i'm Strugling with transitioning from 2D to 3D in AutoCAD and strategies to overcome it.

[Silicon Valley infomedia Pvt. Ltd.]

Hey everyone,

I’ve been using AutoCAD for traditional 2D drafting for a while now, mainly for architectural projects. Recently, I’ve been trying to make the shift to 3D in AutoCAD, but the transition hasn’t been smooth. The concepts and workflow in 3D modeling feel overwhelming at times, and I keep defaulting back to 2D out of habit.

Has anyone here gone through the same struggle? How did you make the transition from 2D AutoCAD drafting to 3D modeling, especially in architectural projects? I’m particularly interested in how this shift connects to using Revit Architecture and incorporating Architectural BIM workflows. Are there any key strategies, resources, or tips to help bridge the gap?

Appreciate any input on how Architecture BIM Services could help simplify the process as well!

Thanks,
John

[Nathan Kaplan]

First off - you're not alone, there are plenty of us that came from CAD / CorelDraw backgrounds and are trying to shift from 2D thinking to 3D. I totally feel your pain, man!

Are you looking for more psychological / personal-workflow, or software-related strategies? Or a little bit of both?

Here's what I've found helpful so far, in no particular order:

1.) Play around with 3D concepts until you understand the geometry and thinking. It's no longer about lines and coordinates, it's vertexes / lines / faces / objects / groups / components. Some of this is easier to understand by reading tutorials / watching videos, because there's a lot of info that's not readily apparent, and you'll be struggling with items like "why is this thing flickering in the renderer" until someone explains that you have 2 faces "back to back" or overlapping and they have different materials, and the software can't decide which one to display.

For example, I found this channel whose host explains a lot of things very clearly, very quickly, without the typical Youtuber BS - https://www.youtube.com/@Thesketchupessentials - it's for Sketchup but many of the concepts are applicable to Revit and other 3D programs.

2.) Start with familiar tools that let you "extend" your workflow into 3D. Let's say you know AutoCAD - start practicing 3D modeling in AutoCAD. That way, you're not trying to jump the gap between 2D and 3D *thinking* and ALSO trying to learn an unfamiliar interface.

3.) Plugins are your friends. Sure, it's yet another drain of time & memory in terms of finding and learning things, but they can save an INCREDIBLE amount of time and aggravation. Including adding functions that the base software developers didn't even dream of - like scattering components on faces, "puffing out" multiple facets of an object at once, aligning & distributing things, creating roof assemblies, and so on.

If you find yourself struggling with a particular part of the process or task - chances are someone out there already had the same problem, went and wrote an extension for it, and now there's a solution. I don't know about Revit, but Sketchup has a MASSIVE plugin ecosystem, with the vast majority being free.

4.) Unlike 2D design / illustration, where you basically go from start to completed product in 1 platform - in 3D, you will typically have at least 2 or 3 "layers" of workflow - geometry, rendering, and post-processing.

You make the shapes in a modeler (geometry) program - AutoCAD, Revit, Sketchup, etc.
Then you add the "nicer" materials, more detailed lighting, weather effects, etc, in the renderer - "make it look real".
And typically you run the resulting images through something like Lightroom to polish them up & balance the colors as a batch, etc.

So that's another major change from 2D to 3D - understanding that it's a multi-layer process; you're NOT going to get to the end result in 1 shot.

Also, some aspects of each layer will "drift over" into others - for example, you can make a "whitebox" model in a modeler, with absolutely zero textures, and colorize it in a renderer. Or, do the renders with full aperture and apply background blurring / selective focus in Lightroom. 

5.) There are dozens of modelers, renderers, post-processing solutions, etc. Play around with different ones, see which fit your style / workflow / personal taste better.

6.) It's perfectly normal to use several different solutions for specific purposes; e.g. building modeling in Revit, but organic shape or character design in Blender or ZBrush; importing problematic DWG into Corel & fixing things, then importing the fixed DWG into Sketchup; processing a point-cloud scan in Blender & simplifying the geometry, then sending the simplified model to Revit. Each program has its own pros & cons.

7.) There are tons of either low-cost or free resources for models, textures, and other assets. Often, it's easier to just go on Sketchup Warehouse, 3DSky, Sketchfab, 1Miba, or Envato, and grab a nicely-made model of something rather than drawing it from scratch.