[Ellis Cucksey]

I feel like there are a few different ways to handle this, and it really depends on how much information you’re trying to bring together into a single model. For instance, you may have a few individual cad files from various sources, like survey points and contours, civil roadway alignments, deep utility alignments, an architectural floorplan, etc. All those files could be individually xref’ed into your “base”, and in the model space of this base file, you could then create your own linework to model your design.

On the other hand, you may have a single reference file from an architect or civil or whoever, and it already has everything in one place: survey points, contours, floorplan, etc. All live linework in model space. In this case, I feel like you can decide. Either draft your design right on top of all that existing linework (maybe lock existing layers first), or xref that file into your “base”, and model in that file instead (which seems kinda silly just to xref one file into another simply for the sake of it being an xref instead of a copy).

Either way, my preference is to use the base file as my modeling file, the file where I draw my design on top of whatever existing cad linework I might have. Sometimes that linework is xrefed into my model/base file, as in the first example, and sometimes I’m just modeling right in the model space of (a copy of) the original reference file. It just depends on whether I’ve got a bunch of reference files, or just one. That base/model file is then xref’ed as necessary into the various sheets in the construction package

[Ellis Cucksey]

Brutal restrictions there. Even without the limited rooting area, it seems like the powerlines and the mural are leaving you with a pretty limited range of options. High-branching *and* under 20′ is almost an oxymoron. Could this be a situation where trees just don’t make any sense at all?

 

If the client is insisting on trees, maybe a columnar crab, like Purple Spire or Dreamweaver.

[Ellis Cucksey]

In an entry-level position, I’d say the critical skills are probably the ability to balance creativity with practicality (have great ideas, but also understand what is buildable and what is specifically wanted/needed/required by the client and the context of the project), as well as efficiency (it’s all well and good to be fluent in CAD and Sketchup and what have you, but if you can’t crank out a landscape plan and a couple details in a reasonable amount of time, you’re not doing your employers any favors. I think both of these issues get glossed over in school. But realistically, you need to be able to transition your ideas from fantasy to reality, and do it very quickly.

[Ellis Cucksey]

Another app worth  checking out is called My Measures and Dimensions. It’s like 5 bucks butit lets you take a photo and then add dimensioning callouts and save the photo. Then you can upload to Evernote to have those images available everywhere you go.

[Ellis Cucksey]

Hey Bob,

Tell you what: you make the decisions that you feel are best for you and your family, and I’ll do the same for myself and mine.
Failing that, piss off. Plus everything Craig says.

Sincerely,

Ellis

[Ellis Cucksey]

Fort McMurray (McMoney) is kinda the population epicenter of the oil sand industry in Alberta right now. They’re estimating that there’s enough oil up there to keep the extraction folks busy for the next 50 years… The place is like a modern-day boom town. Totally unsustainable growth, but that’s a problem for other generations to sort out, right?. For now, the houses and roads and commercial structures and other supporting infrastructure just can’t go in fast enough.

 

If you can stand being part of that, plus the environmental disaster-in-waiting of Alberta’s dirty, dirty bitumen (which, unlike other crude oil sources, sinks in water, making meaningful clean-up of spills practically impossible), then this is a great place to be. Me, I dropped my ethical standards like a hot rock when my first student load bill came in the mail. Those guys don’t care if the money has oil stains on it, just as long as my payments arrive on time…

[Ellis Cucksey]

Hey, another UI alum! I finished there in 2010.

You should send me an email. We’ve got some entry-level CAD Tech positions opening up here in Red Deer, and I believe also in Edmonton. Not sexy work, but a foot in a door.

[Ellis Cucksey]

Heather,

You seem to be saying a few different things here:

“How is doing AutoCad for years at a giant firm teaching you design?”

and,

“The hardest part is not the design”

and,
“…do you think an employer is going to be more interested in someone that pulled themselves up and created opportunity or who bagged groceries at Winco…”

 

Isn’t “doing AutoCad” as a way to get a foot in the door the same thing as “creating opportunity”? Obviously you and I are looking at this from two different angles, you as a self-employed designer and me as one who’s looking at doing AutoCad for a few years at a giant firm. But seriously, there are a ton of ways to pull yourself up and be a go-getter.

You’re getting great experience. That’s awesome. But I am too, even if it’s not the same experience as yours. Maybe it’s not the case everywhere, but I’m working daily with licensed LAs, creating designs for everything from sub-division entry features to small neighborhood parks to massive civic waterfronts. Yeah, I’m a drafter, but it’s not like I’ve got my head burried into the screen to the point where I don’t get any benefit from the design process. And not everyone wants to do residential design. This field is (or was, at least) fairly broad. There’s room for lots of perspectives on how to make it work.

Ellis

 

PS: I hope you all are doing good there. I miss moscow and all the people more than I can express. Say hi to Jon for me.

 

[Ellis Cucksey]

Not specifically landscape architecture, but nearby Goleta has an amazing organic farm in town that is very interesting. Sounds like the local neighbors put the kibosh on a lot of the cooler elements, like the greywater irrigation and compost toilets, but still might be an interesting side journey.

They also sell their produce at an adjacent roadside stand. 

[Ellis Cucksey]

If you can spare the time, take the BART train across (actualy, under) the bay over to Oakland and check out Jack London Square and the area around Lake Merritt.

 

http://wiki.worldflicks.org/lake_merritt.html

http://www.yelp.com/biz/lake-merritt-oakland

[Ellis Cucksey]

The planting plan component of LFX is very nice. For large projects I feel it’s worth the price just for that part alone. I also use the detail manager quite a bit, and the callout association is awesome for projects with multiple sheets in the construction set (though ACAD’s sheet set manager can do pretty much the same thing natively).

 

For residential stuff, I imagine the irrigation component would be very usefull too.

 

It can be a little tricky at first… the UI design isn’t the most intuitive to me. But one you get the basic processes doen, I think it’s a very valuable tool. Try the free trial and see if it’s helpful for the stuff you do.

[Ellis Cucksey]

I think your range seems mostly reasonable for an entry-level LA with a Master’s degree, at least for the jobs I’ve seen open around this area (Alberta, Canada). I’ve seen CAD Techs in Edmonton getting around 20K beginning sallary (IBI Group is hiring up there right now…), and beginning designers getting around 24K, but that’s with a large multi-discipline firm. Probably the smaller firms, especially in areas that don’t have the economic vitality that Alberta currently enjoys, would start lower than that.

[Ellis Cucksey]

Our school’s workshop had a special saw for cutting foam core. It was similar to a jig saw but the blade was a small-diameter file that sort of buffed out the imperfections as it cut. Pretty cool tool.

[Ellis Cucksey]

Do you type in http://www.land8lounge.com every time you visit this site, then?

[Ellis Cucksey]

More effort? Just replace your old bookmark with a new one.

[Author]

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