:haha:

I'm still using Autodesk Viz 2006 for all our product visualization and rendering via Vray and it's way outdated. We just upgraded our PC's and render farm and it wasn't cheap. Upgrading to 3ds Max 2010 is not even an option right now as it's way too expensive.

it's frustrating as hell. i have to keep asking others to resend their stuff in my ancient format and it costs me time to wait, especially with projects with 30-50+ drawings in multiple sets :(

I always save in autocad 2000 format even though I'm using 2010
:)

A few quick questions to those with AutoCAD knowledge.

I work for a development consulting firm. Quite often, we are working along with architects, as we help "program" retail centers (figuring out what goes where in the mall). Currently what we do, is the architects will convert their drawings from CAD into a .pdf and send them to us. We then use the .pdf as an underlay in CorelDRAW, and draw polygons overtop. It is a lengthy and shitty way to do things.

My boss wants me to learn CAD so we can reduce the time spent re-creating the architects drawings and be more efficient.

Are there are any 2-3 day courses in the Lower Mainland that teach the basics? Anything that BCIT offers seems way to intensive for the basic functions we will most likely need to be using.

Or should I just buy a how-to book from Chapters and teach myself along with some internet tutorials?

I have access to AutoCAD 2008 btw.

To be honest Autocad isnt hard to use at all
Some people just make it sound like its harder than disarming a bomb blindfolded

some of the planners where i work are using autocad lite because there is no budget to upgrade to full copies of autocad or to pay for the training to use it. those that did get funding to get training went to do the night school gig at bcit.

i know vcc has courses for autocad, but awhile back the office was interviewing for a temp and this guy came in with his vcc cert fresh out of the class and he could barely draw basic lines and dimension :(

havent touched autocad in over 10 years, but i still remember most of the basics, i think...

i glanced over the course outline @ bcit for their 1st of 3 CAD courses for their certificate last year. the stuff they cover in the 1st level class is fairly basic, i learned all of that stuff in the 1st couple of months at my job and didn't bother wasting my time.

if you actually use autocad on a regular basis, you won't need a class, and you wont learn as much in a class IMO.

to be honest, you really only need to use a few basic commands that you type in the command line like l for line, m for move, co for copy w/ basepoint, and then a few tips/tricks to help you be more efficient. you can learn from a book or just learn the few basic commands you'll need and play around. for what you need, you'll also need to create layers and layouts and possibly XRefs. you can google that and figure it out, pretty easy.

well for us, there is a lot of database integration, xrefs, model space/paper space setup, and so on. again, back when we were hiring a temp, about 80-90% of the applicants were so green out of school could barely get the standard commands down, or had their school notes with them. they lacked basic drafting/drawing skills. being able to do a basic classroom exercise drawing out a head gasket dosen't suddenly make you an expert at doing complete technical blueprints overnight. it was obvious that at least 3+ years of actual work experience is needed minimum. the exception is grads from bcit. the best were ex-unis from UBC/SFU who went back to bcit for more... those really stood out.

AutoCAD's a pretty easy program to learn, considering the shortcut keys are pretty much typing what the command is. Well... that's one way of doing it anyway.

I've changed all of my shortcuts so my left hand doesnt need to move for most of the basic commands :D

Thanks for the responses guys. Since I won't be actually drawing entire 2-D plans from scratch, rather manipulating architects drawings (drawing basic polygons, moving walls, adding new layers, coloring in spaces, etc.); I will probably go the route of a few books and some online tutorials. :thumbsup:

can somebody give me some more info about autocad? i'm thinking about trying out a course and possibly taking the program at either vcc or bcit.

would it make a difference depending on where i took the program?

how's the job market?
min / max pay?

With CAD it all depends on your experience. If you've never done it before, dont expect too much pay. However the more qualified you are, ASCT, LEED etc you'll be paid more, obviously.

How about a "funny things you've drawn in CAD" thread? :D