All I can say is... awesome....
It is in the App Store now ... for Free!
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| presentation |
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| documentation |
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| creation |
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| automation |
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| bim after dark live |
Monday, November 26, 2012
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
An Architect's Guide to Integrated Energy Modeling
I found this floating around Twitter (@TheRevitKid) a little while ago... I have only skimmed it so far but it is definitely worth a look. The layout is very cool and I like some of the terms the AIA uses (oh, and it is pretty cool that they mention Vasari). Check out the PDF below:
www.aia.org/aiaucmp/groups/aia/documents/pdf/aiab096060.pdf?goback=.gmr_2585365.gde_2585365_member_184187681
www.aia.org/aiaucmp/groups/aia/documents/pdf/aiab096060.pdf?goback=.gmr_2585365.gde_2585365_member_184187681
How to Download Free Autodesk Software as a Student
Labels:
autodesk,
autodesk education community,
autodesk student,
education community,
student community
I do get questions about how to download and use the free software offered by Autodesk to Students... Well, here is a nice video explaining the process...
Source:
AutodeskCare, Everyone loves free stuff, right? Free food, free...
http://autodeskcare.com/post/33230157617/everyone-loves-free-stuff-right-free-food-free
Source:
AutodeskCare, Everyone loves free stuff, right? Free food, free...
http://autodeskcare.com/post/33230157617/everyone-loves-free-stuff-right-free-food-free
Monday, November 12, 2012
Autodesk 360 Cloud Rendering - Another Review
Well, it has been a little while since Autodesk released the ability to render in the cloud. I have to say, it has come a long way (I have had mixed reviews in the past). I have been using and testing this technology starting as a plug-in to Revit 2012. Now, it is fully built into Revit 2013 and the overall process is much more fluent I just wanted to run through a few things I feel have gotten better (or worse) while rendering in the cloud.
I am using Revit 2013 (One-box) updated to Service Pack 2....
One thing I remember from the very first cloud renderings I produced was a disconnect when it came to custom materials. Revit has some cool default materials but over the years they get really old. I love making and finding new textures and using them for renderings. Well, this has finally gotten to a reasonable point in cloud rendering. The custom materials, bump maps, and reflections are all very close to Revit's renderings. The one exception you must be aware of is glazing. For some reason the reflection/refraction of glazing on the cloud appears much different than on native Revit renderings. You might need to makes some tweaks to it.
Speed and Efficiency
The speed and efficiency of using cloud rendering is it's biggest selling point. Sending 40 renderings to the cloud and having them finish 20 minutes later without impeding on your workflow is AWESOME. It is so much better than letting an 8 hour rendering run overnight only to find you screwed up somewhere. I cannot begin to tell you how insane it would get rendering 20+ hour images a week before the presentation... I know many fellow college kids are going through that right now.
FREE!! For Students...
The cloud rendering and other Autodesk 360 Services are now free for students to use... I repeat... Not a trial! This is awesome considering the intensity of studio projects and schedules as well as the lack of rendering farms or super computers in a student's budget.
Night/Ambient Renderings
I have yet to get Revit and the Cloud renderings of exterior night scenes to look remotely similar. I have tried messing with sun lighting (the 2.A.M. trick) and seeing how that effects the cloud with no luck... Granted, the renderings on the cloud look pretty sweet but it is very difficult to make them NOT look like a nuclear bomb went off... A perfect example can be seen in the images below:
Artificial Lighting
I haven't been able to confirm this yet but so far if any of my rendering have artificial lighting in them they will render as so in the cloud. That is to say there is no way to turn them off (even if my render setting are set to day lighting only). Most of the time I don't mind this but the option would be nice.
Resolution and Size
I can understand why the resolution of a cloud rendering might want to be limited... but... we need something a little larger! In this day and age where retina displays and 1200dpi printers are becoming more and more common a maximum of 2000 pixels wide is just not cutting it. I have managed to print some pretty good looking boards (24x36) with the cloud renderings but the pixelizing is very noticeable. Therefore, if you require a 150 to 300dpi image and need some serious detail (even when zoomed) then you may have to stay inside Revit.
Still No Pay-Per-Render
There is still any sign of a pay-per-render or subscription offer from Autodesk. I know... I know... If you are a subscription user you get it all to use ... But, is everyone on subscription yet? I guess Autodesk hopes so.
I am using Revit 2013 (One-box) updated to Service Pack 2....
