How to Place Figures in Rhino & Combine in Adobe Suite

Foundations of Design: Representation Module 4 How to Place Figures in Rhino & Combine in Adobe Suite

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Step 1 Import .dwg file into Rhino

After you have modeled the old quad and set up cameras it is time to add some of your found figures into the view.

1) Import your .dwg figure file into Rhino.

File -> Import.

2) Your figure may import quite far way from the scale reference. Use the gumball or the ‘move’ command to bring it closer to the scale reference.

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3) Using the ‘move’ command bring the base of the figure to the bottom reference line.

4) Use ‘scale’ to increase the size of the figure to the desired height. You can use numbers if you know the height of your figure in millimeters.

(Remember the provided reference is a reference only and your figure does not need to be the same height)

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Step 2 Create Surface and Rotate

1) Rhino imports dwg files as blocks making them hard to edit. To change this use the ‘explodeblock’ command.

2) Now make sure that all of the curves are closed by using the ‘join’ command.

3) Now use the ‘planarsrf’ command to create a surface to your figure. Now it should be a solid silhouette.

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4) Now rotate the figure into the correct alignment using the gumball.

Remember you can either click on the rotational axis of the gumball and type 90 OR hold shift and rotate.

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Step 3 Position Figure in Scene & Make2D

1) Use the ‘move’ command to place the figure into your scene.

2) Change the view to your saved perspective view and position your figures to create the scene. For this example we have just copied the same figure multiple times. For the actual assignment a variety of figures and objects will be needed to create the scene. Ensure that the figures are on their own layers and that the view is set to shaded.

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3) Use the ‘Make2D’ command and select everything in the scene.

Remember to select right to left to ensure all objects are selected.

In the Make2D options box make sure the maintain source layer checkbox is ticked.

4) Make 2D can take a while depending on the computer and complexity of the scene. When it is done there should be a linework image of the view. Remember it might be very small, you can scale it larger if you like.

Make 2D always places your object at the 0,0,0 point.

5) Export your Make 2D to Illustrator.

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Step 4 Export Rendered View

We will need an image as a backdrop to provide surfaces and shading.

1) Return to the the perspective view.

2) Change the view mode to rendered.

To do this click the small arrow next to the viewport title and select rendered.

3) Next we need some shadows. Select the display tab on the right hand side of the workspace. Under general settings tick shadows.

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4) Now we need to use the ‘-viewcapturetofile’ command and save the image as a jpeg.

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Step 5 Combining the Files Into One Scene

Now we need to adjust the linework in illustrator.

1) Open the exported Make2D perspective file in illustrator.

2) Adjust the lineweights. Spend some time thinking about how lineweights can convey depth. Perhaps lines closer to the camera are heavier than those in the distance. Use a range between 0.1 & 0.5.

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3) When done, SAVE AS your illustrator file. Rhino exports illustrator in a different format and without doing a Save As other programs will struggle to open it.

4) Open your perspective render image in photoshop. Right Click -> Open With -> Photoshop.

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Step 5 Combining the Files Into One Scene

5) Once Photoshop has opened check that you are working in CMYK colour by selecting ‘image’ in the top left menu -> Mode -> CMYK. Then place your illustrator line-work into the file by selecting File -> Place Linked.

6) Adjust the illustrator drawing’s scale to match the image. Remember it should be ok to scale the illustrator file larger because it is a vector image.

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7) You can reduce the opacity of the linework layer so the lines appear softer.

To do this select the layer then adjust the opacity slider above it.

8) Next place your original figure png image. Again using the File -> Place Linked command.

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Step 5 Combining the Files Into One Scene

9) Once you have placed your png file press Control & T to transform the image. Alternatively you can click Edit -> Transform -> Scale. When adjusting hold Control and click the corner points.

This allows you to distort the image.

The aim is to align the png with the silhouettes we have created. It may take some time to get it accurate.

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10) Repeat with other figures/objects in the scene. In using the rhino silhouettes we can more accurately scale and distort the images to the correct size and perspective.

11) To bring the shadows through on top of the figure select the layers that have the figure images on them.

Then select the menu just above the layer window. It should say ‘normal’.

Change this to multiply.

12) Finally, export your image as a jpeg.

Addditional Photoshop techniques will be covered in Workshop 06.