Mar 2010
ACM006 - intro to Artlantis 3
Abvent Atlantis is recognised as the fastest and most powerful solution for photo-realistic rendering and animation developed for architects and designers, used by roughly 65,000 users in 80 countries, in 7 languages.
It’s not a full blown modelling + rendering program like 3DS Max or Cinema4D, but a stand-alone rendering application, as it has simple tasks and does them awesomely well! This is due to its rendering engine developed especially for architecture, offering accuracy and speed unmatched by any other product on the market.
In this introduction I go through a quick intro of Artlantis 3, the reasons why it’s sometimes more suitable for architectural visualisation, the two versions (Artlantis R + Artlantis Studio), some of the amazing features it offers - including the innovative and superfast radiosity preview, the drag+drop process of adding objects and shaders to your model, water animation + interactive cloud formations, + more.
Plugins : Artlantis plays very well with others, being able to interface directly with popular 3D CAD + BIM applications like ArchiCAD, VectorWorks, SketchUp Pro + more. But with the recent addition of the DWF, OBJ and FBX import formats and updated DXF, DWG and 3DS plug-ins, Artlantis seamlessly interacts with all the leading CAD software as well.
Finally I mention the extensive media, shader, and object libraries offered in both versions, as well as where you can download or buy some additional libraries to use in your model, including the Artlantis Media Libraries and ObjectsOnline.com, a virtual product library created by Abvent offering the largest collection of 3D parametric objects dedicated to architecture and design.
I’d like to thank everyone again for all your fantastic emails and comments about the show, on iTunes, Facebook and all the online video sites. Please keep ‘em coming!
If you download the iTunes version, I've added chapters into the video so you can jump to any part you want.
If you’d like to share any tips, or need any additional help I’d be happy to provide some,
just email me at archicadmonkey@gmail.com or from the contact me section.
A quick review on iTunes would be very much appreciated!
Enjoy the show!
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CG film : The Third & The Seventh
The visual fusion between the third and the seventh arts.
Alex Roman has created an animated piece, based on some beautiful REAL places, but - and I kid you not - they are ALL computer generated. As the creator describes it himself, it “tries to illustrate architecture art across a photographic point of view where main subjects are already-built spaces”.
The Third and the Seventh arts are Architecture and Cinematography - the rest being Painting, Sculpture, Literature, Music and Dance. The film is an examination of how we experience and record the physical world around us, as a 3D “Virtual Reality” is transformed into a 2D video sequence.
Continue Reading... >>
Mac Architect - Thomas A. Heinz
The Chicago architect Thomas A. Heinz has been featured in Apple’s Pro profiles section, speaking about how he uses Archicad with his Mac. As a renowned Frank Lloyd Wright scholar he was approached to construct the Massaro house, which was never finished by the original architect. Wright designed the house to stand on an amazing location in upstate New York - on Petre Island on Lake Mahopac - in the 1950s, only to have stopped after understanding that his dramatic structure would be exceedingly costly and complicated to build.
Heinz was the author of 30 books on Wright, and had experience in restoring + rebuilding many of Wright’s designs, so he was the best person for this major task. Heinz had to develop the design from only 5 original sketches by Wright.
He explains in the profile how he used Archicad and his mac to create the whole site + building step by step (...pun definitely intended), while exploring the virtual building process that was later mirrored at the actual construction phase. It’s worth reading his story about creating of such a beautiful structure.
Petra Productions Ltd. even produced a 90-minute documentary on the Massaro project and Frank Lloyd Wright’s design philosophies, called “Building Wright.” Check out the trailer here
Archicad online object libraries
Archicad has hundreds of objects you can use embedded in its Standard Library, ranging from simple geometric shapes to Parametric objects like stairs or kitchen cabinets. Though most are preconfigured to standard settings, nearly everything is extensively editable - as they are GDL objects. Every few months the Archicad team even sends an update for the standard library, fixing a few bugs and adding more objects.
Some third-party developers have created more specialised and detailed objects to add to your designs including furniture, electronic equipment, trees, you name it! Some are free, though the really good ones come at a reasonable price. To start off I’d go with the free route and try the GDL Object Depository created by Graphisoft, where Archicad users can exchange free objects and texture libraries. Loving the free and open-source, the Open GDL board is a place for developers mostly, but has plenty of free stuff to download.
