AUGIWorld Magazine November/December 2007

Autodesk Impression A Good First Impression, Part 2 Editor’s Note: In the last issue (September/October), Brian Benton introduced AUGIWorld readers to Autodesk Impression, a relative newcomer to Autodesk’s product line. Brian follows up his initial overview with this installment, in which he provides more details about how to use this new tool. Autodesk® Impression was created to provide a digital answer to hand-colored renderings, just as AutoCAD® is a digital answer to hand drafting. How does a user create renderings with Impression? There are many different methods that can be used. A user can start with an AutoCAD drawing or with an image file. The proper method to use depends on what is needed, how fast, future use of the file, and what the user has to work with. There are many different ways to create drawings with Impression and this article will look at a few of them. The lines can take on a squiggle that ranges from barely noticeable to one that appears to have been handdrawn during an earthquake! Starting with image files Impression was made with vector-based drawings in mind. Because of this, it works best with CAD files, although it can handle rasterized images, too. Users can also enhance their files by adding raster images in formats such as jpg, bmp, and others. To get started, open Impression and determine your file settings. Canvas size and scale can be set now (and changed later in the process if necessary). If a set of layers has already been established, then you can begin working right away. Layer Styles determine how shapes, lines, fills, and text appear on the canvas. The canvas is the working area of the drawing. Image files are a little more difficult to work with because the entire image is on one layer. Since there are no vector lines, then the fill command will not fill in areas. One way of working with these types of drawings is to create areas to be filled with the line, spline, and shape commands. Create a layer with the desired styles, activate it, and then create the needed shapes. The layers in Impression have depth. This means that the objects on a particular layer will be drawn on top of any object that is on a lower layer. This is a practice used in many other image-creation programs and is a familiar practice to many. Arrange the layers of a file from top to bottom. The objects that are to be drawn on top are to be in the layer that is placed at the top of the list. Changing the layer order is easy, with these steps: open the layer manager, select the desired layer, and then drag it to the proper position. Objects within the same layer can also be moved above or below other objects on that layer. After the image is loaded, the shapes created, and the layer styles set, the work is almost finished. Make sure to add effects to the layers as needed. Some of the effects in Impression are drop shadows and roughen. The roughen effect gives line work a handdrawn appearance. It basically squiggles the lines. These squiggles can be adjusted with the many different variables available. The lines can take on a squiggle that Figure 1: JPG line work file of the Sears Tower in Chicago, Illinois. Figure 2: Water Color based rendering of the Sears Tower in Chicago, done in Impression. 24 w w w. A U G I . c o m http://www.AUGI.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of AUGIWorld Magazine November/December 2007

AUGIWorld Magazine November/December 2007 Table of Contents The CAD Manager Education & Training Finance Training Google Earth: Now Showing in AutoCAD Civil 3D Get Your Input Here A Good First Impression, Part 2 Share and Share Alike Who's Using Revit MEP? Ready… Get Set… Properties! On the Back Page: The Brazilian Model

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