johnny

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Everything posted by johnny

  1. johnny
    I tried many times to get a workable import of survey data into Chief and I can tell you my experience leads me to believe you are far better off importing the file and then using it as a 2D template to then draw over. Chief's strong-suit is NOT its terrain modeling ability.
  2. johnny
    I could be reading the OP's request wrong, but what I think he needs to do is simply make the column as he needs it (full version) from a solid, and then make another block of primitive to cover 1/2 the column and then do a subtraction of the solid to get 1/2 the column. Here is an example of what I think you may be after....
  3. johnny
    I do agree! - thanks for plug scott The learning curve will be commensurate with the complexity of your homes, but for traditional residential design (speed and presentation) I have yet to use something comparable. Hands down the best i've seen for the package of drawings you are looking for.
  4. johnny
    So I am having an issue that is interesting. Since Chief layout files end in .layout, and that is the same extension for Sketchup's version of layout its causing a conflict in my system. Has anyone figured this out? My only solution right now is to go into "layout" and open the files through the "file-open" route. If there is no simple solution, id like to convert this into a suggestion that Chief somehow get with Sketchup to work this issue out - since I'm sure many Chief users have Sketchup as well.
  5. johnny

    REVIT USER

    johnny replied to Triguy's topic in General Q & A

    Do you have an example of a typical project you might do? I've completed some nice homes with Chief just fine, but will admit the learning curve is fairly large on complex homes. There is a logic for Chief that takes some getting used to, but once you do Chief is the fastest "BIM" I've seen.
  6. johnny
    I would layer up 3D modelings and polysolids. If you have SSA there are some videos on this.
  7. johnny
    Keep in mind those point markets are what controls the manual (Pt-2Pt) dimensions. I personally make them much smaller by default, but leave them on since its the only visual indication that shows what the dimension extension is set to. There is no attachment of the (Pt-2-Pt) dimension to any other object.... You could really screw something up if you turn those off completely and make adjustments thinking those dimensions are still accurate.
  8. johnny
    The main body of the roof can be extended over to include a large portion of that upper terrace - thereby raising the main roof ridge line. However, in this plan the lower covered area is directly off the family room so there is a covered outdoor area for the plan. In the NW light is a great concern, which is why I even provided a small clerestory dormer over the terrace doors. My main point to the post was the render technique...the design was just a place-holder.
  9. johnny
    lol...its one of the new Tesla sedans. Thx btw.
  10. johnny
    Like this? ...and so everyone knows Glenn helped me with the terrain on this model. Thanks Glenn!
  11. johnny
    I really like that - nice!
  12. johnny
    Thanks for all the comments - but so you guys know, there are features in Photoshop that let you record your process so you bring an image in and run the sequence you already setup - so it takes a couple min. to apply to any new image. Granted, it may take a few hrs to setup. The effect above it now such that I can quickly implement it from Chief. Lumion has the same photoshop like filters (and save-ability) and that is something I am experimenting with in all this too. I've done some nice renderings just using Chief, but I was specifically looking for something that looks like traditional media.
  13. johnny
    As in all Chief?...no, its a Chief model with certain settings (yes watercolor etc) but post editing for the "effect".
  14. johnny
    I've been working on a way to do renderings that look more traditional even though they come from Chief.... Getting there but thought I would see what people thought.
  15. johnny
    There is a second position "handle" that allows you to simply grab the text and move/position where you want.
  16. johnny
    Joe hit the nail on the head - and i agree with Javatom in that you are WAY further away from completion than 1%.. Your floor plan and elevations (non-notated) means you are more like 5-10% complete and 90% incomplete from having permittable construction documents (CD). I believe Chief does the industry a disservice making people believe they can DIY for home design.
  17. johnny
    I use 30" Dell monitors - i've seen some try and use TV's for monitors and that isn't good for your eyes.
  18. johnny
    I guess we can't block lines with a terrain feature - which would be very handy to do with the setback lines drawn. Is there a work-around to get building setback lines to associate with a terrain feature?
  19. johnny
    Are you just using Chief for this work?
  20. johnny
    Unfortunately have not found any fast and efficient way to do this - so I make CAD details from view.
  21. johnny
    ...or you could just import a rug from the library and then reassign a texture (and map) to the rug symbol.
  22. johnny
    For my workflow I typically dont know exactly the page size/scale etc while I am working on the fundamental design elements of the plan. Therefore, having to make a layout file serves as a "view" portal does seem cumbersome. I do agree with you guys that this is something that should be handled in the plan file. I dont understand why this couldn't simply be accessed in the Project Browser. After all, Chief has stored this data when its sent to layout, as evidenced in the existing functionality - so it should be a simple addition to the app.
  23. johnny
    Chief's logic isn't the same as other apps. In Chief walls are a means to an end - and the end being a "Room". Rooms are "king" in Chief, and you need to think of walls as as merely the mechanism to create a room...and a room is where the main control exists. This took me some time to wrap my mind around, since you must consider ingenious methods that aren't intuitively obvious in order to model certain conditions. Your Parapet wall is trying to enclose the room since 9 times out of 10 that is what the user wants the wall to do. I have to admit, there are speed gains in this logic - but takes some getting used to. As for the railings - yes, that is a method that will get the visual you want - however the 1/2 wall would give you more correct framing models if that was important to you. You can manually set the height of a 1/2 wall, and a 1/2 wall won't automatically build to the roof plane.
  24. johnny
    I guess I was wondering if there was a way to do that inside the "plan" file alone...without the layout file.
  25. johnny
    If you really think about it, we currently send "Saved Views" to Layout. It can be a combination of Layersets, Annosets, floors, and floor ref into a saved view that is encapsulated on the layout page. However, apart from that one instance of the saved view there isn't anything that can be immediately accessed inside the actual .plan file to get to a view that contains all of the above settings. Is that true? I realize we can save an annoset that turns on a certain layerset, but we still have to select the correct floor and then turn on the ref display....or is there some faster way to do this?