June 05, 2013
Sweeeeeet. Time to design, time to play, with a perpetual calendar good for 87 years. We could probably retire by then.
Gear Patrol introduced us to the A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar ($189,000 in rose gold, $213,000 in platinum) won’t need to be corrected until the year 2100 (only one in four century years is a leap year — 2100 is not).
Just a beautiful mechanism.
Why 1815 you might ask? I did. 1815 is the year Ferdinand A. Lange was born.
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Referencing Vectorworks files for collaboration.
Justin Lange, editor at Projection Lights and Staging News invited Kevin to blog at Pro Lighting Space, Justin’s go to site for professional lighting designers, and lighting technicians. Thanks to Justin, and Pro Lighting Space, I am cross posting Kevin’s blog entries here.
Referencing Vectorworks files for collaboration.
Referencing is a great way for a team of designers/associates/assistants to work on one project..
To be specific, Vectorworks allows the sharing and referencing of symbols, So, for example, if one assistant is drafting the venue, even in progress, that model can be saved as a symbol and then the symbol can be referenced into other documents. As the referenced symbols are edited, instances placed in other files are updated.
So, as a practical example, one team member can model the venue. another can reference the venue and create the light plot, others can develop, design, and spec custom practicals. This scenario has at least three people working on the same project. All of their elements can be brought together in one master file.
This can be done on a LAN or a WAN whether a traditional WAN or via a service like Dropbox. Although when working with a cloud service, it is best to copy the file you’re working on to your system, edit, and then return the file to the cloud, overwriting the older version. Keep track of who’s working where and when.
Cloud services copy files to and from back-up. This copying can affect saving to the cloud; saving a file that’s partially returned from back-up can result in unpleasant, unexpected results.
That said, I do like to keep my referenced files in the same directory.
Referencing symbols is simple. Open File A and File B. To reference a symbol from File A into File B, select File A from the Resource Browser from the File B window. Right click on the desired symbol and select Reference from the contextual menu.
Ok, that’s done. See you next week.
Optionally, you can also make File A a favorite in the Resource Browser. You can choose to Import rather than Reference a symbol, but then any updates or revisions are not communicated.
The Organization Palette (Tools>Organization), References Tab helps to control and update referenced symbols. Any alerts that symbols have been updated will be here. You can use this dialogue to automatically update symbols.
Similarly, set designers can provide models of scenic elements, plans, and details to lighting designers for reference. Sound designers can create a plot as a symbol to be referenced into the light plot and set designs.
You want accuracy, this is a way to make sure everyone on the team has the met up to date information.
Comments (0) | Tags: Architecture, drawing, learn, lighting, Lighting Design, research, tools, VectorWorks, writing | More: Architecture, Design Basics, Teaching, VectorWorks, VWX Spotlight and Design
Classes, You Can Never Have Too Many Vectorworks Classes
June 03, 2013
Justin Lange, editor at Projection Lights and Staging News invited Kevin to blog at Pro Lighting Space, Justin’s go to site for professional lighting designers, and lighting technicians. Thanks to Justin, and Pro Lighting Space, I am cross posting Kevin’s blog entries here.
Classes, You Can Never Have Too Many Vectorworks Classes
Some of my friends and colleagues will disagree with me here. Oh, well. To each, his or her own method of working, that’s part of the joy of Vectorworks.
Now, there’s a funny title for a post; The Joy of Vectorworks. But I digress.
I all seriousness, I use a lot of Vectorworks classes and some of my colleagues argue that I use too many. You’ll have to decide for yourself and come up with your own strategy. Classes allow the specification of attributes to objects, and visibility of objects in different views. In the latter case, Classes have some functionality similar to Layers.
Let’s start with the basics. Any new VWX doc gives you two classes; None, and Dimension. As soon as you cut a section VWX creates the Section Style class, which is a horrible reminder that you need to edit that class. For good basic drafting practise, I adjust the line weights so that I have the standard thin, medium, and thick lines. So, I’ll adjust the Dimensions Class to have a line weight of about .05 or .06mm, I set the fill to none, and I like to color my dimensions as a dark blue to further differentiate them from objects. I’ll also add a prefix changing the class name to D-Dimension.
I color many classes, BUT I keep those colors dark so they print in a readable manner.
I set the weight of the None class to .15-.20mm and set the fill to solid. The solid fill allows objects created in the class to show a texture when rendered. This is my standard medium line weight. VWX will default to the None class, BUT you can rename that Class to something like Medium Line Weight, if that helps.
When created, the Section Style class has a line weight of .7mm which I generally find too heavy. This depends on the scale of the output. The default Section Style also fills the sections with a red fill. I’ll redefine this class to have a line of about .35mm and set the fill to a diagonal Hatch or Pattern.
I then have standard classes for various annotations:
- D-Plaster Line
- D-Center Line
- D-Drawing Labels
- D-Reference Markers
- D-Scale Bar
- D-End Seats
- D-Construction Lines
- D-Loci
Each of these classes is defined with color and with one of the three line weights.
The use of the Prefix keeps the Classes together and lets me expand or collapse the Class list as needed.
I have a similar set-up for Lighting;
- Lighting-VWX Light Objects
- Lighting-Spotlight Lighting Devices
- Lighting-Lighting Positions
- Lighting-Focus Point Objects
- Lighting-Photometer
- Lighting-Clamps
- Lighting-LL-Color
- Lighting-LL-Focus
- Lighting-LL-Channel
- Lighting-LL-Circuit
The LL designation indicates that class is for use in defining Label Legends.
Of course, Audio requires similar attention…
- Audio-Array
- Audio-Rigging
- Audio-Deck
- Audio-Monitor
- Audio-Stage Mikes
- Audio-Air Mikes
I have a similar set of classes for defining 2D and 3D symbols for people used in creating an entourage in a rendering, or for placing figures in elevations, and sections for scale. I always include a human figure and a Scale Bar in elevations, and sections. A figure doesn’t always appear in plans, but a scale bar is always present.
I have a stand alone class for my Renderworks Cameras, and I have classes and Text Styles for my title blocks.
I generally define Wall Styles and classes for each venue’s architecture specific to a project. So they’re not standard, but I do keep a library of Wall Styles.
Then the scenery. This is where it gets complicated. I use classes to assign attributes to object, like colors, textures and line colors to differentiate between parts. I can over ride the line color choices in Viewports to create a standard black line for drafting on my Sheet Layers, but in complex geometry, it helps to see objects if they have different line colors.
So, I might have a class for all objects in a show that are purple or I might have a class like Portal-Purple, and another like Deck-Purple depending on how and where I expect to use the class for visibility. Alternately, I might have a class called Show-Purple if I’m just trying to manage the color/texture. How I make these decisions often depends on the scale of the production.
I will also generally make the individual elements into symbols for easier editing. The symbol may be assigned a class and the instances of symbols may be assigned a class allowing me to show a wagon (for instance) in different positions for different scenes.
Don’t forget the softgoods; Legs, Borders… And always have a good Black Velour texture in your stationery docx.
All of these classes are stored in a stationery document, there is no need to re-invent the wheel every time you start a new project. In addition to the classes, I keep settings for all of my tools in the stationery document.
Of course, I go through the development of classes at length in Entertainment Design; Scenic, Lighting, and Sound, with Vectorworks…
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Layers, I do like me some Vectorworks Layers
May 30, 2013
Justin Lange, editor at Projection Lights and Staging News invited Kevin to blog at Pro Lighting Space, Justin’s go to site for professional lighting designers, and lighting technicians. Thanks to Justin, and Pro Lighting Space, I am cross posting Kevin’s blog entries here.
Layers, I do like me some Vectorworks Layers
Layers are like sheets of tracing paper on a drawing board. They are useful in organizing and presenting information.
Specifically, right now, I am referring to Design Layers. Later on, I make some comments about Sheet Layers. Design Layers are for Designing, Sheet layers are for presenting. Sheet layers are like desktop publishing for blueprints.
In my stationery file, I have a basic layer structure. I’ll pretty much always need to begin with these layers:
- Light Plot
- Sound Plot
- Scenery
- Masking
- Audience Seating
- Theatre (or venue) Architecture
- Trace
The trace layer is where I’ll usually start. This assumes I’m brining in an image file or a PDF. I’ve already discussed working with DWG/DXF files here.
