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Where can i find more 3D plant images from? (websites etc)


Jules2009

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

If you have access to Photoshop or similar its actually not too difficult to create image props from your own photographs. You need to be able to produce an image which has a transparent background or the background stored in the alpha channel. Once you've done that you can bring it into VW using the Model/Create Image Prop command.

The can be useful for creating massed planted areas too without having to place individual plants.

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Its a matter of selecting the right tool for the job. A final presentation design of mine will consist of a number of elements, all composited in Vectorworks. However, those elements will come from a variety of disciplines, so there will likely be a mix of VW, RW, Piranesi, photos and hand drawn elements.

Whilst Piranesi can do flat views, such as plan or front views etc, Piranesi excels at axonometric or perspective drawings. Because of this, and more importantly the point that things like elevations appear in my workflow (as part of the design process rather than a presentation tool), I still use Renderworks for elevations and Vectorworks 2D for my plan rendering.

But if I am doing a presentation drawing, its either in pen/watercolour paint/pencil or Piranesi - depending on the detail of the planting needed. If the planting is important, ie species is critical, I still draw the plants, albeit within a 3D perspective assisted by Vectorworks, however, if I am only showing indicative planting, then I use Piranesi and stylise the supplied plants as appropriate.

The main reason for choosing Piranesi in this circumstance is because it is better and quicker than using VW/RW, but I am not trying to produce a photo realistic look, but an individual, non computer look to my drawings. If you want a photorealistic look, there are other packages that may be worth taking a look at, which have their own range of vegetation - I did seriously consider Artlantis but could not justify the price as I already had Renderworks.

There are some short comings that I find with Piranesi, but these are really small compared with what the package offers as a whole. The major one for some however will be if multiple renders of the similar view are required. As you generally hand texture and apply props by hand, before rendering, there will be some duplication of effort as you may need to do this/tweak to all the different views, although props, such as plants, can be saved and reapplied to a different 3D view and I believe that later versions of Piranesi will do similar with textures.

What is important to realise is that Piranesi can work at various stages of the final render process. I typically use it fairly early on, so I export really basic 3D models (making 3D views even quicker to produce), but it can equally work with more complete images where you can simply add props and stylise.

If you want a creative individual image, take a serious look at Piranesi, but if you want a computer generated or photo realistic look, it may not be for you. But it is a useful addition to the toolbox.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

I'm excited about the introduction of the VB Visual Plants, as it is allowing users, who wish to have a more 3 dimensional representation of a plant, use it with much success. After many discussions this weekend at the ASLA Annual Meeting, Landscape Architects and Landscape Designers repeatedly state how they are eagerly looking for ways to share their site planning solutions as a participant in the BIM process. Though I'm quick to note that with Vectorworks Landmark, they have a strong SIM (Site Information Modeling) solution, they undoubtedly still find more and more requests to use BIM programs so they can provide their site designs to those who are using other BIM programs. The use of "Cut Out" Plant Image Props are helpful to us in conveying our intent in planting for our own 3D modeling presentations, but when transferred out into an IFC file, what are you left with? The better solution would be a more properly designed 3D model of a plant, which has a better chance of being represented with the other 3D geometry. Is it necessary to have a full library of such modeled plants when this is just an introduction to designers? I'd suggest not, as it helps to direct our landscape design users down a path to consider, if the need for 3D modeled plants is going to be necessary to their 3D modeling experience.

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I'm sure you are: you have a vested interest, being an employee of the software company in question.

Now, the technology itself is fabulous.

Here in the Civilized World there just may be some issues. A certain Mr. Gates was fined for hundreds of millions of Euros (not just US Pesos) for dubious business practices.

I have the feeling that NNA needs to be able to show in the relevant European Union court that things are hunky dory. They don't appear to be.

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