Wiley Enhancing Architectural Drawings and Models with Photoshop
Contents
1. CHAPTER 1 PREPARING DRAWINGS IN CAD OR BIM FOR ENHANCEMENT E Begin The curtent paper sizs e 1600 x 1280 Piels To create a new baat pape size adjust Width and Height then select Inches or b Media Bounds Miimeaters Piels are only available for rastar formats simane Ses Paper Size Nama Ename is serene Preview width 200 Height 2000 Unite Fels Figure 1 7 Specifying pixel dimensions for the custom paper size Custom Paper Size Paper Size Name Begn The depleved default infomation indicates Ihe paper sie you aie creshng Enter anew name to identity the paper size The new Media Bounds paper size name wil be added to the ist of custom paper sizes fisted inthe Flotter Configuration Editar Simane Ses Paper Size Name bain magere Finish Figure 1 8 Naming the custom paper size I 4 Notes Thename magesize is referenced in the AutoLISP program used later in this chapter It is important that you use this name exactly It is now time to limit the color depth that your ImagePrinter driver uses so you can create images with black and white pixels only This will make smaller image files and save hard drive space Follow these steps 16 17 18 Expand the Graphics node in the driver hierarchy and click the Vector Graphics node In the Color Depth group click the Monochrome radio button and then choose 2 Shades Of Gray from the Color Depth drop down as shown in2. a oe jahadad M ET Shaded with Edges E constant Colors EResite se iiw Bi Se BR Fee o el i Reedy an fe SoMa Figure 1 23 Activating Hidden Line and Thin Lines modes On the Mac the default keyboard shortcut to save a picture of the screen as a file is Shift Command 3 The keyboard shortcut for this feature can be changed under the Apple menu gt System Preferences gt Keyboard And Mouse gt Keyboard shortcuts On Windows press the Print Screen key to copy everything on the screen to the Clipboard The Print Screen key is on most extended keyboards having numeric keypads it might be abbreviated but you might have to press a key combination to activate this function on a notebook computer I 4 Notes Screen capture software is built into most operating systems and is also available from software vendors Launch Photoshop and then press Command N Mac or Ctrl N Windows The width and height of the clipboard are automatically entered in the New dia log box Click OK and then Command V Ctrl V to paste the image from the clipboard into the new document window 7 Choose Layer gt Flatten Image And File gt Save Save the image as Level2thin png The final image is shown in Figure 1 24 Figure 1 24 Screen captured image with thin lines Note Neither of the methods for exporting images from Revit preserves graphic scale Use AutoCAD or i another CAD program that enables you to map a specific numbe
3. Preparing Drawings in CAD or BIM for Enhancement Communicating design ideas with plans eleva tions and section drawings 1s second nature to architects engineers builders and designers in related disciplines Many professionals subcon sciously assume that everyone is aware of what ts actually an obscure set of graphic conventions sur rounding measured drawings These conventions are either learned in design school or integrated through osmosis early in one s career Chapter Contents Making drawings readable by everyone Preparing drawings in CAD or BIM Working with AutoCAD 2011 drawings Working with Revit Architecture 2011 models INAWAONVHNG AOA WIG YO GVO NI SONIAVUG ONIUVdAUd CHAPTER 1 PREPARING DRAWINGS IN CAD OR BIM FOR ENHANCEMENT E N PHOTO COURTESY OF ISTOCKPHOTO VASKO IMAGE 502782 Making Drawings Readable by Everyone Does the average man or woman on the street know what a section drawing is let alone how to read a section tag referencing a drawing What do dashed lines represent to someone not in the design world How do centerlines appear and what do thicker lines indicate More important who cares For those working with design principles every day it might be surprising to hear that some members of the general public and maybe even some of your clients don t fully understand 2D computer aided design CAD drawings they remain an abstraction for many people and more important these peo
