kblack64 Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 I am new to Chief Architect and in fact new to all things CAD. I have been plugging through the videos and the User's Guide but I am having one heck of a time catching on. When I follow the directions, and something goes awry I do not know the best to look. There is almost too much information. Any suggestions on the best path to follow for a complete newbie. I need to start feeling some small successes soon instead of feeling completely lost. I tried the 4 part introductory series. Now I am between the users 'guide and the overview video. Need to find a way to learn, accomplish, build on knowledge. Feeling scattered in the approach of using the videos. Help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheryl_C_Crane Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 KBlack64, Welcome to Chief Architect and the User's Forum! You didn't mention your construction experience. Have you been drawing construction doc.'s by hand? Are you mostly interested in kitchens, baths ans interiors? Please also take a minute and describe your computer system and your location in your signature. This may help locate an experienced user near you. I'd suggest either attending a live seminar, or getting 1 on 1 training through Chief Architect. You'll find most everyone on this forum wants you to be successful! We welcome you and know that before long, you'll have the hang of things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe_Carrick Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 As one of our past Presidents said "I feel your pain". Chief is in fact a complex piece of software - mainly because it is so capable and construction is complicated with thousands of choices to be made during the design process. No one is going to be an expert very quickly. Some of us did it the hard way - by just plugging away and banging our heads against the wall way too many times. Get whatever training assistance you can afford and be patient - you will get there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkMc Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Terry Munson has some good books-if that is a way to go for you. Chief apprentice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
builtright3 Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Welcome to Chief! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kbird1 Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 There are 3-4 Free Webinars per month which are mostly aimed at New Users , there is one this Fri, and each Friday the rest of the month. http://www.chiefarchitect.com/products/livedemo.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kblack64 Posted May 6, 2015 Author Share Posted May 6, 2015 Thanks everyone ! Great information on the demos. I did discover this afternoon that my best path appears to be training video #9900 followed by #10093. I think part of my frustration has been the amount of great information that is available and putting it into logical order. I am new to design. Graduated recently (decorating) but this is my second career. Very tech savvy but not at all CAD savvy. First stab at CAD ever. I'm pretty happy to say that I have learned how to move around my toolbars! Big step forward. I'm on a MACBook pro. All the latest OS and retina display stuff. I'm in Toronto. (That's in Canada I'm going to check out those live demos for sure and keep plugging away! I know I will get there. Thanks again for everyones recommendations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WendyatArtform Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 I kinda think there's a limit to what you can learn from videos and books. My advice - just draw a house! Start simple. Do something that's relatively simple, but in a style common to your area. And do one that you just make up. Pretend it's a house for you! We see a lot of people try their first project with something that's complex and/or has a true deadline. Then when you've done one that's almost a simple as they come, start adding some interest. Maybe make a walk out basement - which will lead you to learn how to do a pony wall and some basic terrain modeling. Or add some dormers. Or... Don't try to add a 3 piece Nantucket dormer with a reverse Hecht back flip. Add an A dormer, or a shed dormer at first. Then try having part of that dormer in finished space, part in an unfinished eave. Basically add complexity in bite sized pieces, and just keep adding more things. That way you research one thing at a time, and you do and you learn. Most people learn best when they actually try to apply what they read or see in a video. Welcome and good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WendyatArtform Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 I am new to design. Graduated recently (decorating) but this is my second career. An even better reason to start with a completely made up project - a home or office for yourself. You'll be stretching your design muscle at the same time. And there's no law that says you can't show this kind of work in your portfolio! If you're honest that it's an unbuilt work - it still shows your design skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay_on_Cape Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 When I started with CA 18 years ago not only did I not have any cad experience I had 0 computer experience. I had to learn how to turn on a computer, open and save files etc. and of course install programs... I started by reading the book cover to cover. Back then it was a mere 500-600 pages. Read it like a novel knowing you won't retain anything close to all of the information. Then sit down with the program and practice. You'll then look up how to do certain things or watch video's to figure it out. By reading the manual you will at least remember that something is possible and you can refer back to the manual to refresh yourself how to do it. I learned by spending each evening after work for 3-4 hours with no pressure from a deadline. After about 6-8 houses I took a 3 day course that really sent me on my way. If you take a weekend seminar before you're ready you will just slow others down and frustrate yourself. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbuttery Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 I would recommend modeling your house or a family/friends house that way you can physically check/re-check until you "get it right" watching videos in isolation would just melt my brain Lew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbuttery Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 I agree with Jay on the manual I started with ver 9.5 and soon after ver 10 came I went thru the manual excessively and prepped for a presentation at a remodelers assoc I belonged to soon after I took the Intermediate class and the instructor was not versed on ver 10 yet within half a day every time there was a question that he couldn't answer he turned to me did that make me an expert - hell no while I knew what was what (for that moment in time) I still couldn't do roofs or terrain or other complex tasks I let my partner handle those and still do I decided how far up the learning curve I was going and that was it (for the most part) I read then and now every post on this forum did this for a decade I even went back a year prior and skimmed all those posts too this forum offers a fantastic learning opp If it wasn't for my health issues I think I may have even learned roofs and terrain Lew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheKitchenAbode Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Welcome kblack64 Nice to see another Chief user in the same local. I'm just over in Oakville. As decorating is likely your area of interest I would suggest you start with just a simple single room. No need for foundations or roofs, practice laying out basic walls, placing & sizing doors & windows, then play with placing some furniture. Focus on the basic methods of moving and sizing methods, changing say the fabric style & colour on a sofa or wall colour. Keep your practice model simple, once you learn how to control one symbol you've essentially learned how to control any of them. To start with there is no real need to get into deeper settings at this time, most of the defaults in preferences and layer sets are just fine while learning the fundamentals. Once you get the fundamentals down pat you can the start digging in deeper. It's really no different than learning Word, get a handle on basic text input, bolding, copy/paste, font styles first then progress into inserting pics or tables, format controls and before you know it you'll be writing macros. Start simple and build upon your knowledge one step at a time. And Have Fun, Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yusuf-333 Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Welcome to the forum! Secondly my friends said it enough about the issue . the learning curve in general has two stages, stage one is the time you think you have not enough skill and you are ready to learn by reading, watching videos, asking questions about the things you don't know.it is the stage you ask any one for help thinking that you have lesser skill, and ofcourse this stage is very fast and funny. And I can assure you, you will do a job that you don't expect your client gets satisfied to an extent that surprises you. It is months, may be 2 - 3 for some body that has such a great confidence as I see the OP. Stage two is the dangerous stage, where we start to believe we have enough skill and start to be shy to ask and learn from others, it is the stage we feel offended when some one corrects us. It is the time our EGO gets fattened by the little skill we gained in stage one and start to kill our talent by own hands. Mind you, it is too slow and we start putting our selves in a place that we wouldn't be, if we were able to watch out this dangerous 3letters. If some one here has got rid of it, I would appreciate and really seek advice from him. All I can tell you is to watchout and fight continuously the EGO inside us to learn..... Thanks 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshall Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 ......... Stage two is the dangerous stage, where we start to believe we have enough skill and start to be shy to ask and learn from others, it is the stage we feel offended when some one corrects us. It is the time our EGO gets fattened by the little skill we gained in stage one and start to kill our talent by own hands....... Geez, Yusuf "The Ethiopian" is espousing some sage advice..... BTW, I am trying to use some large words that he won't understand (English is his 99th language, I doubt he can decipher what I am opining about). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRAWZILLA Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Just get out there and do it, we all make mistakes, that's how we learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJSpud Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Great advice from everyone for you. Learning the lingo of Chief Architect and construction in general is another thing you'll need to slowly work on. What's the difference between a vaulted, cathedral, tray or some other type of ceiling. Same for roofs .... gable, hip, Dutch hip, etc. Learning some of the shortcut keys as you progress will save you time as you work on your projects. For example, the #2 key can be used to quickly join two roof planes. I like F1 ... Help ... and recommend you use that one a lot as you have questions on how to do things in Chief. As Joe said, Chief is a complex program with a ton of horsepower under the hood. But it only tries to do what you tell it to do and sometimes what you want it to do is something it can't do. X7 today is a MUCH improved version of Chief compared to v7 when I started using Chief in 2001. It will continue to get better and new features and tools will be added. As Wendy and others have said, the best way to learn is through practice. That's not to say you shouldn't do some homework along the way. Coming to Chief Talk with basic questions about how Chief works is OK, but you'll learn much faster by researching what you are having problems with, retrying (and retrying again) and if you are still having difficulty, then ChiefTalk or Tech Support are places where you'll get your questions answered. If I need quick answers, I call Tech Support. If I am not pressed for time, I will post on ChiefTalk. Glad you chose CA for your design work. It is a great program that will serve you well as you become proficient in using it. Welcome aboard. Hopefully we'll learn your name if you get around to editing your signature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yusuf-333 Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Sure, I know Scott is so kind, and considers me in his posts using simple words. Scott keep on like that, otherwise I am going to use one of the 99 languages in the thread you are seeking help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WendyatArtform Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 To be clear, I did not mean practice INSTEAD of books and videos. I meant practice and experiment as you go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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