• Photographing Your Home

• Touching up your Photo/Removing Obstructing or Unwanted Items

• How to resize image (picture) files

• How to work with the Site Planning images from the database

• Painting or Adding Trim

• How to Fill Several Areas at Once

• How to Fill with Current Pattern

• How to use the Paint with Opacity tool

• How to Simulate Lighting Effects

• Adding dimension and reality to your Project

• How to rearrange the layering of stacked objects

• Free up memory: delete unwanted items and use the Glue feature

• How to work with .DXF files

• Accessing frequently used images

• Rotating Objects

• How do I turn off the color tabs?

• How can I scan in my own fabrics or designs and apply them to my project?

• How can I find items that I have scanned in easily?

• Using the eyedropper

Photographing Your Home

Here are some key factors to remember when photographing your home:

1. It is best to take a straight-on picture. This will make it easy to work with your project and the products and images from the database; database products have been photographed straight on as well.

2. We do not recommend using Polaroid Instant pictures. Polaroid pictures don't scan as well.

3. If there are items obstructing a straight on shot, like trees or shrubs blocking the view of your home, try taking shots at different angles and at different distances. There are ways to remove these items from your picture, however, you may first wish to work around them.

4. Try to capture all of the lawn and a little of the sky. Stand far enough back to get room above, below, and to the sides of the house. Doing this will ensure that you can redesign every inch of your home if you want to.

5. Frame your shot as neatly as possible by looking critically through the lens. Save yourself "touch up" time by physically removing things you don't want in your picture like lawnmowers, trash cans, newspapers and garden hoses, etc.

6. Take several photos so you have a variety from which to choose.

7. Try to take photos when there are less shadows cast on the house. This can make it easier to redesign and maintain realism.

8. When developing your film, choose the 4 x 6 size for the best results.

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Touching up your Photo/Removing Obstructing or Unwanted Items

Once a photo has been imported or scanned into Imagine, there are a number of ways to touch up your picture; like removing trees, bushes, etc. blocking the view of your home.

First method - a bush or tree is partially obscuring one wall of the house.
1. Outline a section of the house that is about the same size as the area covered by a bush or tree.
2. Drag the outlined section of the house over the area containing the tree or bush.
3. When the positioning is right, glue the new section of the house to the background by pressing CTRL G from the keyboard or select Edit from the menu and Glue. This same technique can then be used to cover the portion of the bush that still remains, with sod, dirt, a flower bed, or anything else that you would like to have right up against the side of your house.

Second method (For use when you are going to change the siding or wall covering anyway.)
1. When outlining the area of the house that is to receive new siding or wall covering, simply ignore the bush, including it in the outlined area.
2. Drop in your new siding pattern as normal. Just like that, the bush will be covered by the new siding, leaving only the lower section of the bush, which can then be covered up with a portion of the lawn, flower bed, etc.

Third method (For use if you wish to restore a partially obscured window, etc., but maintain the original item.)
1. Simply outline a section of the item that corresponds to the obscured area, and use the flip horizontal or vertical (depending on which applies) to give a mirror image of the outlined area.
2. Move the new mirror image into place over the obscured section.
3. With a little bit of practice, you can do this to replace obscured corners of windows, doors, eaves, etc.

Fourth method
Use the Draw Program for touching up. The Draw Program has a spray can tool that will allow you to pick up actual color from your photo and spray over an area you would like to cover up. This method can be used to remove items or put finishing touches on your project.
Examples: If you are replacing a sidewalk, you can remove the old sidewalk by picking up the color from the lawn and spraying over the old sidewalk - it then becomes part of the lawn. If you have placed a new flower bed in the yard, you may wish to spray part of the lawn or an area of mulch around the flower bed for a more realistic effect.

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How to work with the Site Planning images from the database

Our database contains images that can be used as either backgrounds for your project house, or as project houses themselves. The pictures range from mountain scenery backgrounds, to pictures of houses for you to experiment with, to simple drafts that would allow you to go from a line drawing to a finished house. Theses images allow for a lot of freedom in both modifying your house, and just for experimenting with what the software can do.

