hidden line perspective as line drawing

[Anonymous]

I want to plot a hidden line drawing of my model as the cover sheet for my project.

If I save a perspective view using hidden-line internal rendering engine, plotmaker reads it as a raster image... plot quality is hence very difficult to control.

Is there a way I can create a simple line version of a hidden line view?

[David Maudlin]

I want to plot a hidden line drawing of my model as the cover sheet for my project.

If I save a perspective view using hidden-line internal rendering engine, plotmaker reads it as a raster image... plot quality is hence very difficult to control.

Is there a way I can create a simple line version of a hidden line view?

After generating the Hidden Line view in the 3D window, Save As... and under Format select "PlotMaker Drawing". This file can then be imported into the PlotMaker layout. This file is vectorial rather than bit map, so it can be resized without any loss in line quality.

This process can be automated to some degree in ArchiCAD by using Publisher and selecting "PlotMaker" for the format, but again you are generating separate files, not using the ArchiCAD file when importing to PlotMaker. HTH.

David

[Karl Ottenstein]

rondari wrote:
I want to plot a hidden line drawing of my model as the cover sheet for my project.

In addition to David's suggested workaround for the problem with hidden line view linkage, here's what I do because I usually want to crop and customize the hidden line drawings on my cover sheets:

Use the flat marquee to select the area of the hidden line drawing that you want.

Copy - and choose the options that you want in the popup dialog.

Create a new independent Detail window and paste into it.

Clean up any elements you want, crop others away, change line weights, add additional linework/fills, etc. In particular, I find the 2D plant and people symbols useful for spiffying up the drawing. For residential work, the shrubs are great for hiding glitches with the intersection of walls and walks and the terrain, and for softening corners, etc... (Resize and mirror them so they look a little different... unlike what I show below!)

Attached is a small bit of a recent cover sheet (we tend to squeeze all kinds of other stuff on there as well) showing how the 2D shrubs can be used. It's really fast to do and helps liven up the line drawings a lot. I also drew lines to represent the stacked fascia (didn't want to take the time to model it), and magic wand filled the roof soffit to make it look shaded. (Looks better at full scale than here, of course!) Numerous architectural issues are unresolved in these drawings, but that's another topic.

Just can't do this with a PMK or a 3D window linked to an LBK, unfortunately.... but I'm hopeful (wishful) that one day, we'll have "live" 3D detail windows, or something like it, that we can publish or link.

Karl

PS Forgot to mention, the other thing that I do with these line perspectives is to delete most of the contour lines from the site - I find the grass fill/hatch conveys the sloping terrain adequately and the contours are distracting.

[Erika Epstein]

Karl,
What a great technique!
Thank you for sharing; now it's time to go play with your idea.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Karl,

Very nice technique for the ground plane, I also don't like the triangulated contours. I will give your method a try on the next project. Don't wouldn't worry about the repetitive plants but I would keep an eye out for the ridge beam kicker landing onto the window.

Seriously, I really enjoy it when users post samples of their every day work. Awesome project!

Mark

[Karl Ottenstein]

Burginger wrote:
... but I would keep an eye out for the ridge beam kicker landing onto the window.

Thanks, Mark and Erika. 😉

There are worse things than the ridge beam... I should have a contest to count how many problems there are in the model! 😉 Not my model, for what it's worth, but that of a client (who is OK with my posting it here)...

Karl