Steve_Nyhof

Using this method, you can create beautiful renderings in less than an hour. Everything you need, including my 3D modeled background images, shadow trees, Leaves, Clover and more are below. Make sure to follow this thread down as I have continued to add more ideas and more things to the Libraries... Here is a brief overview explaining the steps below... https://my-plan.stevenyhofdesigns.com/v/iwg6TRh5GxnwXhQwmWLA Step by Step on how to render a fast and beautiful image in Chief Architect I am using an image only for the background image instead of the Backdrop which gives me more control over the placement and look I am after. I made up 7 background images for you to use. As an image you can move it around easily, scale it and even reverse it for another rendering. These are the grass settings... You can of course mess with these, but I am matching my background images. This shows the placement of the camera and the background image. In my model I am taking a picture from the rear corner. How to capture a proper and realistic perspective... set your horizon about 1/4 to 1/3 of the total height from the bottom set your camera height at eye level. It can be lower for a neat effect, but never higher as it will make the person looking at the house feel like they are 10' tall. Only birds see houses from 10' high. (Unless you are being intentional to show off the roofs) Your house should be top priority. I have seen renderings where the designer wants to show off a beautiful mountain scape, etc. When a person is searching for what they like in a house they don't care about your background. The background should enhance the house. in camera view, move the model/view up a bit on your screen so that the side walls of the exterior of the house are vertical or leaning in just a little. In chief if the model is too low it will lean in vertically too much and lose a realistic perspective. Moving the model up will encroach on the sky so not too much. When possible, there should be more sky above the model than grade below the model in your captured final image. This is difficult with Chief and I have a ticket in with them to look into lowering the floor line (0 level) in the camera to below center screen. Now knowing some of these things, spend some time looking at google images of exterior renderings and begin to note which homes really stand out because of the horizon placement (sky vs grade), and the model angle (eye view). The tree I am using only as shadow trees. I will have some nice 3d trees available in the future that will look more realistic to place in the foreground and in your scene. Carpinus caroliniana 2 - see the size in the DBX below Camera PBR Settings Camera Specs The sunlight I am using - set the angle of sunlight until shadows looks good for the house and the trees. I am using the tree shadows to hide the edge of my grass/terrain. Not too much shadow on the house. Set the Backdrop image from the Library included. This image is used for the window glass reflection only. You can control the Horizontal Offset to get the tree reflection you like in the windows. Change the glass material properties on the windows to 2.5 Index of Refraction. This will allow some view through the glass and into the rooms but also create reflection of the Backdrop image trees. This shows the view of the software and the different elements involved before the screen capture. (I like my menu on the left - not important here) This is what the rendering can look like when complete and after placing Chiefs plants... I do not mind Chiefs plants, they look pretty nice. The most time you will spend on this is on the plants and shadow trees. Now that I have this all in place I will need to test my time, but I think I can pull this off in less than 30 minutes. Home Designed by BD Design Here is the Library of background and backdrop images https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DAyFz76wks-jABoMGXbjmxryAAhI9axB/view?usp=sharing Here is the plan template where I have the camera and backdrop all set up... Open the drawing and copy the camera in the circle and paste it into your plan/template. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1H24RNzj_vEOkgn2-XkWc_KzdzxVyGq02/view?usp=sharing I would love to see some renderings that you create using this method Steve

Very nice! Thanks for sharing

Hi Viki, I've done a lot in Twinmotion, but it is a bit time consuming and the builders I draw for do not want to pay for my time for a nice rendering. So I have been working back in Chief the last two weekends working on a solution you may like. One thing that is very important is that your eye is at around 5 to 6 feet off the ground. Place yourself in front of the house and move the camera until your front door is about the level of you walking through it of a bit less. You should barely see the bottom side of the porch header.

Very nice! I really enjoy using TM

The builder I drew this plan for is putting it in the parade of homes here in Michigan. They did not want to pay me $1k for a rendering done in Twin Motion, so I again went on a 2D .png plant image spree. I rendered the house in Chief and brought the image into Photoshop. Added the plants and a few trees, used the paint brush to add some shadows and ran it through the Camera Raw filter. Maybe 30 mins of work. 2D Plants and small trees... https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QsYlfVmD4-l68YTTF6sk3ErXJMhZGPnf/view?usp=sharing Now a better why using Chief in 3D...