Each of these layers should make sense.
I like to be able to readily turn off any audience seating as that generally involves complex geometry that I’ll want to publish on a Sheet layer, but generally will not want to have to wait for it to redraw as I work.
For multi-set shows, I’ll have as many Scenic layers as required.
I then use the options of showing, snapping, hiding, and greying layers as I need to best see and complete my work.
One reason I separate items using layers is to control snapping and selecting.
Every object is, of course Classed, but that’s another post.
If I’m building a venue where I’ll be doing a number of projects, I’ll add some basic Sheet Layers to the file. These will likely include:
- A General Plan, usually without the light plot
- Sections
- Plan with the audience
- Light Plot, probably with the Sound Plot grayed out, but present
Once these various Viewports are created and basic annotations added, it helps when drawing new shows. I’ll often use Class overrides in the Viewports to focus the drawing. For instance, the theatre architecture is likely to be more visible in set plans and suggested on the Light Plot.
Comments (0) | Tags: Architecture, design, drawing, learn, lighting, Lighting Design, tools, VectorWorks, writing | More: Architecture, Design Basics, Teaching, VectorWorks, VWX Spotlight and Design
Your World, Reimagined, a Design Competition Using Vectorworks
May 28, 2013
Justin Lange, editor at Projection Lights and Staging News invited Kevin to blog at Pro Lighting Space, Justin’s go to site for professional lighting designers, and lighting technicians. Thanks to Justin, and Pro Lighting Space, I am cross posting Kevin’s blog entries here.
Your World, Reimagined, a design competition using Vectorworks
One of the things I have always valued about my theatrical training and experience is the ability to find creative solutions to many different types of problems. Some call it thinking outside the box. We just don’t believe there is a box.
That training and experience was accentuated when I assisted designer Peter Wexler. His work knew few boundaries as to what constituted theatre: museum exhibits, interiors, public space, performance facilities, the list goes on. Peter taught me that there is theatre everywhere, and that real life was theatre. Especially if it was well designed.
This really reinforced the many lessons of Professor Don Sobolik from Montclair State.
All of this is to introduce the Your World, Reimagined Competition sponsored by Nemetschek Vectorworks, Maxon, and others.
Your World, Reimagined is a global design competition that asks professional and student designers to tackle an old, dilapidated, or run-down locale and redesign it for a new, improved use. Entries can range in focus from adaptive reuse to landscape reclamation or object redesign.
Cash and software awards will be presented to overall and category winners. Plus, the overall winner will be featured in a prominent, online design magazine.
So, what would you do with this theme? Restaurants or retail using theatrical light? A new kind of theatre lobby space? Themed interiors or exteriors?.
Hope you enter and post links to your ideas.
Click on the links for the particulars, you have until August 16th.
Comments (0) | Tags: Architecture, design, drawing, learn, lighting, Lighting Design, tools, VectorWorks, writing | More: Architecture, Design Basics, Events, Teaching, VectorWorks, VWX Spotlight and Design
What’s inside a Spotlight Lighting Device-Part 1
May 24, 2013
Justin Lange, editor at Projection Lights and Staging News invited Kevin to blog at Pro Lighting Space, Justin’s go to site for professional lighting designers, and lighting technicians. Thanks to Justin, and Pro Lighting Space, I am cross posting Kevin’s blog entries here.
What’s inside a Spotlight Lighting Device-Part 1
Well, a lot really, but here’s one thing. A light. Here I have a stock symbol for an ETC Source 4 19° degree instrument and a Vectorworks Light Object-Spotlight. The Vectorworks Light is selected, so the OIP shows options available for that type of device. One thing to notice is that VWX refers to Spread and Beam which theatrical light designers typically call Field and Beam. There are many options for ‘focusing’ a Vectorworks Lighting Object, both manually and through the OIP. You can select the Spotlight Lighting Device for yourself and see the myriad of options available. I expect everyone reading this has probably done that at least once. Both lights show up in the Visualization palette as well. By default, the Vectorworks Light Object is turned on and the Spotlight lighting device is turned off. You can turn that Device on here or by right clicking and selecting Turn On from the contextual menu. 
Right clicking on the Spotlight Lighting Device also allows you the option of Editing the Light. Let’s look there. The resulting dialogue shows you a bit of the Vectorworks Lighting Object that is imbedded in the Spotlight Lighting Device. Most of the options are greyed out. We’ll get to those details in another post. This dialogue does allow you to do a number of things, You can assign a color, or if you have assigned a color in the OIP, it will show up here. This is where you can assign a level when visualizing and it is also where you can tell the Device to light up any fog you have specified in your Renderworks Background. Unfortunately, the Device does not really differ from Fog and Haze. Perhaps one day. One key thing you can learn here are the specific Field and Beam settings for a particular unit. It is then possible to use those settings to adjust a Vectorworks Light Object, or to use that information to create your own custom Spotlight Lighting Device Symbol. I like to use Vectorworks Light Objects for pre-visualization, that is before I’ve decided where to where to put each specific light. I can easily and very quickly lay down a blue wash with few Vectorworks Light Objects, set to a wide beam and possibly at more than 100%. You can do this with a Spotlight Lighting Device, but that’s not going to help you in the long run. So, if you know that you want an R80 wash and a narrow beam of L104, you can assign those colors to the Vectorworks Light Objects and you can create a Vectorworks Light Object with the same Beam and Spread or Beam and Field to get a quick look. Also, you can assign the Fog option as you like, perhaps only to the narrow beam so it really shows! 
Comments (0) | Tags: Architecture, design, drawing, learn, lighting, Lighting Design, tools, VectorWorks, writing | More: Design Basics, Teaching, VectorWorks, VWX Spotlight and Design
Paper Free? Vectorworks Nomad 2.0 takes us a step closer
May 22, 2013
Justin Lange, editor at Projection Lights and Staging News invited Kevin to blog at Pro Lighting Space, Justin’s go to site for professional lighting designers, and lighting technicians. Thanks to Justin, and Pro Lighting Space, I am cross posting Kevin’s blog entries here.
Paper Free? Vectorworks Nomad 2.0 takes us a step closer
I really do believe that one day we’ll all be paper free and that iPads will be ubiquitous. Who hasn’t had outdated paper cause an issue somewhere in some production process.
Vectorworks Nomad is available to Service Select subscribers and lets users view, share, measure and annotate files. Version 2.0, released last week includes enhancements that allow new redline drawing shapes, a sheet layer sidebar palette, angle and path measurement modes, improved download and upload performance and improved annotation text objects. The app is now available for both iOS and Android devices and can be downloaded from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. There is also a web based interface and desktop applications for Windows and MacOS. The desktop app allows for the use of the mobile apps.
Here’s the simple beauty, upload a VWX doc or and alias with Sheet layers and viewports. Nomad does not work without sheet layers and viewports. Nomad does automatically generate PDF files from your Sheet Layers. It adds a step, but also saves a step. This is great with revisions.
Just in case your ME or head carp doesn’t have Nomad, you can send them a link to the PDF file. The PDF file is automatically updated as any changes are made to the VWX document.
Everybody, go buy an iPad…
Read and see more about Vectorworks Cloud Services here. We are all moving to the cloud.
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Great Customer Service Makes My Day
May 21, 2013
I’m stepping out of the design world for a moment to tell you about a wonderful customer service experience I had yesterday. In the midst of research, conference calls, plowing through laminate samples and fabric swatches, I suddenly remembered I needed to order Pup Corn, a treat that our Bichon, Sophia, really likes. Since we give her way too many of these treats, we order it by the barrel from Sunshine Pet Treats.
I went to the website, ordered the pup corn and went about my business. About 15 minutes after I placed the order, I received this email:
Kathleen / Kevin,
The internet order that you submitted for PupCorn, PEANUT BUTTER - 2 / 30 ounce has been received. However, our records indicate that you have never ordered Peanut Butter before, you’ve been ordering Cheese since 2008. Did you intend to order Peanut Butter? Please confirm by email or call me at: 800-705-2111, ext.4114. I am in the office, M – F, from 7:00 am until 3:30 pm CST.
