A question....

[dimopoulos_d]

I've been trying to find a solution to this for a long time, and I just can't....

 

Is there a way, to trace an elevation, in prespective view with 3d snap on, and then extrude the spline in any axis you want, and not just the z axis, which is the default?

[Ricardo Eloy]

What, exactly, are you trying to achieve?

[dimopoulos_d]

When i model a building, i file link all the floor plans and elevations, and place them in the correct heights and positions so they fit all together.

Then i trace the floor plans from top view, and extrude to the appropriate height. So far so good....

If i have to create a spline, according to an elevation, then i have to switch to front or left viewport to do that, and there i have the problem. I have to face the whole mess of walls doors and windows, and it isnt easy to trace what i want. What i've been doing so far is either unfreezing the elevation and move it so i can see just that, or isolating it, so i can continue.

It would be way easier if i could create a spline in prespective view with 3d snap. But if i do that the extrusion will happen in z axis, which of course is not what i want.

I hope that now you understand what i mean....

[Ricardo Eloy]

I sometimes create from elevations myself... But normally I draw what I need on top/whichever view and then rotate the whole object... Keep in mind that drawing in perspective is always tricky, so you're better off drawing on the orthogonal views.

[dimopoulos_d]

Thanks Rick. You are propably right, but im just trying to speed up my workflow.

(or am I lazy? )

Generaly I try to work on prespective view with 3d snap. If you get used to it, its just as accurate and a lot faster than switching views.

[Ricardo Eloy]

One thing occured me: have you tried 2.5D snap? That would make your vertices all coplanar, which might help when extruding the lines. The only thing you'd have to do is moving the thing to its place in top view, but thats just like a 2 or 3 seconds job.

[Brian Smith]

I know one way to get the result your looking for in a different way but in the same amount of time. Just Edit Mesh your splines and go to Polygon subobject mode and Extrude there. Hope that helps.

[dimopoulos_d]

Yes I have tried it, but unfortunately it doesn't work also....

[notamondayfan]

i dont understand why changin view ports takes so long when u use the short cut keys?

[dimopoulos_d]

Brian, what you say works, but its a little messy. First of all when you do that you are missing 1 polygon, so you have to cap holes to go on.

And second I try to avoid converting to poly. I do it only when I have to, cause there's no way back.

But thanks anyway. I'll keep that in mind.....

[Brian Smith]

it does work...i use it a lot...you create the line in the Perspective view, Edit Mesh it, go to Polygon level, click Extrude...it's done...i don't know why it wouldn't work for you

[dimopoulos_d]

Notamondayfan the problem is not to switch viewports. Thats really fast.

The problem is having to isolate/freeze/hide whatever is in your way, between the spline you create and your frozen elevation. (and that is the whole building)

[dimopoulos_d]

Brian, your solution does work. Read my previous post. The "doesnt work" answer was to Rick. Sorry for the confusion

[Brian Smith]

i don't know why you'd be missing any polygons...and i don't know why you'd say there's no way back...unless you collapse to a mesh...if you add the Edit Mesh modifier you can still almost always change the original spline

[dimopoulos_d]

Brian, initialy i converted the line to polygon, and it ended up missing a polygon.

I dont know what happened.

Anyway i tried again with the edit poly modifier, and it worked, but the polygons were not facing the right way. Even if i fix that with an extra "normal" modifier, it is still more complicated than i want it.

Maybe i should check your method a little better. It could be the answer to my question, but maybe i need to get used to it...

[Brian Smith]

if you know how, you could always write a quick script...if it's something you do a lot

[dimopoulos_d]

Although i was a programmer, i've never tried that.

I'll add it on the long list of the things i should do....

[Tim Saunders]

That all seems like a pain to me. I'm with Rick on his early posts. Use 2.5d snaps from non-perspective or user views. Trace the elevation, and extrude. Then move to the correct position on the plan. this is normally a very fast method. I'm guessing the pain you are having is when you want the elevation isolated because a complex scene can get a lot of lines in there that you might accidentally snap on from a 2d viewport. If that is the case. there are several methods I use, some work better than others. listed in no particular order:

 

1-make a copy of the elevation by holding shift and moving it straight up and above the rest of the geometry. Trace the wall, window or whatever up there, then move the new created wall straight down to where it belongs.

 

2-select te elevation, right click, and click "isolate selection." after tracing the desired area, click the yellow box that says "exit isolation mode."

 

3-when you begin a model that you know you may have concerns with this, name the layers "front-wall-a, front-wall-b, front-glass-a, front-metal panel-a" or whatever you like. Then when you open the layer manager it is so easy to select multiple layers by holding control while you click, then click anywhere in the "hide" column, and it will hide all the selected layers in the layer manager. This is also very helpful if you have complete corridors, sections, or phases of a project within one scene file.

 

Ultimately, 2.5d snaps tracing the elevation in a 2d view will be the fastest, and most accurate.

[dimopoulos_d]

Thanks Timothy. The methods you described are the ones i currently use.

I was just looking for something even faster, but most likely there isnt one...

 

What i had in mind in the first place, was the hope that there might be a solution involving grids, and i didn't see anyone mentioning them.