January 31, 2012. Beaverton, Oregon: e-on software the leader in 3D sky, light and nature technologies, today announced the immediate availability of LumenRT 2 Review, the second generation of the company’s revolutionary product for the interactive visualization of architectural projects with full physical lighting.

The product, currently compatible with SketchUp, is being ported to other platforms. To support this major release, e-on software also publishes a free trial version of LumenRT 2 for Macintosh and Windows, immediately available for download from try.lumenrt.com.

LumenRT 2

E-on software invites all architects and designers to watch the LumenRT 2 Review presentation video, showcasing the true real-time power of LumenRT 2. This video, entirely rendered with LumenRT 2 is visible on the company’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/eonsoftware.

Last but not least, e-on software is happy to announce that the upgrade to LumenRT 2 is available for free to all registered users of LumenRT 1. However, because this offer is limited in time, e-on software indicates that current users should upgrade without delay.

LumenRT 2 Review: A New Media for Architects Is Born!

With last year’s successful introduction of LumenRT, e-on software made a noticeable entry into the real-time market. This first version was immediately recognized as a significant advance by the architectural industry (including a nomination to 3D World CG Awards 2011 for Plugin of the Year), leading to many prominent ArchViz companies embracing LumenRT’s revolutionary approach. The ability to create accurately lit, immersive 3D visualizations of their projects and to share them with their clients was indeed considered a substantial asset.

LumenRT is the only solution that combines real-time rendering with a full, physical simulation of light, letting architects and their clients accurately experience the true volume and lighting of their designs.

Thanks to LumenRT 2 Review, architects no longer have to choose between high-quality images and real-time visualization. They can create high quality real-time visualizations of their models, explore them with any standard or 3D mouse and share them with their clients as self contained executables.

With a completely new, state-of-the-art real-time engine, LumenRT 2 hoards a plentiful number of new features and enhancements:

• Complete physical simulation of light,
• Physically accurate reflections,
• Adjustable time of day,
• Precise anti-aliasing and motion blur,
• Soft shadows with varying softness,
• Superb water and underwater effects,
• Advanced material rendering,
• Photo-realistic skies,
• Low quality mode for optimized performance on slower boards,
• And a lot more

The complete list of new features in LumenRT 2 Review for SketchUp is available at: www.lumenrt.com/overview/#Release 2.

LumenRT 2 Review Trial Version

The release of LumenRT 2 also marks the release of the first Trial Version of LumenRT, immediately available from try.lumenrt.com

The trial version of LumenRT 2 Review for SketchUp is a fully functional version of LumenRT 2, valid for 15 days. Output from the trial version is watermarked and not valid for commercial use. The trial version enables all SketchUp users to check how their communication could benefit from e-on software’s cutting-edge technology! The trial version can easily be converted into a full commercial license by purchasing the product directly from within the plug-in or a LiveCube.

Those who don’t use SketchUp can still experience the visual quality of LumenRT LiveCubes right away by downloading a set of sample LumenRT 2 LiveCubes at www.lumenrt.com/download and explore them live on their computer while they wait for support of their favorite application. The complete electronic documentation is also available for download from that page.

SketchUp is a 3D modeling program marketed by Google and designed for architectural, civil, and mechanical engineers as well as filmmakers, game developers. On April 27, 2006, Google announced Google SketchUp, a freely-downloadable version of SketchUp. The program, which is designed for ease of use, allows placement of models within Google Earth. Google’s 3D Warehouse enables SketchUp users to search for, download and contribute free models.

Google SketchUp for Game Design: Beginner’s Guide provides its readers with simple steps to model realistic 3D environments, levels and props with SketchUp and Unity 3D. They will learn how to create cars, buildings, terrain, tools and standard level props such as barrels, fencing and wooden pallets. The book acts as an aid in setting up one’s own game level in Unity 3D creating a fully functional first person walk-around level.

