Anyone Worked With GIS Software?

[Julie Moriarty]

Do you draft plans for guitar projects?

I have plans for all the guitars I've built except for the acoustic. Some plans I downloaded, some I refined from downloaded plans and some I did almost completely from scratch. I use the plans to make full size templates. Glue them to 1/4" MDF, cut them out on the bandsaw and fine tune them. From that I may make a 3/4" MDF template.

I'm plodding along in the landscape program. It isn't very accurate or quick but I have to admit it can be pretty compelling. This is one of the videos I created for the last project. Outlines were built in AutoCAD and scaled before importing the files into the landscape program. Everything you see was built in the landscape program. Very time consuming but not bad for creating virtual walkthrus.

[Alan Caro]

Julie Moriarty,

I'm not entirely clear on an important point re: the current project: is the resulting model for statistical use or aesthetic evaluation? The ARCgis approach is statistical / analytical, while the walk-though is used to give an idea how it seems to be there.


The landscape program seems to have a reasonable level of demonstration qualities- not bad at all, but Sketchup's terrain import saves having to layout streets from measurements and provides the footprint outlines to locate and scale the buildings. Drawing a house model with a complex roof, all the windows and doors and then placing drives, walks, trees, and etc. to the level of the example of the landscape program can be time-consuming in Sketchup, although it's possible to import the doors and windows and even complete house models from 3D Warehouse.

Alan Caro

[Julie Moriarty]

In a nutshell - citizens are invited to a city summit to discuss updating the city master plan. One part of that summit will be to address the LDR. I am being brought in to create visuals - images and 3D virtual videos - to show what can potentially be built with the present LDR. Having met with many people over the years and trying to explain the problems I see with the drawings of a proposed building, I know how difficult is it for most people to visualize in 3D what is only presented in images and text. So I want to make the virtual walkthrus as true to life as I can so the citizens get a real feel for what the future may bring if we don't update the LDR.