Page Last Updated And Links Checked: 19 July 2003 Page Last Updated And Links Checked: 19 July 2003 Landscaping Introduction
Ground modelling and landscaping is of increasing interest to architects, civil engineers, surveyors, town planners and many others and is the principle interest of specialist landscape and garden designers.
3D Scenery and Realistic Plants
www.archidigm.com/lounge/index.htm ARCHdigm. Architects site in San Francisco. (WARNING: FrontPage, three frame site with image maps and animated gifs! But good content.)
Practitioners who also write solid articles, tutorials and tips about the tools they use to promote their site and services. Good stuff. Mainly AutoCad, Architectual Desktop, 3D Studio but they obviously know their way around FrontPage and PhotoShop.
Of particular interest (to me right now) is "skinning". Also see AutoCad Tips and Tricks (right menu) for Transparent Images (MS Paint and PSPro) and heaps more.
See theRendering in A2000 (similar to R14) tutorials (uses vanilla AutoCAD and default materials):
(Also note that internal page links displayed at top of each page don't work because the author, using FrontPage, thinks you can put blanks in names because a Microsoft bug lets it through when naming files. Dont be scared by the 'Can't find the file messages' just scroll down to where you want to be.)
www.archidigm.com/../202000.htm Pt1 (Sect1-5). Rendering 3D Scenery
www.archidigm.com/../20Landscape.htm
Pt2 (Sect6-7). Adding Landscape Objects (ie "Realistic Plants")
Pt 3 Sect( - ). Lighting the Scene (Soon)
archidigm/transparent_images/transparent_images_in_line_drawings.html
My summary of how to make a transparent image for use in AutoCad.
Practitoner Example
www.signaturelandscapes.com Signature Landscapes.
Gardens, estates, swimming pools, waterfalls and retainer walls.
www.signaturelandscapes.com/drawings.htm Downloads.
Download complete landscape and garden designs in dwf and dwg format and notes in web format.
See the complete Hintze design presented in 3D for example, hinze.dwg (3.6Mb) along with notes and raster (jpg) images. Note: This is an opportunity to use the facility outlined in the AutoCad Page's Autocad Design Center section (particularly the points made by Ralph Grabowsky) to just transfer the layers and blocks to your own drawing using the ADCENTER command. Pretend your a contractor asked to do work that complies with the layer convetions and using the same blocks as a sample drawing, hintze.dwg, that you have been sent.
You can also download Voloviewer (to view A2002 .dwf) and Whip (to view A2000 .dwf) from this page if you require them (I prefer Whip).
See downloads in pdf demonstrating how work with an Autocad component could be presented.
Download and advice on how to facilitate conferencing (ie collaborating) over the internet.
Download free garden plans and also free garden design software.
Principles of Landscape Design
edis.ifas.ufl.edu/../ Uni of Florida -Basic Principles of Landscape Design.
www.lih.gre.ac.uk LIH -Landscape Information Hub.
A donnish UK site that addresses some philosophical, academic and historical aspects of landscaping that help lay the basis for landscaping as profession.
AutoCad's Landscape Objects
www.cadenceweb.com/1998/0898/thirddimension0898.html A Third Dimension column article in Cadence Magazine decribing AutoCad's Landscape Objects. Landscape objects typically include people, cars signs and trees. Either photo real or photo raytrace rendering must be used for landscape objects to effect rendering.
landscaping/autocad_landscape_objects.html My summary.
Landscape Symbols
http://www.insa.com/../ PIRS On-Line CADD Blocks Landscape (they would like a once only registration fee).
www.cadeasy.com/../ CAD Easy Corporation's 2D landscape symbols. A useful guide.
www.kurtz-fernhout.com/PlantStudio/samples.htm Kurtz and Fernout's 2D and 3D plant samples. Some in dxf.
3D Ground Surface Modelling
www.cadtutor.net/acad/ktf/ground/ground.html CADTutor's tutorial on making 3D surface model from contour (ground elevation) information using AutoCad alone (and AutoCad with a third party program, Key TERRA-FIRMA).
(In native AutoCad I got a quick visual effect by using RULESURF between the contour pairs using the same TABSURF1 setting after I gave up the tedious task of trying to 3DFACE little triangles between the contours as per the tutorial.)
www.mcneel.com McNeel and Associates
Besides the other products Tom McNeel is well known for, see EasySurf and EasySite (built on EasySurf), AutoCad add-ons for ground modelling.
Water Sprinkler Design
www.irrigationtutorials.com/sprinkler00.htm Jim Stryker's sprinkler design tutorial.
Contact: Aussie John wpsmoke@yahoo.co.uk