The book enables designers to create ‘game ready’ textures from photos, discover tools for game-level and asset creation, and sculpt rough terrains using easy Sandbox tools in SketchUp. This beginner’s guide takes the  reader through modeling a 3D automobile with advanced tricks and techniques,  adding lighting and walk around in their game, and importing one’s game art into professional game engines like Unity 3D, Panda3D, Ogre, CryEngine, Unreal Engine and Blender Game Engine.

The book is written for anyone who wants to create entire 3D worlds in freely available game engines. It also targets people who wish to create new levels and assets to sell in game asset stores or use in visualization  or animation. For complete information about the book, please visit: http://www.packtpub.com/google-sketchup-for-3d-game-design-beginners-guide/book

You can see it in the image below:

So after doing a little research, I found the fix. You need to go to the Edit tab on the Adobe Acrobat Menu, and then Preferences. In Preferences you select Page Display and there look for the Rendering box. You will find a drop down box that says Smooth Text. Change it from None to For Monitor or For Laptop/LCD Screens.

That should fix your problem. If it doesn’t leave a comment with your issue and we’ll try to find a fix for you.

What This Training is About

If you’re a fan on our Facebook Page, you probably know that we just launched a new training for architects and designers on Photoshop Basics. We’re covering the most usual tools you will use in Photoshop, and we even have a case study where I’m showing you how to change the color of a house and how to add a different texture to a driveway. There is a ebook that you can download. It contains  the most usual commands, description of tools and the case study. We have video tutorials to guide you visually, and a lot of free resources for your personal libraries.

Why Photoshop ‘Basic’

It’s not that hard to work with Photoshop, and nowadays almost every respectable architect, or designer will tell you that working with this software is a skill you need to learn in order to be successful and to have good looking presentations.

The software may be intimidating, and it can give you a headache if you try to learn it by yourself. I know that, because I’ve been there a few years ago, and it’s pretty discouraging. What you need to know, is that it can be learned and that it will tremendously ease your life and surely your work.

So take a few minutes of your day, and signup for our FREE training.

You need to learn PHOTOSHOP today! Don’t get left behind.

Domplatz Linz – project description from the architects

The impressive neo-gothic Mariendom cathedral of Linz is clearly opposed by the unfinished Domplatz square, that had never been completed in accordance to the original idea to free up the entire quadrangle between the surrounding streets. This heterogeneous situation was unsatisfactory from the point of view of urban planning and was to be resolved by means of a competition, which also included the construction of a hotel and an underground car park as well as the revitalization of two existing baroque buildings.

By including the surrounding streets and by means of the solitary positioning of the new hotel a link to the heart of the city is created – a place at the square.

The new hotel is a confident, sculptural solitary building, on the one hand reacting to the arrangement and vertical extent of neighboring buildings and, on the other, offering a response to the simultaneously delicate and dominant structure of the cathedral.

Prizes and nomination for this project:

Prize: Clients’ Award 2009
Prize: Architectural award “vis à vis – exemplary buildings for culture, tourism, sports” 2009

Prize: regional prize for art of the federal state of Upper Austria:  “Hotel am Domplatz” in Linz was awarded the distinction “building of the year”

Nomination: Mies van der Rohe Award – European Union Prize 2011

More to come soon

Apomechanes brings together individuals from divers backgrounds and fields of study to discuss, exchange and collaborate on projects that investigate modes of algorithmic and machinic processes in architectural design.

Apomechanes is now accepting applications, further information is available at: www.apomechanes.com

Who is it For

This course was prepared for you, casual cool, talented architects, or designers that want to learn Photoshop in an easy relaxed manner. I hope to be able to help you with that, as I would have wanted to receive help when I first started using the software.

Why Another Photoshop Course, Dude?

Yes, there are a lot of courses and guides out there on the subject, and you can go ahead and hunt them down if you like. I won’t stop you. I believe this one is suited for architects best, and it gets you through the basics in a simple (and coherent) manner.

That being said, using Photoshop is not that big of a deal, and starting with it can be a child play if you’re a little tech savvy, but not everybody is, and that shouldn’t stand in your way of creating wonderful images with your computer. I used this software since high school (more than 10 years now), so I know a thing or two about how to use it, and how to achieve the desired outcome with it. It’s fascinating how many people quit learning to use a program after a few tries. So there, here is the reason this training will come in existence: I want to help you work faster and smarter on your projects.