4. After you print the drawing the entities from CAD end up as black pixels on a white background in a raster image The following procedure doesn t actually print on a real device you are merely setting up a virtual printer to export raster data from AutoCAD These steps need to be performed only once After you configure the image printer driver and its associated custom paper size file you can use these steps as often as you d like to export images from AutoCAD If you are a CAD manager you can copy the driver files you set up here onto your file server and have all AutoCAD users in your organization reference them To set up a virtual printer follow these steps 1 In AutoCAD type PLOTTERMANAGER and press Enter to open the folder containing plot drivers 2 Double click the Add A Plotter Wizard as shown in Figure 1 2 Fie Edt View Favortes Tools Help ae OO 8 Dawe Crate X 19 ss C iDoouments and Settings Admin y pplication Datajautode i hare Pot Styles COUPMP Files AACE SLI SEIS CISL SL IS EISLL faster er Default Windows System Printer pc3 fe DWF6 ePlot ped Foy DWF aPlot XPS Compatible ped Pe JDWG To PDF ped fee PublshToWeb JPG pc3 Fey PublshToWwWeb PNG pcs Figure 1 2 Plotter driver folder 3 On the Introduction screen click Next to open the Begin screen 4 Leave the My Computer radio button selected and click Next as shown in Figure 1 3 to open the Plotter Model
5. Center The Plot check box Under Plot Scale select Fit To Paper At this point we re ready to plot the entire drawing to an image but we re not going to do this yet because we still have to work out the scale Instead we ve simu lated the plot with the Fit To Paper option to work out the plot scale Take a look at the grayed out numbers in the Plot Scale area shown in Figure 1 16 AS Plot Model i Learn about Plotting Page setup Mame efme 0 E aa Printer plather Name E ImageFrnterpc3 Properties Flotter Portable Network Graphics PMG LZH Compression R Where File Description Paper size Number of capies Imags izs plot area Flot scale What bo plot Fit to paper Display Seale Plot offset forign sat bo printable area x pizel Ll Center the plot pizel Preview 4ophy to Layout Cancel Help Lox Hee Is Figure 1 14 Plot dialog box Printer pather Flotter Portable Network Graphics PAS L2H Compression Ra Where File Description Phot to bile Paper size r Number of copies el Plot area o Flot scale What ko plat Fit to paper Extents Scale Custom Plot offset corgin set bo printable area i 1 pimels pi 0 1924 jun 5cae li eweig tz i Learn about Potting Plot style bable pen assignments Shaded viewport options ualicy Normal w DPI oo Plot options L_ Plo
6. Figure 1 9 Click OK to close the Plotter Configuration Editor Ce Plotter Configuration Editor lmagePrinter pc 4 General Pots Device and Document Sethngs Eh ImagePrnter pod Meda G Soue and Size Sine ImageSize 5 Graphics 2 Vector Graphics Cre 2 shades of gay gt lt Res 100 DFl gt lt Det a Custom Properties 3 8 User defined Paper Sizes amp Calibration Custom Paper res Modi Standard Paper Sizes Printsble Ares Filter Paper Size F Plotter Lalbrabor Lo Le oe kl EL n Li om I B 1 os annan Resoltion and Color Depths Color Depth z Color amp Monochrome The device cannol conligure somefall of these values Figure 1 9 Limiting the color depth of the output 19 Finally click the Finish button in the Add A Plotter Wizard to create the ImagePrinter pc3 file on your hard drive Creating a Plot Style Table for Images In manual drafting architects used to press harder on the pencil to make important lines thicker These days plot styles control line thickness in AutoCAD When you convert vector line work ideally you want the lines showing up as single pixel width lines in the image Thin unbroken lines provide the most flexibility in Photoshop as you ll see in Chapter 2 For now let s focus on how plot styles control line width in AutoCAD output Note believe it s better to add lineweight intentionally in Photoshop by using the stroke effect rather than exporting thicker
7. H Anomalie Screening 700 Lrielype Use obiect linehpe Adaptive on Lirewpsight Line and siyle Use oberi lmeveigat EJE EK Ez 2 Use obpect end shle Description Line join sie Use obec join skyle Fil syle Use object fil style Edt Lineveights Figure 1 12 The Plot Style Table Editor dialog box Cra Ai Plot Style Table Editor Images ctb General Table iew Fom Wie Plot shes I Cole 240 fol Cooler 241 WB Coler 242 Color 243 BB Coler 244 E Colo 245 E Coler 245 E Coly 247 Fropertias m Coe Dither Grayscale Fen H Virtual pen H Screening 700 On of Aamalie Aulomalic SONIAVUC IlOT GVOOLNAV HLIM ONIAUON E Lnelype Use object linehpe Desctiplicn Ca j Lineweight ml Line and syle Line join siyle Fil hte Edt Linevieights Adaptive On Use obiect end shle Use obec join style EEE REE mA EEE x Use objec fil style Figure 1 13 Configuring plot style CHAPTER 1 PREPARING DRAWINGS IN CAD OR BIM FOR ENHANCEMENT E vie 12 Click the Save amp Close button A file called Images ctb is automatically created in the Plot Styles folder on your hard drive 13 Click Finish to close the Add A Plot Style Table Wizard and close the Plot Styles folder Now you have configured the ImagePrinter as a raster printer driver that you can use to convert vector line wo
