Elevation rendering

[shellb]

I am still a CAD student. I am using version 2008. I am currently working on a basic house elevation. When I look up examples of elevations on the internet, they are all very detailed. I am having problems accomplishing such detail on my rendering. For example I am working on some shutters which are looking pretty pathetic. I thought I would add a gradient “shadow” in between the slots on the shutters to make them look realistic. It didn’t work. So then I saved it to a jpeg and thought I could add some detail in Photoshop but that feels too complicated. It feels like it should be easier than that. I haven’t taken any 3-D classes yet. I’m wondering if that might be part of my problem. Also when I print my drawings they are always black and white. I’ve never had a class where we produce color drawings. Are the renderings I’m seeing on the internet much more advance AND are they done with other software besides AutoCAD? Basically how are these other renderings (which basically look like photographs) done?

[akansha]

Regarding black n white colour prints, are You selecting monochrome or black and white print when you are plotting? or may be your plotter can only plot black and white prints.

Regarding rendering - well ppl do use photoshop to render acad drawings to give it realistic effects. It is a little difficult (atleast for me) and you need to learn photoshop atleast little more than basics to do so. Try autocad impressions, personally I have not used it (it is available in limited countries), but I have heard that it gives more realistic affects than acad.

[Cad64]

I do all of my color rendering of 2D Autocad drawings in Photoshop. It takes a bit of practice to learn how to use the various filters and layer effects to achieve the results you are looking for. I would suggest taking a class to at least learn the basics of Photoshop. It can be pretty difficult and frustrating at first.

 

Also, the images you are seeing online could be 3D renderings done from Autocad, and not 2D colored images from Photoshop. Either way, these are just skills you will need to learn, so don't expect miracles overnight. These skills are learned over time and you will get better as you gain experience. Read books, take classes, download video tutorials online and practice, practice, practice. :wink:

[CADken]

I do all of my color rendering of 2D Autocad drawings in Photoshop. It takes a bit of practice to learn how to use the various filters and layer effects to achieve the results you are looking for. I would suggest taking a class to at least learn the basics of Photoshop. It can be pretty difficult and frustrating at first.

 

Also, the images you are seeing online could be 3D renderings done from Autocad, and not 2D colored images from Photoshop. Either way, these are just skills you will need to learn, so don't expect miracles overnight. These skills are learned over time and you will get better as you gain experience. Read books, take classes, download video tutorials online and practice, practice, practice. :wink:

 

a lot of the renderings you see aren't created by autoCAD, yeah the drawings and line work is created in CAD, but the majority of folks out there use other programs to color and make their plans look color...

 

try AutoDesk Impressions very cool program that lets you color in your CAD drawings with all kinds of different and neat brushes and effects.

[shellb]

Thanks for the advice. I do have photoshop and autodesk impressions so I will give both those a try. Thanks for leading me in the right direction.

 

Many thanks!

[f700es]

If it is a 2D elevation and you have Impression then yes, use it. Now for a 3D view it's hard to beat SketchUp. I have also played with the notion of using AutoCAD's SuperHatch command and gradient hatches as a way to dress up 2D elevations.

 

Here is an oldie but a goodie...brick and block textures used as hatch patterens as well as gradient fills.

 

 

 

and a tree image from CADTutor

All done in AutoCAD 2004.

[f700es]

Here is another example....

 

the tile off the floor is a texture while the bars were done with gradient fills to simulate stainless steel fixtures

 

[f700es]

AutoCAD elevations, modeled in SU and then exported to PhotoShop..

 

[Mr T]

The above style is possible in Autodesk Impression, without any Photoshop renders. Nice work though.

 

Nick

[jgfry]

any chance you would teach someone how to produce such nice renderings?

[f700es]

any chance you would teach someone how to produce such nice renderings?

 

Wow, bringing a thread back from the dead

 

I can but it will "take" a bit.

Edited January 24, 2014 by f700es
Typo

[jgfry]

Wow, bringing a thread back from the dead

 

I can but it will talk a bit.