Upon confirmation of flavor, your order will be shipped
Thank you,
Cynthia Daniel
Customer Service
In my haste and crazed multi tasking attempt, I ordered the wrong flavor. I picked up the phone and called Cynthia. I could not believe how on top of this she was, given that she probably processes lots and lots of orders throughout her day. I was so grateful that she took the time to notice that we had always ordered the cheese flavor, and took the time to email me to make sure I had ordered what I actually wanted.
I thanked her profusely for noticing my mistake. She said she was happy to help, that a quick look back at my order history and a short email was certainly easier than having to deal with a return of two barrels of treats.
Bravo Cynthia! You saved me a lot of time and energy, and made sure that Sophia would be happy.
Comments (0) | Tags: adventures, happiness, Inspiration | More: From the Road, Inspiration
Vectorworks Template or Stationery Files
May 20, 2013
Justin Lange, editor at Projection Lights and Staging News invited Kevin to blog at Pro Lighting Space, Justin’s go to site for professional lighting designers, and lighting technicians. Thanks to Justin, and Pro Lighting Space, I am cross posting Kevin’s blog entries here.
Vectorworks Template or Stationery Files
Not to be confused with Stationary files. They don’t exist, or move.
I have several, generally for different sheet sizes, or specific venues, but it is certainly easy to make that change in any one Template or Stationery file.
When you create a new document in Vectorworks you’re given the choice of using a blank document or any of a number of stock (or custom) Template files. These are generally architecture based and contain many standard architectural classes.
The stock Spotlight Template contains layers for the Theatre Architecture, Soft Goods, and Scenery. The template also includes classes for Clamps, and Label Legend components.
I want more, of course. I use a lot of different classes and I store them in Stationery files. I create and set line weights in stationery files. I set all the tool preferences to my liking in stationery files. I can keep different venues in stationery files.
It’s not possible to move those tool setting around easily, that kind of choice might limit the number of Templates you want to create. You can easily mass import layers and classes from one file to another in the Tools>Organization dialogue.
Of course, I discuss template files and how they might grow and change with your experience in Entertainment Design; Scenery, Lighting and Sound, with Vectorworks…, but that’s no surprise.
Here’s one really important reason to have a stationery file. When you create a section Viewport, Vectorworks automatically creates a class called SectionStyle. It has a really, really, really heavy outline, and a red fill. Most users will want to reference that class. If you re-define in a Template file, you only have to make that change once.
When you File>Save as Template… Vectorworks saves you template in your defaults and you can then access the template anytime you create a new file. Just write over the original anytime you want to change some of the settings.
Bit by bit, I go over some of my choices for stationery file settings.
Comments (0) | Tags: learn, lighting, Lighting Design, research, VectorWorks, writing | More: Design Basics, Teaching, VWX Spotlight and Design
Who needs a car in L.A.? We got the best public transportation system in the world!
May 02, 2013
“Who needs a car in L.A.? We got the best public transportation system in the world!” says private detective Eddie Valiant in the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Matt Novak of the Smithsonian Magazine Blog Paleo Future writes about the rise and dominance of the car in Los Angeles. It is a fascinating read that includes concepts for futuristic monorails and oil wells at Venice Beach.
Aside from Detroit there’s no American city more identified with the automobile than Los Angeles. In the 20th century, the Motor City rose to prominence as the home of the Big Three automakers, but the City of Angels is known to outsiders and locals alike for its confusing mess of freeways and cars that crisscross the city — or perhaps as writer Dorothy Parker put it, crisscross the “72 suburbs in search of a city.”
Los Angeles is notorious for being hostile to pedestrians. I know plenty of Angelenos who couldn’t in their wildest dreams imagine navigating America’s second largest city without a car. But I’ve spent the past year doing just that.
Artist’s conception of a future monorail for Los Angeles, California in 1954 (Source: Novak Archive)
Oil wells at Venice Beach on January 26, 1931 (Source: Paradise Promoted by Tom Zimmerman)
Comments (0) | Tags: adventures, art, environment, happiness, Inspiration, Modernism | More: From the Road, Inspiration
A Striking Visual History of New York City
April 30, 2013
I came across an article by the Associated Press announcing the release of an amazing photo database of 870,000 photos of New York City from the mid 1800’s through the late 20th century. No one, two or twenty photographers could ever shoot a collection as vast and varied as this, but anonymous municipal workers did, and until now, you could only access many of these images by visiting the City’s Department of Records archive offices in lower Manhattan. The WPA’s full building survey is not yet online, but the project, four years in the making, is being constantly updated.
Crime scene photos taken by city detectives are dark, almost Weege like, a shot of The Great Bambino in the stands for game one of the 1936 World Series is an amazing moment in another time, when fans could get the autograph of a living legend by simply handing him a program.
I’ve chosen a few shots from Mail Online to get you started, if you’re an urban visual history fanatic like me, go to the Department of Records and lose
yourself for a few hours. It’s worth every minute.
Moment in history: The headline of the newspaper the man in this May 18, 1940 photo reads: ‘Nazi Army Now 75 Miles From Paris.’ This picture shows the corner of Sixth Avenue and 40th Street in Manhattan
A bridge too far? Painters hang from suspended wires on the Brooklyn Bridge October 7, 1914 — 31 years after it first opened
The Great Bambino: In this September 30, 1936, Works Progress Administration, Federal Writerís Project, photo provided by the New York City Municipal Archives, a man hands a program to baseball legend Babe Ruth, center, as he is joined by his second wife Clare, center left, and singer Kate Smith, front left, in the grandstand during Game One of the 1936 World Series at the Polo Grounds in New York
- Dead men can tell tales: When the New York Times wrote about elevator operator Robert Green, left, and Jacob Jagendorf, a building engineer, right, it reported that their bodies found lying at the bottom of an elevator shaft November 24, 1915, told the story of the pair’s failed robbery attempt
Murder most foul: A detective took this crime scene photo in 1918 after children found the body of Gaspare Candella stuffed in a drum and dumped in a field in Brooklyn, New York
The main concourse of Grand Central Terminal, in New York, is seen from the Campbell apartment in this 1937 photo. The posh apartment, in one of America’s grandest train stations, was the playground of financier John Campbell in the Roaring 20′s
New Yorkers cool off in the Astoria public pool with the Hell’s Gate railroad bridge looming in the background in the summer of 1940.
Comments (0) | Tags: adventures, Architecture, art, environment, museum, research | More: Architecture, Events, From the Road, Industrial Design
86th St. Cavern
April 23, 2013
The MTA has released a series of photographs by Patrick Cashin chronicling the artificial caves that the 2nd Ave. subway will travel through. There have been problems with this subway line construction, and many people have grown irate over the project, but here I want to focus on the marvels and challenges faced in these caverns. Today I found BLDBLOG, that has a good write up on what’s going on underneath our city, so I’m going to post a quote and pictures here. Please visit BLDGBLOG for the rest of this story.
“Of the below-ground obstacles, Arup director of construction David Caiden says: ‘It’s a spaghetti of tunnels, utilities, pipes and cables—I’ve never seen anything like it.’ Additionally, the project must go over, or under, subway lines, Amtrak railway lines, and the Queens-Midtown Tunnel linking Manhattan and Queens.” It’s woven through the city like a carpet.
Photo by Patrick Cashin
Photo by Patrick Cashin
Photo by Patrick Cashin
Comments (0) | Tags: adventures, Architecture | More: Architecture, Events, From the Road
Drink Responsibly on Earth Day – Sustainable Craft Breweries
April 22, 2013
From Inhabitat – Here’s a list of America’s favorite sustainable craft breweries. We enjoy Sierra Nevada, Harpoon IPA, and Boulevard. Have you tried these or the others on the list? I’m going to check out Fairway to see if they carry these other brews. Kudos to these small craft breweries. They are fine examples of how art, craft, commerce and care for our environment can work.
The brewery creates 60% of its own electricity. Add to that with a slew of energy efficient strategies, greenhouse gas emissions reductions programs, an on-site wastewater treatment facility, and a 97% diversion program and composting system that keeps waste out of the landfill.
They have a number of energy efficient strategies in place lik, motion sensors and more energy-efficient chiller and freezers. Their spent grain is given to local farmers rather than sent to the landfill and brewery waste water is treated on site.
