ED-209 Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 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!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seafield Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRAWZILLA Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 Chief Architect, is there anything else? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark3D Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshall Posted August 4, 2018 Share Posted August 4, 2018 5 hours ago, DRAWZILLA said: Chief Architect, is there anything else? Yep, it works for me too. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshall Posted August 4, 2018 Share Posted August 4, 2018 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. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlesVolz Posted August 4, 2018 Share Posted August 4, 2018 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). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvoyeDesign Posted August 4, 2018 Share Posted August 4, 2018 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommy1 Posted August 4, 2018 Share Posted August 4, 2018 CA only. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ED-209 Posted August 8, 2018 Author Share Posted August 8, 2018 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbuttery Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 before I retired I was studying Drafix as a companion for Chief https://prolandscape.com/en/software/ a smart craftsman has many tools in his toolbox "If all you have is a hammer, then everything begins to look like a nail" Lew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlackore Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 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: Granted, my example is pretty basic, but it's a start. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcaffee Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 CA works for my style 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glennw Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 2 hours ago, jcaffee said: CA works for my style And a big advantage of Jon's picture is that it is all 3D (I think)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcaffee Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 4 hours ago, glennw said: it is all 3D It is, it is! And if I were to pop it into layout then I could get all label-y with it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ED-209 Posted August 9, 2018 Author Share Posted August 9, 2018 20 hours ago, jcaffee said: CA works for my style That's really nice, but almost too detailed for the planners. Out of interest, how long did you ray trace for? And is there photoshop as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcaffee Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShaneK Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 10 acre site plan with 33,000 sq ft building and designed in Chief and built by me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ED-209 Posted August 13, 2018 Author Share Posted August 13, 2018 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. 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidJPotter Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 I have never wanted anything other than Chief Premier for all my CAD needs. DJP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kbird1 Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 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. 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HumbleChief Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 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. 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... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glennw Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 As far as I can see, the only thing that Chief can't do is the graded fills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HumbleChief Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parkwest Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 And area distribution works great for landscaping... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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