and using three basic tools: the rectangle tool, the pen tool, and the type tool. Each of these tools was essential in the building of a portfolio template. The video also demonstrates strategies using a template to quickly insert content to create a…
Vegetation in perspectives can be tricky, whether in first-person or aerial perspectives. 3D Modeling programs like SketchUp can struggle with quickly and effectively placing large masses of shrubs and groundcovers. While programs like Lumion can help automate that, there are times where collaging images in Photoshop can more effectively communicate the design idea. This video…
This video discusses tips for fine-tuning Lumion exports in Photoshop. It walks through using the Camera Raw Filter to adjust the shadows and highlights, among other image adjustments. The video also demonstrates adjustment layers, lens flare, and creating a lens blur to focus the perspective on the core parts of the site.
This tutorial discusses using Color Range selections in Photoshop. The process walks through a process of selecting a specific tree color in a perspective and changing that color using Hue/Saturation. This can be a useful process when wanting to fine-tune colors in a perspective rendering or when demonstrating the seasonal change in vegetation.
Often, SketchUp models can be a great foundation for sketching, where the model serves simply as a guide for the sketch. In that scenario, it’s not uncommon for the SketchUp export itself to be removed altogether from the final perspective. Still, the shadows from the SketchUp model can be useful to quickly apply shadows to…
This tutorial walks through the very basic tools and concepts in using SketchUp. It is intended for people who are using SketchUp for the first time or are looking for a refresher on the basic tools and procedures. The video demonstrates how to build basic objects using the line and shape tools, modify those shapes…
This tutorial walks through a strategy for creating site plan layer diagrams to articulate the different systems in a design proposal. The video examines a project proposal executed by field operations and demonstrates a strategy for achieving a similar diagram.
This video walks through the steps for creating a base for site plan diagrams in Adobe Illustrator. The tutorial begins with a New Document setup, creating an 11×17 sheet in landscape orientation. It then examines how to link jpeg and photoshop files, create a clipping mask, use grids and guides, discover color themes, and lock…
This tutorial walks through the basics of using the shape tools to aid in site plan diagramming. Through adjusting the fill/stroke and appearance, custom symbols can be created to articulate specific components in design drawings. Diagrams can be a powerful tool for distilling complex ideas and intricate components into a simple, easy to read design…
This tutorial demonstrates a process for creating a section using AutoCAD linework and Adobe Photoshop to collage images and apply color. The tutorial begins by demonstrating how to export the linework from AutoCAD, open in Photoshop, and make minor edits to the linework (1:41). The first rendering steps in Photoshop involve applying base colors to…
SketchUp can be a useful tool for studying a site design and producing preliminary concepts images for progress reviews with team members and potentially for client meetings. While most exports from SketchUp are perspectives, it can also be useful to export both site plan and section views as part of these reviews. What’s essential is…
This post includes video tutorials that walk through foundational GIS exercises like creating a geodatabase, adjusting the symbology, working with census data, using a few ArcToolbox commands.
These tutorials demonstrate strategies that make your multi-page PDF documents easier to view and navigate for your audience. The first tutorial discusses how to set the Initial View of a PDF. Setting the Initial View allows the PDF creator to determine how the PDF is first viewed when opened. This can be important when a…
This video demonstrates a process for exporting PDFs from Adobe Indesign and adjusting the initial viewing setting in Adobe Acrobat. The video also explores packaging document links and fonts into a single folder using InDesign.
While modeling programs like SketchUp and renderers like Lumion can create trees and tree shadows, there are times where it can be helpful to insert trees and shadows using Photoshop. This video demonstrates a technique for inserting trees and creating tree shadows in Photoshop perspectives. This process uses photographs of trees in place of modeled…
Outside of advanced materials and external renderers like Lumion, it can be difficult to represent realistic grass in perspective renderings. Often it will simply appear as an image of grass on a flat surface. This video tutorial will discuss replacing this approach to grass with a photograph to create a more realistic representation of grass…
This video demonstrates a process for importing AutoCAD linework into SketchUp Pro and using Extensions (s4u Make Face Pro and Edge Tools2) from the Extension Warehouse to clean up the AutoCAD linework and create faces for modeling. The AutoCAD files were created in AutoCAD 2019 and imported into SketchUp Pro 2019. Only the Pro version…
This tutorial discusses how to apply a filter to AutoCAD linework for trees to create a more hand-drawn approach to the tree linework.