8. Lallomp TIFF Version 6 LOTT G4 20 Compression Hewletl Packard TIFF Yersion 6 Uncompressed Raster File Formate Tinevison TOA Version 2 Uncompiesced B ee model iz supported by Aase File Format HOI by Autodesk lt Back Cancel 7 k n i Figure 1 4 Selecting the PNG image format Click Next and Next again to accept the defaults on the Import PCP or PC2 and Ports pages Click Next again and type ImagePrinter as the Plotter Name Figure 1 5 PREPARING DRAWINGS IN CAD OR BIM FOR ENHANCEMENT E CHAPTER 1 tier P Begn Helaas Fler Sieshem Fronter Plotter Hodel Select Driver Import Pcp or Po Porte Plotter Hame Fineh eT The model name pou selected is the detauk plotter coniguwation name You can accept the default name or enber a new name bo idertiy the ner PCS lile you have crested The name you apply wall be displayed in the Fage Setup and Plot dialog boses Plotter Hame ImagaFtinter Mate li you erter a mame that is exaclly the same as a System Piite s nome you val not see the System Frnter Isted in the AutoCAD 2011 Plot or Page Setup dialog boxes Figure 1 5 Naming the plot driver Notes Thename magePrinter is used in the AutoLISP file on the accompanying DVD Please use this name so that the LISP program functions properly later in this chapter Next you ll need to get rid of all the default paper sizes which for this virtual image plotter driver
9. a BCP o PE hie Import A14 pen settings that werwe saved in a PEF or PC file Figure 1 10 Creating a color dependent plot style table 5 Choose Color Dependent Plot Style Table and click Next to open the File Name screen 6 Type the name Images in the File Name text box Figure 1 11 Erie a name Foo the new plot style table Browse File File Hame Finish File name Images Unlike A14 pen selbngs this plot she table can be plotted iio ary output device Figure 1 11 Naming the color dependent plot style x I 4 Notes Thename mages is referenced in the AutoLISP program used later in this chapter It is important to use this name exactly 10 11 Click Next again and then click the Plot Style Table Editor button Click the Form View tab if it is not already selected Drag out a selection window in the Plot Styles list box that shows the color num bers see Figure 1 12 Keep dragging until the list automatically scrolls and all 255 colors are selected In the Properties group click the Color drop down and select the Black option Click the Lineweight drop down and select 0 0000 mm see Figure 1 13 This is the thinnest possible lineweight Zi Plot Style Table Editor Images ctb EW Start here and drag a window all the way to the bottom General Table View Fon View Plot shes Properties Coker Use obiect color Dither Cr E z Grayscale nfi Fenr H Aomalit Virtual pes
10. aft Grid Opening Datum ual E FA Main Model EA ed T H aca f set a Legend fi Show E Tag gt DF Ref Plane Room amp Area Wark Plane Fon 0 Xe A 3 Choose Revit menu gt Export gt Images And Animations gt Image Figure 1 20 4 Click the Change button in the Export Image dialog box and then select a file name and path 5 In the Image Size area select Fit To type 3000 pixels and select Horizontal as the direction 7 N STAGOW ItOT AUN LOALIHOUV LIAA HLIA NIXYOA E CHAPTER 1 PREPARING DRAWINGS IN CAD OR BIM FOR ENHANCEMENT E ia Autodesk FL F Tipe a keyed or paaa lew FL Duplicata View of PH sheat Ey Title Block H CAD Formats Lepani scope k Creates DMG DXF DGN or SAT files s E Schedules Box HE Gude Gnd Windows Faden H Interface Sheet Composition Windas Da view g Revestons DWF DWFx Creates DWF ar DF files Building Site Exports an ADSK exchange file pi Walkthrough Sole Shudy gbXML Saws the project as a gbXML file IFE Sans an IFC file Options Sele export options fer CAD and IFE Site Ceiling Pans 8 3D Vies Serial Fireplace Ground Approach Lum GD Ek ke RR et im Click bo select TAB for akernates CTRL adds SHIFT ureelects id Fre BAD Main Model Figure 1 20 Exporting an image from Revit Select Current Window in the Export Range area and set PNG as the format fo
