Scenes for Scaled Drawings

Scenes for Scaled Drawings

Scenes are used to snapshot views of your model. For architectural drawings, we need to snapshot plan, section, elevation, and perspective views. These views, saved as scenes, are then connected to viewports in LayOut.

Assigning a scene to a viewport in LayOut…

Shadow Settings

Shadows add a sense of depth and realism to perspectives and elevations.  Use these defaults to get the best results…

  • The ideal shadow settings for exterior perspectives and elevations are 80 light and 60 dark, then just pick a time of day that works. Ideal exterior shadow settings are shown at the right.
  • When creating interior perspective and elevation views, white ceilings and walls often show up gray, and too dark in general. Lighten them up by flipping the light to 0 and dark to 100. Ideal interior shadow settings are shown at the right and in the animation below.

See the optimal shadow settings for interior and exterior scenes…

5 Step Recipe for Any Drawing Scene

Here’s a predictable formula and some tips for creating any scene, follow these steps…

STEP 01: Add Necessary Section Planes Expand

Keep in mind…

  • When the Section Plane tool is active, tap the arrow keys to slice through an axis; right for red, left for green, and up for blue (plans)
  • Once a section is placed, it can be reoriented with the Move and Rotate tools
  • Using the Select tool, double-click on a section plane to toggle active/inactive
  • Right-click on a section plane for additional options; Reverse, Active Cut, Align View, Create Group from Slice
STEP 02: Set Camera Position Expand

Keep in mind…

  • Right-click on a section plane or surface and choose align view to get a perfectly aligned camera
  • For sections, elevations, and plans, Click the Camera dropdown > Parallel Projection
  • Click the Camera dropdown > Standard Views > Top / Bottom / Front / Back / Left / Right / Iso
STEP 03: Toggle Layer Visibility Expand

Keep in mind…

  • For sections, elevations, and perspectives; “CONDOC_3D Object” on, “CONDOC_2D Graphic” off.
  • For Plans; “CONDOC_3D Object” off, “CONDOC_2D Graphic” on.
  • If you don’t want a specific ELEMENT to show up in your drawing, toggle the tag visibility off.
STEP 04: Adjust Visual Properties Expand

Keep in mind…

  • Pick a style in the Styles Browser: CAD, COLOR, or SKETCH
  • Apply exterior shadow settings to exterior elevations and perspectives, 80 light and 60 dark.
  • Apply interior shadow settings to interior perspectives, 00 light and 100 dark, Use Sun for Shading checked.
  • Turn shadows off for plans.
  • Need fog?  Probably not.  Use this effect sparingly since it must be rendered as a raster in LayOut, which limits line weights and visual styles.
STEP 05: Add a Scene to Snapshot Settings Expand

Keep in mind…

  • In the Scenes dialog, click the plus sign to add a scene.  This takes a snapshot of all the settings for the “Properties to Save”
  • Verify that all “Properties to Save” are enabled, or checked.  This will be the case for 99.9% of the scenes you create.
  • Any unchecked “Properties to Save” will not remember the settings.

Drawings

Exterior Perspective Scene

1.  Navigate to the desired camera position

2.  Visible Tags:

  • CONDOC_3D Object
  • ELEMENT_Doors
  • ELEMENT_Earth
  • ELEMENT_Fixtures
  • ELEMENT_Floors
  • ELEMENT_Furniture
  • ELEMENT_Roof
  • ELEMENT_Vegetation
  • ELEMENT_Walls
  • ELEMENT_Windows

3.  Turn on shadows (exterior setting)

4.  Activate the SKETCH style

5.  Add a scene to snapshot the settings

Watch the steps below…

Interior Perspective Scene

1.  Navigate to the desired camera position

2.  Visible Tags:

  • CONDOC_3D Object
  • ELEMENT_Doors
  • ELEMENT_Earth
  • ELEMENT_Fixtures
  • ELEMENT_Floors
  • ELEMENT_Furniture
  • ELEMENT_Roof
  • ELEMENT_Vegetation
  • ELEMENT_Walls
  • ELEMENT_Windows
  • Select COLOR style

3.  Turn on shadows (interior setting)

4.  Activate the COLOR style

5.  Add a scene to snapshot the settings

Watch the steps below…

Exterior Elevation Scene

1.  Add a section plane

2.  Navigate to the desired camera position

3.  Visible Tags:

  • CONDOC_3D Object
  • ELEMENT_Doors
  • ELEMENT_Earth
  • ELEMENT_Floors
  • ELEMENT_Roof
  • ELEMENT_Vegetation
  • ELEMENT_Walls
  • ELEMENT_Windows

3.  Turn on shadows (exterior setting)

4.  Activate the CAD style

5.  Add a scene to snapshot the settings

Watch the steps below…

Interior Elevation Scene

1.  Add a section plane

2.  Navigate to the desired camera position

3.  Visible Tags:

  • CONDOC_3D Object
  • ELEMENT_Doors
  • ELEMENT_Fixtures
  • ELEMENT_Floors
  • ELEMENT_Furniture
  • ELEMENT_Roof
  • ELEMENT_Walls
  • ELEMENT_Windows

3.  Turn on shadows (interior setting)

4.  Activate the COLOR style

5.  Add a scene to snapshot the settings

Watch the steps below…

Building Section Scene

1.  Add a section plane

2.  Navigate to the desired camera position

3.  Visible Tags:

  • CONDOC_3D Object
  • ELEMENT_Doors
  • ELEMENT_Earth
  • ELEMENT_Fixtures
  • ELEMENT_Floors
  • ELEMENT_Roof
  • ELEMENT_Walls
  • ELEMENT_Windows

3.  Turn shadows off

4.  Create and activate the CAD with Fill style

5.  Add a scene to snapshot the settings

Watch the steps below…

Plan Scene

1.  Add a horizontal section plane

2.  Navigate to the desired camera position

3.  Visible Tags:

  • CONDOC_2D Graphic
  • ELEMENT_Doors
  • ELEMENT_Fixtures
  • ELEMENT_Floors
  • ELEMENT_Roof
  • ELEMENT_Walls
  • ELEMENT_Windows

3.  Turn shadows off

4.  Activate the CAD with Fill style

5.  Add a scene to snapshot the settings

Watch the steps below…

Instruction

You will need this file to follow along…