So, everyone is wondering what we will be creating in this year's 'Revit for Interior Designers' class. Well, look no further as I have created the following virtual tour and posted it in my YouTube channel for everyone to enjoy. Arizona, here we come (virtually)! We will include how to create 360 panorams in Revit during our online training. Just CLICK&DRAG on the image below and take a look at the interior design. We will be using a 'Panorama - Autodesk 360 Rendering' workflow to export the panoramas and create a virtual tour using Revit. Panoramas are 360 virtual tours of 3D models. For those that do not know how to create a 3D 360 panorama in Revit, we will first learn how to create your interior design using Revit, then take your Revit project file and export these types of images. We we will be creating a Stereo Panorama from Revit allowing users to virtually stand within your design. Once created, you can take your 3D Revit panoramas and share them with your clients, customers, etc. to demonstrate your interior design using Revit. My instructions will provide an easy to create a virtual tour using Revit. Finally, once you create these VR views from Revit, you can immerse your clients within the presentations by using Revit with Google Cardboard (see below). Hatch patterns are incredibly useful graphics that communicate that materials used on your drawings. Like Autocad, Revit Architecture comes with a handful of hatch patterns. Called "Filled Patterns" in Revit, these can be found under the Manage tab, Additional Settings and Fill Patterns. These patterns come with two types: Drafting and Model. "Drafting" patterns are most often used for cross sections. These types of patterns do not have a size and change depending on scale being used in the Revit view. "Model" patterns are typically used for surfaces, therefore appear on plans and elevations. It won't take long for you to outgrow the fill patterns available in Revit. You will then have the choice of creating additional patterns and/or uploading new patterns into Revit. Follow these steps to get your started:
It's near the end of the semester for most of my students and final Revit project designs will be due shortly. Because renderings are an important requirement of these final projects, everyone is asking where to find good materials. The most important aspect of creating materials in Revit Architecture is to find "tileable or seamless" materials. When materials are created and applied to a 3D model, the software takes a texture map (an image of a material), usually a few inches in size, and repeats the pattern across the entire model. The best texture maps make it hard to tell where exactly the pattern begins to repeat.
To find these "texture maps", be sure to include "tileable or seamless" in your Google search along with the type of material you seek. It's also helpful to include the word "FREE" in our search (i.e. "free tileable concrete pavers"). When conducting a Google search, choose the IMAGES tab to review the textures available. Under TOOLS button, choose MEDIUM or LARGE based on the quality you are after (see image below). Just remember, the larger the image, the larger your Revit file will become! Once a large image is found, right-click and choose SAVE IMAGE AS ... You are seeking JPG or PNG files to download from the internet. Here are a few helpful sites: Entourage: www.mrcutout.com www.immediateentourage.com misc: www.cgtextures.com www.polantis.com/objects/types www.cadnav.com/ https://www.sketchuptextureclub.com/textures/architecture/roofings/asphalt-roofs wood: www.treefrogveneer.com/ fabrics: www.carnegiefabrics.com/landing/upholstery/ flooring: www.interface.com/US/en-US/homepage https://architextures.org/ terrazzo.com www.mohawkgroup.com/ www.aspectaflooring.com/ www.tandus-centiva.com/ https://shawfloors.com/flooring/carpet/ www.flor.com/ www.mannington.com/ www.patcraft.com/ rocatilegroup.com/catalog/catalogue.pdf wallpaper: www.muraspec.com totalwallcovering.com/c91/textured.aspx www.versawallcovering.com/products/ www.command54.com/designs.asp www.carnegiefabrics.com/landing/wallcoverings For more professional materials, I would recommend Arroway Textures, by far one of the best texture site online. This site is well worth the investment if photorealistic renderings are important to your projects. https://www.arroway-textures.ch/ There's a long standing debate regarding what is the best software for interior designers. For the purposes of this blog, I will use three common applications; Revit, SketchUp and Chief Architect. There are a variety of other contenders (Autocad, Archicad, 3d Studio Max, etc.), but for brevity's sake I will focus on these three software applications since they were included in a recent email I received. The discussion goes a little something like this "I have a limited budget and time for training. I would like learn a particular software and don't know which to invest in" or "I use software "X" because “Y” looks too intimidating, complicated or expensive." BUDGET, EASE OF USE AND CAPABILITIES BUDGET Cost is always consideration. Historically, Trimble’s SketchUp was offered as a free tool. Those days are officially over, kind of. Don’t get me wrong; it is still offered for free as a purely online tool but you can no longer import drawings into SketchUp. Personally, I don’t know a single person that does not import drawings into SketchUp in order to create 3D models. Besides that, simple drafting in SketchUp remains its weakest feature. At the time of this blog post, SketchUp is offered for free and accessed only as an online tool which is still in Beta testing (SketchUp Free). SketchUp Pro is a one-time $695 perpetual license which includes Layout, its sheet layout tool. Chief Architect X9 "rents" (AKA subscription) for $199 per month or $2695 purchased. Upgrades are offered for $695. Tack on another $14.95 if you want a CD backup. Revit takes the approach of an annual subscription since the word “license” is now considered taboo. Both Revit and Revit LT are offered. Solo practitioners should purchase Revit LT, while Revit can be used by multiple people simultaneously and better suited for larger offices. Autodesk Revit LT is $50/mo. ($410 annual) while Revit is $275/mo. ($2,200 annual) It seems that SketchUp Pro is the least expensive, while both Revit and Revit LT are more competitively priced per month as compared to Chief Architect. Personally, I never purchase software based on price but rather capabilities and ease of use. CAPABILITIES From a schematic and design development standpoint, each of these applications can be used to tackle an interior