This tutorial demonstrates how to use pattern overlay to apply textures to materials in your site plan renderings.
This tutorial will demonstrate how to create overlay layers that add textures to your site plan renderings. It will utilize the drippy water brush to paint textures around the edge of objects and adjust those layers using opacity to create subtle shading.
This tutorial walks through the steps for quickly creating the linework for shrub masses in AutoCAD site plans. It introduces the Boundary Creation Tool (BO), and uses the Revision Cloud Tool (RevCloud) to create outlines for shrub masses. It also demonstrates how to add hatches and adjust those hatches to an appropriate scale.
This video walks through the steps for using gridded soil data from the USDA NRCS Geospatial Data Gateway. The video will describe how to download and extract the data and use the join tool to merge soil characteristics into the 10 meter raster file to then map the data by soil characteristics. The video will…
This tutorial demonstrates how to verify that you have correctly scaled an AutoCAD drawing in paperspace. It uses the distance command to measure both the actual distance in your drawing and the distance on the page in paperspace to confirm that they are in unison, based on the desired scale.
In many instances, saving a PDF of an Adobe Illustrator file using the Illustrator Default settings can create an incredibly large pdf file. This can create various problems including trouble printing the file, emailing file, or simply opening and viewing the file. For this reason, it’s important to choose another option other than the Illustrator…
This tutorial will demonstrate using the Image Trace tools in Illustrator to create symbols for diagramming on a site plan. It will also show how to sample colors from Adobe Color for those icons and how to use a Clipping Mask to crop pictures for a diagram legend.
This tutorial will demonstrate techniques for using the pen tool for diagramming on top of site plans in Adobe Illustrator. It will discuss the points and curves of lines with the pen tool and strategies for adjusting lines using the stroke menu.
This tutorial discusses how to use realistic trees in your site plan renderings in photoshop. It demonstrates how to adjust the colors to build consistency among your tree colors and how to generate overall lighting effects that allow your trees to feel that they are a part of the same environment.
This tutorial will demonstrate two techniques for applying the base color to your rendering in Photoshop. The first technique uses the paint bucket tool to apply color to new layers in your photoshop file. The second technique uses the solid color fill approach and demonstrates two advantages of using this technique over the simpler paint…
Adding people to a section can be a great way to provide a scale reference for the drawing and describe the energy around how people will use the site in the design proposal. This tutorial will demonstrate how this can be accomplished using images saved from online resources.
It is important to save files from Photoshop for different purposes, whether emailing them to a client or for printing purposes. This tutorial will demonstrate using the “Save As” dialog to save a Photoshop File (.psd) as a .pdf or .jpeg.
This tutorial demonstrates how to overlay a scanned sketch on top of an image using Adobe Photoshop.
This tutorial demonstrates an approach to creating a bold outline around clusters on trees in your AutoCAD Base Maps and Site Plans. The tutorial mimics the analog approach of using a bold linetype around the outside of a cluster of trees. The Boundary Creation Tool (BO) and Layer Isolation Tools (LAYISO and LAYUNISO) are utilized for…
This tutorial will discuss a method to rotate the crosshairs in AutoCAD using UCS. It will also discuss how to rotate the compass of the drawing based on the UCS.
There are several reasons to customize your AutoCAD interface. One reason might be to add certain toolbars for the project or type of work you are performing. Another reason would be to remove certain toolbars to maximize your view of model space while working. This tutorial will explore some of the basic strategies for customizing…
This tutorial will discuss a strategy for creating a section from a site plan. It begins with creating the desired section line in the site plan. The first video below will highlight how you can rotate your drawing to make the section line horizontal in your view. This will be important for projecting the geometry…