Revit Tip - Pay Attention to Your Relative Base

When creating reflected ceiling plans or spot elevations... pay attention to your relative base... especially if you have a floor that changes in elevation...  Make sure you and your users understand and denote what and where those elevations are coming from.

If you don't know what I am talking about click here and read..


Holy change-order Batman!

Thesis Sabbatical ... Sort of...

For those of you who regularly follow my blog you may have noticed in the past couple months a decline in new posts.  First, I want to thank you for continuing to follow the blog and checking back daily. Second, I promise that the posting will be back sooner rather than later.

I have been completing my Master of Architecture thesis project over the past 6 months and it has taken up lots of time.  The good news is that my final presentation will be this Monday! 

So, if you continue being so patient for just one more week I promise to return to my regular posting schedule!  

Additionally, with my schooling finally coming to an end I can focus much more time and energy on this blog and what it contains.  I am also planning on a possible overhaul of the template of the blog and hope to add features that will make it easier to find the hundreds (700+) tutorials and tips that have posted over the past 4 years.

Hold tight young Revit Kids... I'll be back!

P.S. - I may still be tweeting during all of this so follow me there too @TheRevitKid

Revit 2014 for Students Finally Available!!!

........ In French .......

Go over to the Student Community and see if you have your language....

Oh, and don't forget... If you have issues with the activation screen to check out my post for a solution...  I had to update the HTML files again (every install seems to need it)....

Revit Tip - Import 3DS Max Geometry without Edges

This is an awesome tip and video that you have to watch.  It opens the door for an entire new set of geometry, content, and possibilities for Revit.  (Thanks to Luke for the first post of it).

Click here to view the entire post and more information on Revit Forum...



 Also, check out the video creator's (Eron) YouTube channel for more videos about Revit, 3DS Max, and VRay.

Revit Tutorial - Using Thermal Properties in Revit 2014

The pace at which the integration of energy analysis and Revit has grown is fantastic.  With the release of Revit 2014 all of the little aspects that have been slowly making their way into the software are really starting to combine and become a powerful asset.  Exhibit A, the video below (produced by Emile over at BPA) illustrates the use of the thermal massing properties of a material and Revit's built-in energy analysis...

It's About Time ... Revit 2014 Released!!!

You may have seen my posts in the past couple of days about the release date of Revit 2014 being a tad bit later than previous years... Well, it's finally here!!

You can download the 2014 suites on your subscription login pages (for subscription users).

If you are a student then you will have to wait a little longer for an activated version but you can download the trial version from Autodesk here and use it for 30 days (you will most likely be getting the student version before those 30 days are up).

Now... here's to waiting for the first web update!

Where's my Revit?

Am I the only one who feels like the wait for 2014 is much longer than other releases?  Do you find it strange that the free trial link on Autodesk's website is still for Revit 2013??

Hmm......

The Cost of the Cloud - Part 2

I just posted about an email by Autodesk informing subscription users about the new implementation of cloud units and their cost.

Well, the FAQ document linked in the email was not clear on the amount of units a Cloud Rendering would use.  So I decided to break it down for you...  The Crop Region size in the Revit view used was set to 11"x7".  The only factors that seem to effect the "price" of a rendering were the "Render Quality" and "Image Size".  I told you the size of the crop region because the larger the crop region the more cloud units it would require to render at the same settings as a smaller crop region view.  Below are a series of screen shots with different settings and their respective cloud "costs".  (If you click one image you should be able to scroll through them).

One thing I noticed is that the "Maximum" image size setting is much higher than it was before (it was capped at 2000 pixels).  But, it is the most expensive at 10 cloud credits (which would equate to $10.00).  Therefore, with your 100 cloud units you can get a total of 10 Maximum, Final quality renderings....

The Cost of the Cloud - Autodesk Cloud Credits

For those of you following my blog over the past year or so you will remember all the posts about access to the cloud services, options for students, and possibilities for payment plans...  Well, the time has come.  It took a while but Autodesk finally figured out how they wanted to charge for the cloud.

Subscription Update

Dear Autodesk Subscription Customer, As of April 12, 2013, you will receive 100 cloud credits annually for each software license on Subscription. Cloud credits provide you a better way to measure the costs required to use select cloud services. Cloud credits will be needed for the following Autodesk® 360 Services available to you as Subscription entitlements: Autodesk 360 Cloud Services ▪ Rendering ▪ Autodesk Infraworks 360 The amount of cloud credits required for these services fluctuates depending on the variables you choose – thus offering you a more flexible and accurate way pay just for the amount of cloud computing that you need. To help you monitor usage of cloud credits we recently released the Autodesk 360 Usage Report which provides Contract Managers the ability to track how many cloud credits have been used and how many credits are left—by the contract or by the user. If you need to purchase additional cloud credits, you’ll be able to do so from: ▪ Subscription Center ▪ My Account ▪ Autodesk, Inc. (Direct Accounts) ▪ An Autodesk Reseller For more detailed information on cloud credits please see the Autodesk Cloud Credits FAQ.

