jcaffee

Joe, this is a wall panel, not an inset niche. User error on my part? jon

Here is some cold hard truth for anybody ray tracing from within CAX6... A 12"x12" outdoor shot @150dpi (good for outdoor signage to be viewed from a distance) < 100 3D trees, 15 lights. Env lighting and Photons on, Starting file size 126MB. Memory Usage Events as Reported by MS Resource Monitor: Open file in CAX6, 660MB 1 Camera view rendered, 2.5GB Ray Trace: Chief Architect Premier X6.exe using 2.7GB ChiefArchitectRayTracer.exe using 14GB Yes, that's 16.7GB of RAM used during ray trace of an image that's not terribly large or high-resolution. Total system memory use is 25GB (I do other things while ray tracing). So, tell me again how 16GB of RAM is good for using CA? And yes, all four cores (8 threads) of the CPU are pegged @100%. If you ray trace from CA (or really any ray tracer) More cores/threads on the CPU is good. Higher clock speed on the CPU is good. 32GB of matched clock speed RAM is just necessary. jon

Very nice, thank you! jon

Not as free as it looks, eh? Use Paint.NET if you're after quality freeware with some Photoshop like features and extensive filetype and plug-in libraries. http://www.getpaint.net/index.html GIMP is GIMP (Not to be confused with The Gimp, which was a pathetic masochist character in the film Pulp Fiction), very Linux focused software. They haven't certified a release on Windows since XP, although they've regularly released to the platform. PSP (the paid version from Corel) is the best of the Photoshop wannabes. The ancient JASC version needs to be banished to the place outdated, unstable software goes. Adobe Photoshop. The gold standard of raster editors and image manipulation/creation. "It's just like Photoshop." Ha! Not likely. There are a gazillion free training resources. Get a current license. Don't let Adobe catch you doing commercial work on a pirated version, or your soul and that of your family (not to mention 3X your gross income from the time you installed such software) will be theirs. They're meaner bulldogs than Getty when enforcing their IP rights. C'mon--$10 bucks a month. Y'all can't get a $120 per year value-add from quality images? Really? jon

Select all windows, click the Align/Distribute Object tool, Distribute Centers Evenly (either horizontally or vertically), Click the Center tool, Center on room (or whatever you wish) jon

Bob, Get the Architects Design Guide from... http://www.renaissanceconservatories.com/architectsDesignersHome.asp They give good details on the how and whyfors. Then just alter the layers/materials on that specific roof plane to be glass. jon

MPEG4 (H.264) encoding is supported natively via MMF in all Windows OSs >/= Vista. All y'all aren't still supporting the dead XP OS, right? What am I missing? http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/bb970511(v=vs.85).aspx jon

Good software design allows endusers to achieve an outcome via different methods and paths, because every user sees things... ... ... differently. jon

Oops. Whatever the other guys suggested then. jon

Use Wall Material Region(s) to create your seams jon

http://config.boxxtech.com/products/cf_step3_p.asp?email=jon.caffee@gmail.com&sent=Send+Copy&Key=388733297&QuoteID=1481656&ModelInstanceID=1307 Model Specifications Intel Xeon E5-2600v2 Processor Intel® X79 Chipset 17.3" Full HD (1920x1080) LED Backlit with Super Clear Glare Screen NVIDIA Quadro K5100M 8GB Up to 32GB DDR3 1600MHz 3 x SATAII Ports Internal 1 x IEEE 1394b Mini Port 1 x USB3.0 / eSATA Port 2 x USB 2.0 Ports 2 x USB 3.0 Ports 1 x HDMI (V1.4) Out Port 1 x External DVI Port 1 x Display Port 1 x Kensington Lock Port 4 x Audio Jacks for Headphone-Out, Line-In, Microphone-In, and S/PDIF-Out Built-In 9-IN-1 Flash Memory Reader (MMC/RSMMC, SD/mini SD/SDHC/SDXC compatible/MS/MS Pro/MS Duo) 1 x Express Slot 34 Integrated Intel® Dual Band 7260-AC 802.11ac/a/b/g/n Wireless LAN Integrated Bluetooth Ver 4.0 Built-in 2.0M Digital Video Camera Intergrated Finger Print Scanner for Security 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet 78.44WH Polymer Smart Lithium-Ion Battery Pack 16.5"(W) x 11.3"(D) x 2.4"(H) 12.13 lbs with Battery I would call Boxx and tell them what you need. There are a few customs from Panasonic and Fujitsu, but they're mostly military and would add another $10K over what Boxx will do. jon

