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...

"Revit-centric" Design Happy Hour Replay

Last week I published a blog post documenting how I use Revit within my design process.

Click here to check out the post and video from last week...

The video clearly struck a chord within the community and has quickly surpassed 20,000 views on YouTube alone.  I thought it would be fun to grab a cocktail, hop online, and chat with you to expand on some of the topics discussed in the "Making of Stilted Studios" video...

Oh, and with the enrollment of Volume 1 open this week it was a perfect time to talk about presentation techniques as well!

Thank you all who joined me live on Tuesday night (over 290 of you!) and for all the great questions!

For those of you who could not make it live here is the replay:

Revit & the Design Process - The Making of "Stilted Studios" (Sketching, Lumion, & More)

Way back in 2013 I created a free eBook called "Design:BIM - A Guide to Using Revit During the Design Process".  The eBook documented how I used Revit while designing buildings.

Believe it or not, the eBook has been downloaded 10,746 times! I know, crazy, right??

Although my general process is similar, some of the tools and methods have changed over the last six years.  So, I decided to document (in this blog post and a video, below) how I approached the design of a recent, and really exciting, project called "Stilted Studios".  I am really proud of this post/video and it is full of tips, tricks, tools, and techniques.  From Revit to Lumion to hand sketching...  You name it.

Additionally, there is some long overdue BIM After Dark - Volume 1 enrollment news at the end of the post...

Keep reading to learn about my design process and the BIM After Dark course news...

Case Study - Rocky Mountain Modern House

Even though this project is from a couple years back I’ve been wanting to use it as a case study and share it on the blog since it’s completion.

Why?

Because this project and the initial presentation illustrates all of the facets of Revit for presentation style graphics in one deliverable.  What I’d like to do in this blog post is break down the presentation page by page and give a little background on what technique, tip, or tick was used to produce the graphics (ie. floor plan, elevation, diagram, etc…).

First, I’d like to give a little background on the project itself …

Continue reading to view the “Rocky Mountain Modern” Case Study…

I Need Those Renderings… By Tomorrow

Yesterday I published a post about how ugly “default” Revit could be.  I was hoping to evoke a response out of you, and it worked.  I received a bunch of emails and comments describing your experiences with Revit and presentation graphics.  As I suspected, this problem is an epidemic in academia and pervasive in the workforce.

Doesn’t it feel great to know you’re not alone?  In fact, I decided to highlight a few of the stories:

Your Revit = Ugly

Let’s face it. Out of the box, Revit is ugly.

I bet many of you reading those first two statements are nodding your heads.  Those who aren’t, create a new camera view in Revit right now without applying any templates.   Yeah, pretty ugly right?  Like you, I have always been frustrated with the un-attractiveness of “default” Revit.

The good news is you don’t have to live with “default” Revit.  There are lots of features and settings that can make Revit sexy.

The bad news?  No one knows about them!

Between teaching at a university, working for a large construction firm, and running this blog for the last ten years I have seen my fair share of Revit projects and presentations.  The quality of presentation materials (plans, sections, elevations, renderings, diagrams, etc..) coming from these models is inconsistent to say the least.  Therefore, Revit still has a reputation in many corners of our industry for “looking bad”.

Revit Tutorial - Diagrams: "BIG" Style

The diagram has been a staple in the architecture community for as long as I could remember.  From 2-dimensional "parti" diagrams to full-on exploded axonometric diagrams, many techniques and styles have been used to describe our vision to the world.

A specific style of diagram has arisen thanks to the popularity of Rhino and Bjarke Ingels. This diagram is a blend between a 3-D form and a "parti" and truly is a great way to present your architectural concepts to the world.  It has the vector graphics feel of a graphic designer but the shading and composition of a "cel shaded" video game.

It looks something like this...

Well, guess what?  The image above was modeled and created directly in Revit and Revit only... No need to use Rhino, Grasshopper, Illustrator, or any other piece of software.  

Continue reading to learn how to make "BIG" style diagrams in Revit....

Revit Tutorial - Adding Depth to Your Elevations (Redux)

I posted a tutorial over five years ago that illustrated how to add some serious depth to your elevations in Revit (Click here to view that post and tutorial).  The concept of creating better looking elevations is clearly a pain point for many Revit users because the aforementioned video has been viewed nearly 27,000 times! Technically, this tutorial is still relevant and the technique can still be used today.  So be sure to check it out.

Fortunately, the process of adding depth and making better looking elevations is a lot easier thanks to a new feature in Revit (introduced in 2017) called "Depth Cueing".

I decided to not only create a new video tutorial about how to use depth cueing, but also dig into the feature and really understand how it works. 

Continue reading to view the new Adding Depth to Your Elevations tutorial and my notes on how it works...

Coming Soon... We're bringing sexy back...

I am back from BILT North America full of excitement and motivation.  As usual, the conference was fantastic.  I was able to catch up with some old friends and meet plenty of new ones.  I can't tell you how humbled I am to meet readers of this website in person.  You are all amazing!

My presentation, "Construction can be Sexy: How Visualization Helps us Build", went extremely well.  I was a bit worried turnout would be low due to the fact that it was the first session on Saturday morning. If you have been to a BILT event before, you know that getting up for the first session can be very difficult.