To bring in a database image as your project house, do the following:
Click once on the image in the database window.
Click the folder icon at the bottom right of the database window.
Answer Yes.
You can now work with this house and save it as a project.

ADDITIONAL TIP: If you intend to make an addition to the project house or would just like more space in which to work, do the following:
Select NEW from the File Menu or Toolbar.
Select a size for your new blank workspace. (Conversion at the top of the dialog box will allow you to work in inches rather than pixels.
Click OK.
Click Window on the product menu and switch to the window with the background house.
Outline the entire image.
Click the Copy Tool on the Toolbar to place the image in the Special Clipboard.
Once again, click Window on the Menu bar and switch to the new blank workspace.
Click the Paste Tool on the Toolbar.
Click on the image to select it (it will be outlined in blue).
Drag it into the position you wish on the blank workspace.
Select Glue from the Edit Menu to make the background a permanent part of the workspace.
Save the new Workspace as a Project file.

The important thing to remember here is to make sure that you glue down the background image before starting any other work on the project. This will keep your system from slowing down by limiting the number of items that are currently being worked with, and it also lets you make sure that your background is always just that: the background.

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How to resize image (picture) files:

Scanning software and digital camera software allow for re-sizing of the image. Use the capabilities of those devices before importing into Imagine

If you are importing an image file and do not have the capability of re-sizing it; use the following technique:
1. Import the image
2 . Using the Rectangle Tool, outline the entire image.
3. Drag the outlined image up and to the left about a half inch. (The process of redrawing a large image may take a little while - hang on. Once the outlined image appears in the new location, you will see part of the original image underneath it - remember with the outline you made a new object.)
4. Next click on the Proportional Resize Tool on the Toolbar. A small orange box will appear at the lower right-hand corner of the outlined area.
5. Click and drag the orange box. (Depending on the size of the image, you may have to allow the screen to scroll during the resize.)
6. To preview the resized object, click once in the middle of the outlined area. Continue to resize and preview. Once you are satisfied with the new size, click again in the middle of the outlined area to accept the new size.
7. Place your resized image on a new workspace by using the Copy Special Tool on the Toolbar. Open a New workspace by using the File/New command or click the New Icon on the Toolbar. Once you have selected an appropriate workspace size and your new blank screen appears, use the Paste Tool on the Toolbar.

When you have completed these steps, you will have saved an identical copy of your original image at a smaller scale. NOTE: Using this procedure with .DXF files can cause a loss of definition. 

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Painting or Adding Trim

Here are a couple of options for painting trim on a project house:
1. Window trim (can also be used for trim on the house)

• Outline the entire window, including the trim.
• Outline the non-trim area of the window - the glass.
• You now have one outlined area inside of another outlined area.
• Click to select the larger outlined area (it is outlined in blue)
• Select the Paint with Opacity Tool; select a color and paint the area Right click on the painted area and select send to back.
• The window (glass) pops through and only the trim is painted.

Use this same technique for painting trim on sections of the house. Only work with two outlined areas at a time. If there is more complex trim work with the larger area first. When satisfied, glue that area down and outline the smaller and more complex trim areas.

1. Using the DRAW program.
(For complete instructions on using the Draw program, please review instructions in the On-Line Manual under Draw Program)

• Click on the Draw Program icon on your toolbar. To take the whole project into the Draw program, make sure you currently have no objects selected (outlined in blue).
• Select the straight line tool (first tool on the Draw Toolbar)
• Select a line width and color (at the bottom of the Toolbar)
• Draw the color directly onto the trim areas.

