“So you have had assistance with design” I concluded.
“No” my client replies proudly, we did it ourselves"
Recently a prospective client visited me regarding the design of a resort in a hill station. Keeping the lid on my excitement, I asked if there was a site plan I can have a look at. “Oh, not only the site plan, we have the whole design” he quips and goes on to show me the design. Hoping to see some form of a layout or sketch, I was dumbfounded as the client unraveled a live 3d walkthrough, of what seemed like an adequately designed resort. “So you have had assistance” I concluded. “No” he replies proudly, we did it ourselves. We had an idea of what the room module of the resort will be like. We found free software on the internet. It took us a few hours to get a hang of it, but we were able to convert our thoughts into 3d”
It takes a dedicated team of 3d personnel days to
create a 3d walkthrough. My client had done it
with aplomb in a matter of hours
It takes a dedicated team of 3d personnel days to create a 3d walkthrough or a motion picture of the design. Being a high-skill task, it also turns out to be an expensive service. My prospective client had done it with aplomb in a matter of hours using free access software. The walkthrough to my unease was quite appealing. One could even observe the chirping of birds and a rivulet flowing across the site. A background score akin to elevator music played along as the camera moved around covering the whole design.”So what do you expect of me? “ I asked perplexed. Expecting such a question he cleared the air by saying “You just help us to make this into a reality” My position had been made clear to me- that of a facilitator.
Accessible and easy-to-use software is now engaging clients directly. A client with clarity of thought and a will to execute can make fruitful use of such software. Many such tools are now available, both in the form of software and apps. Let's take a look at a few of them.
Planner 5D
Perhaps the best tool for interior design, Planner 5d has a neat and easy-to-use interface and the best repository of contemporary interior furniture.
Working
One can choose from a set of existing templates such as predetermined room shapes & design themes. For example, choose a bedroom with an industrial finish from the available thumbnails, and the software uploads the finished model on the workspace for further work. The user can zoom in and out and orbit the camera around the room so that the interior finishes are seen in detail. The shuffle feature changes the furniture layout as many times as the user pleases. A custom space can be created by creating walls & adding doors and windows with ease.
Advantage
Planner 5d provides high-quality models and finishes rivaling those available in professional tools. The greatest advantage of the tool is the render feature. Just like professional render tools like VRay, the planner 5d render tools provide realistic renderings of the interior space. Planner 5D pro even provides a panorama-rendered view that allows the user to view the entire space in one go instead of switching between images.
Disadvantage
The tool is not meant for architectural designs or creating building blocks, which may not be a disadvantage really. The focus of the software is to provide great interior spaces, a feature that garners greater reception from the average user. However, there are tools to add landscape around the model and to create perspectives that help understand the design in its entirety.
Access
Planner 5D is an online tool. To use one must create an account and join a society of design enthusiasts who get to have their own profile and displays their projects for others. The pro version is a payable add-on service. More themes, finishes, and furniture can be bought at a price.
Live Home 3D
This one is geared more toward architecture and takes a bit of time to get a hang of it.
Building design demands more complex actions and hence more tools and options, which Live home 3d tries to simplify.
Working
The typical interface can be divided into three parts. In the center is the model space, on the left, is the ‘add feature’ toolbar, and on the right are the modification tools. Any feature like a wall, window, or roof can be added through the toolbar on the left and modified through the toolbar on right. Typical building blocks are available as templates and can be further modified. The user can also upload a scan of the building layout which the Live home 3D quickly turns into a building block. The easy switch can be made from 2d to 3d space.
Advantage
The best feature of the software is the ‘movie track’ option. The user can create outdoor and indoor 3d walkthroughs of the building and turn them into a movie track. Even though it doesn't produce high-quality renders, Live Home 3D saves the day by creating beautiful outdoor environments. One can add to the environment, a sky of his choice, and modify the Sun-settings to create morning, noon, and evening environments. Live home 3d also provides the unique feature of adding contours to the land. This helps the user create a realistic site within the model. One can draw contour profiles freehand & the software smartly turns them into undulated surfaces. There is great flexibility the extensive tools lend to modify any building feature.
Disadvantage
Although not as complex as professional tools, Live Home 3d can be a little perplexing for beginners. The umpteen tabs and context menus can make the software cumbersome. The textures are sub-par making the finished design a far cry from what Planner 5 d provides.
Access
Live Home 3D is free to download for Mac, Windows, IOS & Android and contains in-app purchases.
Dream Plan
Dream Plan is a simpler version of Live Home 3D. The program starts with the wall tool activated and one can get down to creating right away.
Working
The ‘add content’ toolbar is located at the center with pretty-looking logos making them easier to identify. The modification bar is detailed but simple to use.
Advantage
For landscape enthusiasts, Dream Plan is indeed the dream. It has a vast library of trees, hedges, and water bodies. The texture of the water is quite dynamic and one can create beautiful water bodies such as ponds, lakes, and streams. The surface can be extruded to create mountains and hills. Dream Plan unlike other software can be used to exclusively create landscape models such as gardens, forests, and groves devoid of buildings.
Disadvantage
The placement, scaling, and stretching of various features sometimes require the user to type values in the toolbar. This makes the work less dynamic. The snapping feature is a bit sloppy and the user might need multiple attempts to place a window on the desired part of the wall.
Access
Dream Plan is available for windows and free to download.
SmartDraw
As the name suggests, Smart draw is meant exclusively for drawings. The intent behind this tool can be summarized as follows “For all those who want to work like architects but not so much”. Smart draw creates such professional-looking building layouts that one may mistake them as a product of an architectural studio.
Working
One can think of smart draw as a lighter and friendlier version of the Auto Cad, the king of all drafting tools. The workspace is a clean white space, just like a sheet of paper ready to be inked by a draftsman. One can choose forms from a list of templates, create a custom template, or even upload a scan of the layout which gets converted into a plan.
Advantage
The software comes with easy drag-and-drop tools to place doors, windows, and furniture. The illustrations can be made both in monochrome & color.
The scale of the drawing can be changed as and when required from feet and inches to metric and vice versa. Smart draw has uses besides design in that it can be used to make effective flowcharts, Gantt charts, and even electrical drawings.
Disadvantage
It's hard to pinpoint a problem area in Smart draw. Though one can say that it provides comprehensive drafting features such as a layer manager, which an easy-to-go user may choose not to use to his own disadvantage.
Access
Smart Draw is free to download for Mac & Windows and contains in-app purchases.
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