Customer Reviews

Digital Drawing for Landscape Architecture: Contemporary Techniques and Tools for Digital Representation in Site Design

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Bradley Cantrell and Wes Michaels have authored a concise and beautifully illustrated book. They know their stuff and it shows. The book presents a detailed overview of digital methods, graphics and tools used in landscape architecture and related design professions. The clearly written content encompasses varying software and graphic. The images are excellent representatives of the graphics and methods the book's content advocates.

The book focuses on the creation of graphics type and not just on specific graphic programs. The authors took into account the flexibility in which many designers create representative graphics. This smart approach allows the book to center on the creation of rich representations of the landscape, but still delve in to the specifics of the programs used by design students and professionals.

Each chapter and section demonstrates varying techniques. From using Photoshop to create sections and plan graphics, to scaling and working with aerials. The authors demonstrate how to integrate CAD with Adobe Illustrator in an easy but important workflow. The book reviews a variety of 3D modeling programs including 3D Max and SketchUp and the type of graphics these programs can generate. One favorite chapter includes a step-by-step tutorial on creating Photoshop Perspective Collage. And this is just a sampling of what the book contains. The comprehensive nature of the book is phenomenal.

The authors move the discussion beyond just `how to' and discuss digital theory. Of particular note is a dialogue on how current digital methods are directly informed by the tradition of ink, pen and paper which was the backbone of graphic representation for decades. Framing the book's methods in the long tradition of hand-drawn illustrations emphasizes why design practitioners must read and use this book; it's a milestone in bringing the design community up to date to the level that design should be represented and practiced.

The book's approach and theories on digital presentation will elevate professionals and students practicing landscape architecture and related fields.

Daniel Tal, author of Google SketchUp for Site Design: A guide to Modeling Site Plans, Terrain and Architecture

This is a great book for the right person, but let's be clear on what it does: It helps you take the .PDF files you export from your CAD program and import them into Photoshop or Illustrator to render them for presentation. It also walks you through using Sketch-up and 3D Max to create perspective or 3-D style renderings.

This is not for the average design-build contractor who wants to add a little spice to his or her drawings, because all of the techniques outlined assume you want to spend a decent amount of time tinkering with the plans. If you need some drag n drop or fast click color, I'd suggest using Dynascape with the color module or one of the other CAD-based programs that do that for you fairly simply. It's definitely not a book for homeowners.

Instead, this is for architects or designers who have enough budget in their project to allow for spending 4-8 hours or more creating colored digital renderings for presentation. This book assumes you're working with a CAD program and have the adobe suite of products, including Photoshop and illustrator. If you have both a CAD program and Photoshop at least, then this book will take you through the basic Photoshop activities you need to do to render your project for presentation without using those stinky chartpak markers.

If you are already proficient at Photoshop, this book won't teach you much that is new. The section on Sketch-up and 3D Max are small and fairly basic. But if you have gotten Photoshop and just aren't quite sure how to get started using it for this kind of rendering, then this will walk you through it perfectly.

The question you'll want to ask yourself is: "Do I want to learn ALL about Photoshop, or only how to render landscape plans in Photoshop?" If the answer to that is the second, then this book is exactly what you need. It does a great job of showing exactly how to do that. But if you want to learn Photoshop properly, then the techniques in this book aren't so specialized that a non-specific but thorough book on Photoshop wouldn't cover it. The strength of this book is that it is SO specific in showing exactly this one kind of rendering work and how to do every element of it.

This is a textbook format book and as such is hard to sit down and read for a stretch. Many books nowadays that are instructive take a more casual tone and don't bother stating things that should be obvious like textbooks often start out by doing. But the benefit of this textbook style of writing is that the authors are very thorough and take you through every action step by step. They have provided tons of screenshots and pictures of exactly what the menus look like and what your rendered drawings should look like at each stage. It's a very thorough book and if this is the kind of help you need, you won't regret buying this book.