I was pleasantly surprised with the turnout and engagement during the session.  Thank you all who attended and asked such poignant questions!

Coming Soon...

My session at BILT focused solely on presentation techniques (from diagrams, to renderings, to virtual reality).  Focusing on this topic has proved timely as I am hot and heavy into the creation of BIM After Dark - Volume 1 (Redux)...  Additionally, while at the conference I was reminded that many folks are still struggling with getting their Revit models to look the way they want them to look.

I closed Volume 1 a few months ago so I can re-build it from the ground up (after nearly 5 years and 766 students!).

The time has finally come to set a date for open enrollment of the brand new Volume 1 course.

Are you ready?

Mark your calendars...

BIM After Dark - Volume 1 (Redux): BIM can be sexy...

Open for Enrollment:

September 17th, 2018

What is BIM After Dark - Volume 1?

Volume 1 is focused on one thing and one thing only: making your Revit models look good.  From floor plans, to topography, to sections, to diagrams, and renderings.  Volume 1 is a comprehensive course that will take your presentations to the next level.

Who will Volume 1 be for?

If you are tired of people telling you that BIM is not for presentations and that Autodesk Revit is only good for documentation, this course if for you.

If you spend hours developing a fully detailed building information model but find yourself underwhelmed with the graphic presentations and renderings it produces this course is for you. 

If you want to take your rendering, post-processing, and overall presentation skills to the next level with proven techniques, short-cuts, and processes this course is for you.

Finally, if you want to learn how to make images like the one below as quickly as possible then this course if for you.

Learn how to make images like this with your Revit models...

What will it contain?

In "Revit Kid" fashion, the course will include simple, easy-to-follow, video tutorials, sample files, optional live sessions with me, and possibly some bonus items.

Click here to view the contents of the course...
(Thanks to those who gave amazing feedback on the video outline a few weeks ago).

How do I enroll?

If you are interested and want to be first in line when enrollment opens click here (or below) to get in line!

Volume 1 Closes Tonight + Discounts Ending

Tonight is the night.  Volume 1's cart and sales page will officially be taken offline.

Time Remaining to get Volume 1 or use the discounts....

As I mentioned on Monday, I will be taking down Volume 1 to completely recreate the series from the ground up.  If you have been thinking about purchasing Volume 1 today is the day to act and make sure you take advantage of all the great content, help shape the new version of Volume 1, and utilize the deepest discounts on the courses.

Not Sure if Volume 1 is for you?

Who is BIM After Dark - Volume 1 for? 

If you are tired of people telling you that BIM is not for presentations? That Autodesk Revit is only good for documentation? If you spend hours developing a fully detailed building information model but you are under-whelmed with the presentation images or renderings you create from it Volume 1 is for you.

Don't believe me? 

Keep reading to find out....

BIM After Dark - Volume 1 : Course Closing + Discount

I created “BIM After Dark: Volume 1 - BIM Can Be Sexy” in the fall of 2013. Yes, I know, crazy. Almost five years ago!!

Well, needles to say, it is about time for a major update. Revit has added some great new features for presentation techniques, real-time software has come a long way (Enscape3D, Lumion, etc…). Therefore, this year I am bringing sexy back to BIM. In order to do so, I plan on taking Volume 1 down to work on the completely new version this summer.

On the day I am writing this post, 766 readers have downloaded and completed BIM After Dark - Volume 1. Also crazy, I know!

I wanted to make sure anyone who has been on the fence about Volume 1 had a chance to get the original version before I take it offline, and at a discount.

I plan on shutting down the Volume 1 cart and sales page this Friday, June 22nd, 2018 at 8 PM (EST).

Keep reading to see why you should download BIM After Dark - Volume 1 today (before it is gone!)...

V-Ray for Revit : A Case Study

I have been publishing content on this blog for over seven years.  Until now, I have never featured a "guest" or "guest post".  Sure, there may have been links to other awesome content people have created, but nothing like this.  It's that good.  The author of this case study is my good buddy (and previous cubicle neighbor), Sam Davis.  Sam now works for JCJ Architecture. 

When I got back from RTCNA last year, Sam and I had some lengthy discussions about the announcement of "V-Ray for Revit".  He mentioned that he planned on trying it out when he got the link from Chaos Group (getting the download link took forever...).  A few weeks had gone by and we didn't discuss it again.  Then, out of nowhere, Sam sends me the first draft of his case study on V-Ray for Revit (Beta).  Sam did an excellent job evaluating the beta release, comparing it to current standards, and communicating his findings...  Well done, Sam, and thanks for letting me share it with my audience, exclusively.

Continue reading to view Sam's incredibly in-depth case study on the V-Ray to Revit Beta release...

BIM After Dark Videos: Now Accepting PayPal!

BIM After Dark Volumes 1 and 2 have been live for a year and a half now (with Volume 3 in the works!).  I can't even count the amount of emails I have received over the last year and a half asking if PayPal could be added as a method of payment.  Well, Gumroad, which I use for fulfillment of the BIM After Dark series, is finally accepting PayPal!  

That means you can now purchase either BIM After Dark Volume 1, Volume 2, or the Bundle via PayPal!

If you are one of those readers who emailed me thank you for your patience.