For more on these breweries, and the others on the list, visit Inhabitat
Comments (0) | Tags: adventures, ale, beer, cocktails, drinks, environment, green, Happy Hour | More: Events, Gastronauting, Happy Hour
Smart Highways – Taking Inspiration From Jellyfish
April 16, 2013
Smart Highways, by Studio Roosegaarde is a concept that proposes five energy efficient ways of making highways safer and easier to navigate.
First presented at the Design Indaba Conference in March, 2013, the firm will begin testing later this year in the Netherlands.
The light emitted from the photoluminescent paint is gorgeous, and the smart highway’s beauty is much more than skin deep. When the temperature drops, snow flakes appear on the road,
a warning to drivers that ice may be ahead. Interactive street lamps light up as a vehicle approaches, wind lights use pinwheels to generate energy, ad an induction lane is built in to recharge electric cars as they move along the highway.
The future certainly can be beautiful, easy on the planet, and practical.
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Putting the pieces together
April 12, 2013
Justin Lange, editor at Projection Lights and Staging News invited Kevin to blog at Pro Lighting Space, Justin’s go to site for professional lighting designers, and lighting technicians. Thanks to Justin, and Pro Lighting Space, I am cross posting Kevin’s blog entries here.
Putting the pieces together
Over the past few weeks, I’ve mentioned, in the abstract, any number of features in Vectorworks. Those mentions were really without application. These are short posts, so they will have to often tease information without context.
When I started this series, I posted this image and discussed Wall Styles.
The truth is that’s not ‘a’ wall. It’s three walls or wall segments, each with a different, but similar Wall Style applied. There is, from left to right, a Straight Wall, a curved wall (with the height adjusted in the same way I made the ramp,here) and a Straight Wall with a stepped top.
The Curved Wall segment also has a Wall Recess into which I’ve placed the Backlit Image.
They all have Wall End Caps, wrapping the textures. So while that simple exhibit may have taken some time to think through, it took very little time to model.
I ‘doodled’ this design entirely in Vectorworks. I have always done thumbnails to sketch out ideas with pencil and paper. Given the prowess of Vectorworks, I can really doodle and thumbnail in the program. I knew how the piece needed to look, I had to work out the proportions. This sketch shows the completed thought process.
There were three Wall Styles, The straight wall at Left is 10′ tall, the Curved Wall is 14′ tall and the right wall, which is stepped started at 8′ tall. The steps brought that wall to its finished height.
Each Wall Component had a texture assigned.
So, once the design was worked out this was quick and easy to model. We’ve already looked at using the Wall Tools to make a ramp, think of the many things that could be modeled using the Wall Tools; Stage faces, Museum Kiosks….
The list goes on.
Comments (0) | Tags: Architecture, design, drawing, KLAD, learn, lighting, Lighting Design, scenic design, set design, Theatre, tools, VectorWorks, writing | More: Architecture, Design Basics, Teaching, Theatre, VectorWorks, VWX Spotlight and Design
Here’s a Goody — CameraMatch Plug-in for Vectorworks 2013
April 10, 2013
Justin Lange, editor at Projection Lights and Staging News invited Kevin to blog at Pro Lighting Space, Justin’s go to site for professional lighting designers, and lighting technicians. Thanks to Justin, and Pro Lighting Space, I am cross posting Kevin’s blog entries here.
Here’s a Goody — CameraMatch Plug-in for Vectorworks 2013
Matt Panzer is an architect who specializes in visualization, he developed the CameraMatch Plug-in sometime back and updates with new goodies for each new version of Vectorworks. Look beyond the architectural samples and think about how this tool could be valuable for placing an amphitheatre on a site, creating dramatic signage, or a public event at a well known location. This tools is as valuable for showing clients what they’re getting as it is for obtaining permits.
Whatzitdo you ask?
CameraMatch allows users to quickly and accurately align a 3D model view with a photograph. New features in the 2013 version include a new preview object, new control line mode, improved control lines, and a render viewport button.
Pictures beat a thousand words. Here’s a beat up building…
Here’s how Shook-Kelly Architects rendered a renovation. Note using CameraMatch, you do not have to model and rendering the surrounding structure, JUST the changes.
Sweet. And Fast.
VisitPanzerCAD and check it out!
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Lightwright, Dropbox, and Vectorworks
April 04, 2013
I discuss the relationship between Lightwright and Vectorworks at length in Entertainment Design; Scenic, Lighting, and Sound, with Vectorworks Spotlight 2013.This is an important excerpt about good workflow, and avoiding Potential issues.
Lightwright was developed by John McKernon and not by Nemetschek Vectorworks. The
two work together to ensure a smooth workflow, but they are not one product, like the Vectorworks Designer Suite.This is explained again below, but as a critical point, it need emphasis.You need to keep your VWX, LW5, and XML files in the same folder or directory. That’s for good record keeping and so you can easily “see” the relationships.
You will have the files like these:
- Show-LightPlot.vwx
- Show-Data.xml (in reality Vectorworks will name this the same as your LightPlot, but with the XML file extension)
- Show-Paperwork.lw5
If you Save As or rename the VWX, that file will create a new XML so you may end up with
- Show-LightPlot-2.vwx
- Show-Data-2.xml
However,the Lightwright file will still be looking at the original Show-Data.xml file. The Lightwright file will still be linked to Show-Data.xml.
Any changes you make in Show-LightPlot-2.vwx will not appear in your Lightwright file unless you now link the Lightwright file to the new XML file.
Some things to bear in mind:
- Save the Vectorworks XML file in the same location as the VWX file.
- Keep the VWX, XML, and LW5 files in the same folder. I know, this is redundant, but it bears repeating.
- If you set up a collaborative environment using a service such as Dropbox, do not work on your files while they are on the server. Instead move them to your desktop for work. The server may be copying parts of your files at any time. When this happens, the file is likely to be locked and cannot be written to by either Vectorworks or Lightwright. Whatever changes are made when the file(s) are locked will not show up in the XML file.
- Do not use degree symbols anywhere in your Vectorworks symbols—in the name of the symbol, in the default data/information for the Lighting Device, or in the OIP data. For detailed information on the reasons behind this restriction, search the Lightwright Reference Manual for “degree symbol.”
- Use Lightwright 5′s Save a Backup command to make copies of the LW5 file, but do not Save As. The Save a Backup command automatically turns off Data Exchange in the backup copy, so it will not interfere with Data Exchange on the original VWX file.
- Do not change the name of your VWX file. If you need to make a backup, make a duplicate of the file in the OS using a different name rather than renaming the original. This way the XML file that Lightwright is looking for will not change, and you won’t have to do a full export on exit and re-link Lightwright to the XML file. When you open the duplicate copy, it will automatically export a new XML file. The new XML will not be linked to Lightwright. I usually turn off the XML export (Use automatic Lightwright Data Exchange in the Lightwright Tab of the Spotlight Preferences) in the new file.
Once your VWX file is linked to your LW5 file via the XML file, as you add lights and information to your plot, that information will be added to the Lightwright file. Similarly, if you prefer to add information, even lights in Lightwright, that information will be added tot he Vectorworks Light Plot. Here is one caveat, if you add an instrument in Lightwright, a symbol for that instrument must already exist in the Light Plot VWX file. Lightwright is incapable of searching your hard drive or contacting Steve Shelley to download a symbol.
Sorry, no pictures.
Comments (0) | Tags: KLAD, Lighting Design, lightwright, Theatre, VectorWorks | More: VectorWorks, VWX Spotlight and Design
Vectorworks Spotlight Lighting Device Preferences
April 01, 2013
Justin Lange, editor at Projection Lights and Staging News invited Kevin to blog at Pro Lighting Space, Justin’s go to site for professional lighting designers, and lighting technicians. Thanks to Justin, and Pro Lighting Space, I am cross posting Kevin’s blog entries here.
Vectorworks Spotlight Lighting Device Preferences
So you have a Rep Plot and there are a certain number of units for special. How do you quickly Tag those units on the plot? Possibly you have a plot that uses a mixed inventory of house gear and rental gear, or rental gear from different vendors. You might want to make that clear on the plot, right?
In a Vectorworks document, go to File>Document Settings>Spotlight Preferences. Select the left tab; Lighting Device. Looky, looky at all the things that are possible here.