The best is always to go to the software forum and spend a few minutes there. I did that with Softplan - https://softplan.com/forum/ - Helped me to like Chief better. I couldn't find a forum for Cedreo - that says a lot

Thank you, Steve! That is exactly what I was looking for - just in time too as I was just completing the plan

I need some help on changing my roof label text and marker size. I am showing my roof at 1/8 scale and the text is too small to read

I rarely draw monoslab footings so I am not the expert on this. I was helping Larry Belk (https://www.larrybelk.com/) with some optional ways to pull off mono slabs with CA using Stem Walls and Footings, mainly on the wall design where your footing is poured first and is used as the brick ledge. The bottom two videos are a way to make the wall in section view look like a monoslab. Ignore my offset cursor, I was using a video app that I have since moved away from because of this issue. The Yellow circle is at the correct location. Section idea detail by Larry Belk Mono Slab with Stem Wall using Footing Ledge https://my-plan.stevenyhofdesigns.com/v/HAW98BrXWHD1j2Mm0ZQF Section idea by Larry Belk Mono Slab using Stem Wall and 4" Ledge https://my-plan.stevenyhofdesigns.com/v/vzBeuNHWADnGIlpfIilf Mono Slab using Stem Wall and 1.5" Ledge https://my-plan.stevenyhofdesigns.com/v/YVNuUZ3AdseRG0ThHfCs

Hello, I have made some changes and added a few cameras to my template to help show a client their home in different settings while in a meeting. These are not an end all for beautiful renderings, but a way to quickly show a client what their house will look like. By default my template uses the grass and the surround background (spherical) to work on the plan. Video of details... https://my-plan.stevenyhofdesigns.com/v/0nfRF5mhuFpBYqrb5qn2 Here are the two library backgrounds I use for interior and exterior... https://drive.google.com/file/d/17Gzk88qqJgK43QK7tOzF6oBo_K0Tp5B4/view?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eahCtzZr5uBsraRT6gIUrwz_R0Up3x8q/view?usp=sharing My plan template with the cameras... (Make sure to unzip the file, find and open the SND_D_Residential Template.plan file in the zip folder) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u2cQxUOQt6pJPN0a6Kd-ZA8rsewaZxBE/view?usp=sharing Just to note that I have my sun at 100 for interior and exterior renderings Exterior Rendering with lines... Exterior at night scene... (you need to add your lighting to the interior, I did not fuss with this plan but you could take this further with landscaping and more exterior lighting). Again, I'm not spending any time with details other than place ceiling lights inside and outside where it makes sense, but only to show an idea of the clients house which they are overjoyed to see. A click of the mouse and happy and impressed customer! Interior Rendering... Cameras in the template... Leave a like and show a screen shot if you tested these cameras and background out, and/or use them. Thank you, Steve These are other threads where we got into grass and backgrounds...

Ah yes! thank you

Hello, is there is default for the ceiling color? Right now it is bone, and I would like to make it white by default. Thank you, Steve

Thank you. I just went through a number of them and at least found some older buttons I have not used and even set hotkeys to. So was a good exercise to get to know my toolbars again.

Wow! I think I need to spend some time just double clicking on the toolbars. That has more than once giving the answer. I should have asked this question 3 years ago Thank you so much!!

How to Rotate an object into specific alignment https://myplan.stevenyhofdesigns.com/6quwn9pm

All fixed up. I must have changed that years ago when I set things up because it defaults to Grid Rounding. Thank you!!

Thank you - I will fix this. I don't like to make the framers think.

Wow, yes. I changed it - thank you

That worked!! I had to check Use Greater ... to make it change. Thank you!

Sorry, wrong plan This is correct - Thank you! SND2193 Dave and Nichole Shear.zip

Here is a link to the plan... I stripped it down but it is still a large file See below thread zip file See the front porch

Does anyone know how to turn off or in some way fix this odd fraction issue? I feel embarrassed having this on my plan and having to make a framer figure out what 2/3" is - somewhere between 5/8" and 11/16". - I have my fraction set to 1/16" as smallest so figure it should round up or down. ???

New update... I'm really enjoying the curve monitor. It works nice because I am using FancyZones and using them a lot like multiple overlapping monitors. I also set up a zone specifically for zoom meetings so that I have access to outer spaces/docs that I can drag into my screen. Note I have zoon set up on the zone and not my whole screen. You can of course click the expand button on the top right of the window your working in to fill the screen. Click again and it goes back into the assigned zone.

Just an update on the 55" curved monitor. I am not sure why it is different, I have not changed my computer at all, but working in Twinmotion the last few hours, and running a PBR (Path Tracing in TM), it is very fast. In fact I increased my Samples per Pixel to 256 and it is still 4 times faster. It used to take about 2 minutes at 128, and now about 30 seconds. Anyone know why a monitor would make that difference? I did increase the Hz from 60 to 165, but I thought that was more for animated 3D and video???

Very nice set up! It is nice to see others expand their desktop like this.