design project, but all suitors are not equal if you consider construction documentation. Each application is well equipped to quickly create designs for ideation and presentation drawings for clients. Both Revit and Chief Architect (CA) can create a project the quickest as they are both designed for the construction industry. Creating objects like windows, doors, walls, etc. are commands found in these applications whereas SketchUp has a more generic approach that allows you to build anything. In addition, you normally need to import information into SketchUp (dwg files, jpegs, etc.) in order to trace them and create your designs. Interior design projects by their very nature typically require you to create a design within ‘an existing’ structure, therefore an existing floorplan is required (tracing cannot be avoided). In both Revit and CA the process is much simpler, you use the Wall command and specify the length, width, height and materials of the wall (done). You need to add a door, use the Door command. You need a window, use the Window command. You delete and/or move a door or window, the wall repairs itself. SketchUp cannot compete with these capabilities. In addition, Revit and CA allow you to quickly switch from a 2D view for drafting (with dimensional information constantly present) to a 3D view. SketchUp is inherently a 3D modeler therefore even a simple 2D CAD drafting view requires you to convert its top down 3D view into a flat, 2D view but lacks dimensional information. Furthermore, SketchUp requires another application, SketchUp Layout, to create drawing sets. At the end of the day, SketchUp excels at being a great prototyping and presentation tool but pales in comparison to the capabilities of both Revit and CA. Construction documents in Revit and CA are quickly and easily generated within the software. Presentations in Revit can also recreate similar presentation styles found in SketchUp. A slight advantage that CA has over Revit is that it includes libraries of manufacturer’s kitchen/bath products that can quickly be imported into your design. Revit continues to gain momentum as more manufacturers provide their product offerings in a Revit format, ultimately eliminating any advantages CA has in the kitchen/bath market. Sites like http://bimobject.com/ offers free objects to download into your Revit project. If you review websites of commercial furniture manufacturers, you will note that both Revit and SketchUp models are commonly available to download into your projects. In fact, SketchUp’s 3D Warehouse (https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/) is one of the biggest repositories of free models online. Meanwhile, sites like https://3dlibrary.chiefarchitect.com for CA expect you to download and pay for objects to use in your design. You will be hard pressed to find any major manufacturer providing any CA models (even free ones) unless its kitchen/bath cabinets, therefore pigeonholing its users to residential projects. EASE OF USE I believe many people see the capabilities of Revit mostly in a commercial context and believe it’s too powerful or overwhelming, but do not take the time to watch demonstrations to understand the software. Meanwhile, SketchUp is probably one of the easiest programs to learn. It has been around for since 2000 (same timeframe as the creation of Revit). A little homework is required to learn features that will make editing your model easier. Try making revisions to your SketchUp model and you will quickly be in favor of both Revit and CA. I believe those using SketchUp are simply comfortable using the software they learned in college. Also, if you are working in tandem with structural and MEP engineers, these disciplines commonly use Autodesk products like Revit and Autocad. I imagine that it’s rare for CA or SketchUp users to share their files with architecture firms when collaborating on projects. While SketchUp might be the easiest to learn, its capabilities cannot compete with Revit or CA, both of which have comparable learning curves. Listed in a Google search is “Chief Architect: Architectural Home Design Software”. Chief Architect (CA) began in the retail/DIY market where anyone could “play” architect or interior designer. Over the years, the software continued to improve and now provides features that are useful to both professional architects and interior designers. It is no surprise that Chief Architect (CA) is a very strong candidate in the kitchen design crowd and mostly caters to residential projects. It has many pre-built cabinet components from different manufacturers that make kitchen/bath layout and design a breeze. In addition, I find its wood framing feature to be very impressive. However, I could not find any information on metal stud framing???? Similar to Revit, CA also includes a sophisticated database of a project’s materials rather than generic 3D objects found in SketchUp. Plug-ins are required to achieve these features in SketchUp. In residential projects, Revit may be overkill for kitchen/bath pros but I would argue it is competitive with overall residential projects. Once you get beyond residential, CA cannot compete with Revit's features when you consider the various interior design projects a professional may handle (institutional, commercial, hospitality, etc.) while being sophisticated enough to handle them all. In summary, the choice of software will ultimately depend on the type of services you offer. If your practice is limited to the kitchen/bath market, then Chief Architect will be the best choice for you. Although both SketchUp and Revit are perfectly suitable for this work, the fact that manufacturers provide CA product libraries of cabinets is definitely a huge time saving advantage. However, once your practice migrates beyond kitchen/baths and into larger residential projects, then any of these applications will be suitable to your practice. SketchUp may have the edge here from a cost savings standpoint followed by Revit. Once your projects move beyond residential projects, Revit is the clear winner. Its capabilities and popularity amongst architects and MEP consultants allow project files to be easily shared among team members. Based on these considerations, only Revit is capable of handling projects of any size and scope while making coordination among consultants a breeze. Finally, as an interior design professional seeking employment (and capable of working on a variety of project types), Revit experience on our resume will make your skills vastly more marketable. For as little as $50/mo. you would have difficult time finding software as versatile as Revit.