First, you can easily force placement of units on 18″ centers, the default, or any fixed increment you choose, like 17 125/128″ if you hate the electrician.
Then you can establish classes for the Lighting Devices. Either an overall class for all units, or classes for specific units defined by parameters from the OIP. By using a Class name with a prefix, you can gather all of the lights classes clearly in the hierarchal menu. So if you want the Specials classed together, or the side light classed differently from the front light, this is really easy to set up. It’s then also easy to select by class (I guess that’s another post) and quickly see where you have placed what instruments.
I do like all of my lights classed, as shown, as Lighting-Device.
I’m a big fan of the next section. Less so the color by Color Field, Lights that are stroked with Bastard Amber are hard to see on the Plot.
I really like to be able to to use the Color Filed option and the pen color option. This takes me back to the beginning. I can stroke the outline of specials in a Rep Plot in a dark red or blue so it is clear what can be refocused. If I need to mix inventories, I can color code different shops’ gear so the electrician know where I want specific units. This is really important if the venue owns some units and you’re renting others of the same type. You may not want to mix those nits in the same systems. Color Code, Baby!
To make this work, select a light on the pot and change the color in the Attributes Palette. I only like to modify the stroke you may want to fill the unit with a color. For a small plot, this can also act as a Magic Sheet.
You can also affect the appearance of Label Legends and the Beams of the lights. You can use this option to keep the Beams drawn and see them only when the class is activated.
Now, click the Lighting Device Parameters button. You can have unlimited parameters assigned to devices and similarly, you can have unlimited parameter fields in Label Legends. I’m a less is more guy, but to each his own.
Some designers so not think they have enough control over units in the OIP, some feel there are too many options available in the OIP and that the list of fields in the OIP is too long. You can control those desires right here by turning fields on and off in the Show in Shape Plane column. Of course, you can save settings and mange different settings with those buttons. You may find you want one et of settings to be in use when drawing the plot. That set might not include the Shutter settings, and another set of settings when Visualizing, that set might not include channel, or circuit, but might include the shutter settings.
Remember you can save your default choices in a Stationery or Template Document.
Comments (0) | Tags: Architecture, design, drawing, KLAD, learn, lighting, Lighting Design, scenic design, set design, tools, VectorWorks | More: Architecture, Teaching, VectorWorks, VWX Spotlight and Design
Oh, How I Hate DXF Files and How To Make Them Suck Less
March 29, 2013
Justin Lange, editor at Projection Lights and Staging News invited Kevin to blog at Pro Lighting Space, Justin’s go to site for professional lighting designers, and lighting technicians. Thanks to Justin, and Pro Lighting Space, I am cross posting Kevin’s blog entries here.
Oh, How I Hate DXF files and How To Make Them Suck Less
All too often I have occasion to import a DXF file and use it as a basis for working with Vectorworks. Here are a few import tips when faced with the same issue.
First of all, never keep the DXF information in your working file.
Never.
If you have a DXF of a plan and section of your venue, Import them into a file and then trace the structure on anther Design Layer with the VWX tools. To me, this means aligning the plan and the section on their respective planes in one design layer. I usually call that the ‘Trace’ layer and then work in another layer called something like “Venue.’
As soon as I have the building drawn in VWX, I copy and paste ONLY the VWX information into a new VWX document.
There can be all kinds of creepy crawlers inside a DXF file, I get rid of them through this process. NEVER just start to draw over the DXF file, those creepy crawlers will bite.
I like Classes and I’ll blog about Class Structure someday. Some of my friends think I like classes too much, but nothing likes classes like a DXF file. I just imported a pretty ‘clean’ DXF file with over 100 classes, most of which won’t see the light of day in my model. Ofttimes, these classes will be assigned colors that might be difficult to see, like a pale yellow. You can use the Magic Wand tool, with the Select by Class option activated to select all those lines and change them to a different color. Similarly, if you want the whole DXF model to be yellow so you can see your work, in turquoise above the DXF, this is a way to go.
Speaking of lines, that’s what a DXF file is, lines; zillions and zillions of lines, itty bitty lines if there are curves. Sometimes too many to snap easily. Rectangles are lines, not rectangles. Sometimes it helps to refine the DXF file before tracing. The Edit>Select Connected Objects command can be your friend here. If four lines make a rectangle, select connected object and then apply the Modify>Compose command to create a rectangle, there will be four possible laces to snap, rather than eight.
If there is a curve, well, that’s a zillion little lines, these two commands can make that curve easy to trace…
/rant
Comments (0) | Tags: Architecture, design, drawing, learn, lighting, Lighting Design, scenic design, set design, VectorWorks | More: Architecture, Teaching, VectorWorks, VWX Spotlight and Design
A Great Way to Learn Vectorworks
March 28, 2013
Last Week, Nemetschek Vectorworks announced the publication of the second edition of my book:Entertainment Design; Scenic, Lighting and Sound, with Vectorworks Spotlight 2013. Second Edition. This volume is about 40 pages longer than the first edition. I use the text and many illustrations to guide the through the process of first getting to know the program and then to develop the set, lighting, and sound designs for a Broadway production of Romeo & Juliet.
I’m covering bits and pieces of material from the book and other projects here, but Entertainment Design; Scenic, Lighting and Sound, with Vectorworks Spotlight 2013. Second Edition is a definitive program or curriculum for self learning or as a classroom textbook.
Get your own copy here.
Comments (0) | Tags: Architecture, design, designer, drawing, KLAD, learn, lighting, Lighting Design, research, scenic design, set design, sets, Television, Theatre, tools, TV, VectorWorks, writing | More: Architecture, Design Basics, Teaching, VectorWorks, VWX Spotlight and Design
So where’s some of the fun stuff hidden?
March 27, 2013
Justin Lange, editor at Projection Lights and Staging News invited Kevin to blog at Pro Lighting Space, Justin’s go to site for professional lighting designers, and lighting technicians. Thanks to Justin, and Pro Lighting Space, I am cross posting Kevin’s blog entries here.
Kevin blogs at Pro Lighting Space on Vectorworks. I see that look on your face – oh great yet another Vectorworks blog – now, before you click away, let me explain. Kevin’s posts are on things you wouldn’t necessarily find in a standard “How to” post. He digs in and talks about features, short cuts, and ways of doing things a little differently. This is for experienced Vectorworks users. Kevin gears his posts to lighting designers, but we set designers should be paying attention, after all, no matter how good your set design is, if it’s not lit properly you’re missing the sexy. Let’s face it, if you want to sell your idea for the greatest set ever, you have to add lighting, it’s the sizzle. If your rendering isn’t sizzling sexy, you’re going to loose out to the designer that’s figured it out. Don’t be that person. Read Kevin’s posts.
So Where’s Some of the Fun Stuff Hidden?
Perhaps there is a function you can’t find, but would like back. I always add the Torus Object to my 3D Modeling tool set. There’s nothing quite like it for certain needs.
Most designers have at least one custom workspace. Remember it is always best to start with a stock workspace, and then modify. It’s a real pain to start from absolute scratch. You also want to keep the stock workspaces as a back-up. If you use the Landru Design Vectorworks Tools, or Sam Jones Auto Plot Tools, you have likely already modified a workspace. You might want one workspace for a desktop system and one for a laptop.
Although there are many tools and commands designed for architects and landscape architects, one I like very much is the Stepped Wall. I keep it very handy.
So, if you haven’t explored what all is available for you to work with in Vectorworks and edit you workspace accordingly. Remember, the Workspace Editor allows you to remove or rearrange menu commands. You can remove, for instance, the entire Event Planning menu, if that isn’t something you do. You can also modify shortcut keys to your preference.
So, this is one place where there might be undiscovered goodies.
Comments (0) | More: Architecture, Inspiration, VectorWorks, VWX Spotlight and Design
Good, but sad nonetheless…
It was a movie theater, it was used for performance, now it’s a bookstore… in Buenos Aires. This ain’t no Barnes & Noble from out on the highway. The is El Ateneo Grand Splendid.
This a temple to the power of the written word in much the way Scribner’s was in New York City.
We’d love this to be a theatre, but one of the world’s finest bookstores is a fine alternative.
