Illustrator or autocad LT

[Hervé]

Hello, I am closing a deal with an architect..; he's still doing all his floor plans by hand, (old generation , he never bothered to learn..) and wants me to first draw the floor plan, (yes the one for the actual city authorizations and the building workers... :o )... then to do the 3D previz...

I asked him what soft I could use.. he does not care about... (he he)

So I watched the floor plan he wants me to do, and I thought... jeez, this is something I could do in Illust. very easy (as I am very fast with AI..)

on the other hand there is autocad LT....

I thought about Illustrator, coz then importing in LW would be easy for further modeling...

What do U think.... :confused:

Thanks
Hervé

[Ron Schatz]

I use Illustrator CS for my work. Drafting and Illustration work are similar but have diffrent needs. Weigh the time for training verses to how much drawing work you want to do (or need to do).

If you know AI then use it. Illustrator CS can export AI files to AutoCad2000 dwgs for the cad jockeys to use as a great starting point if further cad work needs to be done.
Hotdoor.com makes Cadtools for Illustrator that works nicely for Dims and other cad like tools to make your files look great.
However if you don't need to learn how to use Autocad, then get LT.


You could use a LW model of the floor plan and shoot a frame looking 10,000' in the air looking down, then renderout place it in photoshop clean up as needed, stylize if needed, the use Illustrator for text and dims., and labels. (see image CGWplan)

Good Luck :)

[Hervé]

Hey Thanks Ron !

I think the cad tools is the route I'll take.... looks really cool ! why ? simply because I really dont know anything in autocad....

Last, how long is the learning curve for Autocad LT.... ? Is it far from Illustrator...?

Thanks
Hervé

[Hervé]

Plugin Idea...

Some cad tools as a plugin for LW modeler... :D

[Nigel Baker]

Hey there Hervé,

When working with Architects I usually get DXG files and they open up in Illustrator.

So I tend to use Illustrator a lot.

Then I can bring in the work into LW.

Hope it goes well for you. But why not just stick to Illustrator since you know it well.

[Hervé]

yeah, I'll stick with Illustrator... I donwloaded the cadtools demo, and they work great.. it resolves what i was scared about doing in Illustrator directly, that is all these tiny lines and arrows... but with the cadtools plugin for Illustrator, it's a breeze....

In fact i wont get anything other than hand drawn floor plans, and he wants me to do what we call here a "mise au net" of the floor plan as well as the 3d previz... so I'll do it with illustrator...

Thanks Nigel... :)

[Nigel Baker]

Your more than welcome Hervé and good hunting. Hope the work flows in …