 

Dead but not forgotten!

I've used Impression, but it's dead and only works (if you have it) on a 32 bit machine...which I don't have.

This is a skill I need to learn and learn well. Any assistance would be awesome.

 

-jgf

[tzframpton]

any chance you would teach someone how to produce such nice renderings?

Your profile says you are using Revit Architecture. The original poster was using AutoCAD when he posted this thread back in 2007. Can you clarify if your question is referring to elevations using the AutoCAD platform, or using the Revit platform?

[f700es]

Dead but not forgotten!

I've used Impression, but it's dead and only works (if you have it) on a 32 bit machine...which I don't have.

This is a skill I need to learn and learn well. Any assistance would be awesome.

 

-jgf

 

Impression works on 64-bit Win7 but it is just another good start of a program that AutoDesk has left to die

I do in fact have it installed at work and at home.

 

Let me get together some images and I'll show you how to do this.

 

Sean

[jgfry]

Your profile says you are using Revit Architecture. The original poster was using AutoCAD when he posted this thread back in 2007. Can you clarify if your question is referring to elevations using the AutoCAD platform, or using the Revit platform?

 

Tanner...I use both, but my current crunch is a large amount of residential projects drawn in AutoCAD that I would like to have some better illustrations of for marketing.

[jgfry]

Impression works on 64-bit Win7 but it is just another good start of a program that AutoDesk has left to die

I do in fact have it installed at work and at home.

 

Let me get together some images and I'll show you how to do this.

 

Sean

 

I was not able to get Impression to load. Immediately upon launching the executable file it warns of its incompatibility. I'd love to know how to make it work.

 

thanks for your offer Sean. I look forward to learning something new.

 

-jgf

[tzframpton]

Tanner...I use both, but my current crunch is a large amount of residential projects drawn in AutoCAD that I would like to have some better illustrations of for marketing.

Thank you for clarifying. Like f700 mentioned, Impression is a tool, and good 'ol fashioned export/plot to PDF and import into your Adobe product of choice, or any other high-res raster file format for non-Adobe applications.

[Chico]

If you would like to spend a little time learning there is a guy named David Cohn that love to put things together to make drawing in AutoCad come alive you can see his work and study how he does it @ http://www.dscohn.com/speaking/cadcamp.htm or go to Autodesk web site or just search for him on the web most of what he shows is FREE. You can also go here http://au.autodesk.com/au-online/live-stream?mktvar001=590107&mktvar002=590108. For great classes.

[f700es]

OK, here we go.

 

1st you have to have a 3D model of the building you want to render. I use Sketchup as it gives me the different styles I'll use to get this look.

 

So we start with our 3D model with textures applied.

 

Next I set a "flat" 2d view of the side I want to use. Set your camera to parallel and view to front in SU. I also turned the shadows on and the edges off. We export a 2D image of this view

 

 

Next I apply a sketchy style of just lines and no textures. We do not change the view as we want it to be the exact same size. We then export this view.

 

 

Next we move to Photoshop. I start with the color view. I open it and set a empty layer under the color layer. In the color layer I use the magic wand tool and select all of the white and delete it. In the bottom layer I apply a color gradient to represent the background sky.

 

 

Next I add another layer, above the color layer and bring in the sketchy image.

 

 

Now I select the eraser tool and pick a brush that has some type of texture to it. I scale the brush up till I get a nice size, about 115 or so. I also set the eraser opacity and flow to about 50% as we only want to lightly remove the sketchy image. And we start erasing the sketchy image.

 

 

When you start do not let up on the mouse button as this will add another layer of eraser to the image. You want the 1st pass to be a uniform as possible. After the 1st pass on the entire image I make another pass on the foreground items in the drawing, this makes them stand out a bit.

 

 

There we go. With some trial and error you can add some different effects or maybe even add some landscaping items. Like the trees I have in the original image at the start of the thread. This is an old technique but still a good one to know.

[tzframpton]

Two thumbs up, f700!! Awesome tutorial.