Designer1 Posted April 12, 2020 Share Posted April 12, 2020 Does anyone have any experience translating Autocad files to Chief? I know chief has the ability but wasnt sure how great the process is. Ive heard for working drawings its ok but wasnt sure about 3d renderings, interior design stuff and landscaping. I have a friend thats a well known world wide designer who asked me if I could do some interiors, renderings and landscaping for some of his designs. His office use to have Chief but the employees complained it was too difficult to learn something new so they kept autocad and dumped Chief.... So im wondering how realistic this is going to be for me to even take this job. Am I going to have to redraw his entire plans to get it to look decent? It might not be worth it. Let me know if anyone has any experience with this Acad to chief translation. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwideziner Posted April 12, 2020 Share Posted April 12, 2020 chief imports Acad 2d with variable results. to get renderings you would have to trace over the Acad imports and basically redo the whole thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DzinEye Posted April 12, 2020 Share Posted April 12, 2020 What he said... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbuttery Posted April 12, 2020 Share Posted April 12, 2020 Chief has the "Cad to Walls" tool but it is rarely mentioned here and my success was - no joy I haven't heard of anyone having good success with it the Autocad walls have to be "just so" - or .... the recommendation is to scale the .DWG or .DXF file on a separate layer and then start placing walls, windows, doors etc as a overlay then turn off or delete that layer when no longer needed Lew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Designer1 Posted April 12, 2020 Author Share Posted April 12, 2020 Thanks for all the information. Ugh sounds like it wont be worth the time for the job nor will it be worth it for him. I guess I can hold onto hope that maybe he went back and decided to keep Chief...that would be great. I dont know why anyone even works on autocad for architecture...even Revit is better then that. Oh well, thanks for the replies, I appreciate it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parkwest Posted April 12, 2020 Share Posted April 12, 2020 Tracing over a dwg drawing is not that hard. How much would it be worth to your prospect to have 3D renderings, is the question. If you don't want to do it, send the guy to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Designer1 Posted April 13, 2020 Author Share Posted April 13, 2020 I think id not only have to trace the house but redo the entire thing because he wants exterior and interior renderings. So cabinets, windows doors etc. Maybe its not as big of a deal as Im thinking it was going to be. I was going to do the job for free as he has given me all his coffee table architecture books hes designed for free. Im just not sure I will be able to get it all done in a reasonable amount of time for what hes looking for. I think he thought it was going to be a quick send over, do some quick renderings and send it back. It sounds from the descriptions that its a lot more involved then that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopsaw Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 12 minutes ago, Designer1 said: It sounds from the descriptions that its a lot more involved then that. Even if you could just take his files and export to Twinmotion or Lumion it likely would not be quick. That is why people charge good money for those services. It would be great to show him what Chief can do but I would not do more than one for free. One would be good experience for both of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Designer1 Posted April 13, 2020 Author Share Posted April 13, 2020 I agree 100%. I will wait to hear from him next week and see what he says hed like to do. Yeah his homes are very large custom homes for celebrities etc so were not talking about some small 2000 sq ft home either...thats why Im not feeling overly confident in this translation from autocad to chief because ive never done it before. Yes, id be up for some learning experience on it though. Were close friends so I dont feel like id be judged on it, rather hes my friend for over 15 years outside of design work. So your right probably the right experience to try this out for future opportunities that might not include a close and forgiving friend haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskan_Son Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 There’s one major piece of the puzzle that hasn’t been addressed. Are you talking about 2D DXF/DWG files or 3D DXF/DWG files? Big big difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Designer1 Posted April 13, 2020 Author Share Posted April 13, 2020 Hey Michael! Im not sure exactly what files he has as he only texted me yesterday that he wanted to hire me to do the interior design, landscape and renderings, thats when I had told him id at least do one for free if it worked out. He has literally given me all his published coffee table books to me for free over the last 15 years that hes published so I just wanted to help him out. I remember him mentioning at one point they had chief but believe they switched back to autocad. So as far as what the program is that he used for the plans im not sure. He was going to send those to me this week by drop box. Im crossing my fingers he has chief but Im doubtful its most likely acad. So not sure about file type. By the way, speaking about drop box... is that what most of you use for sending larger design files over to people long distances? Ive never used that before and wondered how popular that is and if it was the preferred way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskan_Son Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 AutoCAD is totally capable of producing 3D files which can be imported into Chief and used as is as long as it was actually modeled with 3D information, and so long as all the various materials have been appropriately mapped separately. Anyway, that’s a discussion that’s hardly worth getting into until you know what type of file they have. To answer your other question. I have shared many many large files with lots of people using various