Painting with the Draw Program is a solid color paint; not the Paint with Opacity in the regular portion of the product. It is important that you experiment with your color on one portion of the trim before applying to every object. You can draw with a color, then hit the Red Arrow to erase it and try another color.
You can also experiment with the spray paint tools.
If you make a mistake, you can erase your work with the Red Arrow on the Draw Toolbar, or back out of the Draw program completely without Updating Your Project.
Remember to update the changes to your project when you Exit the Draw program. The first is to use our products paint program to simply draw the new trim onto the house. The second is to outline the existing trim on the house and defining it all as one group, merely use the paint with opacity function to change the color (This works especially well with white trim.). Adding trim boards that weren't originally on the project house is best done in our programs paint section, by drawing the needed trim boards directly onto the project.

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How to Fill Several Areas at Once

Use the Autoscale Option on the right-click menu to make each area you wish to fill a member of the same group. You can create up to 25 groups.
Each group will have a different drop behavior selected:

• Force-fit object into this area
• Resize proportionally based on height
• Resize proportionally based on width
• Fill with pattern resized to standard door
• Fill with pattern

Each letter will accept five separate groups.

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How to Fill with Current Pattern

Use the Fill with Current Pattern command to fill a selected area with the currently defined pattern. There are many instances when you would perform this function in a project, such as filling a front yard with a grass pattern.

To fill with a pattern:
1. Select an area that you want to use as a pattern. Or you can select a database object as a pattern. The object you select should be rectangular.
2. Click the pattern on the icon toolbar. The selected area is now defined as a pattern, which shows up in the box in the lower left-hand corner of the screen.
3. Select the area you want to fill in.
4. Choose Fill with Current Pattern on the toolbar, under the Edit menu, or from the right click pop-up menu.

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How do I use the Paint with Opacity tool?

The Paint with Opacity tool is similar to using a filter on a camera. It allows you to color either the entire image, or just the area you have outlined. By using this tool, you are laying a transparent filter of the color you selected over the area of the project you outlined.

To use the Paint with Opacity tool:

• Outline the area you wish to recolor. (If you don't outline a specific area, then the entire project will be recolored.)
• Click on the Paint with Opacity tool on the toolbar.
• When the dialog box opens, click on the Select button to open the color palette.
• If the color you want to use is not on the normal color palette, click on Define Custom Color to allow you to set your own color.
• HINT: If you want to make sure you can get the same color time after time, you will want to write down the RGB (Red Green Blue) values.

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How to Simulate Lighting Effects

You can simulate the projection of light with a couple of different tools. You could use this to show light from outdoor lighting that is attached to a house, outdoor lighting along a sidewalk or among landscaping, indoor lighting, or any other time a light source is present in your project.

1) Before you start, you might want to change the time of day in your project. (This feature is found under the Image menu.) [For assistance, see "Time of Day" in the On-Line Manual.]
2) Draw a pie-shaped free-form object, which will be the beam of light from the lighting source. You would want the narrow end to be closest to the lighting source, and the widest end to be farthest away.
3) Choose Adjustments from the Image menu to increase the brightness and/or contrast of the pie-shaped area. [For assistance, see "Adjustments" in the On-Line Manual.]

You can also use the Paint with opacity command to "paint" the area with a color to simulate colored lights in your project. This is a good choice for Christmas time.

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Adding dimension and reality to your Project

Regardless of the angle you may choose to shoot your photograph, your project is going to have various shadows that will need to be worked with. You might be surprised at how much of an increase in realism there is after just a short amount of time is spent to make sure all of the added items have the right shadows. To add shadows, follow these steps:

1. Outline the area where the shadow should be.
2. Click the Adjustments icon on the toolbar, or select Adjustments from the Image menu, or from the right click pop-up menu.
3. Drag the Brightness control to the left to add the effect of shadowing. When you are satisfied with the shadow, click Apply.

With some practice, you will quickly get the hang of adding in shadows.

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How to Rearrange the Layering of Stacked Objects

Send to Back rearranges the ordering of objects lying on top of each other. The object on the top goes to the bottom of the stack of objects, but is still on top of the fixed image (background). This can be done from the right mouse button menu or from the Autoscale Operations box.

To Send to Back from the right mouse button menu:
1. Click on the object you want to Send to Back.
2. Right click and choose Send to Back.