Comments (0) | Tags: adventures, design, environment, KLAD, Lighting Design | More: Architecture, From the Road
Hot Location, Cool Hotel.
March 25, 2013
It’s not a Kimpton, but we’d stay at the The Saguaro Hotel in Palm Springs. These folks are not afraid of color, and the space seems to celebrate the desert, and Palm Springs Modernism.
The Saguaro interior and exterior are a riot of bold color that pays homage to the swinging midcentury vibe of this desert oasis town. Architects Peter Stamberg and Paul Aferiat seem to have channeled Morris Lapidus in reimagining this old Holiday Inn was: Too Much is Never Enough. The colors are bright, layered, fierce, and fearless. The colors seem to have a way of putting the guest in a good mood; a vacation mood, a party mood, a drink with a little umbrella mood.
The vibrant exterior walls of the midcentury, former Holiday Inn look like Benjamin Moore paint chips. The colors dazzle against the mountain backdrop. The registration desk screams you’re on vacation!
A Holiday Inn? Not gonna link to that.
Houzz has more images and the color palette.
JDV (joie de Vivre) Hotels seems to be doing it right. We will have to check out some of their properties.
Comments (0) | Tags: art, color, design, environment, Inspiration, Lighting Design, Modernism, set design | More: Architecture, From the Road
Been There, Done That
March 21, 2013
I bookmark things and keep them together as ideas I want to blog about. Of course, that file gets a bit messy and work always gets in the way of blogging. I looked through that file today and found this post by Modernus about And Bob’s Your Uncle Lighting. Some crazy, wonderful, fun stuff. What’s not to like?
Modernus’ piece is from November 22. I’m just not sure what year. Possibly 2010, based on the photo info.
How can you not love this lamp? At left, we have the Black Nimbus light that features black and iridescent feathers, acrylic crystals, and rhinestones. It’s a light, and it has sparkles, what could be greater.
Check out the other offerings by And Bob’s Your Uncle. Apparently we’re not the only set/lighting/production designers and set decorators that like And Bob’s Your Uncle’s work.
Anyone who knows us, probably anyone who reads this blog knows we have a lighting fetish. Anyone who has been to our studio can see that fetish in real life. There are torcheres, vintage operating room lights, vintage theatrical fixtures, and contemporary neon all around.
And there’s this. Made from a 50s era standing drum lamp with a little bit of fabric from one of our favorite suppliers. It’s all about remembering what’s out there (the fabric) and happenstance (finding the light at a garage sale), or knowing (as we do) where to find the parts.
Perhaps we’ll change this light to match the 1970′s era mushroom footstool we’re reupholstering is a similar, but hot pink, fabric.
Living spaces should be fun, interesting, and reflect the personalities of the inhabitants. Not neutral. Unless you’re beige.
And living spaces should change from time to time, helps the energy flow.
Comments (0) | Tags: design, environment, KLAD, Lighting Design, set design | More: Fashion, Industrial Design
Before there were color charts, or why we love Benjamin Moore
March 20, 2013
We first saw this scene watching the video of Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. Some time back, Design and Desire in the Twentieth Century posted this seminal clip. We bring it to you here.
Before there were large paint companies, like Benjamin Moore, there were small, local paint manufacturers. Parr Paint was my local company in East Hanover. They had there selection, if you wanted a different color, you had to describe it, they had to mix the color, and everybody had to hope you didn’t need to match the color later.
Imagine if Lighting Gel or RGB values for color changing lights were specified this vaguely.
We pick colors day in and day out, just not like this…
Comments (0) | Tags: color, design, KLAD, Lighting Design, set design, Theatre, TV | More: Architecture, Design Basics, The Work
Entertainment Design: Scenic, Lighting, and Sound, with Vectorworks 2013 has arrived!
March 12, 2013
Actually, it arrived a couple of weeks ago, but we’ve been too busy designing to take a breath and really start to talk about the new book. Second Edition, expanded to cover the new features in Vectorworks Spotlight 2013, including an section on Sound Design. This books is over 40 pages longer than the first edition and includes dimensions in both English and Metric.
There is one small rant about why we don’t use the Metric system in the US.
As before, the book explores the use of the Vectorworks Spotlight with Renderworks to design in the entertainment industries. While the methods and techniques described are applicable to film, television, concerts, exhibits, and themed architecture or interiors, this focus is on a project that creates a lighting, sound, and set designs for the Broadway stage; the root of entertainment design.
From one step beyond traditional pencil thumbnails, the guide outlines a process of design development and collaboration with other designers and technical staff. The text is tutorial-based and directs the user to create two projects, each supported by a series of simple exercises. The first project is the creation of a simple 3D form, and the second project details the creation of scenic, sound, and lighting designs for a theoretical Broadway production of Romeo & Juliet. Each step of the process, created for either a sole practitioner or a designer working in a team, is laid out as an exercise with step-by-step directions and options to suit individual designers’ work preferences and tastes.
The book is perfect as either a classroom text or for self-guided training.
Get your copy here.
Comments (0) | Tags: design, Lighting Design, set design, Television, Theatre, VectorWorks | More: The Studio, VectorWorks, VWX Spotlight and Design
The English Tea Kettle–It’s for Coffee
March 11, 2013
It’s a simple choice. These English Tea Kettles boil water faster than anything else. Worth the investment, we’ve had the model designed for an electric stove and the model designed for a gas burner. Of course, gas is better. In either case, the morning hcallenge is to get the beans ground and the coffee service set-up before he water boils.
They last forever and can survive the abuse of a caterer’s kitchen. Just ask Rustic Food.
Visit your local gourmet shop or an independently owned coffee supplier.
On the road we’ll likely not have access to a kitchen range. Certainly never at the tech table, but that might be something to consider for the next tech table we have to design. There’s is always, we hope, electrical power. We travel with something like this model seen at left. Of course, it came from our favorite local hardware store, American Royal.
Comments (0) | Tags: adventures, KLAD, Lighting Design, set design, VectorWorks | More: From the Road, Gastronauting, The Studio
The Elixir of Design
March 08, 2013
Well, one of them. Scotch is required as well, but the day starts and the creative juices of set and lighting designers begin to flow with the application of coffee. Good coffee, not that crap from a national chain or a diner. With all due respect to diners.
Now, we’re coffee snobs, we travel with a ‘coffee kit’ in order to prepare our own. If we’re on location or visiting a regional theatre, our coffee is often in high demand. Rightly so.
Gear Patrol recently ran a series about coffee that inspired this piece. This is how we make coffee, your methods may vary, but we hope your results are as satisfying to you as ours are to us.
First, the bean. A critical choice. For many years, I used the Fairway Vienna Roast. That bean we introduced to me by Peter Wexler. When I worked for him, he first showed me the way to hang up my coat and then he taught me to make coffee. Peter used a set of Braun gear; burr grinder and drip maker; this was when these items were rare in the States.
Over the years, we have switched to the French/Italian Espresso bean roasted by the Porto Rico Coffee Company in NYC. We have it shipped 20 pounds at a time to our studio. We freeze the beans except for the pound kept in the fridge. That’s the active pound.
We use a simple blade grinder to grind the beans for each pot. We have tried many burr grinders, but they all seem to die before their time.
Then, it’s all about the brew and ours is strong. We have several different sizes French Press pots. For travel, there is an eight-cup model that we can pack in a case with an electric kettle. At home, we have a 12 cup Bodum and a six cup Melior. Bodum has long since bought the Melior Company, but I remain convinced that this small pot makes the best coffee. All of them have gold filters added. These are all high quality and the Melior has especially thick glass, as was always the case until they began to market to the masses.
We don’t quite boil the water, then stir the grounds, top off the water and let it brew, covered, for at least three minutes. Enjoy. Really, you can travel with this set-up (although we do usually pre-grind the beans) and you can create great coffee near the tech table. Just not on the tech table, spilling on the board would be bad.
Of course some, afternoons, we also enjoy an espresso, but that’s a different brewing technology and a different blog post.
On a related note, Lifehacker has a piece here about the health benefits of coffee, as with all things really, in moderation.