The Good:
Custom Materials:One thing I remember from the very first cloud renderings I produced was a disconnect when it came to custom materials. Revit has some cool default materials but over the years they get really old. I love making and finding new textures and using them for renderings. Well, this has finally gotten to a reasonable point in cloud rendering. The custom materials, bump maps, and reflections are all very close to Revit's renderings. The one exception you must be aware of is glazing. For some reason the reflection/refraction of glazing on the cloud appears much different than on native Revit renderings. You might need to makes some tweaks to it.
Speed and Efficiency
The speed and efficiency of using cloud rendering is it's biggest selling point. Sending 40 renderings to the cloud and having them finish 20 minutes later without impeding on your workflow is AWESOME. It is so much better than letting an 8 hour rendering run overnight only to find you screwed up somewhere. I cannot begin to tell you how insane it would get rendering 20+ hour images a week before the presentation... I know many fellow college kids are going through that right now.
FREE!! For Students...
The cloud rendering and other Autodesk 360 Services are now free for students to use... I repeat... Not a trial! This is awesome considering the intensity of studio projects and schedules as well as the lack of rendering farms or super computers in a student's budget.
The Bad:
Night/Ambient Renderings
I have yet to get Revit and the Cloud renderings of exterior night scenes to look remotely similar. I have tried messing with sun lighting (the 2.A.M. trick) and seeing how that effects the cloud with no luck... Granted, the renderings on the cloud look pretty sweet but it is very difficult to make them NOT look like a nuclear bomb went off... A perfect example can be seen in the images below:
Native Revit
Autodesk 360 Cloud
Although I think the cloud rendering looks pretty cool it's just the differences between the two I wanted to point out... Same settings, different images.
Artificial Lighting
I haven't been able to confirm this yet but so far if any of my rendering have artificial lighting in them they will render as so in the cloud. That is to say there is no way to turn them off (even if my render setting are set to day lighting only). Most of the time I don't mind this but the option would be nice.
Resolution and Size
I can understand why the resolution of a cloud rendering might want to be limited... but... we need something a little larger! In this day and age where retina displays and 1200dpi printers are becoming more and more common a maximum of 2000 pixels wide is just not cutting it. I have managed to print some pretty good looking boards (24x36) with the cloud renderings but the pixelizing is very noticeable. Therefore, if you require a 150 to 300dpi image and need some serious detail (even when zoomed) then you may have to stay inside Revit.
Still No Pay-Per-Render
There is still any sign of a pay-per-render or subscription offer from Autodesk. I know... I know... If you are a subscription user you get it all to use ... But, is everyone on subscription yet? I guess Autodesk hopes so.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Revit Not Supported on Widnows 8 Yet...
Interesting....
Issue
You want to know which Autodesk products are supported on Microsoft Windows® 8.
Note: Unless indicated otherwise, this information applies to the 2013-2010 versions of all Autodesk products. Autodesk product versions of 2009 and earlier are no longer supported and are not included in considerations of Windows 8 compatibility.
Solution
Autodesk intends to support many of our key products on Windows 8 and will add additional products to the list of products supported on Windows 8 as updates and future versions are released. Product Support will provide its best effort to assist customers who have issues with products that are not currently supported.
The Autodesk products listed below have been tested and are confirmed as working correctly on Microsoft Windows 8 operating system:
- Autodesk 3ds Max 2013
- Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2013
- Autodesk Maya 2013
- Autodesk MotionBuilder 2013
- Autodesk Mudbox 2013
- Autodesk Softimage 2013
- Autodesk SketchBook Designer 2013
Autodesk 360 Cloud Services FREE for Students!!!
Labels:
autodesk 360 cloud,
cloud rendering,
rendering 360,
revit cloud,
revit student rendering,
revit students
This is HUGE news... I have expressed my feelings about the amount of free renderings Autodesk has offered to students (especially without the option of buying more) in the past. Well, I would like to think that maybe I had something to do with the latest news... Autodesk is giving those with a student account free reign of many Autodesk 360 Cloud Services!
Autodesk 360 Cloud Services
Students now can access virtually infinite computing power with Autodesk cloud-based solutions. Learn how you can create, visualize, analyze, simulate, and iterate your designs faster–eliminating long wait time in studios or computer labs. Improve your course project outcomes by moving computation-intensive tasks to the cloud, enabling rapid visualization and simulation and optimized collaboration with access to intelligent, data-rich models. Learn how you can solve your complex design challenges anywhere, anytime right now.
