Hello there, welcome to this video! Let's see in a short time all the
features dedicated to 3D design inside Autodesk AutoCAD 2020!
Make sure to visit our YouTube channel and our official website for
extra tips, tutorials and giveaways in the future!
In our beginner tutorial we have seen all the basis to build a 2D project
with lines, circles, polygons and arcs. All of these lay on the ground
plane, made by the red X and the green Y axis. Whereas 3D objects spread
through all the three axes, with their base on the XY ground plane and
their height or depth on the Z axis, in blue color, showing vertices,
edges and faces.
To work with 3D objects you have to switch to any 3D View by either using
the 3D View Cube or the Orbit command on the right, applying with the
Escape key. On the 3D views, all the three axes are recognizable on the
preview.
At this point, you can start drawing 3D objects with all the tools inside
the 3D Tools tab above. If you do not see it, just right-click on top and
go to Show Tabs, 3D Tools.
You can draw three kinds of 3D objects: the 3D Solids, the Meshes and
the Surfaces. In this video we will take a look at just the first two.
The Solids are standard 3D objects with volume that you can draw with all
the tools inside the Modeling section. You can create regular objects such
as Boxes, Cylinders, Cones, Pyramids and Spheres by using the first button
from the left. You can also hover over each tool to get tips on how to use
each of these.
All the 3D objects are shown with simple lines without any volume, since
the basic Visual Style is set as 2D Wireframe by default. You can change
it to Realistic or X-Ray to show the solids volume and faces.
Other tools inside Modeling are used to create solids from 2D existing
objects. For example you can use Extrude to create a 3D Solid by adding
extrusion depth to a 2D object used as base, or Revolve to rotate a 2D
object used as section around a defined axis.
3D objects can be edited and managed just like 2D objects: click on any
object to select it, showing all the blue nodes to adjust the base shape,
any radius or extrusion depth. In case you use any 3D Visual Style you
also have a gizmo system that you can use to move the object along each
axis. On top you can also change the kind of Gizmo to size and rotate
according to each axis.
In addition, you can use the advanced tools inside Solid Editing above to
unify, subtract or intersect solids together to create new complex shapes.
The Meshes are another kind of 3D objects made by lots of smaller polygons
which can be edited singularly to design complex shapes with excellent
precision. You can drop meshes with regular shapes by using the drawing
tools below Modeling, in order to start designing from these. You can also
convert any solid into a mesh to customize its shape by selecting it and
going to Convert to Mesh above. This works fine on solids that can be
easily divided into polygons, such as boxes or pyramids.
These meshes can be edited entirely just like the solids, but you can also
act on each single polygon by holding down the CTRL key, selecting the
ones interested. By moving and editing these you also customize and design
the shape of the overall mesh.
You can also increase or decrease the smoothness level to adjust the
curved edges and faces, using Mesh Refine to increase the number of
polygons if you need major accuracy.
When the mesh is ready, you can convert it to a 3D solid by using the
CONVTOSOLID command, applying with the Enter key.
Now let's see all the features to preview and render your project.
Inside the Visualize tab, you can open the Materials Browser to apply
several materials to 3D objects to add proper transparency, reflectivity
and color to these. At first you just have the default Global material,
but you can import others inside your project by dragging and dropping
these from the bottom to the top. Then, select any object from the
workspace and click on the interested material to apply it. You can also
apply materials to single faces by selecting these with the CTRL key.
Inside the Visualize tab, you can also add artificial Point and Spot lights
and build an environment with the Sun & Location section to make your
preview more realistic.
Below the 3D View Cube click on the down arrow and choose Perspective View
to add the horizon. Then, you can use Sky Background to add sky and enable
Sun Status to add sun light, setting date and hour. You can also adjust
the shadow options inside the Lights section.
To render your current project view and check its final appearance, use
the Render button above, adjusting resolution size and quality next to it.
Thanks for watching this overview! Check our YouTube channel to discover
more regarding 3D design, surfaces and rendering with Autodesk AutoCAD!