Digital Design Induction Day
Course tutors : David Watson & Shelley Mosco
Student group : All new students on landscape pathways
Introduction
The Digital Design Induction Day is provided for new landscape students on all pathways. The intention is to introduce students to some key tools and resources and to demonstrate some of the key skills needed by students of landscape architecture. During the day, you will be introduced to a number of software applications. You will be told how they fit into your digital "toolkit", how you can get hold of them and how best to learn them. In addition, you will see how to perform important tasks such as printing digital data to scale in order to form base plans for further design work.
Aims and Outcomes
- To introduce you to AutoCAD
- To introduce you to ArcGIS
- To introduce you to Digimap
- To explain how to acquire software for free or at reduced cost
- To recommend self-learning materials (online and books)
- To demonstrate how to print digital data to scale
- To explain the use of software in the landscape profession
Programme
The day is divided into 3 parts. There are two workshop sessions of two and a half hours, one taught by David Watson and one by Shelley Mosco. The day will end with a demonstration of KeySCAPE software by Mike Shilton (product manager), lasting approximately 1 hour. We will be running parallel sessions for the workshops because of the number of students involved. You will be allocated a place in either group 1 or group 2. Both groups will receive the same teaching content.
| Time | Room | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 10.00am to 12.30pm | Lab A | Group 1: Getting/learning software & AutoCAD (DW) |
| 10.00am to 12.30pm | Lab B | Group 2: Digimap & ArcGIS (SM) |
| 1.30pm to 4.00pm | Lab A | Group 2: Getting/learning software & AutoCAD (DW) |
| 1.30pm to 4.00pm | Lab B | Group 1: Digimap & ArcGIS (SM) |
| 4.30pm to 5.30pm | M140 | Groups 1 & 2: KeySCAPE presentation (MS) |
Session Details
The idea of the sessions is to demonstrate what is available to you and how you can get it and use it. The intention is not to teach you how to use the software but to give you enough information and confidence to teach yourself. There are no handouts. We recommend that you take lots of notes and ask lots of questions!
Digimap & ArcGIS - Shelley Mosco
- Digimap walk through (1hr)
- Access and registration
- Digital map data explained
- Data formats available
- Downloading data – download MasterMap
- Where to find HELP
- ArcGIS walk through (1hr)
- What is GIS?
- object applications (why you need it!)
- Getting started
- ArcCatalog overview
- ArcMap overview
- Make a scaled map with MasterMap data
- Where to find HELP
- Summary and questions (0.5 hr)
- A great opportunity to cover any points you missed
Getting/learning software & AutoCAD - David Watson
- The what, where, how and why of software for students of landscape architecture
- Software for landscape architecture
- Building a software toolkit
- The Autodesk Student Community
- Learning how to use software
- Where to find HELP
- Hands-on introduction to AutoCAD
- What is AutoCAD?
- How do I draw stuff?
- How do I draw meaningful stuff?
- Printing Digimap MasterMap data to scale
- Downloading and unzipping the data
- Converting GML to DXF (InterpOSe)
- Viewing the data in AutoCAD
- Configuring a layout
- Zooming to scale
- Titles and annotation
- Plotting to scale
KeySCAPE Presentation - Mike Shilton
- KeySCAPE and AutoCAD working together
- What is KeySCAPE?
- How landscape architects use KeySCAPE
- KeySCAPE demonstration
- How do I download and install the student version of KeySCAPE?
Course Materials
To download AutoCAD drawing files, right-click on the file link and select "Save Target As…"
There are currently 5 files in this section
| Filename | Size (KB) | Date Modified | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Avery Hill MasterMap Data Translated.dwg | 745.8 | 28th Mar 2009 |
 |
Avery Hill MasterMap Data.zip | 187.5 | 28th Mar 2009 |
|
Avery Hill MasterMap Scaled Plan.dwg | 852.1 | 28th Mar 2009 |
|
GIS_InductionData.zip | 1,113.6 | 23rd Sep 2009 |
 |
WalkThroughDigimap2009.pdf | 3,802.8 | 23rd Sep 2009 |
Online Resources
- AutoCAD - The official website for the UK
- CADTutor - Tutorials, articles and resources for AutoCAD
- My CAD Site - Tutorials for AutoCAD
- Autodesk Student Community - AutoCAD software download
- ArcGIS - The official website
- ArcGIS Tutorials - ESRI
- SketchUp - The official website for the UK
- KeySCAPE - The official website
- Dotted Eyes - Free download of InterpOSe translator
Recommended Books
AutoCAD 2010 & AutoCAD LT 2010 Bible by Ellen Finkelstein
AutoCAD is a very popular professional software application and it is well supported by a large number or 3rd party manuals. In an ideal world, you should look at a variety of books and decide which is best for you. However, there is one book which is sufficiently generic and that most people seem to get on with that is worth a recommendation.
The AutoCAD 2010 & AutoCAD LT 2010 Bible by Ellen Finkelstein does two jobs. First, it teaches you how to use AutoCAD in the short term and second, it provides a reliable reference for you to keep over the longer term. The book begins with the basics of opening and saving drawings and moves on to an introduction of the basic 2D drawing commands and an explanation of the various interface components. At the other end of the spectrum, it covers customising menus and programming with AutoLISP. In between these two poles there is coverage of 3D modelling and rendering, plotting, data extraction etc. At over 1200 pages, it's not a pocket book but it is a book that can be relied upon to answer most questions across a range of levels.
The AutoCAD 2010 & AutoCAD LT 2010 Bible by Ellen Finkelstein is available from Amazon.co.uk
Avery Hill Library copies: 5 on order plus 14 copies of previous editions.
AutoCAD 2010 & AutoCAD LT 2010: No Experience Required by Jon McFarland
Another popular AutoCAD book that is particularly suited to beginners. It doesn't cover as much ground as Ellen Finkelstein's book but it covers all the basics in a very logical and thorough manner. Those who prefer a gentler style of teaching or those who are completely new to drawing with a computer may prefer this book as the author spends more time on each topic. In a sense, this is very much a learning book whereas Ellen's is a reference. You may find it useful to begin with this book and then graduate to the AutoCAD Bible when you feel ready. In this sense, the two books complement each other well.
AutoCAD 2010 and AutoCAD LT 2010: No Experience Required by Jon McFarland is available from Amazon.co.uk
Avery Hill Library copies: 5 on order plus 9 copies of the 2009 edition.
Photoshop CS3 Essential Skills by Mark Galer and Philip Andrews
This is a new book, first published in 2007 and has been written specifically for Photoshop CS3. It is a very good book with a great introduction to the application and to digital imaging in general. It is also copiously illustrated in full colour with excelent examples. It is clear, concise and easy to follow - exactly what a good textbook should be. There is very good coverage of selections and layers (two key skill areas) as well as all the other "essential skills". The book follows up with a series of projects that you can work through in order to practice the skills learned.
Photoshop CS3 Essential Skills is available from Amazon.co.uk where you can also use the "Search Inside" feature to take a closer look at it.
Avery Hill Library copies: 4
Follow-up Tutorials
Why not follow-up on today's introduction to AutoCAD by watching the following video tutorials:
Further Information
- Student Software - What to get and where to get it for free
- Autodesk Student Community - Signing up and downloading your software
- Digimap - Downloading and using Digimap data
- A guide to buying laptops & desktops - What you need and how to buy it