6am your time, 10am mine, and 11PM Jintu's. Mr. Chiefer is that good for you, because I'm not doing this alone. DSH, can we move this discussion over to the chatroom? jon

More art-o-matic. This is a much simpler technique, using only four layers in Photoshop. CA Lineart as an Overlay w/33% opacity and 83% fill Alien Skin Exposure 6 set as Kodak Kodachrome 25(Sharp) slide film on a Difference Layer 24% opacity and 100% fill Alien Skin Bokeh 2 w/two different blur regions and square, white vignette set on a Normal Layer 100%/100% CA Raytrace (The base image that feeds into the processors above) And yes Scott, I'd be more than happy to participate in a meeting to discuss post production of CA generated imagery. jon

I tend to go with PhotoScape, http://www.photoscape.org/ps/main/index.php, or what the P-man suggested in FotoSketcher if I'm after quick and dirty. The big limitations on both are quality and lack of layers. jon

You guys do know that full PS CC + Lightroom is only $9.99 a month as a service; right? https://creative.adobe.com/plans/photography jon

As much as I hate to agree with Lew on anything, the recordable macro could be useful. E.g., I'm developing my "Style" and use a collection of camera settings. A recordable macro would allow for saving these setting to buttons on a custom toolbar or to hotkeys. So, whet I'm ready to start shooting my camera views, click the button and drag the camera--no fuss, no muss. This way my style is consistent over a range of 5, 10, or 20 camera settings from project-to-project. Is this the ONE thing for me, not by a long shot. But it could be useful. jon

As of this morning, 20141205, all the upper end builders have raised their prices $400-$500 per system. I did a <$2500 system config via Maingear... http://www.maingear.com/boutique/pc/viewconfig.asp?config=EJMFID Similarly specced machines from Digital Storm, Alienware, Falcon, Origin, etc., are running $600+ beyond MG. Keep an eye out for continuing sales through and immediately after New Years, or wait until the April-June discount cycle. jon

Keith, I think you're missing my point re: drawn secondary contours. Elevation data needs to be used sparingly on large lots or CA completely bogs down in its own math. If you look at what I posted, I deleted 80-90% of the red "secondary" elevation lines and kept to blue. If you overlay your drawn contours with the generated contours, they are very similar. Let the software do it's thing and fill in the gaps. jon

Yep, what Larry said. jon

Rob, yeah I like Boxx Tech. Rock solid workstations, great service. However, HP, Fujitsu, etc., etc. make good workstations as well. It's just that Boxx makes the workstations for Intergraph video servers, and next to HP Nonstop, they're about the most robust hardware on the market. I put Falcon on par with Digital Storm, Maingear, and even Alienware; they're good, current tech, reasonably priced. Personally, I've ditched the desktop and use a gamer laptop. Now if CA would just give us a renderfarm as part of SSA...sheeebang! jon

Ok, I'll quit being a smartypants and get serious. Yes, both Xeon and i7 are faster; depends on the task and software used. Is CA the only software in your workflow? Or, are there Autodesk products in the mix? Lumion? Etc., etc. Next is your budget. >$15K then it's a dual Xeon and fully Autodesk compliant. <$5K then it's an upper end gamer rig. <$2K then an upper end business computer or midline gamer rig with a good graphics card--or a gamer laptop. Everything boils down to what's your realistic budget. @ $2500 your pushing it for a new technology desktop. Does your budget include a monitor, keyboard and mouse? A service contract? Give me details. jon

Make sure your elevation lines cross the perimeter (or mostly--leave few bitter ends as possible) Delete as many secondary contours as possible while maintaining the character of the lot. https://www.dropbox.com/s/pjoxxxt5saokll6/As-Built%20with%20Terrain%20All%20Contours_JCC_Edit.plan?dl=0 jon

Thanks all. As for technique: layers, textures, and blurs with Photoshop and associated plugins. But, it all comes down to source materials, and this uses a non-photon ray trace at screen resolution, and 72dpi. (Not suitable for quality print) And, CAX6 line art of the same camera as the ray trace. The same basic Overlay technique explained earlier by someone whose name I forget. I just soup it up by adding blended layers of fills, vignettes, blurs, and textures. jon

Gettin' my art on. RT and line art from CAX6 all other effects in Photoshop CC w/Alienskin Exposure, Bokeh, and SnapArt jon

I completely agree with Perry. jon