Most of the things that one has accomplished were once mere dreams which were realized with time. The same case applies even for built houses, which were just visions in pictures until they were built. Digital technology is evolving fast and developing rapidly across different fields, and the architectural field happens to be one of them. Before any building is built, there are sketches of it made that help visualize its appearance. These pictures are of different dimensions, one of them being 3D sketches.
3D floor sketches
The times have changed, and the days of designing house plans using hands are gone. Technology has made the process easier and less tiresome.3D has become an indispensable part of modern building plans. Because of this, its popularity increases with each passing day as most people are familiar with the concept. A 3D gives one a bird’s eye view of a building that is yet to be modelled.
A building to be constructed requires a well-detailed plan in all aspects whose sole purpose is to offer insights into all three axes. This can be presented in 3D form with all the customizations made with the help of different softwares. With a 3D, it’s easy to visualize any architectural plan, even those that are complicated.
An effective 3D software enables the creation of a meticulously done 3D floor plan which ensures optimal accuracy; All these is contributed to by strategic positioning of the cameras, proper lighting and state of mastered art techniques. Due to accuracy and perfection, there is no difference between a digital and a real floor plan.
Why a floor plan is required
If one wants to sell their prospective real estate, a well-laid plan is needed for marketing purposes. The design acts as a visual for potential buyers, and it’s the scope under which future developments are planned. Another reason it’s advisable to have a good plan is because when the plan is listed, it gets potential buyers as fast and creates a memorable impact in people’s minds.
Buyers make decisions by evaluating the plan visually and coming to a conclusion of whether to buy the house if it meets their desired lifestyle. Builders and constructors can also express their ideas and make changes using the designed 3D plan. One is also able to assess the remaining space after the building is built.
A 3D plan is essential as it helps approximate the average cost required. That’s the land measurements, building equipment and the labour force.
Types of 3D floor plans
• To view 3D plans
These are plans that enable you to have a view that’s exactly above where you can see all four sides. They are mostly recommended for real estate listings and when planning for an industry model. In this type of floor plan, you can completely see the layout and the floor.
• Isometric view plan
This is a perspective plan drawn at an angle of thirty degrees that focuses on a certain area. The plan appears as a parallelogram where all faces are visible but highlights a certain place where the props are visible such as the kitchen.
• Bird’s eye view plan
In this type of view, one sees the building from one side. It could be from the very top or a certain side. It’s helpful as the view is clearer.
• Custom 3D floor plans
This type of plan collects your ideas and stretches them into a 3D concrete plan that helps emphasize your ideas, and it’s easy to express your plan to the clients. With a custom 3D plan, one can include measurements, addresses and logos to the building.
How does one create a 3D floor plan?
Any meticulously done beautiful 3D plan starts with a 2D sketch. Below is a procedure used when designing a 3D floor plan.
Steps to follow when designing a 3D plan
1. The first step is to sketch a 2D plan or blueprint.
For one who is less experienced, it,s advisable to use the help of a draftsman. This is the step where specifications and measurements are mapped. Since the 2D sketch should be flawless, one would use the help of AutoCAD software which ensures perfection. The shape depends on the specifications. Depending on the shape specified, one obtains the size dimensions. To be precise, it’s essential to include the particular length, width and height dimensions of the wall. It’s at this point where you distinguish the rooms by naming them, i.e. living room, bedroom, kitchen and hall. When doing the blueprint, one can use basic drawing tools where a pen is used to draw the building’s walls a line segment tool is used to segment the areas within the property. The brush tool strokes can be thickened to highlight specific areas and differentiate one area from another.
One should use the working scale properly to represent the measurements accurately. The blueprint is supposed to be done carefully so that your aspirations are clearly reflected and represented.
2. After the blueprint is made, please make a copy of it and then preserve the original safely. A copy is made so that changes are made to it, and the original is unaltered. The next stage is to do the cleanups on the blueprint copy to expand the plan and take it to the next level.
For the blueprint expansion, the lines have to be selected, and the cleanups are completely done. After you have selected the lines, click on the ‘object and expand ‘tool on the software. After clicking, you realize that all selected lines are expanded. One should maintain the selection of the necessary lines.
Once the line expansion is completed, click on the ‘unite’ tool on the software, which will have all the lines combined into a 3D shape. When the change reflects, there may be the need to make corrections on the lines, which may be out of place. One can use a pen tool to do the random corrections on the blueprint. Remember to use the replica to refer to the case there is the occurrence of an untraceable mistake.
