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Keynote: BIM Adoption in North America
This is the first keynote address for Minnesota University 2013, as presented by Dan Hamilton from Autodesk. It provides information about BIM adoption in North America.
Minnesota University is a regional professional development event where attendees learn about new and emerging technologies, new features of Autodesk software, tools and techniques that keep architects and building engineering firms competitive.
See Like An Artist
Check critical proportions and locations while using "transparent mode", which creates a virtual projection onto your work surface.
Simplify your subject into its basic value patterns. Train your eye to see the lights and darks before you get into the detail of color and modeling.
Throughout the history of art, artists have searched for ways to produce their work more quickly and more accurately. Research has been written that argues that even the old masters - people like Rembrandt, Vermeer and Caravaggio likely used innovations like the camera lucida and camera obscura. Artist's Eye re-imagine's these devices using the power of modern technology!
Vray 3.0 renderer with Vladimir Koylazov
Chaos Group, have published an online magazine covering a preview of their upcoming Vray 3.0 renderer with Vladimir Koylazov, (Vlado, creator of Vray), plus some great interviews with artists from studios like Blur and Factory Fifteen. You can download or read the magazine online via the Chaos Group website.
Teaching to See
One of the best presents of art education, designer and educator Inge Druckrey says, is "to enjoy seeing. Suddenly you begin to see things in your daily life that you never noticed." In this acclaimed video, Inge explains how she teaches design students to see.
It's a long, 38-minute video (bookmark it if you don't have time now), but it contains many lessons on creativity, such as how limitations can be a structure for finding creative solutions and why just staring can help you see what's possible. It's also a beautifully made film.
Whether you're an aspiring artist or not, the video can teach you how to really look, notice and appreciate design details, and become more critical and curious in the process.
The World Needs All Kinds Of Minds
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I'm an Architect Rap
"Yo, Where my red lines at?"
I picture Frank Lloyd Wright, while you think I'm Mike Brady
And engineers devour our work and call us crazy
We got rounded specs, but they ain't for looks
It's from staring at our screens and all those history books
We turn an empty space, into a world of possibility
Maintaining privacy, and tranquility
Graduate from school, about to change the world,
But I'm stuck designing thrones with a clockwise swirl
CHORUS
We're architects oh! With creative flair
Re-designing the world, from buildings to chairs
It's a daily grind, but we love what we do
A satisfying job giving you a better view
Lord of the Elmer's, and king of scraps
Making models our of paper, and plastic bottle caps
I'm a master of BIM, making lines with dashes,
Except I'll lose my mind, if Revit *bleep* crashes
GREEN is gold, and LEED is big,
Know the golden triangle, and learn your trig
Challenge the formula, push the envelope,
Put more glazing over here. That looks really dope!
CHORUS
Crank the A/C in the office just to stay awake,
Espresso and Red Bull till I got a stomach ache.
With our cotton blazers high, we have a sense of style,
But to the rest of the world we just point and smile
I read code books, while I'm on vacation
Take pictures of, my latest creation
We wear black and gray, with no logos on our threads
So many sleepless nights we're like the walking dead
CHORUS
Got so many scales, myswell (might as well) call me a fish
Does your lawn look boring? I'll design you a dish
Starchitects, no!, call them Hollywood actors,
Cause they can't deal with general contractors
Spec book wasn't clear so I got these RFI's
Clients making changes that we all despise.
We got better FORM, than Jordan's jump shot
And designs that function like a million dollar yacht.
CHORUS
I'm an architect, "Oh you mean like Ted Mosby?"
Understanding How Light Works
Understanding how light works are essential to creating dimension in your architectural rendering—there’s no way around it.
Let there be light!
Think about it, without the contrast of light and dark there is no way to show depth or dimension, everything would just be flat and lifeless. You’ve probably seen examples of this with flash photography. When the flash is used improperly it can blast light into every crack and crevice, completely eliminating the contrast created by the shadow areas. When this happens, your subject goes flat, and you lose the dimension that brings life to your work.
Whether you think you understand how light works or not, your brain does. I know that probably sounds a little creepy—your brain has a mind of it’s own—but it’s the truth. If you look at a rendering where light hasn’t been used properly, you’re brain is going to know that something isn’t right. That’s why it’s so important to learn how to harness the power of light in your architectural renderings!
When Is Noise In A Rendering Okay?
Noise and grain are not necessarily bad. Architectural illustrators sometimes intentionally generate this texture for interesting, creative effects. For one thing, it can add to the mood of a rendering. Think of the kind of image you often see on jazz or rock album covers (remember those?). The photographers who create these images often go for as much noise and distortion as they can, because it seems to best suit the subject matter and environment.
Generally though, most people want a rendering with rich colors and sharp, smooth detail.
SolidRocks V1.2.4 is out !!
SolidRocks V1.2.4 is out !!
SolidRocks adjusts and optimise all needed Vray parameters to reach the best rendertime/quality ratio.
Learn Vray progressively, see in realtime changes made by SolidRocks when you change resolution/quality.
SR V1.2.4 includes new tools for both VrayMasters and Beginners:
- Works with V-Ray 2.4 ;) and max 2014
- New RT button (Max 2013 and 2014 only) for easy one clic RT launch !
- Now Includes MOA Wizard (animation wizard) - More info here !
- New DR and BB buttons for network rendering
- FlyThrough animation Wizard !
- Compatible with SigerShaders
- 1 click process for complete Vray setup !
- Modular and small interface (GUI)
- mini preview for fast feedback
- auto Exposure and Auto White balance tools
- friendly and Very simple usage
- Full LWF gamma correction with useful options
- modifiable presets : exterior, interior...
