"Real-Time Rumble" Live Happy Hour Replay

For those of you who joined me live yesterday, thanks!  I hope you had as much fun as I did.  It's amazing how fast an hour actually goes when you start diving into topics.  For those of you who couldn't make it live, here is the replay...(or above).

I wanted to share some of the links mentioned in the live session.

The new BIM. After Dark.

During the live stream, I was so excited about the progress I have made on the new BIM After Dark, I had to share it with the group.  As I mentioned in the live session I will be holding a small "beta member" launch of the new BIM After Dark.  Check out the live session for more information.

Ultimately, BIM. After Dark. will be a premium community based learning platform for taking your Revit game to the next level and connecting with others doing the same (oh, and with me!).


Click here to sign up and get "beta member" notifications...

Additional Links From the Happy Hour:

My Portable VR Setup
My Lumion 10 Review
Twinmotion 2020 Review.
Enscape Review

Textures.com

Quixel.com

"Real-Time Rumble" - Live Happy Hour Tomorrow

You may have noticed my last few posts have been reviews of "real-time" rendering programs.  If you haven't check out my Lumion 10, Twinmotion, and Enscape reviews.

I know many of you may be stuck in the house, like myself, so I thought it was a good time to have another BIM After Dark Happy Hour!  I'll be going live tomorrow at 4PM (EST).

The topic of discussion will be "real-time rendering".  I'd love to have some questions to start the session going ahead of time.  

So please, reply to this email (or comment on the blog post) with some real-time rendering questions.

Click here to set a reminder for the YouTube live stream...

(Don't forget to subscribe to my channel as well).

See you all online tomorrow!

From Revit to Enscape - The Ultimate Review

I have been using Enscape since it was in beta and crashed more than it actually ran.  I have watched the company and software evolve over the last 4+ years.  I continue to use Enscape today and continue to be impressed by many aspects of the program.

With my recent reviews of Lumion 10 and Twinmtion 2020, plus the fact that I haven't really mentioned Enscape since 2017, I thought it was about time to review the latest version of Enscape (2.7) and some of the ways I use it.

Continue reading to see my review of Enscape and see some examples of how I use it on real-world projects...

From Revit to Twinmotion 2020 - The Ultimate Review

I first tried out Twinmotion back in 2012.  Eight years ago, real-time rendering programs were cool, but they were just that, cool.  You couldn't make an image that would pass as something reasonably realistic.  They were just too "game-y".

I ventured back into the world of real-time rendering back in 2015 with Lumion.  If you have been following this blog over the last five years you'd know how big of a fan I have become of Lumion (check out all the review and posts here).  But, you may have also noticed that my Lumion 9 and Lumion 10 reviews had a bit of frustration in them.

Well, my frustration at the latest release of Lumion and a demonstration I saw of Twinmotion 2020 made me want to take the proper time and give Twinmotion a try.

Therefore, I've spent the last 2 months using both Lumion 10 and Twinmotion 2019 to create renderings, animations, and project scenes. More recently, I've spent the last couple of weeks with an early copy of Twinmotion 2020!

Well, let's just say Twinmotion has been a refreshing change of pace and I am very impressed.

Keep reading to view my ultimate review of the new Twinmotion 2020...

My Revit Laptop - Balancing Performance, Portability, and Price

If I am being honest, this is a post that I have been avoiding for many years.

Why?  Because I know there are going to be lots and lots of opinions about it.  I also know how fast computer hardware changes and updates.

But, I have decided it's time...  (Maybe my skin has thickened up after 11 years of blogging and YouTube comments... ;)).

At least once a week I get an email, comment, or message that goes something like this, "Jeff, what laptop do you recommend for Revit".

After 12+ years of "Revit-ing" and using countless laptops I think I finally found one that I am willing ad confident in enough to share with you all.

Continue reading to learn about the laptop I use, and why, for Revit (and adjacent software)...

Revit Tutorial - Round Windows and Parametric Circles

Today, I'm throwing back to "old school" Revit Kid with a simple 5 minute video tutorial/discussion.  No fancy intro or anything.  The topic of discussion?  Round Windows.