11. lines directly from AutoCAD because stroked lines in Photoshop feature anti aliasing which reduces the jagged appearance of angled lines There are two kinds of plot styles available color dependent and named I rec ommend using color dependent plot styles in preparing drawings for export to images because of their simplicity even if you use named plot styles in production work Notes Use the CONVERTPSTYLES command in AutoCAD to convert an existing drawing from a named plot style to a color dependent plot style or vice versa SONIAVUC IlOT GVOOLNAV HLIA ONIAUON E o CHAPTER 1 PREPARING DRAWINGS IN CAD OR BIM FOR ENHANCEMENT 6 Here s how to create a custom color dependent plot style to use in creating out put with your new ImagePrinter 1 Type STYLESMANAGER and press Enter 2 Double click the Add A Plot Style Table Wizard 3 Read the introductory message and then click Next 4 Make sure the Start From Scratch radio button is selected on the Begin screen and click Next Figure 1 10 Add Color ependent Plot able Begin Peon The wizard provides pou with the abilty to ether create a Browse File color degendent plot style taie Mom scratch or by importing settings fiom a POF FEZ ar Release 14 CFG file The new plot ii style table can be assigned to any colordependent drawing 1 1 Cigale 4 new plot siyle table from seratch Use a CFG file Heh Ald pen settings that were saved subometcaly to a CFG E C Use
12. must be in a suitable form before it can be used success fully in Photoshop It is therefore important to follow a few basic cleanup guidelines when preparing CAD drawings for use in Photoshop Follow clean drafting practices so that end points of entities snap together precisely Verify that entities are on the correct layers Simplify layers into human readable form the layers you transfer into Photoshop are for your reference and do not need to adhere to a standard CAD layer nam ing convention Purge any unused layers and blocks because blocks can trap layers Cut away and erase any nonessential areas of the drawing that you won t be enhancing in Photoshop Erase any filled or hatch areas symbols title blocks or dimensions you don t want to appear in Photoshop Simplify the drawing as much as possible to maximize readability Note Ifyou donot follow clean drafting practices in CAD your job in Photoshop will be much harder It is best to spend some time in CAD cleaning up legacy drawings before working on them in Photoshop Setting Up a Printer Driver and Paper Size in AutoCAD AutoCAD is fundamentally a vector program meaning it stores entities as mathemati cal objects by using a spatial coordinate system Lines are stored as end points that are located by their x y and z coordinates in space To convert this vector data to pixels you need to set up an image printer driver
13. you re working in and the final size you hope to print the enhanced image from Photoshop Notes To maximize image quality set your display resolution to the highest number of pixels before taking a screen capture The weakness of the screen capture transfer method is that it is limited by the number of pixels displayed by your graphics card However this is the only way to export single pixel width lines from Revit Here s how it s done 1 In Revit close the Properties and View hierarchy panels by clicking their Close buttons to maximize the amount of screen real estate occupied by the drawing itself 2 Activate Thin Lines mode by clicking its button either on the Quick Access tool bar or on the View ribbon 3 Select Hidden Line from the rendering menu at the bottom of the screen if it s not already selected Figure 1 23 O STAGOW ItOT AUN LOALIHOUV LIAA HLIA ONIAUONM E CHAPTER 1 PREPARING DRAWINGS IN CAD OR BIM FOR ENHANCEMENT E Ss Thin Lines er ti a Sri ul H wie ma A fist z olz 4 gt Autodesk R aa d THE d SEP OF NTE gi Ls go amp she 7 ka p ee b C3 Q O Bovina vw Hy culate vow pfa Eh shoe b tao en i t A Elevation Legends on p Revisor O Fa i di jule r m jia T f Oe i Modify view 3D Section callout i Scope a Switch chosa Weer Templates Views F Plan Views E Schedules Bon Windows Hidden O Intefa Select Graphics Create Sheet Compositi Windows
14. are actually pixel sizes You ll then create your own custom size that is larger than any of the presets Continue with these steps 8 Click Next and then click the Edit Plotter Configuration button 9 Click the Device And Document Settings tab in the Plotter Configuration Editor that appears and expand the User Defined Paper Sizes amp Calibration node in the driver hierarchy 10 In that expanded list click Filter Paper Sizes Then click the Uncheck All button 11 Select the Custom Paper Sizes node and click the Add button Figure 1 6 te Plotter Configuration Editor ImageP rinter General Pots Device and Document Sethngs Eh ImagePrnter 2 Meda G source and Size Sine Sun HHAes N B0LOD 1230 00 Pack F Graphies Custom Properties B Userdehned Paper Sizes amp Calibration E aea Filter Paper Sizes Flatter Calbration lt 6 PMP File Name C Documents and Settings Adminwaopheation pa a Custom Paper Sizes Figure 1 6 Configuring the plot driver 12 Inthe Custom Paper Size Wizard choose Start From Scratch and click Next 13 On the Media Bounds page type 3000 for Width and 2000 for Height Figure 1 7 Leave the Units drop down set to Pixels Click Next 14 Onthe Paper Size Name page type ImageSize in the text box Figure 1 8 15 Finally click Finish to close this wizard ImageSize appears in the Plotter Configuration Editor now vis SONIAVUCd FLOC AVOOLNV HLIM ONIAXYOM E