Okay,  so each subscription license gets 100 cloud credits.  If you want more cloud credits it will cost $100 per 100 credits... Meaning each credit costs $1.00.  So... how much will it cost to render.  Previously, it was something like 5 credits to render with the cloud and Revit.  If this were still true, then it will cost roughly $5.00 per rendering (or 20 renderings per $100.00).  Not to mention you HAVE to be a subscription user.  

How many million cloud renderings did Autodesk say were completed last year?  Talk about a nice revenue stream.

 Currently, students still get cloud services for free (Thanks Autodesk!).  

Revit 2014 - Student Download Date... Still waiting...

By this time last year Autodesk had already released the latest version of Revit (2013).  My prediction last year was that the student release would have been around April 18th.  I am wondering when it will be released to students this year.  Looks like AutoCAD 2014 and some other software suites are good to go for students...  Hmmm...  Additionally, the 30-day free trial download for Revit on Autodesk's website is still setup for 2013... 

Navisworks 2014 is also available for students to download....  

What about Revit?!

Autodesk FormIT - New Release and Tutorials

David Light posted some information on the new release of FormIT. 

... That's right folks...  FormIT has a "sketchy lines" visual style!   If I had a dollar for each time someone told me "well, I don't use Revit because Sketch-Up has a sketchy line style" I would be a very rich man.  Granted, FormIT is a separate program and probably an entirely separate group inside of Autodesk but if they can figure out how to get sketchy lines on iOS then surely Autodesk can figure out how to get it in Revit...  I mean, it would probably be used more than the silly Ray Trace visual style.

Additionally, follow this link for a series of Autodesk Videos (some created by David if I am recognizing the voice correctly) that talk about using formIT, tutorials, and new releases.

Revit Tutorial - 3D Printing and Revit

To me, 3D Printing and Revit are a match made in heaven.  Unfortunately, it is not as easy as simply pressing "print".  Dave posted a little video on how to get started with 3D Printing and Revit.  

"This is the first of two videos that will cover 3d printing.  In particular, this tutorial will cover exporting a video from Revit, scaling the object in Max, and basic modifications to prepare for printing in ReplicatorG."

Click here to view his post and the video...

Revit Tip - Panoramic Cloud Renderings on Your iPad or iPhone

Every time I show someone the panoramic rendering feature of Autodesk's cloud rendering service the first question I get is "how can I show people these?"  I would normally answer with "Try KubeGL" or "log into your account.

Well, thanks to Steve over at Revit OpEd for the find, there is now a fairly simple workflow for getting these panoramic rendering to view on your iOS devices.  Ultimately, with a video adapter for your iPhone or iPad you can project and present the panoramic renderings... Sweet.

Click here to view Steve's post and download a PDF of the steps to follow...

Revit Tip - Default Materials

This is a very simple tip but it may help some of you.  A classmate of mine created a bunch of little box shaped building with the In-Place Massing tool.  Unfortunately, she finished the mass family prior to copying them all over the place.  She then wanted to change the material from the default mass material (which is transparent) to something opaque.

After realizing that she had to click edit in-place to every single family instance to change it's material she decided to just leave them transparent.  Finally, she asked me about it the other day and I pointed her to the material editor.

When you do not apply a material to specific objects Revit uses that category's default material.  Therefore, all she had to do was change the "Default Form" material to her desired graphic results.  TAH DAH!

Take some time and learn the default materials within Revit. They will help you one day.  I promise.

Autodesk's New Logo and The Story Behind It

An interesting article discussion Autodesk's new logo and branding...  The only explanation I have heard so far for the crazy folded letters and the 2014 software:

"...A talented team of Autodesk designers created the new branding and found their inspiration in origami. The style beautifully shows the convergence of art and science, form and function, aptly representing the Autodesk software portfolio..."

Click here to continue reading....

At first I am thinking to myself "why use an ancient art form to represent the new digital future?"... But then I remember an article I read sometime last year...   Interesting...

I guess I will have to launch that folded "R" software for a few months and see how much it grows on me.

Revit 2013 - Extensions (Free for Students)

Not sure when this one was fully released but Autodesk Student accounts can download all of the Revit 2013 extensions free!

Autodesk Revit 2013 Extensions

Revit® Extensions for Autodesk® Revit® 2013 extend the capabilities of Autodesk® Revit® 2013, Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2013, Autodesk® Revit® MEP 2013, and Autodesk® Revit® Structure 2013 software in key areas, including structural analysis, modeling, reinforcement, interoperability and construction documentation. This download contains all previously released Revit Extensions and updates. The Q3 Update includes enhancements to bridge modeling, integration with Autodesk® Robot™ Structural Analysis Professional 2013, and improvements to the reinforcement extensions. Refer to the “Feature Summary” for details.

Please note that the multi-language executable file contains the following language versions: English, French, German, Japanese, Polish, Russian and Simplified Chinese.

Revit Extensions for Autodesk Revit 2013 are compatible with the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Revit 2013 software products.

Download Revit 2013 Extensions