Though if you’ve got some cash to spare, Objects Online is a great resource - these guys have created hundreds of great high quality Archicad objects, most have a pricetag on them, but a few are free to download - with a “donation” option. Similarly Archicad Solutions specialises in creating and customising GDL objects for Archicad, and CADGarage has some library parts for sale along with books, DVDs, and accessories for Mac + Archicad.
These are generally the sites I’ve found useful, though Graphisoft has compiled the mother-list of all GDL developers’ websites. Go ahead and check them out and if you find any other good ones please feel free share them with me and I’ll spread the word. Happy GDL hunting!
3D sketching with ILOVESKETCH
ILoveSketch from Seok-Hyung Bae on Vimeo.
A while before all the hype of tablet PCs and iPads, some great minds over at the Department of Computer Science of Toronto University developed a system giving the ability to “sketch” in 3D space while using a tablet-type device. “ILoveSketch” is a 3D curve sketching system that brings the benefits of drawing like pen on paper, while automatically creating a concept 3D curve model. It’s a really clever system integrating traditional sketching techniques and user interaction with a 3D model in novel ways.
“I Love Sketch” could become a great asset to industrial designers to rapidly draw up 3D concepts designs, though you can easily see it being used for conceptualising architectural forms and complex designs before moving onto CAD or BIM apps. As Google Sketchup revolutionised quick + easy modelling to a point where nearly anyone can draw in 3D, this kind of system could do the same with virtual sketching methods as sketching is more natural than using a mouse and requires less training to get the hang of. This isn’t just t two-dimensional sketching, but an evolution of a kind using nurb-based geometry to create freeform shapes via curves of high precision and great ease. ILoveSketch takes advantage of multi-stroke sketch techniques and gesture-based functions to create groups of these curves while drawing with a Stylus-type pen.
The video above demonstrates what ILoveSketch is all about while taking the viewer through the basic techniques used to create an airplane model in 3D without needing any kind of command or specific buttons.The environment is easy to navigate - zooming, panning, rotating, etc. are intuitive, while easily switching between the different sketching techniques.
If this sort of system could become integrated somehow into a powerful multi-touch surface like the iPad together with something like the Pogo Sketch, it could change the designers workflow dramatically and even be a major step up from the previously discussed CAD or BIM app. Hopefully in the near future we’ll see what these guys can come up with - one thing’s for sure, cadmonkeys of the world are itching to see in the next few months what’s boiling in the iPad pot.
App : archiCADmonkey on Android
I’ve been looking into how to create an archiCADmonkey app for the iPhone - though I’m not really comfortable with the code yet. So, I’ve taken the easier route with the help of the Wizzard Media team at my podcast hosting service Libsyn. They’ve created a great online system to automatically create iPhone + Android versions, distribute them and analyse the download stats. The process is simple, as I finished it in under an hour!
So, the archiCADmonkey app features a direct stream of the blog, the @acmonkey twitter feed, the Vimeo videos, and the Flickr pictures feed. The iPhone version is going to take a couple of weeks to get through the App store process, but the Android version is up + running! As I understand you can search for Android apps online, but you have to download it directly from an Android phone, as there isn’t an online Android app store.
So go check it out and if you like it, don’t forget to review it !
Now go get it
The archiCADmonkey app on Android
What's the best computer for 3D CAD + BIM?
I’ve gone through a few computers in my time, from basic laptops to building my own super-PC with an NVidia powerhouse, moving onto a Macbook and now even growing slowly out of my superpowerful Macbook Pro. Though I do love my macs - as I am mad with multitasking - I do try and be objective when recommending a piece of hardware, or software for that matter, to be the best fit to the individual. There’s one thing that every designer has in common, we need POWER!
So, what’s the best computer for 3D, CAD and BIM?
David Fano over at Design Reform has written an article about just this subject, putting this question out to the PC and Mac community. Though his recommendations are mostly aimed towards windows users, the general concept of processor power, RAM + hard drive size and such are quite universal. It depends in the end if you feel comfortable with a certain setup and are happy with the final results....while not having to wait 24hrs for an image to render....!
The comments after the article are definitely worth a read, very interesting seeing what other powerCADers use.