Render Your Designs in the Cloud Today!
Save time and produce compelling, near-photorealistic visualizations without tying up your desktop. Render your designs faster–eliminating long wait time in studios or computer labs. Learn how you can improve your course project outcomes by moving computation-intensive tasks to the cloud today.
For more information about the Autodesk Cloud-Based offerings, visit www.autodesk.com/studentcloud
For those of you who have already used all your cloud renderings log back into Autodesk 360 and take a look at your account... Something should look a tad bit different...
Autodesk 360 Cloud Services
Students now can access virtually infinite computing power with Autodesk cloud-based solutions. Learn how you can create, visualize, analyze, simulate, and iterate your designs faster–eliminating long wait time in studios or computer labs. Improve your course project outcomes by moving computation-intensive tasks to the cloud, enabling rapid visualization and simulation and optimized collaboration with access to intelligent, data-rich models. Learn how you can solve your complex design challenges anywhere, anytime right now.
Render Your Designs in the Cloud Today!
Save time and produce compelling, near-photorealistic visualizations without tying up your desktop. Render your designs faster–eliminating long wait time in studios or computer labs. Learn how you can improve your course project outcomes by moving computation-intensive tasks to the cloud today.
For more information about the Autodesk Cloud-Based offerings, visit www.autodesk.com/studentcloud
For those of you who have already used all your cloud renderings log back into Autodesk 360 and take a look at your account... Something should look a tad bit different...
USB Flash Drive Recovery - A+ Perfect Computers
I normally try not to solicit all that much on this blog but this is a special occasion. Last week my flash drive died. It was unresponsive on every computer. Well, let's just say I had a good weeks worth of work on there that was not yet backed up in my many locations (hard drive, clouds, desktops, etc...). After searching around to find someone who could recover it I ran across a website of a company in my hometown. Calling around to other places and finally A+ Perfect Computers in Fairfield, CT they were the best priced with a quick turn around.
I dropped off my dead flash drive on Tuesday and my recovered files were ready for me to pick up on Friday morning. So far, it looks like EVERYTHING was restored... Apparently they had to literally remove the processor and extract the data... They answered all my questions and concerned throughout the process and I am truly grateful.
Well, if you eve find yourself in a pickle (as I did) they do take shipped in flash drives and I am assuming the turn around is just as good (minus the shipping)....
Links:
I dropped off my dead flash drive on Tuesday and my recovered files were ready for me to pick up on Friday morning. So far, it looks like EVERYTHING was restored... Apparently they had to literally remove the processor and extract the data... They answered all my questions and concerned throughout the process and I am truly grateful.
Well, if you eve find yourself in a pickle (as I did) they do take shipped in flash drives and I am assuming the turn around is just as good (minus the shipping)....
Links:
P.S. - DO NOT FORGET TO BACK UP YOUR FILES!!!
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Defending an Architectural Education
Labels:
architecture education,
education,
students
Very interesting read over at ArchDaily...
"When the statistics showed architecture as the field of study where recent graduates had the highest unemployment rate, some suggested that future students ought to pursue different educational backgrounds. Courtney Lukitsch has shared her response to such a claim by defending the merits of an architecture education. ArchDaily reaches a wide range of readers – from established professions to students just entering the field – and we’d like to hear your thoughts on the value of pursuing an architecture education...." Continue reading....
What do you think?
"When the statistics showed architecture as the field of study where recent graduates had the highest unemployment rate, some suggested that future students ought to pursue different educational backgrounds. Courtney Lukitsch has shared her response to such a claim by defending the merits of an architecture education. ArchDaily reaches a wide range of readers – from established professions to students just entering the field – and we’d like to hear your thoughts on the value of pursuing an architecture education...." Continue reading....
What do you think?
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
More Revit Family Download Resources
Because you can never have enough places to look for families a new list of links has appeared on the BIM Technologist blog...
Click here to view the list of places where you can download Revit Families....
Here are a couple old posts of mine with some overlapping links (and some different links):
Click here to view the list of places where you can download Revit Families....
Here are a couple old posts of mine with some overlapping links (and some different links):
Monday, November 5, 2012
The Future of BIM in the Industry - BIM BAM BOOM!
Nice little video by Patrick MacLeamy (CEO of HOK) about BIM and what it means for the future...
Thanks to Clark at VDCT for the find...
Thanks to Clark at VDCT for the find...
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The Revit Kid.com! by Jeffrey A. Pinheiro is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at The Revit Kid.com.