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.
Posted: January 31st, 2012 | Author: Jared Banks | Filed under: Long Posts, Shoegnome on YouTube | Tags: Align 3D Textures, Misc. Tips & Tricks, Modeling, Videos | 13 Comments »
It's time to demystify walls AND make your coworkers think you have magical ArchiCAD powers...
Do you hate when walls don't join properly or when hatch patterns in elevation randomly don't align? In this video I talk about the Modify Wall menu and how it demystifies those issues. I won't promise that the Modify Wall menu will solve every one of those problems. BUT once you are familiar with its abilities, you will always understand WHY those problems are happening.
In all these videos I try hard not to do too much with key commands. I want everything I do to be clear. But I have to admit
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Posted: January 24th, 2012 | Author: Jared Banks | Filed under: Long Posts | Tags: Add-Ons, Objects | No Comments »
Within 48 hrs of posting The Cobbler's Workbench, I had a large list of additional sites to add to my ArchiCAD resources page. Thank you to everyone who shared their favorite sites with me. Below is a list of sites I've added to the original list. Included in this revision are three programs that extend the capabilities of ArchiCAD (from site documentation to collaboration to facilities management). I have to say, it's impressive how much amazing ArchiCAD stuff is out there, if you know where to look! To know why I started this list, here's an explanation. And if you think there's a website I should
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Posted: January 11th, 2012 | Author: Kristian Bursell | Filed under: Guest Bloggers, Long Posts | Tags: BIM philosophy, GDL, Modeling, Objects | No Comments »
I officially entered the building design realm through the Architecture and Environmental Design course at the University of Canberra. After constantly being told that my ideals were that of a dreamer I became unsure of myself and decided the safe option was to follow the notions of friends, family and university Lecturer’s on “what life is”. However I felt nothing when I reached the milestones they said would bring fulfilment; and in the space of two weeks all I was told to aim for crumbled, and I found myself in a deep dark hole. So I threw their notions to the wind, clawed my way out of
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Posted: January 8th, 2012 | Author: Jared Banks | Filed under: Long Posts, Product Reviews | Tags: Add-Ons, Objects, Templates, Tutorials | 1 Comment »
Visit Shoegnome's ArchiCAD Resource Page Version 1.1
So I had an idea a few weeks ago. I'd create a second website. It'd have a comprehensive list of websites that had ArchiCAD content on them --objects, add-ons, templates, tutorials, etc. It'd be great. Maybe eventually I could become a reseller for some of the products, create a one-stop shop for paid and free content, and turn the second website into an ArchiCAD mall. I had a great name for the site: The Cobbler's Workbench. In my weird world of bizarre names it fits perfectly. Shoegnome is about improving process. The Cobbler's Workbench would
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Posted: January 2nd, 2012 | Author: Jared Banks | Filed under: Long Posts, Shoegnome on YouTube | Tags: Complex Profile, Misc. Tips & Tricks, Production, Tutorials, Videos | 8 Comments »
Tonight I recorded two videos.
Making these videos reminds me of how I first learned ArchiCAD. I spent a fair amount of time sitting behind one of my coworkers, just watching him work. It was very enlightening. And as I rewatch my videos, I notice a bunch of little techniques that I take for granted, but are probably as enlightening as the main focus of the video. The first video doesn't discuss everything about complex profile creation, but it covers what I feel is one basic, one intermediate, and one advanced tip (the white dotted line trick). The second video takes some of those techniques
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Posted: November 28th, 2011 | Author: Jared Banks | Filed under: Long Posts | Tags: Align 3D Textures, BIMx, Modeling, Objects | 5 Comments »
Paintings and the Art of Self-Referencing
A year ago I wrote about putting paintings and wall art in models. I recommended a trick using walls, niches, and aligning 3D textures. It's a good technique, but I have to admit that I now rarely use it for hanging pictures. I finally got around to using the Picture 15 object. It's great and fast. Put whatever image you want in your loaded library, choose custom picture and then type in the image's name that you want to use. Very easy. If you want to avoid distortion of the image, you'll need to know the proportions of the image so that you can size the
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Posted: November 14th, 2011 | Author: Jared Banks | Filed under: Long Posts | Tags: Complex Profile, Modeling, Tutorials | 9 Comments »
I recently had to model a Queen Anne house in ArchiCAD to produce some renderings for a client. It was a ton of fun. And I learned some cool tricks while modeling the various trim and ornamentation. I have to admit, of all the things I've done in ArchiCAD, this model is my favorite. Unfortunately I can't share images of the entire house until the overall project is completed later this year. In the meantime, I'll share some of the bits and pieces. Here's how I modeled the stained glass window.
STEP 1: place a window and trace the extent of the stained glass. Move the traced
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Wisdom from the Crowd