15. es Of Each Layer dialog box which prompts you to choose a path and a pre fix name to save the image files of each layer Make a subfolder called Output on your hard drive type the prefix name Home and click Save The automated process begins and an image is plotted for each layer of the drawing There is one image file for each layer in the CAD drawing The filenames are preceded by the name you typed in step 7 Home but the layer name from AutoCAD completes the filename after the dash For example one of the generated files is called Home Wal1s png Home is the prefix name you typed and walls is the layer name The program concatenates this descriptive text automatically into each filename Working with Revit Architecture 2011 Models You can enhance Revit plans elevations and section drawings in Photoshop just as you can AutoCAD drawings However there is no easy way to automate Revit to out put every layer as a separate image file Therefore our approach will be to export each drawing as a single image for later enhancement in Photoshop In the single layer approach we lose the ability to control lineweight in Photoshop but this isn t the end of the world You can carry Revit s default treatment of lineweight into Photoshop or force all lines to be as thin as possible prior to transfer Pll show you both methods because each has its strengths and weaknesses Note Ifyou own AutoCAD and Revit Architec
16. et When it comes to enhanc ing drawings what we are really talking about is rasterizing or softening hard edged objects and bounded spaces with pixel manipulation techniques which is where Photoshop truly excels Although it s possible to enhance a single layer line drawing exported from CAD or BIM my preference is to import multilayered drawings so that line thickness and anti aliasing can be managed in Photoshop The ability to transfer multilayered drawings from CAD or BIM into Photoshop is complicated by fundamental differences between vector and raster data On this book s accompanying DVD Pve included a LISP program I wrote to automate the transfer of drawings from AutoCAD to Photoshop LISP is the LISt Processing interpreted programming language that has been part of AutoCAD for decades Such automation is theoretically possible in other CAD programs but not provided in this book There is no way to transfer multilayer drawings from Revit Architecture directly into Photoshop without using AutoCAD as an intermediate step We therefore need to enhance single layer drawings coming directly from Revit see Working with Revit Architecture 2011 Models later in this chapter Working with AutoCAD 2011 Drawings Pm working with AutoCAD 2011 in this book but the LISP program and techniques presented will work in versions of AutoCAD going back more than a decade to AutoCAD 2000 There are various steps to working with AutoCAD dra
17. ng way For example if you rationalized 0 1924 to 0 125 14 you would have gone the wrong way numerically speaking Adjusting 0 1924 to 0 25 14 is the correct rationalization in this particular case because the drawing fits within the image size At this point we have found what we are looking for the numerical relation ship between inches and pixels The rationalized equation is 1 pixel in the image 0 25 inches in the drawing If we multiply both sides of the equation by 4 we ll end up with whole numbers 10 Type 4 on the pixel side of the equation and 1 on the unit side The black and white preview remains unchanged so the final equation is simply 4 pixels 1 inch see Figure 1 17 Press Esc to close the Plot dialog box without plotting cai Plot Model Gi Leam about Potting Page sehup Name hone Printers plother Mame E ImagePrinter ped Flotter Portable Network Graphics PMG L2H Compression Ra Where File Description Paper sge Number of copies ImageSize e L Plot area Alot scale What bo plot Fit to paper Exbents E Plot offset forigin set bo printable area 4 y 205 paes ie Dyes Scale Custom i unk Cae limeiejonts Preview Figure 1 17 Rationalizing plot scale Plot style kable pen assignments Images cth E B Shaded viewport options shagamit asand Quality Normal DFI 9a Plot options L Piat in background Plot object linewreight
