[Bridger DeMars]

Did you get a Surface Book or Pro? I cant image having gone through studios with essentially a tablet though it has been a few years since I have owned a Surface. Its too late to give my thoughts but an option down the line for you is to also get a desktop tower and a monitor. Transitioning between PC machines is pretty seamless these days and since you are working on a grad degree I think plenty of your time will be spent working alone and possibly at home. No laptop can beat a desktop for graphics power, so as you are working through your money shots at the end of each semester, a ton of power will be ideal.

That said you bought a Surface and that couldn’t have been cheap. If you cant afford a desktop that will be more than enough.

[Bridger DeMars]

Laura,

If you provide your email I can do you one better than the study guide and provide the material participants receive from attending the annual study session. I am not quite to F so I am not sure how helpful the stuff is but its something…

[Bridger DeMars]

So… give us an update on how the restructuring went.

[Bridger DeMars]

I am curious how using Revit, an Autodesk software, is pushing LAs away from AutoCAD. I don’t have a lot of experience with working hand in hand with architects as my current firm’s focus is on master planned communities with civil engineers who solely use Civil 3D. From my experience in grad school working in integrated classes with architect students, Revit was both compatible with AutoCAD and SketchUp and the architects actually preferred final 3D rendering with SketchUp plugins or 3DSMax though no one was really capable of fully utilizing 3DS Max. I do recall elevations were easy for them to prepare with Revit but that did not have anything to do with LA production.

Most LA firms are integrating Land FX into their workflow. Does this work with Vectorworks?

[Bridger DeMars]

If I were to do it over I would probably go with building architecture. If you are competent there will be a job waiting for you nearly anywhere you want to live with at least marginally better salaries. The design and process is similar and certainly applies to science/nature/art/and society. All my competent architect classmates are employed in their chosen city or state while a few of my LA classmates are still living the Home Depot life (possibly because they are unwilling to move or get their hands dirty with design build).

[Bridger DeMars]

Katherine,

This is a good base. As Mark said, combining real elements with sketchy ones throws off the focal point of a rendering. My eye goes to leather jacket and the flags and wants to know why they don’t belong. If you’re going for non realistic try Filter>Artistic>Watercolor or Sponge or something to take the bluntness off a real object. You will then want to blend the elements. http://www.sketchupartists.org/tutorials/sketchup-and-photoshop/  is a great resource.

If you want photorealistic download Podium for Sketchup and render the scenes before bringing them into Photoshop. I imagine you guys touched on that in school. Podium isn’t the best rendering engine but its learning curve is not steep compared to V-Ray or trying to learn 3D Max for top of the line photorealistic renderings.

[Bridger DeMars]

+1 to this book. Its the Indian version, in English, on thin paper and paperback. It is also completely the same as the hardcover version. I think I payed $12 for it on Amazon.

[Bridger DeMars]

To add to your thought… I am not sure whether getting an MLA helped me with my job search out of college, but I’m glad I did it. At U of Idaho an MLA was an extra 1.5 years and I learned more in that year and a half than I did as an undergraduate. It gave me a chance to work for a year side by side building architects and I learned a lot of technical and graphic skills I did not have just working in LA studio classes. Plus, a semester of just thesis work allowed me to focus on a climate outside of the northwest, a focus I wanted to pursue and three months of tightening design, graphics and written language. Sure, it was expensive and I’ll be paying for it for awhile but I came out much better for it professionally I think.

[Author]

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