3D Modeling Special Interest Group – September 2019

In this session, we used 3D modeling to build appliances, demonstrated how the 3D modeling history has been improved in Vectorworks 2020, created the complex form of a sail for a boat, and built a ceiling light.

Topics Covered:

• 00:55    The Vectorworks libraries have many 3D appliances, but how would you approach building your own 3D model of an appliance? We covered the steps needed to quickly model an appliance. We made a base with tapered feet and added an image prop of an oven on the front. You can add Vectorworks Guides—that show the spacing you want on the appliance’s back and sides when you are placing it—that are automatically placed on a Guides class so that you can easily turn them on and off. We turned our model into a symbol, reviewing the different options. For some symbols, I like to add a 2D loci to help with placement. The modeling process we used gave us a good-looking model in a short amount of time.
• 14:52    It used to be that after we’d filleted the edges of a 3D shape, we’d have use the trick of ungrouping the shape if we needed to go back to previous steps. In Vectorworks 2020, they’ve improved the 3D modeling history so that you no longer have to use this workaround. We went through an example of how this works.
• 19:40    A sail for a boat has a complex shape. We experimented with the best way to model one in 3D. We found it very helpful to use multiple panes and the Reshape tool while constraining along the X axis or Y axis. We used the Loft Surface tool to get the sail’s surface. One trick was to click on the same end of each of our rails, or the sail would come out all twisted. Once we finished our first sail, we experimented with other techniques—such as using the Project tool—to see how that affected the look.
• 45:20    We finished the session by creating a ceiling light. I like to put two light sources in a light, one pointing up toward the ceiling and one pointing down. Another trick is to change the Display light objects setting to the Only in wireframe option so that the light objects won’t show in a rendered view. Next, we saved the can and the two light sources as a symbol. At the end, we just needed to adjust the light object pointing down so that we had enough light hitting the floor. Another trick is to use the Area Light command to add more general light in a room!

3D Modeling August 2019

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