Here is the good news. Idea Spectrum in
the United States has created an amazingly
powerful -yet affordable - landscape design
application which is catching the eye of many
designers this side of the equator.
Realtime Landscaping Architect is a fully featured
landscape design software application for
creating professional plans and presentations.
According to Shannon Thompson from Idea
Spectrum, in recent years the company has
seen a sharp increase in Realtime Landscaping
Architect sales from [Australia]. I had the
opportunity to scrutinise the software over the
last few months, and was pleasantly surprised
at what I found.
INTERFACE AND NAVIGATION
The first thing you notice upon opening
Realtime Landscaping Architect is the clean
and uncluttered work space; something many
design applications neglect by cramming
menus, palettes, and alien-looking icons into
limited screen real estate. Navigation feels
intuitive and once you become comfortable with
the layout, it’s actually an enjoyable experience.
Organisation of sub menus and icons is organic,
for example, clicking the landscape menu
reveals rocks, plants, paths etcetera. When
working in plan view the 3D perspective view
is constantly updated in real-time, and when
switching between the two you have the ability
to monitor progress in the 3rd dimension. Some of the more expensive design applications
require you to wait seconds or minutes for the
3D view to render, so the instant feedback is
a refreshing feature. Layers are another great
addition as they allow you to organise complex
designs into manageable groups. For example,
you can have your garden on one layer, and your
hard surfaces on a separate layer. Layers can be
turned on or off while you focus on other areas
of your landscape.
CONTENT
One of the most impressive features is the
amount of included landscaping objects,
from garden lights to water fountains. With
an astounding 16,000 objects and materials,
including more than 6700 realistic plants - for
example shrubs, annuals, perennials, cacti,
water garden and tropical - chances are you can
find just about everything you will need. Photoreal
plants are included from all climate zones
and there is also a selection of 3D versions.
There is a limited amount of local species,
yet you can always create your own using the
included Realtime Picture Editor or import thirdparty
plant libraries.
THIRD-PARTY OBJECTS AND CUSTOMISATION
Although Realtime Landscaping Architect has an abundance of plants
and landscape objects, undoubtedly there will come a time when you
require something unique. The good news is that the software has the
ability to import Google SketchUp models via a model import wizard.
Google’s 3D Warehouse has thousands of readymade SketchUp objects
to choose from, and the best part is - they are free. You can also import
photo-real plants via a picture import wizard, which is preferably but
not limited to TGA format. Other elements such as pavement textures
can be imported and placed, making specified or unique product
representation a breeze. Basic modelling primitives and editing tools
are also on hand for custom object building.
PLANS
As the nut-and-bolt area for landscape and garden designers, the
plan view is undoubtedly the business end of this application. Aside
from the professional look of the plans it can produce, the speed at
which you can create them is equally impressive. Typically, hard and
soft surfaces can be placed and then transformed via vector points
common with most other CAD applications. Surface textures can be
changed via the materials menu, and of course you are spoilt for choice,
given the amount of alternative surfaces available. Plant fills and plant
rows are a quick way to mass plant, as the spacing can be changed to
uniform or random seed when density is adjusted. Symbols can also be
changed to artistic, photo, or CAD styles depending on your taste - an
excellent feature for designers wanting the traditional hand-rendered
look. A comprehensive project material list is automatically generated and updated as you add plants, landscape
materials, and other elements in real-time. The
material list totals the quantities based on a
user-imputed unit price; although unfortunately
at the time of writing there is no option for
GST. With a few simple clicks, the plant label
wizard automatically generates plant labels and
graphics on a separate layer, and this can be
edited without interfering with the actual plan.
Overall, the planning suite encompasses every
tool you would expect from a fully featured
planning application; however its strength lies
in the efficient and uncomplicated ease of use.
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3D PRESENTATIONS
As mentioned earlier, the 3D perspective view
correlates (in 3D) exactly to the plan view,
and vice versa. All objects can be edited in
real-time, providing instant feedback on any
adjustments. The plant growth feature allows
you to show clients an estimation of what their
landscape will look like after one to 20 years of
growth. There are several options for creating
3D presentations, including saving still image
files, or creating walkthrough movies. Switching
to walkthrough allows you to go on a virtual
tour of your design - an impressive feature and
admittedly, a lot of fun. It’s also an excellent live
presentation tool that could potentially help sell
your design to clients on the spot.
QUICK BEFORE-AND-AFTER PHOTOS
One of the benefits for users of Realtime
Landscaping Architect is the included powerful photo imaging application - Realtime Landscaping
Photo. It allows you to import a photo of your
client’s property and create a conceptual image
in a similar way to the Photoshop article I wrote
in the March/April edition of LCM. Areas of
the photo can be cloned out, and plants and
landscape features can be added from its huge
object library. You can even add the included
3D objects by rotating and transforming them
to match the photo perspective. Shadows are
generated automatically each time you add a new
object or plant.
FEATURE SUMMARY
Photo-Based Landscape Design
Import a photo and design the landscape - ideal
for creating before-and-after views of your
property.
3D Landscape Design
Design houses, decks, fencing, edging, lawns,
gardens, and more. Walk through your designs
in real-time 3D, create movies and presentations
of your landscaping ideas.
Water Features
Add sprinkler systems, fountains, waterfalls,
custom swimming pools (above and below
ground), spas, ponds, streams, and more.
Landscape Plans and CAD drawings
Design professional landscape plans, installation
instructions and CAD drawings. Other features
include enhanced swimming pool and spa design, unique 3D road tools and the Unique Plan
View which automatically creates the 3D view as
you design.
16,000 Objects
Includes pictures, models, and symbols (6700
plants).
CONCLUSION
The ability to create detailed plans, 3D
animations, and perspective images that look
professional (in a timely manner) is testament to
Idea Spectrum’s understanding of the designer’s
mindset. With a help menu and tutorials on hand,
the learning curve is so forgivingly shallow, that
even without any CAD experience, you will be
surprised at the simplicity. It’s a powerful and
sophisticated landscape design tool with an
uncomplicated interface, and a huge library of
readymade plants and objects. What is arguably
most important is that the software doesn’t trip
you up with technical obstacles that hinder
your ability to express creatively. In terms of
the price-to-feature ratio - you would be hardpressed
to find anything comparable.
MORE INFORMATION
Realtime Landscaping Architect is compatible
with Windows 7, Vista, and XP. The price at time of
writing is US[$379.95] plus shipping, and includes
the boxed version and downloads option. For
further information, or to download the free trial
– visit www.ideaspectrum.com
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Realtime Landscaping Architect
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