Use Hand Graphics in a Land F/X Workflow

• Intro/TOC
• When to Use Hand Graphics
• Moving into CAD
  • Equipment?
  • Importing Hand Graphics into CAD
• Using Hand Graphics in Details

0:00 – 4:35: Intro/TOC

4:36 – 11:07: When to Use Hand Graphics

When is it a Good Idea to Use Hand Graphics? (4:36):

• Concept brainstorming: Working with layers of trace paper
• REALLY quick concept for a client
• Initial sketches of details
• A high-skill hand-done touch for a final graphic (watercolor or pen & ink)

11:08 – 49:59: Moving into CAD

How to get hand graphics into CAD (13:35)

• Scan them and save them as JPGs, PDFs, PNGs, etc. (not TIFF files)
• Keep file size smaller than 10 MB (and smaller than 5 MB if possible)

Equipment? (15:00)

• Big flat-bed scanner
• 11-by-17-printer (bare minimum)

Importing Hand Graphics into CAD (19:00)

• Save the scanned files in your Base folder.
• Open the Xref Manager.
• Click the down-facing arrow and select Attach PDF (for PDFs) or Attach Image (for JPGs, PNGs, or other image files).
• Navigate to the scanned file and click Open.
• Check the Specify on-screen boxes under both Insertion Point and Scale.
• Do not check the Specify on-screen box under Rotation.
• Click OK to attach the hand graphic as an Xref.
• Select an insertion point.
• Use the ALIGN command to scale the image.
• Put the image on its own layer.

Drafting around the hand graphics (29:00)

• Saving a Layer State (30:20)
• Importing Reference Notes (36:10)
• Placing dynamic blocks & toggling between blocks (37:30)
• Copying a line of Reference Note objects with random rotations using the Copy along Line tool (42:50)
• Importing and placing plants (45:20)
• Freezing a Paper Space viewport using VP Freeze (active viewport freeze) (48:30)

50:00 – end: Hand Graphics in Details

Turning a hand graphic into a detail (51:07)

• Opening a drawing template (See our Sheet Setup and Metric Sheet Setup webinars, as well as our Drawing Templates documentation page.)
• Saving the drawing template temporarily into your project file
• Bringing in the PDF or image file of the hand graphic as an Xref
• Scaling the image
• Bringing in a Detail Template
• Saving the detail

Creating a copy of the layout (55:55)

Creating a sheet template (56:20)

Placing the detail on a sheet (56:50)

User comments on Hand Graphics (57:30):

• Hand graphics tend to keep clients more engaged by giving the impression that nothing is final.  
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• User comment: PDFs commonly cause problems; JPGs are generally a better option. (Amanda’s response: Yes, PDFs tend to bog down AutoCAD performance once they approach 10 MB. If you use PDFs, try to keep them under 5 MB. If you’re, for example, bringing in a 24-by-36-inch scan, we recommend saving it as a JPG.)