Of course Dan, you’re a good person and all, but what’s in it for you? – you might say

Well, I could start and brag about how I am a wonderful guy that likes to help people and waste countless hours writing in Microsoft Word, taking snap shots of my screen and recording and editing video, but all that doesn’t matter. What matters is what YOU can learn from this. So here are the main chapters as I considered suited for a newbie at Photoshop:

1. Introduction To Photoshop
2. Usual Tools and Usage
3. Basic Photo Editing
4. Look Over My Shoulder
5. Resources And Recommended Tools

All this training will be available in about a week, or two, and you will find about it here on the blog, or in your e-mail inbox if you are a subscriber.

Your Opinion

Please give your thoughts, ideas and suggestions to this initiative by leaving a comment below, and as always, thank you for being a reader of Archtopia.

Ever imagined a tool to edit existed SWF directly? Here comes the program named Sothink SWF Quicker. With this app, you can edit a ready-made SWF or author a SWF from scratch. I’ve just got a message from Sothink.com. They are offering our visitors 20 coupons for SWF Quicker, each coupon values $25. You can enjoy 29% discount instantly.

Here is a short product description from their official site:

Sothink SWF Quicker is the leading Flash Editor and Flash Maker. With this Flash Software, you can create stunning Flash effortlessly by editing SWF (Flash CS4 & AS 3.0 supported) directly or adopting rich built-in effects. You can also make Flash from scratch with the same vector editing capability as Adobe Flash but spend less. Diverse export formats (SWF, EXE, GIF, AVI, and Flash Lite) will enable you to apply the Flash everywhere you need.

The software is really complex, and it might take you some time to learn it, but there are templates you can work with, and of course a bunch of tutorials on the official website. If you need more support you can email the seller directly.

Sothink SWF Quicker already has a reputation, and it surely lives up to it. So tell us your thoughts about this one, and of course if you want a coupon, make sure you are on our email list. You can subscribe here. If you liked our page already, just visit the Welcome! tab on the left of the page.

Disclosure: We are not affiliated with Sothink.com, but we did received an evaluation copy of the software. We are not compensated for any purchase you might do.

What you might not know, is that these guys work on a new plugin for SketchUP, and SketchUP Pro for architects, a plug-in that will revolutionize how we visualize architectural projects in real-time 3D with photo-real illumination called LumenRT.

From the creators:

Thanks to LumenRT, architects no longer have to choose between high-quality images and real-time visualization: They can walk or fly through their designs and experience the true quality of light in fully interactive 3D!

LumenRT real-time environments can even be packaged into convenient, self-contained executables that can be run on any computer without requiring additional software.

This is what is going to be possible in real-time:

LumenRT will be built as a photo-realistic light simulator. We don’t know a release date yet, since the software is in developing stage, but from what you can see, it promises a lot, and surely will deliver based on e-on software experience.

So stay tuned, and keep learning every day.

Do you think this will ease your work with architectural visualization? Tell us your thoughts.

And because we like to find buy stuff now and then, and also help our fellows architects and designers out there, we’ve selected the best deals we could find on the items we would like to buy for our personal use.

So here it goes, a list sorted in descending order:

1. Adobe Creative Suite 5 Master Collection Student & Teacher Edition

List Price: $2,599.00
Price: $824.99
You Save: $1,774.01 (68%)

Product Description

Tell your story using Adobe’s full range of creative tools with Adobe Creative Suite 5 Master Collection software.

Move projects easily among applications for print, web, and interactive design. Take them to video production and create stunning motion graphics and effects.

Benefit from integration with new Adobe CS Live online services, which can further enhance your productivity.

From start to finish, design amazing work, collaborate effectively, and deliver virtually anywhere.

This product needs not introduction, and it’s a must have item if you’re serious about design, photo, video or audio editing, this is the all in all product.

Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended for digital image editing

Make an impact with your images using Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended, the professional digital imaging standard. Enhance your photos with realistic paint strokes and artistic filters, or create gorgeously surreal 32-bit HDR images.

Adobe Illustrator CS5 for vector-drawing graphics
Create compelling graphics for any type of project using Adobe Illustrator CS5, the vector-drawing environment preferred by design professionals worldwide.

Adobe InDesign CS5 for web design
Design, preflight, and publish documents in print, online, and to mobile devices using Adobe InDesign CS5. With precise control over typography, built-in creative tools, and an intuitive design environment, you can create stunning page layouts, long documents, and rich presentations for any audience.

Adobe Dreamweaver CS5
Design, develop, and maintain standards-based websites and applications using Adobe Dreamweaver CS5. Work visually or in your code, taking advantage of visual CSS inspection and reliable testing through integration with Adobe BrowserLab, a new CS Live online service.

Adobe After Effects CS5
Create extraordinary motion graphics and visual effects using Adobe After Effects CS5, which provides everything you need to create opening titles, animated graphics, and visual effects.

There is so much to this product, that I would have to write about it all day and wouldn’t be able to describe its value. You can find the complete version for PC on Amazon HERE, and the MAC version HERE. The money you save buying the whole package is well worth the deal, but you know your budget.

2. Adobe Photoshop CS5

List Price: $699.00
Price: $565.00
You Save: $134.00 (19%)

Product Description

Adobe Photoshop CS5 delivers breakthrough capabilities to help you create images with impact.

Refine your images with reengineered photography tools for removing noise, adding grain, and creating high dynamic range (HDR) images.

Get precise results when making complex selections. Remove any image element and see the space fill in almost magically.

Paint with naturally textured brushstrokes and realistic color blends. Also work fast with cross-platform 64-bit support and dozens of other time-savers.

Product Features

Easy access to core editing power
Get just the tools you need–exactly when you need them–as you perform common editing activities. Adjustments and Masks panels guide you in making precise adjustments and masks.

Extraordinary creative tools
Achieve realistic painting effects with the ability to mix colors on canvas and create natural brushstrokes. Merge multiple exposures into stunning high dynamic range (HDR) images. Move, remove, warp, or stretch any image element.

State-of-the-art photography
Easily merge multiple exposures to extend the dynamic range with more power, precision, and fidelity than ever before. Convert to black-and-white in new ways. And use Dodge, Burn, and Sponge tools that intelligently preserve color and tone details.

Industry-leading raw image processing
Enjoy superior results when you convert raw images with the Camera Raw 6 plug-in, which offers support for over 275 camera models plus nondestructive editing so you can experiment without harming your original photo.

You can find this deal on Amazon.com. Buy Photoshop CS5 for PC HERE, and Photoshop CS5 for MAC HERE.

3. Autodesk SketchBook Designer 2011

List Price: $495.00
Price: $394.99
You Save: $100.01 (20%)

Autodesk SketchBook Designer

boasts a unique hybrid paint and vector platform that creative individuals need to quickly transform ideas into compelling artwork and design iterations.

Built to enhance the creative process, SketchBook Designer provides a new approach to digital sketching and illustration, a powerful asset for design professionals and illustrators of all levels.

This software is extremely useful for illustrators and web designers since will allow you to create and transform incredible digital sketches or illustrations.

This will be a gift for a friend designer of archtopia.com. We know he’ll love it.

Product Features

• Unique Hybrid Raster/Vector Environment
• Optimized for both pen-based (freehand) and mouse interactions
• Highly discoverable interface; easy to use without compromising quality or functionality

• Easy-to-use curve creation and editing
• Simultaneously warp paint and vector layer contents
• Library of brushes that can be used on both paint and vector layers
• Import and export curve data (DWG)

You can check this software HERE on Amazon, where we found the best price.

These are our top picks, and we hope you have the best time shopping for the things you love!!! Best wishes, and if you find better deals, or have any deals you want to suggest to us, feel free to do so in the comment section bellow.

Cheers!