edub

I'm experimenting with getting a set of basic 2D drawings from a model by exporting with the S&T module in hidden line display mode.

My camera viewport is set to hidden line display. Am I right in assuming that this is what gets exported??

So far I get, what seems like, good results just exporting a hidden line view like the front elevation as an Illustrator file.

On further study of the file (if opening in Illy) it seems that there is massive geometry simply obscured by fills.

Has anyone had success in using this kind of workflow to generate simple 2d drawings?

Any input appreciated. Thanks

-Erik

AJLynn

We were just discussing S&T yesterday: http://www.cgarchitect.com/vb/22355-...e-drawing.html

I don't really know anything about the Illustrator export, but when using S&T you don't get hidden line just because that's the editor setting, you need to have the surfaces obscuring the lines that are hidden. You can mess with S&T options to get it to override surfaces with white, or give all the surfaces a material with white in the luminance slot.

edub

Andrew,

I've seen the thread you linked to, but figured I'd start a new one since I'm trying to export 2D drawings, and that didn't seem to be the focus of the other thread.

I have the object color set to white, and I'm just using the default S&T line settings.

I guess it makes sense that the hidden line doesn't get exported, since it's a viewport display mode, but what IS it then, actually, that I'm exporting?

Do I have to render the view first, then export? That seems strange to me, but there are no illustrator file format options in the render setttings, so it can't be done through the "render to picture viewer" but only through the viewport??

I guess I'm not clear on what gets exported - the rendered view, the editor view, or what....

anyone else?

AJLynn

Okay, tried it on one of my scenes. I like the effect with fine cloned lines. Anyway, the Illustrator file I got had a pretty weird structure, must be how they set it up to cope with the differences between how objects can obscure each other in 3-space vs in layered 2d drawings. And their method doesn't seem to work - I've got surfaces where they shouldn't be, covering things that shouldn't be covered, and it's not at all obvious how to fix it aside from deleting the really bad ones and fixing the rest using Smart Paint.

edub

hmm, so it's not just me?

well, I'll play around with it some more.

I just want to export some basic elevations into 2D format. I'm exporting to Illustrator, and then from there to DXF.

I guess I'll just have to clean up the drawings in Illy first.

edub

for those playing along at home - so far I've had best results with the "surfaces" option in the export options UNCHECKED.

In my S&T render settings, in the Post efffects tab, I have line types set to outline, Folds and Creases.

This results in a "wireframe-type" illustrator file, i.e. completely transparent. Of course, that's not what I really want, but the files get really messy with the surfaces turned on.
If I want to do a facade elevation view, I guess I'll have to turn off all objects behind the geometry of the facade.

still investigating...

Ernest Burden

There are various ways to trace a raster image to get vector lines. I think C4D has one built-in (I'll have to check to be sure). If the elevation doesn't have to be perfect, maybe just a line image and a trace-over, then export to DXF?

__________________
Ernest Burden III
AcmeDigital
architectural rendering

AJLynn

There are also programs that are better at this if you have them.

-In Sketchup if you Export a 2D graphic in DWG format it take a 2D shot of whatever's on screen.
-Rhino has a command called "make2d" that does this kind of thing.
-At my last firm we did this in AutoCAD using a 3D CAD model and printing it using a DXB printer. (I don't know how to set up a DXB printer, so RTFM if you wan to know.) This "prints" to a file that AutoCAD can import using the DXBIN command.

Ernest Burden

In C4D there is probably a project-to-plane command that would flatten something. the problem is the hidden line removal. Doing it manually takes me back to 1987

__________________
Ernest Burden III
AcmeDigital
architectural rendering

Ernest Burden

You know, my brain works slowly, but by golly, it still works. Sometimes.

Why try rendering an elevation so you can force linework out to Illustrator so you can sent that to dxf so you can have a CAD elevation.............

wait for it....

when you can export the geometry and do the HLR in CAD directly?

That'll be $10

__________________
Ernest Burden III
AcmeDigital
architectural rendering