Import jpeg image as new surface???

[Anonymous]

Hi there,

Im needing some clear instructions on how to use a jpeg photo/image of a surface i have selected for my client to create a new surface in Archicad.

I'm needing to do a nice render but it needs to be fully customised as per my selected finishes. Can someone explain to me step by step how i import and create a new surface?

Thank you very much!!

Mel Sherwell

[Richard Morrison]

Mel wrote:
Hi there,

Im needing some clear instructions on how to use a jpeg photo/image of a surface i have selected for my client to create a new surface in Archicad.

I'm needing to do a nice render but it needs to be fully customised as per my selected finishes. Can someone explain to me step by step how i import and create a new surface?

Thank you very much!!

Mel Sherwell

What part of the instructions in the reference guide was unclear? (Or the online help?) What rendering engine are you proposing to use?

[Anonymous]

Hi Richard,

Unfortunately I have not read any guides or nor am I aware of any online help other than this forum. If you could point me in the right direction that would be great. I should have prob explained that I am reasonably new at Archicad and I am self taught. Any help would be appreciated. Just after anyone who knows how to do what Im trying to do, to give me a brief but clear guide.

I'm trying to save myself time as my client is waiting for a render. If you can help that would be great.

I'm just using the built in renderer. I thinks cine render or cinema 4, does the renderer change the process of how you import custom surfaces?

Thanks
Mel

[Richard Morrison]

Well, there are several rendering engines: the built-in "internal" engine, the CineRender engine, and the Sketch engine. CineRender can do amazing things, but the internal engine may be fine for you.

If you go to the Help menu at the top, and select "Archicad Reference Guide", you can do a search for "Surfaces" and a couple of pages will show you how to do it. For example, if you are in AC20 (please add your version to your signature), then go to page 2655 in the Guide or thereabouts. I think it's a little much to ask someone to create your own personal tutorial for this. Graphisoft has created numerous videos, and there are other people who have created them. (e.g. check www.bobrow.com or www.archvista.com) I'm sure I've missed some other good ones on youtube.com, too. I believe there is also a basic course on Lynda.com.

In my experience, trying to teach yourself is probably the least efficient way to get competent quickly for a complex program like ArchiCAD. You can get there, but having a personal tutor or an online course is far more effective.

[Anonymous]

Richard, your response is actually quite rude to be honest.
I don't think its too much to ask other users for advise on how to do something, if you go over to other platforms like autodesk there are thousands of people all helping each other. We all give each other the short version on how to do something and it is very much encouraged. If you aren't able to do that in this instance then your silence would have been of more help.

Perhaps you need to increase your awareness as to how other digital operators are communicating and helping each other. Im aware of lynda.com etc I was just looking for a helpful person who could give me a quick response as Im a busy Mum of two who is doing great job teaching her self many programs whilst running my own business.

If there are any other users out there who don't think its TOO much to ask for advice then that would be great.
Im not after a full literary text for gods sake, I don't think its that complicated.
Im actually really annoyed by this forum, I can see why ArchiCAD is dying!!

Thank you!!

[Erwin Edel]

If you look at the very top of the page it says 'Help Center' and 'Youtube/AC'. A quick search there will offer excactly the tutorials you are after. https://www.youtube.com/user/Archicad/search?query=cinerender+texture and http://helpcenter.graphisoft.com/?s=cinerender+texture&versions=Versions for example

If giving the tip to seek out a tutor is rude, then count me among being rude.

I learned by doing for a year and picked up more in the 1 day update course I took for the next version update of ArchiCAD than in the first 2-3 months of learning by myself.

Any new employees and interns we've had at our firm in recent years have all been sent off to the 3 day course the reseller offers here and are competent enough to work reasonably by themselves after that, with a few questions now and then.

[Anonymous]

Erwin,

Thank you for your help and for once again pointing me to a resource for help. I am aware that I can watch tutorials however in this instance, whilst in a hurry, I thought it was a more valuable use of my time to seek a helpful Archicad user who could quickly explain to me how to insert my own jpeg surfaces. I do already know how to create a new surface, I duplicate it, change the surface name, set the correct hatching, set the correct render format, I just wanted the next bit of info. Sometimes speaking to a human rather than watching a tutorial is far more clear and a much better use of time. Whilst I wait for lovely forum users to help me, i can continue on with other work. It usually works well!!

I thought it was an easy question and I wasn't implying that Richard suggesting a tutor was rude, I think its a great idea, and when Im finished this project and have time I will try to do that.