methods and platforms, and Dropbox is by far the easiest, most user friendly, least obtrusive, and least problematic in my experience and it’s not even close. Google Drive, One Drive, and iCloud can all be a major PITA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Designer1 Posted April 13, 2020 Author Share Posted April 13, 2020 Great! Thanks Michael for the recommendations I appreciate it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbuttery Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 I would recommend against doing anything for free I did my first job for free instead I should have stated in a contract that if it is taken to permit then they owe $X if the work is good enough to get a permit and build then it is good enough for payment Lew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Designer1 Posted April 14, 2020 Author Share Posted April 14, 2020 I agree Lew. Its just this is a great friend who has given so much to me for free that I dont want to be some cheap friend that nickels and dimes when he has done so much for me over the years. Sometimes just being a friend willing to help out when someone needs it is enough payment for me.:) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridge_Runner Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 41 minutes ago, Designer1 said: Sometimes just being a friend willing to help out when someone needs it is enough payment for me.:) Here! Here! Wish we had more who viewed life this way! My compliments to you Chad. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Designer1 Posted April 14, 2020 Author Share Posted April 14, 2020 Thanks Mike. Im hoping the good thing that could come out of this corona virus situation (not anything good about it at all) is that it will empower people around the world to do more good. I think after the world has seen the medical community of Drs, nurses and others risk their own lives to save others makes us all kind of think how can I improve peoples lives around me. I thought I might not be a Dr or nurse and might just be a designer but Id like to try improve someone elses day or life even if just a little. Hopefully increase the goodness on the planet little by little if everyone does a bit. Just my two cents on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbuttery Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 Chad: I agree, since he is a friend in my case it was a builder who promised more work we did a few more jobs with him - but he should have paid for the first one as it turned out very successful Lew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Designer1 Posted April 15, 2020 Author Share Posted April 15, 2020 Hi Lew, I totally understood what your saying and agree... we all need to pay our bills. I wasnt suggesting we all should do everything or nothing for free just talking about my situation. When I mentioned being inspired by the medical field around the world I wasnt suggesting anything other then I hope something good comes out of this corona situation. No matter what peoples field of work or interest is to just be inspired by the goodness of humankind we see going on around the world at this time. So no misunderstanding, I understood what you were saying completely. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskan_Son Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 9 hours ago, lbuttery said: in my case it was a builder who promised more work we did a few more jobs with him To each his own. We all have to decide what's best for our individual businesses in this regard. In your case for example...Maybe you made him pay for the first one and maybe you didn't even get that first job. You could have effectively cut all the other jobs off at the source. Nipped that thing right at the bud! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbuttery Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 Nipped that thing right at the bud! Michael: Nah, the plans were very good, he should have paid $2,000 for them I used that set of plans to wrangle work from 2 other builders as soon as they saw them We were willing to do them for free since I was brand-new to Chief and Architecture and building etc our confidence level was "low" - but we finished those plans in a few weeks I wish I had said "no fee if you can't use them, $2,000 if you go to permit" that way they value your work from day 1 Lew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskan_Son Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 1 hour ago, lbuttery said: I used that set of plans to wrangle work from 2 other builders as soon as they saw them ...and the plot thickens. You’ll never know what would have happened had you not done that first set for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshall Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 I remember back in 1981-1983 recession, I told a guy I would work for free, it got me in the door, did some work for pay and somehow I managed to get through that recession. And then there was the 89-95 recession, no work except for helping my client frame a remodel I drew for him. I did learn how to play bridge since there was no work. And then the 2008-2013 recession, that was not too bad. Which leads us to the possible 2020 recession. I say it will be over soon. That guy in the big house will turn this around and get us to our retirement years........ and then we will jump in a plane and visit the Great Glenn Woodward in Australia. Or maybe take a cruise up to Alaska and visit The Alaskan Son. But if the guy in the big house does not turn this around, I will jump in the car and visit Perry in Corona California, a mere 90 minute drive. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskan_Son Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 1 hour ago, dshall said: Or maybe take a cruise up to Alaska and visit The Alaskan Son. I'll be here buddy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRAWZILLA Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 please do come, although I'm already retired and working every day b/c I love it. If I stopped, I wouldn't know what to do, Penny would go crazy, she likes to lock me in the office and now I can't even see all 13 grandkids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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