3. Position the structural components of the building in a 3D design layout
The process starts by drawing doors and windows, which can be drawn in rectangular or square shapes. Drag the shapes to the places they are supposed to be when construction is being done.
To easily differentiate the windows and the doors from other features in the plan, it’s advisable to use colours. An example is ideally using green for the doors, while yellow is used to represent the windows.
4. Once the sketch now has windows, doors and other structural components perfectly positioned on the blueprint, the next level is to produce a copy of three such blueprints.
As these three blueprints have all the positioned components, they are used to develop the complete 3D plan. Cut out the windows in the first blueprint by the use of the divide function.
Cut out the doors on the second copy. The third blueprint should not have windows or doors on it.
Click on the ‘extrude and bevel ‘function from the 3 effect option on the first blueprint. To get the desired output, one is required to use the preview function. The depth extrusion should be 15pts.In the second blueprint, the extrusion depth should range between 20-24 pts, while in the third print, the extrusion depth is 15pts.
After one is done with the process, place the blueprints on top of each other in a stacked manner, then choose a colour of your preference then use it to shade this layer. Repeat the shading process for the other two layers. After the shading is done, the appearance may not be as appealing as expected, but overlook the temporary look and press the ‘object – expand appearance’ function. In this stage, you can now insert the windows, doors and floor. To enhance the appearance, dull colours are preferred to represent wall tops.
After carefully following the procedure, the appearance is now appealing, and there is your 3D complete representation of all structural components such as the kitchen and other rooms.
The above procedure is kinder long and demands a lot of your time and full concentrations to attain the desired results. But it gets easier with time and frequent practice that improve your skills.
Some try to make a 3D floor plan but don’t get good results in the wrong run because of the mistakes made. Below are some of the mistakes people make, and one should avoid them to get the desired output.
Mistakes to avoid when making a 3D floor plan
1. Selecting a wrong floor plan
One shouldn’t be misled by the urges of having a luxurious layout without considering the primary needs of the plan. An example is when you want to set up an office. It would be best if you considered placing it far away from the kitchen or the kids’ playroom.
Each need should be factored in before developing the plan.
2. Not using specified dimensions for rooms.
When one fails to adhere to the dimensions, there is a shortage of enough space for furniture in most cases. It’s therefore important to estimate the furniture and their size to ensure there will be enough space to accommodate them.
3. Underestimating the home buying price
In most cases, a buyer loves a 3D floor plan which is the house’s design. This makes them want to buy the house, not knowing the budget is way higher than it looks.
The price is bound to increase as there may be an addition to the furniture, ultimately increasing the selling price.
As a buyer, you are not supposed to commit to buying a house based on its 3D plan.
4. Space mismanagement
To optimize space, managing it is key.
When doing the preparations, space is mismanaged, which causes constraints in some parts of the house.
Advantages of a 3D floor plan
• One makes accurate and informed plans-Floor plans are mostly used compared to pictures as they portray more features such as space and room allocations, therefore best for planning.
• Important features can be showcased-Images are good with the showcasing of exterior features such as gardens. But in cases where one wants to showcase the interior parts, a 3D plan is better as it comes in handy in portraying a clear layout of the interior and all the features in the house.
• One can visualize the amount of space covered and the one that remains- Space visualization can help boost sales.
• The floor area can be seen with ease, and the use of a scale can easily comprehend the clearly-The size of the carpet area even without necessarily visiting the property.
• One can have a comprehensive view- A 3D rendering complemented by virtual staging allows one to visualize the floor from all angles. This way, the buyers know about the house and know how everything looks like and where the things are positioned.
Conclusion
It’s always said that any dream is halfway accomplished if you take the step of visualizing it. A 3D floor interior plan helps you have a visual of the real house model. Architects and constructors use it to actualize the plan into an eye-catching building. For real estate, it’s always easy to explain to the clients how the house looks like ideally. A 3D plan helps architects pinpoint any mistakes in the plan before it is actualized and adjustments are made soon enough. By doing this, costly reworks are minimized, and there is an increase in productivity. A plan is essential, especially when budgeting for the whole project, as cost calculation, can be done efficiently using a 3D plan. The best part of it all is the ne technology development which means that one doesn’t have to do the hectic part of doing the sketches manually as there is a better and efficient way to do it, which is through different softwares. The beauty in it is that human errors are eliminated. Good architectural skills complemented by effective software are all you need for a well laid out 3D floor plan.
