AUGIWorld Magazine - May/June 2008 - (Page 11)

Figure 3 – Same close up with a pencil style save them to your library. The next time you use them in a drawing, just drag and drop the Impression block onto one of your CAD blocks and they will automatically be stylized. Don’t like it? Then remove the style, create one you do like, and save it for later. Being able to do repetitive tasks quickly is why we draw digitally. Impression sounds great and easy to use, doesn’t it? When you start for the very Figure 4 – The Block Library first time, and perhaps on to use and implement. It will work with your second time too, run the Quick Start Guide and the Jump your geometry and it can be adapted to Start Tours. The Quick Start Guide has your changing needs. Do you need to be several animated tutorials on the basics an artist or just artistic to use it? No, just of Impression. It is a great way to get the use your imagination and create what looks gist of things. This tour is very similar to good. So what looks good? Whatever type the New Features Workshop found in of illustration fits the needs of the project AutoCAD. It starts off by giving you a is what looks good. I am not trying to say quick tour (really?) of Impression com- that anyone will be able to create a work mands, where to find them, and how to of art with Impression, because it is, after all, only a tool. But this tool has the ability use them. Other topics to choose from include ba- to allow non-artistic types (like myself) to sic workflow, applying styles, selecting ge- create useful and valuable color illustraometry, layers, drawing geometry, fills and tions digitally. Will my renderings be hung closed areas, text, blocks, preparing your as works of art? Of course not, but now I layout, and experimentation ideas. This is have a tool that can better illustrate my a great place to start to familiarize yourself ideas, and that might be just the thing that helps me land the next project. with the interface of Impression. Impression was named Impression for a Don’t forget the Jump Start Tour. This reason. It is a tool that can grant the ability tour gives users the opportunity to actually learn by doing. This is a great idea, to a firm to impress their clients with clear in my mind. There are three tours avail- and colorful illustrations that they can unable: layers, area fill tool, and blocks. Each derstand. Give Impression a try, take it for tour contains four steps and begins with an a test drive, kick the tires, and see what it example file with which you can interact. can do. I am certain that you will find it If you don’t understand the instructions useful and rewarding, especially at the new provided, there is a SHOW ME button low price of free! that will start a short movie of a user going Brian C. Benton is senior through the steps. Watching someone else engineering CAD technido the steps first can make things easier. cian/designer for Heidt & Associates, Inc, Fort MyConclusion ers, Florida. Brian has Anyone creating drawings will occasionbeen working with Autoally need a better way to illustrate their CAD since release 10 in work. Impression was designed to do that. the mechanical, structural, and civil engiIt was also created with AutoCAD® users neering fields. He has been a detailer, drafter, in mind. Now that it is available to sub- designer, IT assistant, CAD software manscription subscribers, more and more us- ager, protector of standards, and proverbial ers will have it available. I suggest that you “Help Desk.” He can be reached at benton. take advantage of this product. It is easy brian@gmail.com. 11 lease 1. Now it has the ability to remember a Fill Anchor Point. This is your fill selection point. If the CAD geometry changes, but is still surrounding that anchor point, the render style will adjust to the new line work. If a closed area is created and it has no fill anchor point within it, that area will be empty. Just go ahead and apply the proper fill pattern there. This may not add enough work to the rendering to justify closing the CAD linework, but perhaps it will. My guess is that it won’t. If you are like me, then you typically use the same layers every time you work. I rather hope that you are working with some type of standard anyway, or at least a rule of thumb. If so, then you can save a style in Impression to use over and over again. Make your first drawing, save the style. On your next drawing, import that style and apply it. Your drawing is finished. Okay, it isn’t really that simple, but that’s the general idea. There will always be some touch up work to do. Take a tour Blocks One other speedy function of Impression is its ability to use blocks. Everyone uses blocks, which give you the ability to create an object the same way every time. Another reason to use blocks is to be able to create similar (or identical) content over and over again in a file. Bolts, bushes, buildings, people, wheels, and gears are all examples of what can be made into a block. Impression recognizes blocks brought into it from DWG and can stylize them, too. Impression 2 comes with a larger block library than the first release. It consists mostly of items to be used in architectural and landscape type drawings, admittedly, but any user can add to his or her own library. Bring into Impression the blocks you use the most and stylize them. Then M a y/ J u n 2 0 0 8

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of AUGIWorld Magazine - May/June 2008

AUGIWorld Magazine - May/June 2008 Table of Contents The CAD Manager From Drawing to Display: The Value of Autodesk Impression Designing for Auto-Dimensioning The Proof Is in the Footing Managing Customization and Profiles Getting to Know the Display Manager What's Cooking at Autodesk Labs? On the Back Page

AUGIWorld Magazine - May/June 2008

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