PhotoShop Sample File

[Anonymous]

Recently I needed to get a color elevation ready for a city review board. Not a lot of time but at least I had the buildings 90% 3D. A quick vector elevation in ArchiCAD then export to Photoshop, set up layers and color in with airbrush tool. Copy and Paste for the sky. ArchiCAD trees added last.

When I started - I wished I could have had an example file like this to study/play with to learn more about PhotoShop's layers. I post this for a while so that others can learn and or critique the effort.

The masks are saved as selections. I still have plenty to learn, please comment.

Download the PhotoShop file from:

http://www.Burginger.com/ARCHICAD/BURGINGER.zip

Filesize 5.28 MB

[Steve Jepson]

Thanks. I am new to PhotoShop CS2. I wish had gotten it a long time ago.

scale down the roof tiles a bit ?

[Rakela Raul]

2 good x me

[Steve Jepson]

about the roof tiles...the more I look at them the more I think they should be a shown. Its the impression of roof tiles created that counts here I think. I am curious about that. Is that the intention?

[Anonymous]

I looked at it this way. This is a design "sketch" ha - like the word sketch can be applied to a work done with ArchiCAD after all the model setup.

Anyway I did the tiles at actual size and two things happened I didn't like. The sketch engine rendered the roof as nearly black, and the vector elevations looked too busy. Enlarging them allowed the drawing to look lighter while still communicating the "look" of tile.

Likewise, if done by hand, I never draft a roof "at scale".

[Steve Jepson]

Another very nice touch was the windows layer. ( in the download, not the example) When I turn off the all of the other layers, the window color has this beautiful fade from top (dark) to bottom (lighter). How did you get that effect? Is it the background showing through? How would I change it to a black fade instead of a blue?

[Anonymous]

Using the saved selections you can modify the photoshop image in 101 different ways. I just used light blue with the airbrush tool, painted it darker at top. If anyone modifies the photoshop image I don't mind you posting it. Unless of course you use the flame tool and burn it to the ground.

Here is a preliminary sketch engine image of Bldg. A

[Anonymous]

Great presentation! It's funny that we make some of the best ones then time is short!

Here I post the similar case I had. Didn't have time for rendering. Technique is the same.

Learning Photoshop is a must for any architect. It is the most valuable application for my job!

Steve, about the windows - paint them with blue, then use a big fat eraser with paintbrush shape, decrease opacity to 30-50 and have a go! There is always the additional opacity control at the layer window too!

[Karl Ottenstein]

Nice result, Mark.

I've seen lots of people (including students at the university) using this technique in Photoshop ... and have to say, that it is just way too much work to do well and flexibly compared to doing the same thing in Piranesi. Piranesi is all about NOT having to create masks for the windows, etc. because it knows that they are either (a) a different material or (b) a different 3D plane.

Yes, saved selections let you modify your work in Photoshop ... but if the model changes, because the client wants a change, those saved selections/masks each have to be modified. Piranesi simply 'knows'. 😉

Depending on one's bill-out rate, a couple of elevations like this might pay for Piranesi ($620) in time-saved over Photoshop.

Don't get me wrong - I use PS all the time and I know that many people do what you're doing... but I also believe in the right tool for the job. 😉

Really nice presentation board / project!

Cheers,
Karl

PS The 30 day free trial download:
http://www.informatix.co.uk/piranesi/index.shtml
does not give a good feel for what is included in the full product since it only includes a few textures/cutouts - while 100's are included in the CD.
Be sure to download the guided tour and tutorial moies, too. The user manual is only the online help, but Bonnie Roskes, author of the SketchUp book, recently published a Piranesi book.

A good review:
http://www.cgarchitect.com/news/newsfeed.asp?nid=2367