Vectorworks vs Wysiwyg

[numberwrong]

Hi, I've got a Wysiwyg Report licence and I'm thinking of shelling out on Wysiwyg 'Design' as I would like to view my designs in 3D.

 

The price of Wyg Design is pretty similar to Vectorworks.

 

I'm under the impression that Vectorworks is a lot better then Wyg for creating plots and general lighting documentation which is what I really want out of the software. I do find Wyg lacking in some stuff and I really hate the way they wont allow you to make your own intelligent fixtures or edit the current library. Rendering with VW or Wyg Design is a plus but I don't currently need to show my clients renderings, although that may change in the future (especially if I gain those capabilities).

 

In general I create lighting plots on top of an imported CAD or Sketchup file and don't have a real need to work with my clients in specific software. One of the big pluses for Wyg is that I can easily rent a studio should I ever need to use 'Wyg Perform' to pre cue a show.

 

Is it worth downloading a 30 day Vectorworks trial, trying it out on a project which would mean a hell of a lot of extra time spent learning it (or even paying a mate who knows it to sit by me for a day), or should I just stick with what I know?

 

Given all this, is VW really that amazing and I should invest time and a little money to see for myself?

 

Your views appreciated! http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif

[eamon]

As the saying goes, it all depends on what you want to do!

 

There are areas where vwx triumphs over wysiwyg and vice versa.

 

Both programs have their strengths but the end use by yourself should be dictated by the needs of your jobs and the clients requirements.

 

I am vectorworks user and can draw compentely (to a point) in 3D with renders. I am a long way off showing anything to a client as renderworks element of the software is quite clunky. You will not be running a quick this is the final product look in renderworks without a large amount of work.

Vectorworks has a pretty decent cad engine and I find it great for cad and the spotlight package. Tying in paperwork packages such as lightwright and/or Moving Light Assistant, you can create excellent 2D plans with a host of plugging up/focus/dimmmer/DMX information smartly enough. You can create the 3d aspect quickly enough but the final render and client presentation is a good deal away if you are looking for a quick sales pitch. Obviously the more experience the better.

 

I have never bothered with WYG.I am not in the rock n roll or corporate side of things as the general principle of renders and preplotting is that it will take the same length of time to do as the actual gig itself!

 

What is it you wish to achieve? Handy to have both licenses and use them for the right gigs. Both are now subscription models with approx costs of £2k a year etc

 

You need to look at where your business model is taking you? If it is straight clean lighting plans with a paperwork ability, then vectorworks makes sense. If you are looking at the client presentation combined with paperwork and preplotting, then WYG is the best way.

 

 

Vectorworks has purchased ESP vision and now has a visualiser aspect to it. Vision is still a 3rd party product, is a separate purchase and again a subscription model.

Have yet to look at it properly. The theory being that you create your drawing in vectorworks- 3D layout etc, then using the vision symbols in vwx, export it all to the vision progam etc.

 

Pros: all kept in one package and you can ise lightwright and all the aspects of doing decent 2D

 

Cons: only works one way- you can change symbols in vwx but you can bring changes from vision into vwx.

 

Needless to say, this will undoubtably be fixed in the future.

 

 

Capture and its various options might also be an option re cost?

 

 

 

All depends on where you are going!

 

 

Re vectorworks training resources, do a google search for Kent Goetz of Cornell university ans his online guides. Do remember to send him some money as he puts these guides up with the expectation on the user to donate a suitable amount.

The forums at vectorworks are kept busy with a good etiquette and knowledge being passed about.

 

 

Enjoy

 

Eamon

[numberwrong]

Thanks, Is Lightwright an essential add-on to make documentation or can VWX do this on it's own? If so I pushes the price up a little more which would be a consideration for me

[Smiffy]

I use Vectorworks, Lightwright, WYSIWYG, Sketchup and MS Office to cover all of my design and presentation bases, what you want to do, depends entirely on what you need to achieve.

 

This is my personal experience / approach, your mileage may vary:

 

All of my designs start off as a Sketchup and WYSIWYG combo. Within Sketchup and Wyg, I can essentially rapid prototype a show, create set designs, add some video, and light them and get a concept presentation to a client quickly.

 

Assuming that the Client likes one of the concepts and we get the go ahead to move forwards. Set and Lighting Drawings (in 3D) are put together in Vectorworks. I have never liked WYG's CAD Plot output, they always look a bit like 'my first lighting plot' to me. There are good examples of a clean plot output out there, but they represent many years of faffing around with the software and wrestling it into submission. I prefer the final plot output and the overall cleanliness that we can achieve from VW.

 

Once set Construction and Lighting Plot drawings are approved, we can get the set builders on to building the set, lighting providers and electricians can get on with wrestling the rig into shape, and I can go back to WYG to start programming the show (including the Video, Hippo's are the preferred server here and we live by CITP Outputs to WYG). I use Lightwright as, essentially, the Database tools that are available in WYG, although with LW my Electricians can also print out all of the Fixture labels.

 

Generally, I am not a fan of the output of Lightwright, and I'm sufficiently new to it that I haven't yet explored much beyond its facility as a data management tool. For now then, I generally export to Excel to get the paperwork for the show into a format that I'm happy to put out and let clients / suppliers see. For equipment lists and specifications, they go into MS Word and follow a standard company format.

 

If you have any questions about any of it, please ask away.

 

Regards

 

Smiffy

[eamon]

Hi

 

Smiffys way seem the ideal way to jump between both programs and exploits the strengths of both.

 

Re lightwright. It is not an essential neccessity to buy. Once you input the information into vectorworks, you can export to excel and use that for channel/data sheets.

Where lightwright wins out is its automatic data exchange between it and vectorworks. Once you set that up, the updating of paperwork becomes a dream. Change a symbols colour and you can update lightwright with a simple refresh.

Lightwright takes a while to get used to and is a bit clunky at first. Brilliant companion software that is designed to intergrate with vectorworks. The demo version is good to 65 channels and offers the full package etc. Worth a look. Lightwright 6 now intergrates via osc to the eos family e.g. update a dimmer repatch in lightwright and both vectorworks and the console are populated with the same information.

 

Again all depends on how much paperwork you require and how big the shop prep is. You can delve right into lightwright and be able to phase balance the racks/calculate loads/do a gobo call; all with worknotes for the crew before you even leave the office. All works on a root & branch basis.

 

You can easily jump information into excel via the export menu. I tried lightwright on a whim one day a couple of years ago and realised it took 20mins plus off my repetetive paperwork time plus I could readily edit any mistakes. Also if other people are using it, it is handy to bounce information between.

 

 

All horses for courses as it depends on your work flow and to whom you actually need to pass the lighting information to!

 

Eamon

[AndyJones]

We bought Wyg eventually. It was a massive decision at the time as it was a lot of money. Now, we couldn't be with out it. We have two dongles, which are in use all of the time. The ability to thow a quick sketchup design together, add some lights in WYG and send it off to a client has proven invaluable.

 

Being able to test concepts out, and bin them off without any real consequence is really useful. We have a template file that we always merge into our files, which makes exporting plans a simple process. I've also custom built my own software that takes a WYG file and produces all of our production documents, from the patch, to soca allocations, through to the address labels that we stick on the fixtures.

 

It's an investment in time to get it up and running, but it's an investment, that as a designer should easily repay itself after only a couple of gigs.

[numberwrong]

Thanks all for taking time to share their experiences with the world of CAD and design tools.

 

I think it sounds like Wyg will be the one to stick with for me. It's a good jack of all trades and, as mentioned it's fast to work with at the cost of some flexibility.