18. ple might not verbalize this fact After all although we all inhabit 3D architecture every day of our lives most of us do not have to correlate that experience with 2D drawings on a regular basis Whether or not you choose to create 3D building information models BIMs or show 3D imagery to your clients at the end of the day you re still required to gener ate 2D drawings as legal construction documents This chapter teaches you how to begin the process of enhancing your drawings whether you start in CAD or BIM In Chapter 2 Enhancing Drawings in Photoshop you ll learn how to add color gradi ents textures and shadows to enrich technical line drawings and render them compre hensible by technical and nontechnical people alike Preparing Drawings in CAD or BIM CAD and BIM programs are primarily vector tools Software engineers have pro grammed intelligence in these programs in the form of numerous parameters that con trol the appearance of building components for most conceivable real world situations Modern CAD and BIM programs include a few raster features such as the ability to do the following Assign pixel based textures to objects and bounded spaces Print or export images directly Access 3D rendering features that calculate pixels based on geometry lighting and materiality Photoshop on the other hand is primarily a pixel manipulation tool with a few notable exceptions such as the Pen tool and 3D tools
19. r nonshaded views Figure 1 21 Z SeattHouselLevel Multiple views sheets wil create multiple files with appended names Creabe browsable web site with a inked HTML page for each wiew Export Range gt r Image size G current window Fit to 3000 peels viele portion of current window Direction C vertical Horizontal C Selected views sheets Select Ci Zoom to Wew set WiswiiSoret Set of actual size Jm scsson r Options gt Pormat iew links in blue shaded views JPEG medium i el Hide refiwork lide reff work Hanes Non shaded views Sie scope bores Hide crop boundaries Raster Image Quality _ Hide unreferenced view tags TE Figure 1 21 Export Image settings in Revit 7 Click OK to create the Level2 png image file Figure 1 22 Figure 1 22 Image created through Revit s export feature Forcing All Lines to Be as Thin as Possible In Revit Architecture 2011 the export image feature does not respect Revit s Thin Lines mode Thin Lines mode is useful if you want to forgo lineweights in Revit entirely If you have a large monitor with a graphics card that supports a high enough resolution you can take a screen capture to use as the basis for enhancement in Photoshop Exactly which resolution setting is good enough depends on many factors including the physical size of the building you re enhancing its relationship to the graphic scale
20. r AutoCAD lt Home dwg Fie Edit Search View Project Debug Tools Window Help jiz e DA o Ak elcar jerr eea armas l lt 2 layfime lsp defun Cilayzing LAY LLIST LHANE PATH FILE ee eee fo 0 Lule P AD 22 setg PATH getfiled Save image Files of each layer 13 get path setq LLIST tblnext layer T while LLIST nil setg LWAME cdr assoc 2 LLIST setg LLIST tblnext LAYER command LAYER PT Ve U LAARE command LAYER OFF et He ey command PLOT TnhagePrinter pcs ImageSize Landscape yes Wael streat PATH LHAHE rhin get first layer goes thru each layer gets layer name advances to next record Sets layer current turns off everything else Edit the Following plot details as needed Detailed Plot Plot Fron Model tab Printer driver Paper Size Orientation Plot upside down Plot area Plotted pixels drawing units Plot offset Plot with styles Use this style table name Plot with Lineveights Shade plot setting Filename to plot mia crhanneac Fh Pana Sain Load and evaluate the code in the active editor window Figure 1 18 lay2img 1sp open for editing in AutoCAD s Visual LISP integrated development environment 7 Switch back to AutoCAD type lay2img and press Enter to open the Save Image Fil
21. r of pixels to the drawing unit such as inches or B centimeters if you want your enhanced drawings to print to scale N STAAON ItOT AYN LOALIHOUV LIAA HLIA ONIAUON E