- learn Vray watching SolidRocks at work !
- shareLightcache tool to speedup slaves warmup
- materials and lights optimisation for best rendertimes
- switch from draft to production settings in one click !
- gain time... Lot of time !!
New Vray users can also learn essential rules of Vray, observing changes made by SolidRocks when resolution and/or quality are changed.
Vray Masters can customise SR and presets and use SolidRocks as a custom settings automator.
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Copying Rendering Techniques
Copying rendering techniques is one of the most challenging and revealing ways for, 3D artists to test themselves and further their abilities.
Copying the 3D artwork of the masters are something every 3D artist can relate to. Copying is a form of inquiry that can bring significant understanding to an artist. And the practice is not just for beginners; even master 3D artists have returned to copying for their own edification.
The practice of copying drawings dates as far back as the 14th century and has long been considered one of the best ways to learn.
V-Ray for 3ds Max New Service Pack
Dear V-Ray users,
A new V-Ray for 3ds Max service pack is now available for immediate download at the Chaos Group Downloads page. This is a free update for all V-Ray 2.0 customers.
Important highlights include:
• Support for 3ds Max 2014;
• Support for MultiScatter instancing in V-Ray RT: The new service pack further improves the integration between V-Ray and MultiScatter allowing the user to effectively render millions of polygons of instanced geometry with V-Ray RT;
• Changed default settings of VFB's sRGB button, "Don't affect colors" option and "Gamma" value: V-Ray’s default settings have been modified to allow the use of Linear Workflow from the very beginning.
See the full list of optimizations and fixes in V-Ray 2.40.04 for 3ds Max.
Thanks for being part of the V-Ray experience!
The Chaos Group Team
3M’s Projected Capacitive Multitouch Technology
The Platform 46 combines Ideum’s design and build-quality with a 3M high-performance multitouch display to present a rugged turnkey multitouch table. Along with its innovative design, the Platform 46 comes with an integrated and powerful desktop Intel i7 and is the only touch table to feature the ultra-fast and precise 3M™ Multitouch Display (C4667PW) with support for 60 touch points. - See more at: http://ideum.com/redefined/#sthash.9PuVXNdb.dpuf
3D Virtuality Sketching
Sketches and working models are without a doubt one of the most widely used tools in the architect’s repertoire. In the early phases of the design process in particular, they represent an essential part of the exploration process. For the most part, however, sketching and model building are separate and sequential steps. This project examines how both media can be linked to each other more effectively so that the design process is more continuous and the transition between the two media more fluid. Using a multi-touch table with additional 3D real-time object recognition, a prototypical system was developed and realised as part of a research project in which an interactive 3D sketching tool was linked with a real 3D working model.
The CDP-Environment extended to support interactive Sketching on real models. An additional Touchscreen is connected to the Multitouch Table. This allows two views of the same scene: One is the top-down view on the Table, the other one is a perspective view of the same scene on the additional touchscreen. This constellation allows the user to draw directly in the scene based on GIS-Data and real models. In addition, the drawings are mapped perspectively correct to the real object.
CDP // 3D Virtuality Sketching from Schubert on Vimeo.
The Secret of Animation
Short character animation tutorial for every level that explains clearly the secret for a great acting performance
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New Color Theory Series and New Community Site!
Can you feel that sunshine? Summer is coming into bloom everywhere, so why not let your creativity blossom and check out the latest awesome tutorials on PencilKings.com ? In this new series, we welcome professional artist, Kirbi Fagan, to our team as she takes the gray area out of color theory!
Have you been put off learning this essential art skill in the past? Perhaps you've had enough of dull text books and boring online tutorials? Let Kirbi bring some color into your creative career with a series of fun videos that are ideal for beginners and more experienced artists.
And that's not all - we're about to unveil some awesome news about our brand new community site! We can hardly contain our excitement about all this new stuff, so we'll keep this email short and sweet and let you check it out for yourselves!
In Color Theory, Kirbi Fagan gives you the lowdown on the color wheel and shows you how to mix exactly the right shades on your palette. In this fun and entertaining series, she demonstrates how you can use these pro techniques in your own artwork to paint anything you want. Through watching this series, you'll learn:
- How colors work and complement each other
- What 'cold' and 'warm' color are and how you can use them
- How to create a great composition for your artwork
- How to create a portrait using these pro coloring techniques
(Kirbi is a great teacher and her lessons are perfect for artists of all abilities!)
Coming Soon! A Very Special Invitation
Imagine a place where you could join in a discussion about art with creative people from all over the world? A place where you could get advice from and swap ideas with professional artists?
The new Pencil Kings Community promises to be the go-to resource for anyone serious about taking their talent to the max and pretty soon, we'll be unveiling a very special limited offer for new members!
We can't say too much right now (after all, everyone loves surprises, right?), so all we can say is...watch this space!
New Artists Wanted for Pencil Kings Tutorials!
We heard your feedback, and you know what? We've been missing out on our greatest resource - artists
like you, Bobby !
Are you an Artist? Let's Talk!
We're on the hunt to get as many new lessons up as we can, so if you feel that you can produce lessons as good or better than the existing lessons on Pencil Kings - please drop us a line at jobs@pencilkings.com because we would love to hear from you.
We want to make Pencil Kings the go-to site for artists of all abilities, but we need your help to be the best! So, don't be shy - get in touch if you feel you could share your talent with others!
That's it for this update - we hope you enjoy all this new stuff and we'll be in touch shortly with more new lessons!
Best wishes,
Mitch
PS - We're going to have an announcement about a brand new area to the site in a few days so stay tuned for that!
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