This book explains how modern landscape architecture is done for the layman as well as enhancing digital computer skills for the seasoned professional. The integration of analog and digital representation is fascinating and changes with advancements in technology. The book gives insights into past/present design techniques as well as speed/efficiency among other things. From the Preface, "each section tackles the basics of the subject matter and each chapter introduces a short background with an explanation of how to accomplish a phase of the representation process with current digital tools."
The first chapter deals with basic computer information and is explained well.
Key Points I Found:
Linework - use CAD; can be done with other programs or modified with other programs.
Color - New to me was the use of Adobe's Kuler website to save/share color palettes.
Author gives good explanations of image size, resolution & pixelation.
Rastor vs. Vector - Rastor, plan ahead for final size (print/plot). Vector, difficult to blend objects.
Document planning: final size/scale - plan ahead.
"Thinking about how all of these images will be created from a single set of drawings is critical to producing efficient and effective drawings."
Google earth - used in early design stages before a detailed site survey.
Photoshop software is explained in great detail with the software's interfaces shown.
Adobe Illustrator is covered.......drawing lines and shapes, symbols, image symbols, text and leaders.
Exporting from AutoCAD to Photoshop is covered.
Color shading using layers is covered in detail.
Creating textures via patterns.
Perspective illustration - combining a variety of information.
3D Techniques starting with models or photos.
Working on a project and using various softwares is explained in great detail. Indeed a person who does not know the ins and outs of landscape architecture could start a business after reading this book - provided of course that they have basic engineering/architectural knowledge.
Having never used Photoshop; I learned through this book that Photoshop can be used as a design tool and not just a photo editor. It can also be a time saver by rendering color quickly for interim drawings.
Great use of drawings and photographs!!
This book gives ideas and examples of using the latest software as "an array of digital tools". A quote from the Preface: "As designers, we attempted to create a book that focused on getting the job done." They succeeded 100%

I was not a normal kid, as I went to a high school that was half academic, and half hands-on agricultural education. I mainly focused on landscape design and architecture, but never connected such a thing to a computer. I also went on to College and studied art. And the two worked well together, but still never used a computer. Today, everything is on computer. And what an amazing transition it has been through the years.

I feel I have the step up being so in the dirt, so to speak, and using that experience in the digital age. Since the early 90s, I have adapted well, becoming very computer savvy, and successful at web design. But never gave up my passion for horticulture and landscape design.

This book is a big step up for me as I usually learn best by just doing it. But what an extraordinary amount of information and resources in this book. Not to mention the layout and navigation of the book makes it less overwhelming. But the biggest appeal of this text is that you feel the passion that was put into this. Catering to the beginner and the professional at every aspect of the career. Covering so many type of software and programs using CAD, Adobe and various design and photo editing software is just top notch.

I do not consider myself a Landscape Architect since I have merged into other directions. But I do continue my interests in earth, design and the digital age. I found myself not reading the book, but studying it. Looking up questions and thoughts I had. Using the index and post-it notes all over the place. I really appreciate the time that went into this. My only complaint is that I wish it were in hardcover, as this is something I will be dragging out and flipping through for years to come.

Digital Drawing for Landscape Architecture: Contemporary Techniques and Tools for Digital Representation in Site Design provides architecture and landscape workers with principles of analog representation and how they cross over to digital techniques. From comparisons between analog and digital rendering to computing basics, using hand-drawn linework and perspective drawings, and more, this packs in over 500 color drawings and photos to illustrate proven techniques for architecture and computer collections alike.

First off, I should say that I am not a pro. Therefore, I do not have CAD. Having worked with architects in the past, I do know what CAD is, and how essential it is to the architect.

I've been searching for ways to do my own landscape work digitally for a while, without CAD. There are some very Mickey Mouse programs out there designed for home use - chart out your own landscape, add flowers here, plant a tree there, etc. I was hoping to find something more sophisticated, and I had hoped this book would be it. It is not, but that is no fault of the authors; they do a good job of showing how to import from CAD and then bounce your image from program to program (Photoshop, Illustrator) to get the results you desire. In that sense, it is quite user-friendly, as it gives the user a sense of greater power over the finished plan.