Here’s a question I’m frequently asked. I thought I would create a blog about it using a recent ‘Revit for Interior Designers’ email and share my reply regarding the merits of Autodesk Revit as compared to the use of other Autodesk products (Autocad and 3D Studio Max) and Trimble’s SketchUp. These are the software applications most frequently used in the architecture and interior design world, but how does Autodesk Revit fit into the mix? I’m interested in taking your Revit training. I’m an interior designer using Autocad and 3DMax. I’m looking for work and it seems a lot of offices use REVIT. Can you tell me what’s the difference between using revit and what I’m already using? (Autocad and 3DMax) Revit is similar to parametric modeling programs like 3ds Max, not 2D drafting programs like Autocad. Although Autocad does include some 3D modeling tools, they are not parametric. This means that there are menus that record all information (parameters) of a given 3D model (i.e. height of a wall and its materials to name a few). This information can be retrieved and quickly changed without having to erase the original model. The biggest difference is that Revit is programmed exclusively for creating buildings, therefore all of the tools create building objects (walls, windows, and doors) not generic objects (polygons, plines, rectangles) like 3ds Max, Autocad and SketchUp, etc. Try it for yourself here: students.autodesk.com Does Revit make renderings as realistic as 3DMax? Revit does create some good renderings, this comes with practice like any other program, however Revit does not include many of the special effects and modifiers available in 3ds Max. Max also has a better camera for creating perspective views. Register yourself on the https://gallery.autodesk.com/a360rendering website and review some of the gallery samples of Revit renderings. Once registered, you can send Revit rendering projects to the Autodesk cloud using credits and it no longer requires your computer to process the images. To my understanding Revit is similar to SketchUp for getting 2D drawings that you can use for presentation. Revit is vastly more sophisticated than SketchUp when generating 2D images and produces superior results (plans, sections, elevations, RCP, etc). These types of 2D drawings are created automatically. Basically, everything is created as a 3D model in Revit and 2D drawings are generated automatically as a result. I believe the process of using Revit actually makes you a better designer as you have to constantly test the result of your designs three-dimensionally. Why is this software so popular?
Revit has been around for a while, originally released in 2000. Revit includes some of the best features of programs like Autocad, SketchUp, and 3d Studio Max and combines all into a single program that is intended to create architectural projects only. Sort of a 'one size fits all' approach. It also includes commands that reflect the type of 3D models you are creating with simple to understand tools like floor, ceiling, and roof instead esoteric commands found in most CAD software applications (Does anybody know what an Editable Mesh is?) In addition, it has an extensive database that manages all of the building data therefore lighting studies, schedules, takeoffs, square footage calculations are automatically generated. The expectation is that Revit (can, should or will) ultimately replace most of these programs for anyone in the architectural community, therefore many firms are migrating to Autodesk Revit upon realizing its potential. Is this software mostly used for commercial design? Retail, hospitality, and restaurant design? Is it also used in residential and furniture design? This program is used by any interior design firm creating projects of any type of design. I believe commercial companies were among the first to adopt the software. It also includes capabilities for other disciplines like Structural and MEP (Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing) engineers, all within the same program while producing files that can be shared between each of these disciplines and interior designers. Coordination becomes much easier with a shared model. Although it can create 3D models of furniture design, I find 3D Studio Max a better solution for creating those types of objects. Almost 100% of the 3D furniture models for photorealistic renderings at my office are created in 3ds Max (see more here: http://bit.ly/AnimatedVisionRenderings). Sorry about all these questions, for me it’s a big investment since I am out of work presently. I want to work in a professional office and have the right tools to be hired. Let's consider where the market is headed. I started teaching Revit at my previous college’s interior design department about 10+ years ago. This was due to the demand the school was receiving from professional firms for this type of expertise. I live in a large, metropolitan area with design firms competing locally, nationally and internationally. I currently teach construction documents and digital media classes at another interior architecture college (both classes use Revit). In my free time (lol), I also teach at a local community college which delivers three courses of Autodesk Revit, from beginner through advance levels. Then there's that 'Revit for Interior