First, a little background.  I teach a parametric modeling course at the University of Hartford each Spring.  After a couple of classes and rudimentary exercises on parameters, formulas, etc... I assign a homework project: make a fixed round window.

I am always surprised with how many different approaches students take to make a parametric round window.  As with anything in Revit, there are lots of ways to approach a problem.  But, I am curious to hear how you approach parametric circles in Revit. 

First, take a look at the short video I made about how I approach them... Then, let me know how you do... 

Continue reading to view the video...

Revit and Lumion 10 Review - Is it Worth the Upgrade?

Well, it's about that time again.  Lumion released it's latest version a couple of months ago (Lumion 10) and I have been testing, using, and taking notes about it to share with you all.

First, if you have not seen all of my previous Lumion reviews, you definitely should check them out:

Lumion 5 Review
Lumion 6 & 7 Review
Lumion 8 Review
Lumion 9 Review

Why bother reading older reviews?  Because you'll notice over the years the reviews have evolved into comparing the latest version of Lumion with it's previous.  By reading all of my reviews you will see that I believe you should be using Lumion, regardless of version.

If you are not using Lumion right now, you should be.  And if you don't have a license of Lumion right now, get Lumion 10.

If you have Lumion 7 or earlier, get Lumion 10.

This review is for those of you who have Lumion 8 or 9 and are deciding if you should upgrade.  The rendering and animation output qualities between 8, 9, and 10 are very similar.  It's the features that differentiate the versions.

So, check out my review of all of what I think are the most important new features of Lumion 10 and decide for yourself...

FYI, the test project I am using in both Lumion 9 and 10 is called Stilted Studios.  I published a really cool video about how I designed this particular project...

Now, onto the review....

2020 ... New Century, New Revit Kid?

Happy New Year!!!!!!!

Wow... 2019 felt like it flew by.  I would assume that figuring out this whole father thing has something to do with it.  And yes, that is my little man, Jacob, and I knocking glasses and bringing in the new year in style.

This year I will be making some major yet exciting improvements to this blog, the tutorials (new and old), and my courses. I wanted to take a moment to tell you about my plans for 2020 and "The Revit Kid". 

Dynamo "Happy Hour" Replay with John and Aaron from Parallax Team

Last week John and Aaron of Parallax team got online and chatted with my about Dynamo.  I just realized now I sent out an email with the replay link but did not post it here on the blog!  If you missed the conversation check it out here (or click the video above)...

We had a ton of awesome questions and the Parallax team dropped some solid knowledge bombs (as usual).

What is Dynamo?

Yesterday, I asked those of you on my email list a simple question: “Why have you not learned Dynamo yet?”
I was not surprised by many of the responses. As I expected, many of you stated that you either did not have the time to learn something new or that you did not know where to begin.

But, there were some responses that I did not expect.

I assumed everyone heard of Dynamo... Which seemed to be true enough. I also assumed that everyone knew what Dynamo was.

Well, you know what they say when you assume things...Turns out quite a few of you weren't really sure of what Dynamo actually is.

The conversations I had with you all led me to make the following video. In it, I answer the simple question, "What is Dynamo?".

Dynamo & Revit: Beams that Follow Complex Roofs

Today's tutorial is a simple but powerful Dynamo script.  This is a great introduction to the use of geometry within Dynamo itself.

I was recently tasked with modeling a Unitarian Church here in Connecticut designed by Victor Lundy.  The church has two big modeling challenges: the roof and the beams that follow the roof.

Save the Date - First Ever "DIY Dynamo Day"

I can't believe it has taken me over ten years to finally do this...

For the first time ever, I will be holding an exclusive, in-person, training day.

"DIY Dynamo Day" will be held on January 24th, 2020, in Hartford, Connecticut.

I created DIY Dynamo two years ago. Over 200 students have graduated and started their Dynamo journeys! In speaking with previous and current students they all said they found so much value in my online office hours (included in DIY Dynamo) and wished I would host an in-person training session based on the DIY Dynamo curriculum. After a lot of research, planning, and contemplation I have decided to finally do it!