Cantrell and Michaels set things up well, though I feel the Introduction discussing basics of computers (motherboard, hardware/software, applications, editing) is way too elementary and therefore unnecessary. There is a chapter on brushes, which is basically a bunch of brushstrokes created in Photoshop that allow for a more realistic look to shrubs, trees and grass. Instructions are step-by-step, with reminders that extra tools can always be downloaded from the net in order to achieve the exact texture you desire. The books covers everything from basic starts (imaging, scaling, linework, diagrams) to shading, texture, atmosphere and color.

If you find CAD limiting, I suggest you give this book a try. It will keep your designs fresh in appearance, and when you're selling a plan, it is important to be seen as current. Outdated plans can still be seen ad nauseum on reruns of old HGTV shows, with round circles representing bushes, and tall spikes representing trees. Additionally, according to the authors, "Photoshop offers a more robust set of rendering tools...[and] because many people will use the same base [image/linework], it is important to develop a standard approach to exporting from a CAD application."

Digital Drawing for Landscape Architecture gives you a good understanding of how to use a variety of programs in conjunction with each other. It gives good examples of what program to use for specific graphic presentations and does so in a very clear and concise way. Many of the techniques discussed can easily be applied to disciplines other than Landscape Architecture and I would highly recommend the book to anyone involved in creating digital graphic presentations for any of the design professions. I teach a course a course called "Integrated Computer Graphics" and I plan on using it for my main text. Well done!

Digital Drawing for Landscape Architecture: Contemporary Techniques and Tools for Digital Representation in Site Design, by Bradley Cantrell and Wes Michaels is a wonderful text for the student of Landscape Architecture or the extremely rare professional who has just stepped into the computer age. As with other technique specific textbooks, this will ultimately be outdated, but for 2010, it is current, and I believe this is a book which will be referenced for longer than many others. Both authors are Assistant Professors at LSU, they are partners in LND Digital Workshop, and both are graduates of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Their collaboration has produced an easy to follow book which I'm sure is successfully used by their students. The introductory chapter which includes topics of Hardware, Software and Workspace sets the stage for a publication which can be used by even the most basic "newbie," although it may be dismissed by many. In my opinion, because some students may be new to technology, this is not extraneous, particularly when one considers that professional landscape architects who trained with "pencil, pen, markers, and watercolor," may just now be learning digital techniques. The abundance of drawings and photographs allow for easier understanding by the visual learner and the techniques are not difficult to understand or follow. These techniques translate beyond the scope of the Landscape Architect, and are helpful for a new user of CAD, Adobe software programs, or artists moving into the digital arena, and those interested in computer rendering techniques. I like it.

Traditionally, landscape representation has been done with graphite pencil, watercolor, and other drawing implements. This book shows how this process can be made much more efficient by utilizing both vector-based and raster-based illustration software such as Photoshop, Illustrator, 3DStudioMax, Rhino, and Google SketchUp. It provides detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to use these software in conjunction with CAD to create visually compelling illustrations.

Topics covered include (software used in parentheses): Tiling Aerial Photographs (Photoshop), Creating Entourage (Photoshop), Linework (Illustrator), Creating Textures (Photoshop), Perspective Illustration (Sketchup, 3DStudioMax, Photoshop), Camera Match 3D Object to Site Photo (3DStudioMax), and Atmospheric Perspective (3DStudioMax, Maya).

Every step of a process is clearly explained and accompanied by very high quality illustrations. Whether you're a student or a landscape architect, Digital Drawing for Landscape Architecture will serve as a very helpful how-to guide on creating beautifully rendered illustration of your plans.

It has been a good source book for the office. Many of our LA's trade off for use. I don't think it has actually made it to the bookshelf yet.