AutoCad and Photoshop for Architects

In this tutorial we open up AutoCad for the very first time. Within a few short minutes we learn all the basic skills we need to make a scaled architectural drawing. We focus on:

• The AutoCad workspace

• Line Tool

• Offset

• Imputing dimensions in both imperial and metric modes

• Creating basic symbols

In this exercise we'll learn how AutoCad uses 'layers' to give meaning to lines and other geometry. We'll see how these layers help us prepare presentation linework in AutoCad (mainly through the 'plot' command) before importing to Photoshop for rendering.

Areas covered include:

• Plotting/Printing

• Setting up plot styles

• Creating PDFs

• Assigning lingweights and linestyles

• Printing to scale

• Selection of appropriate sheet sizes

Assigning correct lineweights is an essential skill to develop in AutoCad. In this tutorial we demonstrate a clear and easy-to-follow technique for working with lineweights and linestyles before generating a pdf - the file type we need to create in order to export work to Photoshop for rendering.

Just to liven things up a bit and show how easy it is to make a bit of progress, we'll use one of the smally drawings we've already prepared in AutoCad and bring them directly into Photoshop for a quick exercise. By the time we've finished this tutorial, you'll have about 90% of the skills you'll need to present sketch designs with an efficient, computer-aided technique.

In this tutorial we'll draw the floor plan for a 'real' project - a small pottery studio in the Irish countryside. We'll demonstrate that with the basic skills we've already assembled in line drawing, linestyles, symbols, etc. a plausible AutoCad drawing can be prepared and made legible through intelligent use of the linestyles.

The prospect of drawing a section is often a daunting one for the architecture student in their early years. But this process can be made a great deal clearer by:

• Having a simple technique for generating the section geometry from the floor plan, and

• Making a clear decision on the purpose of the drawing: presentation? or production?

The plan is often seen as a diagram for explaining the layout of a building. But with a little bit of imagination, the plan can also become a powerful instrument for explaining the character of the proposed space. In this tutorial we look at some simple devices aimed at assisting the student in explaining their spatial ideas through the floor plan.

In the tutorial we'll discuss the judicious use of:

• Shadows

• Textures and materials

In this tutorial we import the cross section of the pottery studio we previously drew in AutoCad into Photoshop and in a few short steps we create an image with a powerful spatial character.

We achieve a spatially descriptive image by:

• Embedding trees and other vegetation using PNG files

• Create effective skies in the background

• Application of textures and depths

This tutorial is a follow on from the previous one: in Lecture 9 we worked vigorously on the pottery studio's cross section. In this lecture will apply the exact same techniques to ensure the longitudinal section exhibits complemtary information to more fully explain the architect's design intent.

Just like building sections, elevations can sometimes present a daunting prospect for the junior architect. 

But the key to a successful successful section is clarity and efficiency of technique. We promote the idea that, at least in the early stages of their career, students benefit from seeing the elevation as the simplest, most direct outward expression of the already created section. While, as their career in architecture progresses, students are free to develop more complex ideas about how their elevations should be expressed, in the early days a simple and replicable idea for the development of elevations is an essential foundation on which to build.

In the final tutorial of the series we show how:

• to create an A1 sheet in Photoshop

• to arrange scaled images on an A1 sheet to create a strong, comprehensive explanation of an architectural proposal

• to add basic text to label drawing images in a professional way

• generally arrange a presentation sheet in a basic yet professional way, particularly suitable for students working at the first and/or early second stage of the architectural course of study.