I love working in the BIM environment and helping other architects work in a smarter, more efficient manner. I started using ArchiCAD in 2006, founded the Minnesota ArchiCAD Usergroup in 2009, and began blogging about ArchiCAD in 2010. I'm always looking for guest bloggers who also want to share their experiences with ArchiCAD and BIM.

Paintings and Frames

Posted: January 3rd, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Short Posts | Tags: , , | 1 Comment »

There are a couple ways to hang a picture in an ArchiCAD project. There is an object which I can never find in the library when I look for it. There’s also the object mentioned in this forum post. My preferred solution is to place a wall that is as wide, deep, and high as the desired frame (say 2′-11 1/2″ x 4′-8″ x 1″). Then place a niche into the wall that is the size of the picture and 1/4″ deep (so in this case 2′-3 1/2″ x 4′-0″ x 1/4″). Then set the niche tool to a material that is your painting. Align the material in 3D and you’re set.

To make the material: create a material that has the painting as a jpg. Set the jpg size to your niche size (2′-3 1/2″ x 4′-0″)

A little complex, but really versatile and fast once you’ve done it once. And it uses skills you should learn regardless (the niche, align 3d texture, and material creation). If you use a generic material to represent ‘painting’ (aged copper for instance), then you can skip the material making and aligning. This technique also works great for mirrors with frames (in my template I have a mirror material).

One Comment on “Paintings and Frames”

  1. 1: Tweets that mention Paintings and Frames | Shoegnome -- Topsy.com said at 4:35 am on January 4th, 2011:

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by ArchiCAD, Jared Banks. Jared Banks said: A nice way to hang a picture or mirror in #ArchiCAD: http://tinyurl.com/2dsd3f5 [...]

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