Architecture

Make 3D Texture Maps with the Acme Brick Masonry Designer

The Acme Brick Company has a handy tool that architects and designers can use to see how various brick patterns, designs and colors may look.  They call this tool the “Acme Brick Masonry Designer” and it is downloadable for free at http://www.brick.com/md/index.htm . Although not originally meant for this purpose, I have been using this tool for years to create my own custom brick texture maps for architectural 3D models. The Masonry Designer Tool allows you to build a custom swatch of bricks with just a few clicks. Choose the colors of bricks and mortar from the Acme brick palette and various other parameters such as the type of coursing (i.e. running bond, soldier, etc), and the size of the swatch, in an easy to use interface. When you have constructed the perfect swatch of brick, just save it as a jpeg so you can use it as a texture map for your 3D model. I have used this technique for Autodesk Viz models but I am sure it can be used for various other 3D programs. The only downside is that the Acme Brick Masonry Designer tool is not compatible with Macs.