robdyck

Maybe post a screenshot of your problems, better yet post the plan.

here's your plan. 

tray_applied_molding.plan

15 minutes ago, kwhitt said:

Thanks Rob.  I didn't realize I could show "ceiling break lines".  I think your method is faster to get the molding line, but doesn't give any visual feedback for offsetting the molding in relation to the ceiling.

 

I now know three methods for creating the molding polyline (importing from another app, drawing from ortho camera,  and drawing from plan view taking into account slope gain factor), but can't for the life of me figure out how to place the molding on the ceiling.  As I explained above, I can't move it in a standard camera view accurately, I can't move it in a clipped cross section view, and I can't see it in a standard cross section view.  When I delete surfaces in standard cross section, one move of the mouse and they all come back.  I'd appreciate any help placing the molding polyline where it belongs on the ceiling.  Kevin

Take a section view, click on the symbol and move it the right amount in the z direction. 

Turn on the ceiling break lines, make a polyline for the ceiling shape, adjust for the slope gain factor, concentric resize smaller as desired, convert to molding, convert to symbol, rotate symbol, place under ceiling. Copy, reflect about object to place on the other side.

Result is a molding that looks right in 3D as well as in 2D. Drawback: it's not "connected" to the ceiling.

2 hours ago, wjmdes said:

Yep, I need to add the hatch under Deck Railing Specification under Newels/Balusters and then save to the library so I can reuse it.

FWIW Bill, I realize this should never be an issue, but it's a good idea to at least consider solid color fill as opposed to hatched fill. That way you'll never have to revisit the line weight of the fill pattern should you ever decide to change your line weight settings. Just a thought...

35 minutes ago, ACADuser said:

And what draw order are they set to?

If they are the actual terrain, they default to #37, however they will be in whatever order you choose to put them in. Chief doesn't do the drawing, they just supply the tools.

32 minutes ago, ACADuser said:

I'm confused, as I often am, if you put the image at #38 and cover it with a simi transparent filled pline @ 37 you get a faded look but

The OP said it still obscures the property lines. So what are the property lines? And what draw order are they set to?

 

 

It's helpful to read the description of the drawing order #'s. Terrain perimeter is on #37. You could:

put your terrain on #36

move the terrain to the front of 37

move the p-line to the back of 37

move the pline to the front of 38

move the image to the back of 38 

and so on and so on

My first thought would be in the railing tab, to change your plan display to a hatch pattern for the rails. Or the Hatch Wall tool.

2 hours ago, kwhitt said:

Eric - I think your method would work, but these aren't ceiling planes - they're roof planes.  When I make a symbol from them, the intersections are not taken into account.  Is it possible to generate a non-orthographic elevation in CA (a section view perpendicular to the roof plane where I can outline this shape with a molding polyline)?

 

It's super quick to draw the correct polyline for your molding in plan view...you just need to use the slope gain factor.

14 hours ago, DzinEye said:

Pretty slick, thanks for sharing that Rob

You're welcome. If I've got a mostly brick home that I need to show the client in 3D, I'll make several different brick textures for everything, sills, soldiers, sailors, running bond, 1/3 offsets etc.

Another tip: Lets say you want to add a trim row in a herringbone pattern. You can make several different images of individual bricks, import the images into a cad detail in chief, place a few of the bricks manually and use a screen capture to create the a herringbone texture of the same brick. Obviously it's not the most high quality image but it will be clear enough for the purpose.

I feel it makes it easier to be creative with the design when you can properly visualize it and present it.

My personal preference is to use an interior wall, and in elevation view, I'll add the siding using a solid. I like that option because it's the dumbest option... meaning it won't continually change or jump around on me. I find it just as quick as any other tool / method. But then again, you were asking for expert opinion so just disregard this!

If someone knew what they wanted, it'd be easy enough to make it for them... including soldier courses.

What are you having trouble with? Draw some walls to make your room in the corner, and change the structure in the structure tab. Just add 6" framing layer. Even better, add a 5.5" framing layer and a 3/4" sheathing layer.

You can also use a materials list polyline.

58 minutes ago, glennw said:

Is the short wall in a defined room?

Yes.

42 minutes ago, mborean said:

This may be one of those topics that has an obvious answer that I just can't see.  That said, is there a way to make a layer transparent?

I typically import an aerial image from my County's GIS map onto my site plan that already has the property boundarys  drawn.  I can send the aerial image to the back, but it still obscures my property lines, topo lines, etc.  If the image (which is placed on a separate new layer) could be made transparent, it would make life a bit easier.

 

Thanks in advance.

Place the image in the very back of the drawing order, #38, then cover with a p-line with transparent white fill on #37. Adjust transparency as needed.

Another option is to double click the image, and adjust its brightness. 

Same issue to deal with using a wall that has stone on both sides at the exterior of a covered entry. It's simple to add a doorway so that stone appears within that doorway, but not around the ends of the wall. I'll probably just change the wall def to a single layer of stone after I frame it and retain its framing.

Cladding material wrapping would be a great option to have. I think the above suggestion worked better in X11. Now I've got a small gap in 3D.

You can also add a short invisible wall perpendicular to that wall. It'll need to be 1/2" thick, with your drywall material as it's only layer. Make it a through wall at both ends.

14 minutes ago, DH7777 said:

Can we change mortar colors on any brick material? If so how?

Make your own brick texture...Check out the link below.

https://brick.com/masonry-designer

2 hours ago, Designer1 said:

Can anyone give me any lighting advice on how to lighten up the pitch black shadows under the island?  I was also looking at how the recessed lights don't lighten up the ceiling as well as they do in a raytrace either... so Im trying to experiment with different lighting to try and get this to look as realistic as possible.

 

This is my first PBR interior rendering.  I can see the benefits and the challenges that everyone was talking about earlier and it does take some getting use to. 

 

Use a lighting set for each camera. I save my lighting sets with names that correspond to the camera they are to be used for.

Experiment with a very low sunlight setting (1000). You can also change its color to affect the hue of the scene.

Adjust the PBR camera technique settings.

Perhaps don't have shadows on for each interior light. Again, experiment. 

For the island, you could add rope lighting under the countertop, or just an 'added light' (think flashlight) to cast more light into that area. 

Playing with those should get you closer...

Absolutely agree. Not at all easy. A bit of math with your slope gain factor will get you the right shape to draw the molding in plan view, then convert to symbol, and place accurately.

Note that I had to rotate my moldings 44 degrees, not 45 in order to get them to line up with my sloped ceiling.

It would be a bit simpler to discuss the setup in Chief by first reviewing a typical drawing set from a previous project, then thinking about the steps, tools, saved views, layer sets etc that would be needed to produce similar or improved results. As far as complexity, if your 3D views will be generating a million plus surfaces, that may reduce the operating speed of Chief when your'e producing working drawings, whether its floor plan views, or interior sections / elevations. You may need to review your hardware specs at some point to ensure your machine is capable of producing renderings without slowing down plan views and sections / elevations. 

I think a 3d molding would work but you'd need an intimate knowledge of all the spacial coordinates (x,y,z) in order to enter them for each segment. I'd go with Graham's suggestion.

46 minutes ago, Chopsaw said:

 

I am not so sure it actually has anything to do with chief at all.  I think Adobe and possibly others will recognize the formatting of a proper hyperlink in any text and maintain it.

What he said! Adobe recognizes the text. Chrome does as well. I wouldn't know about any other pdf apps. I've included a quick vid of the link in action. Note that the opening page is from a pdf open with Adobe Reader.