To Send to Back from the Autoscale Operations box:
1. Click on the object you want to Send to Back.
2. Right click and choose Define Autoscale Operation.
3. Choose Send this object to the back and click OK.

The Send to Previous Location command can also be useful in rearranging the layering of stacked objects.

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Free Up Memory by Deleting Unwanted Items and Using the Glue Feature

Any time you outline an area, add in a database object, or even just adjust the colors of an area, you are adding more things that your computer has to remember about your project image. The more things is has to remember, the slower your system could get. To free up memory, and maintain a good working speed, remember the following tips:

1. Be sure to delete unused or unnecessary objects.
2. Glue down any objects who's position you are happy with.
3. Try to keep your image at a size that fits entirely on the desktop.

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How to work with .DXF files

.DXF is a file format available in many CAD programs. These files consist of a list that tells the computer where to draw lines on the screen. When a .DXF file is imported, it is converted into a Bitmap (.BMP) file for use in Imagine The conversion to individual pixels increases the size of the file, and the imported image most often comes in larger than the workspace (scroll bars appear so that you can scroll to see areas not in view on the screen).

Most architects are rendering in a 1:1 ratio; this makes for a huge bitmap file that cannot be viewed in its entirety on the screen. To reduce the size of these images begin in the CAD program by reducing the scale of the project. Save it as a .DXF file, and then Import it into Imagine

Re-sizing the image is possible in Imagine (see How to resize large image files), however, since the file has been converted into a bitmap, detail is lost when the picture is resized.

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Accessing Frequently Used Images

Here is a way to quickly find your favorite or often used images:

1. Click on the New icon, or choose New from the File menu. (This opens a blank workspace.)
2. Next, size your workspace in the Screen Size dialog box.
3. Click on the CD icon and choose your favorite images from the database.
4. Drag you favorite images onto your blank workspace. Continue to do this until you have all of your favorites on the blank workspace, collage-style.
5. Now, save the collage you've just created as a project, by selecting Save Project As, from the File menu.
6. Give your collage project a name (example: favorites.vap) and click the OK button.
7. Anytime you would like to use these images, open the project and copy these items onto the project you are working on. This allows you to keep all of your favorite images in one easy to locate area.

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Rotating Objects

Rotate turns an object clockwise up to 360 degrees. It is often helpful to do this if you place an object onto land that is at a slight incline or decline.

To rotate an object:
1. Click on an object.
2. Go to Rotate under the Image menu, or click Rotate on the toolbar.
3. A dialog box appears with a circle and needle. Drag the scroll bar underneath to the right to rotate the object clockwise. As you do this, the degrees you have rotated is indicated above the scroll bar and in the circle. You can also click the needle to rotate in 45-degree increments.
4. Click Preview to see your object rotate the amount you have chosen.
5. If you are happy with this, click Apply. If you are not, continue to adjust the rotation and hit Preview. When you are satisfied, click Apply.

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How do I turn off the color tabs?

The Outline tools are color-coded. To turn off the color tabs, simply click the color tab (green, blue, or orange) above the tool. The color tabs will remain off until you reactivate it by clicking on it or if you restart the program.

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How can I scan in my own fabrics or designs and apply them to my project?

Scan or use a digital camera and export it into the Imagine program as normal. Save as a .tif, .bmp etc file. Name the file eight character or less, for example "fabric.tif".

In the Imagine program, select Import from the File Menu. Find the file name, Fabric.tif, and double click on the file name.

Using the Rectangle or Free Form tool, make an outline of the fabric. If you have a version of the program that uses Color Tabs, you will want to turn off the Color Tabs. Note: Make sure that your outline has a good representation of the pattern that you want to use.

After you are finished outlining, click the Pattern button (the tool that resembles the Brick wall). You can also select this function by the Edit Menu, Select as Pattern.

Outline the area that you wish to apply your fabric to and right mouse click and choose the option "Fill With Current Pattern" or you can choose this option once again from the Edit Menu.

 
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