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Who can do architectural maps?

The Vector Doctor

Chief Bezier Manipulator
Do you have a different sample of the "poor quality" you have mentioned?

Are you wanting some to draw the floor plan (i.e. architectural maps)?

I have AutoCad and could probablt do these. It would depend on what need to be done. In regards to time and cost.

Let me know.

any low res jpeg will not print well. I don't know if autocad files work. I am basing this on what customers are expecting from me.... clean ai or eps vectors in which they can resize, recolor, edit, place on a colored background with no white box behind it.... the typical vector file
 

signmeup

New Member
What do they expect to pay for this service? It would get you more intelligent responces if we knew the whole story. I can do it but I would want to be compensated for the time.
 

The Vector Doctor

Chief Bezier Manipulator
What do they expect to pay for this service? It would get you more intelligent responces if we knew the whole story. I can do it but I would want to be compensated for the time.

Most of my customers refuse to give me a budget. That puts the pressure on me to come up with a proper price. If they give a high number and I accept, then they probably think "I should have said lower".

Again, this is not an actual job. I am only looking for people who have extra time and what to make extra money

My guess is most of my customers think these are around $25 to redraw
 

cgsigns_jamie

New Member
It would take me all of 5 minutes using AutoCAD Architecture. There is a tool for walls/windows/doors etc. I would think a draftsman from an architecture firm would be able to knock this out in 2 minutes.
 

The Vector Doctor

Chief Bezier Manipulator
Eric,

You need to develope your own set of standard objects like toilets, doors, stairs, windows etc. Then you just copy/paste them into your tracing. That's how it's done in CAD.

What does this sort of thing pay?

That might work for a toilet, sink, etc. but alot of the drawings I have encountered show stairs, windows and doors in more than one way. I know all about standard objects in AI

I am tracing these, not drawing them up from scratch or interpreting them. So my customers often expect exact
 

DOGraphics

New Member
It would take me all of 5 minutes using AutoCAD Architecture. There is a tool for walls/windows/doors etc. I would think a draftsman from an architecture firm would be able to knock this out in 2 minutes.

yea,

Just like the traces Eric does should only take to minutes.:ROFLMAO:

Even a caveman can do it. :doh:

j/k by the way Eric


So my customers often expect exact
:ROFLMAO: That would be touch.
 

ChiknNutz

New Member

I have to agree, I've done hundreds of CAD drawings over the years (primarily mechanical drawings of aerospace-related gadgetry). I would have to assume they are looking for true-to-scale artwork here, not an approximation of the truth. I can assure you that it is impossible to recreate what was shown as an example piece here in just a few minutes, with the assumption that it be accurate.
 

DOGraphics

New Member
.................. vvvvv Yes vvvvv

Really? Have you used AutoCAD Architecture

It wouldn't be that easy to reproduce the original attached "sketch".
You would be redrawing it from scratch.

I think the real problem is after being drawn there is no good file format to export from ACad Arch. that is printable.
I know nothing about how y'all do your printing

just my $ 0.02
 

SignManiac

New Member
It's not that site maps are hard to do but they can be tedious work, especially with all of the proofing for typos. Here is one I recently completed. I put about ten hours into recreating the black and white drawing they gave me to work from. The map I made was close to 4'x8' when done. I then direct printed it onto DiBond and then sealed it with automotive clear coat for UV protection.

It was a pain in theass but I was paid handsomely for it. Edited to add, I use Corel Draw for my design work.
 

Attachments

  • Highland Village Map2.jpg
    Highland Village Map2.jpg
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  • Highland Village Map1.jpg
    Highland Village Map1.jpg
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signmeup

New Member
Poor export functions seem typical of top tier software. Seems to be an attitude of "We're the best....why worry about exporting to some inferiour software." It would be annoying to purchase an expensive program only to discover you can't export a file your customer can use. My cad software exports wierd line weights and broken up polylines. It takes quite a bit of work to clean up the files in Corel.

I'm quite clumsy at drawing plan type stuff with Corel. My CAD program is much easier to use for things with precise dimensions and angles. The "smart wall" feature is great for floor plans. Trouble is that damn export problem once you're done. Of course it's no problem if your customers have compatible software.

On a side note....I have recently discovered the Windows Metafile. I can export .ai files from Illustrator as wmf and open them in Corel with very good results. It even maintains the fonts if I have them loaded. I can't do that with Illustrator files.
 

The Vector Doctor

Chief Bezier Manipulator
attached are 2 maps that you can open in illustrator to see what I can provide

Around 3-4 hours each
 

Attachments

  • site map 1.pdf
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  • brompton map.pdf
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SignManiac

New Member
Those look very good Eric. Just charge accordingly. I figure $75 an hour would be a bargain for the client. If they think that's too much then turn it down.
 

GB2

Old Member
A couple of random thoughts....

First of all, this sort of reminds me of copyrighted logo reproduction. These plans were originally created by someone for your customers, they should be able to go back to their source and get what they need, or else they don't have the right to it. I mean if I was working with an architect and I wanted a workable copy of the plans, I go back to my architect and get them, not go to some vectorizing guy.

OK, that being said, I don't know if this is helpful but I don't think I saw anyone mention the program Visio. I used to use that years and years ago to quick drawings of that type. I'm not even sure they still make it but it might be an option to hasten the process.
 
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