Greg La Vardera Architect

Office interior for technology firm

PowerCADD to upFront.

Here is a quick mock-up done with a photograph and PerspectiveTools. This is literally a CAD "sketch". Step 1, I drew the lines over top of the photograph.

Step 2. I removed the construction lines.

Step 3. I put in a few images of my setup work. The windows were put in from the elevations with the Block Out tool. The colors in the final image were plucked right out of the photo using the eyedropper in the system color picker. This kind of thing comes together really fast. -- Greg That is a nice example of sketching. Greg, do you have some suggestions on the steps before step 1? What is it like setting up the perspective in WildTools over a photo? -- Peter Bacot Before step 1! Well, I had the addition elevations roughed out in 2D -- that's where I figured out whether it would fit between all the windows where it needed to be. Setting up the vanishing points with PerspectiveTools is an easy affair. I got the picture placed in my drawing, and then made a guideline layer to start with. The first step was drawing pairs of lines over the photograph for each axis following an edge that was easy to see. I did the ridge line and the eave line, the side I followed a couple of siding lines, and then two vertical edges. Then you use the vanishing point tools to click-drag-release on the corresponding pairs. Then you start drawing the construction lines you see in step 1. The height and depth I guaged off the photo, the width I just eyeballed it. It really works just like drawing a perspective on paper -- you project lines out from know points to find intersections that position new points. What was great here is that this simple drawing was what really convinced the owners that they were happy with the way it would look and that they wanted to go ahead and build it, suddenly right away! -- Greg

Some time ago, shortly after PerspectiveTools came out I sent you a drawing over a photograph of a small addition. The construction is all but finished and I took some pictures the other day. I thought you would like it since you were on a kick to show completed projects for a while. Here it is. -- Greg

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