From Revit to Unreal Engine (Replay) w/Carl Gibson

 

As expected, last night's episode of BIM After Dark Live was a ton of fun!

Many of you have tuned into my Twinmotion and Revit tutorials, streams, and tips... Many of you may not know that Twinmotion runs on a gaming engine called "Unreal".

On this episode of BIM After Dark Live I was joined by Carl Gibson as he ran through the process of getting your Revit models into the Unreal Engine environment for renderings, animations, and VR!   

Some of the topics Carl touched on are:

-Summary of tools needed (Revit, Unreal Engine, Datasmith Exporters)

-Prepping a model for Datasmith

-Importing into UE

-DataPrep graph for model optimization, material replacement, etc.

-Setting up a project for VR.

If you have been wanting to learn the process of getting your model's into Unreal or are curious as to what Unreal can do for you, be sure to check out the replay below...

Managing LARGE & COMPLEX Sites in Revit and Twinmotion (Replay w/Links)

 

On last night's episode of BIM After Dark Live I broke down how my team and I manage large, complex, and phased scenes in Revit & Twinmotion 2020 to create construction logistics/phasing plans, aerial views, and more... There are a lot of aspects to this session for Revit: - Model setup of super large scenes (acres upon acres of land). - Use of Container models using the design teams files. - Managing multiple phases, fencing, and more... Then, there are all the lessons learned when using Twinmotion 2020 with these large scenes, such as: - Export/Import Tips for less crashes. - Managing Phases/Sequencing, etc... - More efficient and stable model refreshes on large scenes - Best trees and material settings for aerial views. - Best lighting settings for aerial views...

Follow along as I walked through two different projects with their own unique approaches to creating large site models in Revit and managing how those scenes are built in Twinmotion.

Also, it's worth watching this episode to see how nervous I was while running two instances of Twinmotion 2020, two instances of Revit, and streaming live to YouTube from a 2K monitor... Talk about risky!

Continue reading to view the replay and all of the links mentioned (as well as the Twinmotion light settings I walk through at the end)...

Residential Revit - Under Construction (Replay + Links)

 

In this episode of BIM After Dark Live I gave an update on my ongoing home addition project ("Split Level Redux") and talk about some of the ways Revit has helped during the construction phase. 

So often in residential construction, as the architect, we spend countless hours working with a client to design their dream home (or addition).  However, there isn't always a connection between that effort and the efforts in the field.  

I have been using my own personal project as an opportunity to explore how Revit (and "BIM" in general) can add value to residential contractors, too.

In this episode we explored:

- General construction updates on the project (with some cool footage).

- How I am using Revit to track progress.

- How Revit is helping me place material orders.

- Real-time diagramming and problem solving using the model..

- And of course, some of the head-aches along the way....

Continue reading to view the replay and all of the links mentioned (there were quite a few links mentioned!)... 

AMA Replay (Plus, a 30% Off Discount!)

 

To wrap up 2020 with a bang, I thought it would be fun to host another "Ask Me Anything (AMA)" style episode of BIM After Dark Live.  The last time I did an AMA style episode was almost 20 episodes ago.  

That day, I hosted a double header and couldn't even keep up with all the questions I got!  (Check out the replays here.)

Yesterday, there were so many questions is was hard to keep up!  Thank you all for joining, asking questions, and making this live show thing... well, a thing!

Topics the we Covered:

- Building a wall under a ramp (and other ramp options).

- Creating Door Window and Curtain Wall Elevations (touched on it).

- Revit Backup File Management

- Creating a Concrete Mass in Revit

- Using the overhead line trick ... sort of ...

- 3D Details and When to Model versus draft (hint, MODEL MODEL!).

- My middle name...

Continue reading to view the episode...

Revit + Twinmotion 2020: Rendering a Night Scene (Tips and Tricks)

 

On this special Tuesday episode of BIM After Dark Live I gave an update on my own house project and jumped back into some Revit & Twinmotion 2020 content.  

We talked about rendering night scenes in Twinmotion 2020 with Revit.

This episode was inspired by a student's question following our Twinmotion class.  She asked about making a "moody" nights scene.  Then, it dawned on me, I had yet to make a NIGHT SCENE in Twinmotion.  

So, I dug in, spent some time, and figured out some of the tips and tricks to creating sexy, moody, and super-fun images!

Continue reading to view the replay an all of the links mentioned (including my FREE Revit to Twinmotion course...)

Revit & Enscape 2.8: Design, Present, Collaborate (w/Dan Stine)

 

Dan Stine returned to BIM After Dark Live last night to talk about some of the new features in Enscape 2.8 (and what's to come in Enscape 2.9)...  Similar to our previous episode with Dan he didn't just run through the features, he also demonstrated some useful tips and tricks along the way!

Personally, I am most excited about all of the new healthcare content in Enscape 2.8, but even more excited about the FBX/OBJ import options in 2.9 to come!!!

Topics Covered:

Enscape 2.8

BIM 360 freeze fixed
Collaborative annotation
"Puddle Tip/Trick"
Animated vegetation
New assets
Carpet material
BIM Mode

Version 2.9 beta

Video textures
Custom asset library (and editor!!!)
Offline asset library

Continue reading to view the episode and the links mentioned...

Thinking Outside the Box - Don't Let Revit Dictate Your Designs

 

This week marked the start of a new semester for most architecture students.  One of the things that has driven me crazy over the last 10+  years has been hearing architectural professors tell students that "Revit is only good for designing boxes" or "Revit restricts your designs"... 

Well, during this episode of BIM After Dark Live I took a look back at all of my studio (and professional) projects and highlighted the ones where I used Revit for more than "just boxes".   In this episode I dive into three specific projects and walk through exactly how they were created and what my design process was like.