What I was offended by was that Richard thought I was asking too much in asking for some direct advise, or directions from a real person. I didn't find it very encouraging or supportive to imply that someone asking for help was asking too much. Isn't that what a help forum is for? Or is it just to refer people to other people who know the answer?
Im sorry Richard I may have gotten a little agro this morning when I read your message but I did find it a little condecending and it you hit a nerve so Im sorry if I was a little harsh. However I did just want an answer to my question and I don't think all the other comments where necessary.

Sorry that you guys feel I should just go direct to these other avenues, in future i will not ask any of you.

That is what is being communicated to me don't ask complicated questions, just go straight to these resources? Ok well thanks for your help

If you don't know the answer or you can't be bothered answering, you could just not reply you know.

[Erwin Edel]

Hey Mel,

The youtube channel of Archicad has a ton of short clips explaining in detail small things like you just asked. This one should (I think) tell you excactly how create a new high quality surface for cinerender. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnwrhdzTVe8

I notice in your sig that you do interior design, interior rendering can be a bit daunting. I really recommend looking over the cinerender videos, it will probably take you 1-2 hours, but Cinerender is a very advanced renderer with lots of bells and whistles. You can also find sample files (from ArchiCAD 18 ) that show the models they are using in the videos along with render scenes, surfaces set up, etc. These are great for going in to more detail and research than the clips do.

There are some preset scenes in the standard template you can use that set up most settings, but I find that they either have rediculously high render times (at the higher settings) or very poor transparancy / problems with transparant surfaces if you do not tweak the right settings. There is a short explanation about the problem with transparancy on the help center. It is a question that pops up on the forum quite often.

ArchiCAD also comes with 250 cinerender surfaces pre-installed, but not all 250 are typically in your project. You can create new surfaces based on this library. Depending on your subscription you may have another 250 surfaces in an extra library.

Some of these surfaces might be close enough to what you are looking for and will have all the advanced settings set up to make them look great in renders. Sometimes even a small colour tweak is all that is needed to make use of some of these surfaces, because a lot of them use procedural shaders rather than textures, so it is a matter of getting in the proper settings and changing some colours, it might not look good in the OpenGL 3D window, but the render will look fine.

If it were a matter of going in to one settings dialogue and typing a few things, I would've supplied a screenshot below (as is done by other people on this forum too), but for your question it is quicker to watch one of the vids about how to set up textures.

If watching video's isn't your thing, I linked the help center, which has pretty much the same thing in written form.

The reference guide that is included from the help menu in ArchiCAD itself is also very thorough and good for looking up stuff in general, it is basically how I learned ArchiCAD, as I wrote above (it just takes a long time to look up everything). It is a PDF and has an excellent index at the back that sends you to the right pages as it does indeed run into a few thousand pages.

I still use it from time to time, for things I don't use very often.

Do not pass up on this forum as it is an excellent source for information, but also remember that it is a user forum and I would say if you really are in need of a quick answer, your resellers helpdesk (assuming they offer one) and the available help center will help you out faster to make crazy deadlines.

[Eduardo Rolon]

I share Erwin's opinion and FWIW Richard's answer was not rude your post answering him was.

That being said I wrote those steps about 2 years ago here in the forum. In that case I was adding an Image to the Luminance Channel in your case you will need to add it to Color and/or Diffuse.

http://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=46824&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=10

[Anonymous]

Oh dear Im now thinking I should never have posed this question, what a lovely result it has turned out to be.

Thank you Ejrolon, yes I admitted i was perhaps a little harsh to Richard in the previous post, if you read that? Once I agin I apologise Richard! I perhaps took your comments wrong or too personal but I still stand by my opinion that telling someone they are asking too much of others on a help forum is possibly not the best way to answer someone in need of help. I also think I have done a pretty good job in teaching myself to date.

Regardless, FWIW i would prefer to stick to the question that I asked which is regarding importing a jpeg image and install it as a custom surface. I really don't need , nor did I ask for opinions or comments about anything unrelated to the question.

I am still unsure if using a jpeg image of a surface is able to be imported into the surface library but I will ask else where.

Thank you very much Erwin, I can see you are really trying to help me and I appreciate that. I do have some experience in rendering so far and i'll upload a couple of images to show you where Im at. Im not a complete novice but just like all of us still learning and was hoping someone may be able to enlighten me on the question I asked. Im thinking it may be much more complicated than I anticipated. I thought I could just upload a jpeg into library and create a new surface.

Anyway, i think I give up for now.