Comments (0) | Tags: cocktails, design, KLAD, Lighting Design, set design, VectorWorks | More: Gastronauting, The Studio, The Work, VectorWorks
Advanced Wall Modifications
February 26, 2013
Justin Lange, editor at Projection Lights and Staging News invited Kevin to blog at Pro Light Space, Justin’s go to site for professional lighting designers, and lighting technicians. Thanks to Justin, and Pro Lighting Space, I am cross posting Kevin’s blog entries here.
Kevin blogs at Pro Lighting Space on Vectorworks. I see that look on face – oh great yet another Vectorworks blog – now before you click away, let me explain. Kevin’s posts are on things you wouldn’t necessarily find in a standard “How to” post. He digs in and talks about features, short cuts, and ways of doing things a little differently. This is for experienced Vectorworks users. Kevin gears his posts to lighting designers, but we set designers should be paying attention, after all, no matter how good your set design is, if it’s not lit properly you’re missing the sexy. Let’s face it, if you want to sell your idea for the greatest set ever, you have to add lighting, it’s the sizzle. If your rendering isn’t sizzling sexy, you’re going to loose out to the designer that’s figured it out. Don’t be that person. Read Kevin’s posts.
Here’s a simple one, one of my favorites; using the Round Wall tool to make a curved ramp. Sure, this could be modeled, but not this easily, not this quickly, and not with all of the options available using Wall Styles.
Select the Round Wall tool from the Building Shell toolset. Select the first insertion mode on the left; Left Control Line Mode. Click on the tool preferences and set the width of the wall to 48″ and the height to 48″ that’s 1219.2mm if using metric. Of course, if you were using metric, you might also like to round off to something like 1.2m. but I digress.
Click to insert, drag down and tab into the Floating Data Bar. Set the distance to 96″ (2438.4mm) and set the angle to -90° and then click to insert. Drag counter-clockwise and tab back into the FDB and set the angle to 270° and then click to insert. You can build this wall in a plan view or an isometric. The Wall Tools create hybrid objects.
Two clicks, almost done. You should have this:
One more step. Select the Wall and select the Reshape Tool from the Basic Tool Set, switch to the left view and select the control point in the middle of the wall, drag it to the ground. You should have this when rendered.
You could also have tabbed into the FDB and set an elevation, and you can also apply a wall style to affect the finishes and the detail on the wall.
So, what else?
I drawn a simple 12″ thick wall, 10′-0″ tall and 20′-0″ long.
I’ve drawn a rectangle adjacent to the wall and gone to the plan view and selected both objects. I then selected the Wall Projection Command which I’ve added to my workspace. I’m generally using the defaults here. I’ll come back to the other options in other posts. I did set the offset to -24″ so my projection isn’t the same height as my wall.
and I have:
The projection will have the same attributes as the wall.
I can do the same kind of thing with the Wall Recess Tool, plus I can go one better. I can make a simple niche n the wall using a 3D extrusion that floats in the wall’s space. Of course, I can also do the same with a 3D object used as a Wall Projection.
One more thing, let’s looked at Stepped Walls. Using a similar basic wall (selected), I’ve gone to the Create Stepped Wall command which I have also added to my workspace. I’ve set a number of steps t even step this wall into a ziggurat. Running the command will increase the wall height by 5′-0″ so, start with a wall height that allows for the addition.
There’s obviously a fair amount of exciting stuff that can be done with these tools. All but the Round Wall are included with the Architect package. Obviously also, there are ways we can delve further into each tools, but that’s another day.
Comments (0) | More: Architecture, VectorWorks, VWX Spotlight and Design
Wall End Caps
February 22, 2013
Justin Lange, editor at Projection Lights and Staging News invited Kevin to blog at Pro Light Space, Justin’s go to site for professional lighting designers, and lighting technicians. Thanks to Justin, and Pro Lighting Space, I am cross posting Kevin’s blog entries here.
Kevin blogs at Pro Lighting Space on Vectorworks. I see that look on face – oh great yet another Vectorworks blog – now before you click away, let me explain. Kevin’s posts are on things you wouldn’t necessarily find in a standard “How to” post. He digs in and talks about features, short cuts, and ways of doing things a little differently. This is for experienced Vectorworks users. Kevin gears his posts to lighting designers, but we set designers should be paying attention, after all, no matter how good your set design is, if it’s not lit properly you’re missing the sexy. Let’s face it, if you want to sell your idea for the greatest set ever, you have to add lighting, it’s the sizzle. If your rendering isn’t sizzling sexy, you’re going to loose out to the designer that’s figured it out. Don’t be that person. Read Kevin’s posts.
Wall End Caps are a 2D and 3D operation. The work in 2D affects the 3D appearance. This allows for the simple creation of great details. You may need to add the Wall End Cap Tool to your workspace. I have the tool in my Building Shell Workspace. You can also use the Architect workspace that comes with Architect and Designer.
This is a simple wall, drawn using the Ext-2×4-Brick Veneer Wall Style that ships with Vectorworks. We’ve discussed Wall Styles here previously. This one might not be applicable to creating a model of and exhibit space or a set, but might be useful in creating theatre architecture. Wall Styles allow the assignment of textures, styles, and 2D graphic hatches to delineate materials in the Top/Plan view.
Here we see, from the top down:
- A Brick Veneer
- Air Space
- Sheathing
- 2×4 Wood Stud Framing
- Sheetrock
Remember that these Components do not have to be the full height of the wall. This wall has End Caps turned on for both ends in the OIP.
The Wall End Capp Tool allows you to decide whether the End Cap will be within the current length of the wall or outside that length. You can change you mind later and make the change in the OIP. The Wall End Cap Tool has three modes.
The Component Wrap mode allows you to select a component and click and drag it around to cap the wall, the Add mode allows you draw any 2D shape and wrap a component using the shape, the Clip mode allows the use of a 2D object to clip the component.
In the example below, I wrapped the Brick around the right hand side. I then Clipped the brick away from the left hand side. Yeah, I exposed the sheathing, but this is about using the tool, not the design. And we’re not really building this thing. On the left, I also added a half round end of sheetrock. That would terrorize somebody.
Now, this is just the basics of how to use this tool. Combine this tool, and several short walls, with varying Wall Styles and you can quickly sculpt some interesting stage pieces or exhibits.
Here’s the wall simply rendered with the brick and wallpaper.
Comments (0) | More: Architecture, Teaching, VectorWorks, VWX Spotlight and Design
Cool New Tool – AirTracks
February 21, 2013
For the photographer on the go, the AirTracks is an inflatable slider system, meant to replace the weight and bulkiness of metal sliders. Going on hikes and trying to get onto airplanes with a traditional metal slider is neither fun nor easy. The AirTracks takes the silky-smooth movements of a metal slider, and shrinks it down to the size of a small lens. This makes it extremely easy to go place to place without having to worry about airport security, carrying cumbersome gear on hikes, or damaging your expensive metal slider. Plus, you can always keep a 5-foot slider tucked inside your camera bag, so you’ll have it whenever it’s needed!
Read more about AirTracks, a cool kickstarter project by Tom Baker. His campaign was successful, so let’s hope this is available soon.
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So are there more goodies and how do I get me some
February 18, 2013
Justin Lange, editor at Projection Lights and Staging News invited Kevin to blog at Pro Light Space, Justin’s go to site for professional lighting designers, and lighting technicians. Thanks to Justin, and Pro Lighting Space, I am cross posting Kevin’s blog entries here.
Kevin blogs at Pro Lighting Space on Vectorworks. I see that look on face – oh great yet another Vectorworks blog – now before you click away, let me explain. Kevin’s posts are on things you wouldn’t necessarily find in a standard “How to” post. He digs in and talks about features, short cuts, and ways of doing things a little differently. This is for experienced Vectorworks users. Kevin gears his posts to lighting designers, but we set designers should be paying attention, after all, no matter how good your set design is, if it’s not lit properly you’re missing the sexy. Let’s face it, if you want to sell your idea for the greatest set ever, you have to add lighting, it’s the sizzle. If your rendering isn’t sizzling sexy, you’re going to loose out to the designer that’s figured it out. Don’t be that person. Read Kevin’s posts.
Yes there are!
Once you’re installed Vectorworks, you likely looked at the Entertainment Libraries that are installed with the application. Perhaps even the Textures-Gobo Library. What about the rest?
There is a wealth of good stuff in the Libraries.
