Part 1: Photoshop and Powerdraw

The first step in the process is to scan the survey of the site so that the matrix can be drawn in Powerdraw. Scanning places the survey in Photoshop where I cropped the image so that only the portions of the survey that I required were visible. I then used the Brightness / Contrast to make sure that the topological lines were as crisp and legible as possible. The result was saved as a PICT, without compression, so that I could import it into Powerdraw.

In Powerdraw, I used the Place command to place the PICT of the survey. I then used Powerdraw to create the matrix and to draw the topographical lines so that I could eventually, in Form Z, build the land. The first step, prior to drawing anything, is to establish a layer for the drawing and a layer for the survey. This allows for turning the survey off when you don't need it for reference.

Once I had drawn all the topographic lines, at 5' intervals, and the matrix, I made a first pass at the floor plans. These were used only as guides for the Form Z model, where the design of the project took place. With the plans done, I saved the file as a Powerdraw document and then I erased any layers that I did not require in Form Z (in this case, the survey PICT). I then saved this version as a DXF file which can be imported into Form Z. I the quit Powerdraw and did not save changes.