Very Newbie Questions

Rhino Rhino for Windows
#1

Hello All,

I’m about to download the evaluation version of Rhino to help visualize the house I want to build. I’m not an architect, and the only experience I have with drawing software is 30+ years old. Based on the readings and tutorials I’ve seen so far, it looks like Rhino is a tool that can work well for the kind of sketching I have in mind and remain within my budget. I want to create perspective and orthogonal sketches of the site, house, and floor plans for the project.

A few questions I have about this are:

  1. What parts (tab labels, tool names, etc.) of the Rhino system are likely to be the most useful in doing the above kind of modeling?
  2. Are the Grasshopper programming capabilities integrated into Rhino, or are they a separately purchased add-on?
  3. A similar question concerning Rhino and Python scripting - is Python integrated into Rhino, or is it a separately purchased add-on?

I’m sure these questions reveal my ignorance. Any comments you can offer to help me get oriented will be greatly appreciated.

Ken

#2

Hi Ken -

There is nothing specifically aimed at architecture in Rhino. You’d probably get started with Polyline and ExtrudeCrv, or Box, but you should take a look at the “Rhino Level 1 Training Guide” that you can find from the Help menu.

Grasshopper is part of Rhino.

Python scripting is also integrated.
-wim

#3

Thank you much, Wim Dekeyser.

#4

Another Newbie Question.
It appears that VisualArq may provide many of the features I need to work on a house design. It also seems to be implemented as a plug-in. Is VA integrated into Rhino, or is it a separate purchase? If it’s integrated, how do I plug it in so I can use it?

#5

Hi Ken -

It’s a separate purchase. You can try the 90-day evaluation version: Download - VisualARQ
You can ask questions about that plug-in in the VA category on this forum:
VisualARQ - McNeel Forum

-wim