Designers' introductory course I offer. My students have included college students as well as professional architects, interior designers, MEP engineers, civil engineers and GIS specialists. Before my time at these latter institutions, they both were teaching the software for many years. Believe me when I say the demand is there and growing. I hope this answers any of your questions, but feel free to send more. John Manfredy My Revit for Interior Design students routinely ask me for a list of websites containing 3D models for use in their projects. These can be furniture, accessories, interior decor, etc. The work required to create these 3D models is usually a big time commitment, therefore finding manufacturers that provide these assets online saves a huge amount of time. Besides, manufacturer's 3D models are usually much more accurate than user-generated models like those found on revitcity.com, 3dwarehouse.sketchup.com, etc. Why bother having students create these models when professional 3D companies like Animatedvision.com routinely create these types of accurate 3D furniture models for a variety of furniture manufacturers. I am also very impressed by smaller furniture manufacturers that are finally stepping it up and providing their 3D assets to the design community. There is no reason furniture powerhouses like Knoll, Steelcase, and Herman Miller have to be the only resources for providing their 3D models (in 3D Autocad, Revit, 3d Studio Max or Sketchup formats) to the interior design and architectural community. Lets face it, if clients see MANUFACTURER'S PRODUCTS in their interior design RENDERINGS and PRESENTATIONS, you can assume those manufacturers will get specified for the project and asked to supply the products. Here's a series of sites that I found useful: Generic Models: Bimobject: https://bimobject.com/ Grabcad: https://grabcad.com/ Polantis (image above): https://polantis.com Cad Details: https://Caddetails.com Cgtrader: https://Cgtrader.com Modlar: https://www.modlar.com/ Revitcity: https://revitcity.com SketchUp: https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/?hl=en (additional formatting required to convert SketchUp models to compatible Revit file format) These all have a variety of miscellaneous (grab bars, faucets, chandeliers, etc.) 3D models that are useful for interior designers. In addition, I gathered a list of manufacturers that do a great job of providing 3D Revit models of furniture products (and great designs by the way!). Those include the following: KI: https://www.ki.com/products/category/files-and-storage/ B&B Italia: https://www.bebitalia.com/en/resources-download Hightower (see above): https://hightoweraccess.com/resources/files Fritzhansen: https://fritzhansen.com/en/downloads The trick with some of these websites is that the products are oriented incorrectly or the materials need to be reassigned in Revit. For example, the products are laying flat on the ground instead of standing. It is generally easiest to open these products in their original software (i.e. Autocad, SketchUp and 3D Studio Max) and fix the rotation of the product before importing into Revit. If using Autocad 3D models, assigning layers to each object that receives a specific material is critical to the success of your imported models into Revit. Materials can then be quickly assigned using this information in Revit. Same is true in 3D Studio Max, where objects can be assigned names, ideally by the material name, and exported as a .DXF or .DWG file for import into Revit. In the case of SketchUp, it may be tricky to assign the appropriate materials to the 3D objects, there additional steps may be required. You can see the steps required in this helpful YouTube video: Feel free to join my Facebook Group page "Revit for Interior Designers" to see more information on these topics.
My very first blog post! I’m John Manfredy and I’m an Autodesk Revit Instructor and owner of Revitforid.weebly.com. I’m passionate about Revit and how this tool can greatly benefit the interior design industry. I have taught the program for several years in Chicagoland colleges as well as online. I am currently an instructor at Columbia College, Interior Architecture Program and Oakton Community College. In addition, I have a degree in Architecture and worked for several years on projects throughout the U.S. WHY BLOG? This blog is my personal commitment to share answers to common questions I receive from current/past students and professional practitioners. If you hit a wall, let me help you break through it! Please subscribe to the newsletter to receive my latest reports or tutorials on Autodesk Revit. My Facebook Group Page (Revit for Interior Designers) contains my most useful advice on learning Revit. I really hope you find something that is useful. The group is open to everyone and you can contact me there or via LinkedIn! bit.ly/revitFacebookGroup or find me on my YouTube channel: http://bit.ly/youTubeRevit Regards,
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AuthorJohn Manfredy has over two decades of expertise teaching architectural technology to architects and interior designers. Coursework has included Autodesk products: Revit Architecture, 3D Studio Max, Autocad and SketchUp. Archives
September 2023
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