Which program do people use to create decent site plans?


ED-209
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Sketchup---and some good plugins (native SKP plugins, VALI's plugins, FREDO's, and VERTEX, to name some) produce very accurate sites and terrains,

no matter how complex.

I import my CA files into SKP as 3ds. They port over very cleanly.

 

Cheers.

Carp morning.png

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4 hours ago, ED-209 said:

Chief is good for 3D concept art and for interior renders, but for creating site maps it's terrible. What's a good software to use that isn't super expensive?

 

Thanks!!

Can you give a bit more info as chief can do 2d site plans quiet well there are good training videos about this topic  or do you mean a 3D  model of terrain ? Also what version of chief are using

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7 hours ago, ED-209 said:

Chief is good for 3D concept art and for interior renders, but for creating site maps it's terrible. What's a good software to use that isn't super expensive?

 

Thanks!!

 

It would be more helpful to the users and CA if you were clearer on what you would like improved.

 

making a blanket statement as you did is useless.

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8 hours ago, ED-209 said:

Chief is good for 3D concept art and for interior renders, but for creating site maps it's terrible. What's a good software to use that isn't super expensive?

 

Thanks!!

CA does a great job. Use a CAD detail created by making a plan footprint (CAD/Plan Footprint).

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9 hours ago, ED-209 said:

Chief is good for 3D concept art and for interior renders, but for creating site maps it's terrible. What's a good software to use that isn't super expensive?

 

Thanks!!

 

I do all my site plans in Chief.  I can imput bearing and lengh of property.  I can even import topo lines and model the terrain accuratly.  I'm not sure what you are missing.

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1 hour ago, ED-209 said:

It seems I've caused a bit of confusion, 

 

I agree. When you said "site map", I automatically assumed you meant a site plan, intended to communicate the legal boundaries, building location, etc. I would classify the images you posted as landscape plans. I agree that site plans in Chief are a bit more difficult (IMO) due to the lack of advanced CAD features. And it doesn't take too much additional effort to add colors and patterns:

example_001.thumb.jpg.8e16a1e910ebffe32bfbd5d0564d06fa.jpg

 

Granted, my example is pretty basic, but it's a start.

 

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No PS.  That view is a single light (Sun) at 72dpi 20 passes which takes about 8-10 minutes.  The technical landscape/site plan is still achievable in CA.  There are a few elements lacking (display styles for plan view, multidirectional gradients, etc.) but CA is still a robust platform for all technical/construction drawings.  

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On 10/08/2018 at 9:46 PM, ShaneK said:

10 acre site plan with 33,000 sq ft building and designed in Chief and built by me.

2018-08-10_16-44-52.png

That's my point, it's good at the technical stuff but there's no aesthetic element to Chief when it comes to planning documents.

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On 8/8/2018 at 4:16 AM, ED-209 said:

It seems I've caused a bit of confusion, so I'll add some images to demonstrate the kind of drawing that I need to do.

 

CA just isn't able to produce bird's eye view images of this quality.

 

Siteplan1.jpg

Siteplan2.jpg

Siteplan3.jpg

 

Are theses examples done in VectorWorks ?  they look similar to some of the work I have seen from Landscape Architects in the Past, and they all used VW.

 

M.

 

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On 8/8/2018 at 4:16 AM, ED-209 said:

It seems I've caused a bit of confusion, so I'll add some images to demonstrate the kind of drawing that I need to do.

 

CA just isn't able to produce bird's eye view images of this quality.

 

Siteplan1.jpg

Siteplan2.jpg

Siteplan3.jpg

The first example could certainly be done completely in Chief. There would have to be a couple custom filled shapes for the trees, resized and filled with various colors to represent various plantings. The 2D tree and plant shapes included in Chief's library will work perfectly for this. The rest of the shapes are simple filled CAD shapes and if the model is already done in Chief, each road, side walk and building area can be filled to match the example almost exactly. The text notations are of course a no brainer for Chief's tools.

 

Do you already have a model that needs a landscape plan? Perhaps you could post that or send it to me and see what can be done...

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30 Minutes and a lot less detail than would be needed but doable in Chief and if indeed you want a graded fill it's pretty easy to create in another program and import it into Chief. This was an existing apartment model that I added roads and sidewalks to then created a couple plant/tree symbols from Chief's library, copied and pasted like crazy and colored areas in plan view. Again a pretty simple example but another hour in and you're done. May not be EXACTLY what you're looking for but there's no limit to fill colors/shapes etc.

 

What I would really like is to have plant symbols that you could change the fill within, that way you could create your 3D landscape plan and have a 2D representation that was colored/notated to your liking...Best of no need to earn another program - again only if the look will pass you personal muster.

LANDSCAPE COLOR 2.png

LANDSCAPE COLOR 1.png

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