Continue reading to see the episode, related links, and higher resolution images of the projects...

Rebuilding Notre Dame... In Revit.

Wow...

That is all I can say after the latest episode of BIM After Dark Live...  

Andy Milburn joined me to walk us through one of the most stunning Revit models I have ever seen:  Notre Dame de Paris.  Andy and an awesome team of Revit-eers from around the world have re-built an absolute masterpiece of Gothic architecture in Revit. 

While walking through the actual model live, Andy explained their approaches to many unique elements around the building.

Topics Covered:

- How the initial plan was developed using images, exterior scans, and "Revit-tized".

- Unique Elements such as some really neat stairs.

- Exploration of modeling a variety of groin vaults.

- An Enscape fly through!

Continue reading to view the episode...

My Revit Design Process: Split Level Redux (Part 1)

On the latest episode of BIM After Dark Live I introduced a current residential project I am working on. I plan on documenting this project throughout the year and using it as an example for discussions, questions, and so on.  

During the live session last night I walked through some tips for modeling existing conditions (in fact, there were quite a few questions that kept me on that topic longer than I thought!), I ran through some unique demolition tips, I show you how Enscape can be a quick design tool, and more...

Continue reading to see the latest episode and view the links mentioned...

Tutorial - Revit Placeholders in Twinmotion (Replace Object With It's Base Point)

Here is a really quick but super valuable tutorial if you are using Revit and Twinmotion (actually, it may be helpful for any FBX export from Revit).

Typically, when you export a model from Revit to FBX (using the Twinmotion plugin) the project base point is your insertion point.  Meaning, every mesh that comes in (even if separated but material or category) all share the same project base point in Twinmotion.

Well, that doesn't always have to be the case.  You can actually export objects and they maintain their own base points.  For example, a chair or desk in Revit can have it's "origin" from the family editor as it's placement point in Twinmotion... 

I know, so cool, right?!

Well, it get's even better... Knowing this, you can use Twinmotion's "Replace Object" functions to swap our families with Twinmotion library elements!

Continue reading to find out how...

4 Steps to Sexier Revit (Episode 15)

On last nights episode of BIM After Dark Live we talked about simple steps to take that will immediately make your Revit views (and more) look better. 

I walked through my Revit journey (with some very embarrassing old projects) and talked about how I developed the styles and settings I share.  I then ran through the "70/50/20" rule, talked about custom materials, and more.  We had some great questions throughout and quality conversations in the chat... Thanks for joining and engaging to those of you who attended live!

If anything, it's worth checking out the replay to see my very first Revit project...  -_-

Oh, and my son, Jacob, made a guest appearance:

Continue reading to view the replay, see links mentioned, and more...

Revit & Enscape - Top 5 Secrets Revealed w/Dan Stine

Dan Stine, of BIM Chapters, joined me on Episode 12 of BIM After Dark Live last night, and it was a good one!  Dan walked through 7 (not just 5!) of his top Enscape secrets.  Beyond the awesome secrets Dan shared he also sprinkled in a whole bunch of little tips and tricks throughout.   I will be the first to admit I learned a thing or two about Enscape I didn't know! Thanks, Dan!

If you joined us live, I hope you had a good time!  All of the links mentioned are in this post.

If you missed it, you have to keep reading and checkout the replay... it is a can't miss...

Twinmotion vs. Enscape (Operating Room Case Study)

I was a bit nervous last night while presenting this case study live...  But, it all worked out in the end!  No crashes, no freezing, and the conversations were great!

Ultimately, last nights episode was a fun one.  Back when I started to dive into Twinmotion 2020, I wanted to really test it out on all fronts (exterior, interior, VR, etc...).  I thought a perfect way to really compare Twinmotion to other software I had been using was to force myself to use it on a real project.

Then the perfect project came along to test out the interior rendering abilities of Twinmotion and Virtual Reality (VR).  The project was a virtual mock-up of an operating room.  Normally, I would do this in Enscape and use it for renderings, live walk-throughs, and VR.  So... I decided to do it in both Enscape and Twinmotion to compare and contrast...

Last night, I presented my results...

To view the video replay and links mentioned, keep reading...

Photoshop for Architects - Replay

Last night I hosted another live happy hour on YouTube. I ran through some of the techniques I've developed over the years in Photoshop. We went through making sketches look better, cutting out a photo of IM Pei (to demonstrate masking), and post-processing renderings.  If you missed it, the replay is now live...

Continue reading for the replay and links mentioned during the happy hour...

From Revit to Twinmotion 2020 (using a reader's model).

Last night I held another live happy hour.  This one was pretty different and exciting!

I always make tutorials using my own models that I have created from scratch.  I thought it would be fun to take a reader's model and do a live tutorial about rendering a scene in Twinmotion 2020.  That's right, I will be taking someone else's model and attempting to make a real-time rendering scene, live...

This could have been a complete failure... But, I think it was a success! In fact, I was able to create 3 renderings in 58 minutes.... From scratch.

Continue reading to view the replay and let me know what you thought....

How to Use Physically Based Rendering (PBR) Materials in Revit

This post was inspired by a presentation from Josh Radle.  I remember somewhere someone mentioning a new physical based material library in Revit back when 2019 was released but I honestly didn't look into it.  After diving heavily into Twinmotion and Lumion I began to learn more about "scanned" materials and the different types of maps (normal, relief, reflection, light, etc...).

These materials are called Physically Based Rendering (PBR) materials.

Have you ever download a material set and all of these were in the folder?

As a Revit user, you must look at these (just like me) and think... "What the heck am I supposed to do with all of those?  I just need a texture and a bump map, at most".

Not anymore!  Now, you can use most of these to create much more realistic renderings in Revit...

Continue reading to find out how...

"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...