22. rk in AutoCAD to the pixels of an image that you ll be able to manipulate with Photoshop Making a Test Plot to Determine Scale Before you use the LISP program to automate the conversion of each AutoCAD layer to a separate image file you must do one test plot in order to work out the scale of the drawing relative to the image size Every building has a different physical size so you ll need to work out the plot scale each time Let s give it a try 1 In AutoCAD open Home dwg which is the first floor plan of my home This file is already cleaned up see the Cleaning Up Drawings section earlier in this chapter so it s ready to be transferred into Photoshop Notes Ifyou don t have AutoCAD you can skip ahead to the next section or Chapter 2 Plotted AutoCAD image files are provided so you can jump right into Photoshop 2 Press Ctrl P Click OK if a warning dialog box appears indicating a missing driver you ll select the correct driver in a moment 3 Click the Name drop down under Printer Plotter select ImagePrinter pc3 and click to select the default paper size when prompted 4 Click the More Options arrow button in the lower right corner see Figure 1 14 if the dialog box is not already expanded 5 Select ImageSize as the Paper Size 6 Open the Plot Style Table drop down and select Images ctb Figure 1 15 7 Under Plot Area select Extents from the What To Plot drop down Under Plot Offset select the
23. s J Plot transparency e Plot with plot styles Plok paperspace last Hide paperspace objects C Plot stamp on Llave changes bo layout Drawing orenbation Portrait Landscape Plat upside down _avpvtovayent __ox J cancel _uep O Make a mental note of the final equation in this case 4 pixels 1 inch or write it down We will input this equation into the LISP program next If you were plotting a drawing depicting something larger than my house you would likely require a dif ferent plot scale to fit the building within the fixed grid of 3000x2000 pixels Perhaps 8 pixels 1 inch would rationalize a larger building scale There can never be a hard and fast rule because every building has a different size you ll have to work out a rational plot scale every time Plotting with the Included LISP Program Typical CAD drawings contain many layers and more creative possibilities open up if you can access these as individual image layers in Photoshop It is possible to transfer the layers from an AutoCAD drawing to Photoshop by plotting each layer one at a time and then integrating the image files in Photoshop I have written a program included on the companion DVD that automates part of this process saving you many hours of tedium The program called lay2img Layer to Image runs in AutoCAD and auto mates plotting by converting each vector layer into a raster image file It is written in Autodesk s subset of
24. screen 5 Click Raster File Formats in the Manufacturers list and then select the Portable Network Graphics PNG LZH Compression option in the Models list Figure 1 4 vis SONIAVUC FLOC GVOOLAV HLIM ONIXUOM E v tter Begin Bean Helmas Flore System Prmber Plotter Hodel Select Drise Import Pico or Po Porte Plotter Manu Finish To conhgure a new plotter select one of the following Mp Computer All settings wil be comfiguied by an Autodesk Heidi plotter diver and managed by this computer Network Flotter Server All sethngs eil De conha ed bean Aubades Hedi pater diver and managed br a plotter saner System Printer Use a configured windows system printer diver end apalu dieer detyt values tor Adota Ali vs obser Windsve apolicatiorns Cen EE ne Figure 1 3 Configuring the driver to be managed locally Begn Helwiors Flotler Sieshem Privter Plotter Model Select Driver Import Pico or Po Parte Plotter Hame Finish Select your plotter manubachuner and model Fyour plotter isn t listed consult your plotter documentation for a compatible potter Qphonally if pou have an instalation disk contsining an HOI driwer cheese Have Disk A Browse for HIF File dialog boy is disolaped for you bo locate and install he HIF file attached tothe HDI diver Manufacturers Autodesk 2Plot DwFx MS windows BMP Uncompresced DIB Aulodesk Plot PDF Portable Metwok Graphics PAG LZH Compress
25. t in background Plot object lineveights LJ Plot transparency H Plot with plot styles Plot paperspace last Hide paperspace objects Plot stamp on CSa changes bo layout gt Drawing orientation 2 Portrait Landscape A Plot upside down Apply to Layout Figure 1 15 Selecting plotter paper size and plot style table Flot scale Fit to paper Seale Cushori 1 pises 2 1924 juni eaten Figure 1 16 Plot Scale area Scab lineweignts ss of the Plot dialog box ct Shadeplot As displayed ka w S NIAVYGA IlO0OT AVOOLNV HLIA NIAXNJXOA E CHAPTER 1 PREPARING DRAWINGS IN CAD OR BIM FOR ENHANCEMENT E 3B With the drawing stretched to the maximum size relative to the image size 1 pixel in the plot equals 0 1924 units which are inches in imperial units We must rationalize this arbitrary measure to the nearest common fraction in order to maintain graphic scale in Photoshop In other words rationalizing in this context means chang ing 0 1924 units to 0 25 units Continue with these steps 8 Deselect the Fit To Paper check box in the Plot Scale area of the Plot dialog box 9 Change the unit value from 0 1924 to 0 25 Notice the black and white preview in the Printer Plotter area shows the crosshatched plot area fitting within the image size of 3000x2000 pixels Notes Ifthe crosshatched area doesn t fit within the image size in the preview you ve gone the wro
