mattyt12

Updated the new update this morning but still encounter shifting shadows when printing to pdf. PITA work around but closing out of the plan and layout file, getting back into it to print again seems to solve the issue.

Seems to be an intermittent problem, sometimes it prints right first try others not.

The big issue I used to get was when doing capes with dormers. When I would use the material painter it would paint the walls on the inside of the cape area also. i do use the material painter for flooring and applying paint colors to interior walls. I find it beneficial to change the defaults for exterior walls and of course the roof material. 

You could use a layerset or use all off layer set with roofplane layer turned on> group select all planes> open dbx> change roof surface material. Would have to repeat for each floor but not really an onerous task, yes it would be nice just having the default update but I dont see it as a major workaround.

damn, apparently it hasnt been fixed downloaded the update this morning.

Anyone have issues with live images in layout shifting & changing the cropping when printing?

Or, displacement maps. No extra geometry needed, just some time and attention to producing a quality height map for the material definition.

I agree that this is the best method, just comes down to how far chief want to develop their raytracing engine. IMO this would just be a bonus and if you want such detailed raytraces without spending hours modelling there is plenty of dedicated render engines out there that do this well already

I've tried the mapping but I dont get the edges. You get the straight on surface with undulation but it doesn't read correctly around the corner. Perhaps I am doing something wrong. Here is an example:

The bump mapping in chief only really works well if used sparingly to generate a slightly rough surface rather than smooth

All completed in chief and some post pro. in photoshop

has anyone had a crack at the corner window, I cant seem to get it to work. Maybe its just because its friday afternoon

Thanks Glenn good solution, I suppose I should spend some time on my master template to add hourly sun angles/layersets to suit.

I know that you can set the sun angle defults for Latitude, Longitudinal & Timezone but can you set a default date and time as well?

Dont even care what other features are in store, shadows in elevations is a massive improvement.

Log onto http://accel.com.au and create an account. Its all the technical documentation, dwg, sketchup 3d profiles etc. of the australian Hardies range.

Depends how detailed and accurate you want to go with the expressed joint cladding, if you want basic just create youre own material but if you want detailed you could use polyline solids.

there has been a few topics on this forum in the past, this one is one that springs to mind. https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/3084-contemporary-siding-look/

I usually just go with the basic custom materials, theres some examples here https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6a7epsfqzprnw9d/AAA6be0l2oWSY_iju7gssT0Za?dl=0

I'm with Dennis on this one.

 

"mattyt12" - where did you get those? 3D Warehouse? Would you mind sharing? I have an upscale mountain home in the works that those would look great in front of.

 

Thanks, Mike

Not a problem, cant remember what model the bmw was, too long ago but the merc:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model.html?id=uc0689cdb-11ee-4c6a-882d-e234b4d0a394

The calibz files and material settings are here though

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6a7epsfqzprnw9d/AAA6be0l2oWSY_iju7gssT0Za?dl=0

Since I wanted to populate my carport model with

somewhat believable automobiles I have been  

having a play with adjusting the properties of the

different materials Chief offers on their Library

Browser vehicle symbols. By changing things like

material classes and adjusting the associated

properties such as Specular, Roughness and

Reflection you can coax some pretty nice results

out of the OOB symbols.

 

Youre definitely on the right track, IMO finding a good car model is as important as the material. You can find some nice models on the sketchup warehouse but the trick is finding one with a smallish filesize that still has a decent poly count so the contours of the car are smooth.

 

I have found that different colours require different tweaking to get a result that I like

Thanks Jintu, the tips you post help out a lot

Jonathan,

Theres an old thread below that I posted, basically used a rug generator in a sketchup plugin then imported into chief as a symbol (1m x 1m square) then copy and paste sparingly as required. The link in the post is gone but theres a new one below.

http://www.chieftalk.com/showthread.php?36571-Time-to-Show-YOUR-GOODIES!!!!!!&p=466676#post466676

https://www.dropbox.com/s/icor07libjbw15y/Grass%203D.calibz?dl=0

Just started messing around with photoshop to compliment chiefs render engine, less of a learning curve than learning a third party render, that stuff goes way over my head.

This looks very nice - but I am having a hard time understanding the process.  I'll play with this and try it.

Sorry johnny, step by step as follows;

1. turn off all layers in plan except primary and secondary contours;

2. Under the CAD tab, select CAD detail from view;

3. select all the lines, go back to plan, right click>paste>paste hold position

4. while still selected click convert polyline>sidewalk (centre line)

5. change path width, height & materials as desired

At step two you could also close the polylines, copy back into plan, convert to slabs and assign the correct heights. This is quite time consuming however.

render test4.bmp

A fairly simple and effective way is to convert the site with the terrain contour lines layer turned on to a CAD detail, copy back in place back ontop of the terrain, convert polyline to a sidewalk centreline, set the width to 50mm or 2", apply a contrasting material

I think it is more of a case study to educate the everyday punter in passive solar design.

Not sure where they get that figure from though. It would be a cheap house on energy running costs but its an expensive build with polished concrete, reverse brick veneer, solar hot water, raked ceilings, high ceilings, the amount of glazing, the limited opportunity for bracing on northern wall requiring structural steel.

Hi Ross I didnt get the same result?

Often a review in Google Earth Pro will help you site the house, as it will allow you to look at the big picture; not just your property.

Using Chief I often trace over the contour lines to get my elevation lines, but in this case I might just convert the existing contours; just because there is so much of it. The caution is that there may be lines that are missed, or have spurious data.

You can group select and convert to elevation lines; but you must then assign elevation to each line. You must have a terrain perimeter, and you must tell Chief to build the terrain.

I will generally assign my zero elevation to where I think the house is going to be located; and then go plus or minus from there.

Hi Bill out of curiosity any particular reason not to use the true values for the elevation lines and assign the house zero in the pad elevation tab in the Terrain DBX?

select a gutter, convert to a 3D molding polyline then turn gutters off from the roof plane dialogue maybe? You would just have to check the height of the default gutter first.

Whenever you get a tool icon showing as the cursor its prompting you do something related to that tool ie in your case refresh the terrain.

Happens with wall junctions for me all the time and it drives me nuts.

This is one is on my wishlist for terrain with ability to show contours in vector or rendered views.

 

One thing I do like about Revit terrains is the phasing so you can duplicate the existing topography, assign one to existing and lock it then manipulate the second for proposed levels. Handy for elevation views also to demonstrate the amount of cut/fill

further to that point again, its essentially a label for the Z-Value of the terrain

What was really neat about the VW video,  IS THE POINTS SHOWED THE ELEVATION........  isn't that a no brainer,  if I put in a line or a point to define the elevation,  don't you think I want to know what the defined elevation is at a quick glance?  Of course.....  hey CA,  get on this will you,  thank you,  thank you very much. 

This is one is on my wishlist for terrain with ability to show contours in vector or rendered views.

One thing I do like about Revit terrains is the phasing so you can duplicate the existing topography, assign one to existing and lock it then manipulate the second for proposed levels. Handy for elevation views also to demonstrate the amount of cut/fill

Very nice, what did you render it in?