How to Create a Multi-room Scene

Using Hand Measurements

Recently, there was a need to create an ‘animated’ fire (arson) scene for a local Public Safety agency that involved an area of a basement/lower level of an occupied dwelling.  They had taken measurements by hand using a steel tape.

With that in mind, what follows here is a PRACTICE EXERCISE where, by using room/building shapes found under the “Crime Scene Section” tab, one can easily re-create a precise set of shaped rooms, from given measurements for whatever your stated purpose would be.

For this exercise, the floor plan we want to create is a room with two expanded sections and one, small added interior room used to store canned goods.

First, from the ‘Smart Rooms’ option, load three ‘building’ shapes as shown here.

Next, click on each ‘shape’ and resize them using the yellow square “grips” to the below dimensions.

From the individual room sections, 1) uncheck the Visible Dimension box, 2) change the “h=” (wall height) to 6.6 feet, and 3) make each section reflect a ‘building properties’ of “cinder block” texture.

Minus the “room numbers” shown below, position the #3 “room” to the indicated distance ‘up’ from the bottom.

Our next task is to choose, then resize the “4^th room” that will be position within the room “1” section.

Create this room from the indicated approximate measurements, and place within room 1 as shown:

Notice too, from the above, that we’ve created a doorway leading from room 1 into room 4.  This is easily accomplished from the ‘Smart Rooms’, by picking “Doorway” and dragging the shape over to the wall and placing it as indicated, and positioning it, in this case, 2.1 feet out from the wall (as shown).

Next, let’s pretend that the Arson Investigators also wanted a portion of the basement/lower level’s ceiling to be indicated as well.  And inasmuch as heights of objects can be addressed in VistaFX, this can be accomplished.

For this example, create a brown (wood) colored line to these dimensions and heights: W= .17 (since their 2x4’s), L= 20.5, height of ‘line’ Z1 & Z2= 6.6

You will need to make this color, length, width and height modification for each “floor joyce/support” represented by the ‘line’.

After this has been accomplished, all that is left then (for this example) is to include basement/lower level WINDOWS.

From the ‘Smart Rooms’ tab, located the WINDOWS option, and slide over windows to be placed at the below indicated points, in room 1 and 2.

From the below ‘properties’ dialog, input these dimensions.  Place windows at approximately the wall locations as seen.

Remarks-  It is advantageous to ZOOM IN on the effected areas where doors and windows are to be adjusted, as well as with alignment of walls, one to the other.  One should be use to using the ZOOM IN feature doing this exercise.

And lastly, how does this scene look in 3D?

Very clearly, the textured walls are visible, as is the doorway, windows and overhead floor ‘joyce’ created from our brown, elevated lines, 2 inches (.17) wide.

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