If you’ve done a standard install of Vectorworks, there is a folder called Libraries in the Vectorworks folder, located in your applications folder. That’s how it is on a Mac, anyway. If you have a PC, that might be different. Look in there and look a bit deep.
I’ve specifically left the file Objects-Building Services>Electrical-Accurate Lamps-Imp highlighted here. If nothing else, this should be a must-favorite for Lighting Designers. There are a ton of resources here and if your designs include practicals or built in lighting, this file is for you. If you live or work outside of the US, Liberia, or Myanmar, then there is also a metric file.
I spoke at theStage Lighting Super Saturday yesterday. One of the other speakers was Ken Billington. He spoke at length about the need for his office to detail the placement of lighting devices in sets and how they detail drawings for fabricators. e do this all of the time. When rendering, we want to see the most accurate representation of our design choices, these lamps are invaluable.
I could go on about each file, but every designer should explore what’s readily available for use.
If you have the Vectorworks Service Select feature, there is a ton of additional resources available. This might be the only reason you need to join Service Select.
So where are the more better lights you say? I got some right here, not all, the list is too long for my screen.
Service Select also offers training, upgrades, and the ability to access your work via the iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad Nomad application. Service Select saves different versions of your files and allows the use of the Cloud fro rendering.
But this post isn’t about service select, that’ll be another day, this post is about finding gooides.
You can also check out Vector Depot where some users share resources.
Comments (0) | More: Architecture, VectorWorks, VWX Spotlight and Design
Digging in to Vectorworks with Lighting Designer Kevin Lee Allen
February 15, 2013
Justin Lange, editor at Projection Lights and Staging News invited Kevin to blog at Pro Light Space, Justin’s go to site for professional lighting designers, and lighting technicians. Thanks to Justin, and Pro Lighting Space, I am cross posting Kevin’s blog entries here.
Kevin blogs at Pro Lighting Space on Vectorworks. I see that look on face – oh great yet another Vectorworks blog – now before you click away, let me explain. Kevin’s posts are on things you wouldn’t necessarily find in a standard “How to” post. He digs in and talks about features, short cuts, and ways of doing things a little differently. This is for experienced Vectorworks users. Kevin gears his posts to lighting designers, but we set designers should be paying attention, after all, no matter how good your set design is, if it’s not lit properly you’re missing the sexy. Let’s face it, if you want to sell your idea for the greatest set ever, you have to add lighting, it’s the sizzle. If your rendering isn’t sizzling sexy, you’re going to loose out to the designer that’s figured it out. Don’t be that person. Read Kevin’s posts.
Here we go. I’ll be publishing his first four posts over the next few days, then the day after his posts to Pro Lighting Space, I’ll cross publish here.
The Workspace Editor (Tools>Workspaces>Workspace Editor) has a primary function–to create and/or edit Workspaces, but there is also a secondary function. You can use the editor to explore the many tools and commands within Vectorworks. Sure MOST are in the different stock workspaces that ship with Vectorworks, but there are also Legacy tools and commands. These are items that were once part of the standard Vectorworks workflows, but have been superseded by newer tools and commands.
Perhaps there is a function you can’t find, but would like back. I always add the Torus Object to my 3D Modeling tool set. There’s nothing quite like it for certain needs.
Most designers have at least one custom workspace. Remember it is always best to start with a stock workspace, and then modify. It’s a real pain to start from absolute scratch. You also want to keep the stock workspaces as a back-up. If you use the Landru Design Vectorworks Tools, or Sam Jones Auto Plot Tools, you have likely already modified a workspace. You might want one workspace for a desktop system and one for a laptop.
Although there are many tools and commands designed for architects and landscape architects, one I like very much is the Stepped Wall. I keep it very handy.
So, if you haven’t explored what all is available for you to work with in Vectorworks and edit you workspace accordingly. Remember, the Workspace Editor allows you to remove or rearrange menu commands. You can remove, for instance, the entire Event Planning menu, if that isn’t something you do. You can also modify shortcut keys to your preference.
So, this is one place where there might be undiscovered goodies.
Comments (0) | More: Architecture, Design Basics, VectorWorks, VWX Spotlight and Design
Time for student Lighting Designers to Show Off!
February 12, 2013
This year, as last, Kevin Lee Allen will be one of the judges for the iSquint/Stage Directions Student Lighting Design Competition (SLDC).
In the video below, he discusses some of the things he will be looking for from the various entries. Sweet scarf, right?
iSquint.net, Stage Directions Magazine, Nemetschek Vectorworks, City Theatrical and Field Template have teamed up to offer one lucky lighting design student a prize package. The winner of the 2013 Student Lighting Design Competition will walk away with a Professional License of Vectorworks® 2013 with Renderworks®, a personal license of Lightwright™ 5, a single license of Field Templates SoftSymbols V3.5, a copy of Lightplot Deconstructed, 2nd Edition, a copy of Entertainment Design; Scenic, Lighting, and Sound with Vectorworks Spotlight, and merch from the SquintDepot.
The iRules are very simple: produce a lighting design with Vectorworks, Renderworks and Lightwright. The design can be from a theatrical, live event, opera, concert, what ever you want except an architectural design. The design does not have to be a realized production. This means that the project does not have to be produced in order to be submitted to the Student Lighting Design Competition.
The complete rules are here and there are resources here.
But wait, there’s more.
You will need Vectorworks Spotlight, Renderworks and Lightwright to enter the contest to win the very same software! Easy enough, as a full-time student with an active and valid college or university ID, you can download a FREE student version of Vectorworks 2013 with Renderworks to learn, use and produce the entry requirements for the contest. Lightwright also offers a demo version that can be used for producing paperwork for the competition, which you can download here. Visit student.vectorworks.net to get a free student version of Vectorworks software. If you live outside the U.S., you will be redirected to a local distributor in your country to obtain a student version.
The other judges are a pretty distinguished crowd;
- John McKernon – Lighting Designer, Lightwright Developer
- Steve Shelley – Lighting Designer, Author, Mr. Field Template
- Gregg Hillmar – Lighting Designer, Educator, Vectorworks Guru, Author
- Kevin Linzey -Software Guru for Nemetschek Vectorworks
- Kevin Lee Allen – Lighting & Set Designer, Author, Vectorworks Guru
- Justin Lang – Lighting Designer, Writer, Editor, Technology Geek
Show us your stuff!
Comments (0) | Tags: KLAD, Lighting Design, lightwright, Theatre, VectorWorks | More: Theatre, VectorWorks, VWX Spotlight and Design
Some designers are just crazy
February 06, 2013
or maybe ignorant, despite years of education and practice. As Lighting Designers, we should agree here, but as designers, we just don’t think you can reject most of the elements of design.
Sorry.
Saw this piece at Dezeen this morning. Then tossed it off and had to go hunting for the post in order to discuss it here.
Swiss architect Peter Zumthor rejected architecture as form-making in his Royal Gold Medal lecture at the RIBA in London yesterday, explaining that he believes that light, materials and atmosphere are the most important aspects of architecture.
Sure, we agree that all buildings should have atmosphere and that atmosphere requires the proper use of light, but the rest of the artsy-fartsy mumbo-jumbo defense of this idea is useless.
Like I said, glanced over, closed the window.
And then there was this post at Home Design Find. How can you have this light without the forms? The light defines the forms.
Line, form, mass, color, shape and texture. That’s how we describe the elements of design. In three dimensions, you need them all. Light defines them. You can’t have light in a void defining anything without haze. Even laser light defines lines, forms and shapes, even texture.
And if the lighting is lame, then you have pretty much nothing. Some of Mr. Zumthor’s projects illustrate this point well. Too well.
Similarly, there are images of the Moroccan desert home from Home Design Find where the light is flat and the structure is without elegance, or romance.
Further, this image posted to help illustrate Mr. Zumthor’s thesis proves our own here. That beautiful light wouldn’t exist in a void, it wouldn’t exist without the mirror texture of the floor. It wouldn’t exist without its own damn triangular form, and a bit of haze.
That light would be different without the texture of the wall.
That’s just looking at the one beam, we could go on, but the point seems to be made.
This is not to say that spaces, and sets shouldn’t be designed without light in mind, that’s self destructive.
/rant.