26. the ancient list processing language developed in the 1950s called AutoLISP Programming in AutoLISP is beyond the scope of this book although you will learn how to edit a few simple parameters in the program to suit your needs You ll use AutoCAD s built in Visual LISP integrated development environment to edit the code 1 Type VLIDE and press Enter This command stands for Visual LISP integrated development environment A Within the Visual LISP for AutoCAD window that appears choose File gt Open and select lay2img 1sp from the DVD Each line is commented for clarity Read through the program to get a sense of what it does even if you ve never seen LISP code before 3 Note that the printer driver is specified as ImagePrinter pc3 the paper size is specified as ImageSize and the plot style table is Images ctb Edit the appropriate lines of text if your drivers paper sizes or plot style tables have different names The program won t work if there are any typographical errors extra spaces inside the quotes or misspellings 4 Change the Plotted pixels drawing units line to read 4 1 This is the final equation we came up with by doing a test plot Press Ctrl S to save the LISP file 6 Click the button shown under the arrow cursor in Figure 1 18 to load the file into memory VI S NIAVYGA IlOT AVOOLNV HLIA ONIAUON E CHAPTER 1 PREPARING DRAWINGS IN CAD OR BIM FOR ENHANCEMENT E amp Visual LISP fo
27. ture as many architects do you ll gain the most flexibility in Photoshop by exporting a DWG file from Revit cleaning it up in AutoCAD and proceeding to follow the AutoCAD instructions in the previous section Carrying Revit s Default Treatment of Lineweight into Photoshop Revit has built in export functionality that supports raster image creation directly from Revit s vector database Perform the following steps to export an image from Revit 1 Launch Revit Architecture 2011 and open the Basic sample project 2 Double click Level 2 in the View hierarchy panel Revit automatically generates a 2D floor plan from the 3D building information model stored in its relational database Figure 1 19 ls ay E Window JP Roof E curtain System Ah Model Text wall nae a Component A Taling z Curtain Grd iL Model Line I Column S Flor GB Mullion Select Eud Madel Properties A Floor Plan Lewel 2 ue Edit Type Graphics Fa la Wia Soaks 1 10 Sede Vaue d io L Oase od Temal E Medium ee ed HiddeniLing S E views all S Floor Plans Level 1 Level 2 Lavel 3 Site 4 Ceiling Plans S 3D Voews Serial Fireplace Ground Approach i AR iwo EE EG ie Oe RG Figure 1 19 Revit sample project Level 2 drawing Rea Rr RR G Oo FS ALS Autodesk R Home fa Model Group E Time a kopio or pias 0 paling AY By Face wall EE shaft fg vertical Ay Pa E
28. wings which I cover in detail in this section The game plan for transferring any CAD drawing into Photoshop is to first clean up the CAD drawing yov re interested in enhancing Cleanup will be necessary for every drawing you transfer from AutoCAD into Photoshop SONIAVUC IlOT GVOOLNAV HLIA ONIAUON E w CHAPTER 1 PREPARING DRAWINGS IN CAD OR BIM FOR ENHANCEMENT E gt The first time you go through this procedure you ll need to create a raster print driver in order to export single pixel width lines from AutoCAD In addition you ll create a custom paper size actually specified in pixels and create a custom plot style to properly export lines as pixels Once these drivers are set up you can use them indefinitely to convert vector drawings into raster images You ll also need to make a test plot in order to configure the LISP program to automate the creation of images from each layer in your CAD drawing The last pre paratory procedure is reassembling all image layers exported from the LISP program within AutoCAD into a smart object in Photoshop see Figure 1 1 B Phoirahap Mir Ai kroge lape Satect Dhe Arahal 1O ew Windcw lp a Tha tsi Si p T KET pr 5 Wh er H M muram Rin WEA PYTH 3a a Fe z T E aA 7 b T i ag amp a of T k a T Ti ma amp Re Figure 1 1 Converting an AutoCAD drawing to a Photoshop smart object Cleaning Up Drawings The data of CAD drawings
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