I’m very new to this software and have tried to go through the tutorials and documentation, so I apologize if this is very basic question, but I can’t find an answer to my own. I’ve built a sketch of some changes I want to make to my backyard patio by adding a pergola and removing some planters. I’d like to make a basic rendering of it so my wife and I can see if the changes look good to us. I’m trying to find out if there is a way to export an image file that doesn’t have all the black squares for all of the corner points in the shapes. Hope that makes sense.
I’m guessing you are referring to endpoints on the lines. Go to the Styles window, click on the Edit tab and select the wire frame cube you’ll see below the tabs. Untick the box for Endpoints. Also untick the box for Extensions if it is ticked. Does that give you a better look?
It’s hard to see how you could get a better look at the changes than by viewing and interacting with the 3D model on-screen. A static 2D rendering provides a relatively limited viewing experience compared with the dynamic 3D model itself. I personally modeled the house I eventually built and live in now about eight years before I actually made the move, and during those years I had an opportunity to get an amazingly realistic and detailed look at the place inside and out. I feel that I’ve walked these rooms and hallways years before they existed in reality.
Aside from that, the black squares at the corners are a “style” effect. You can eliminate them from the on-screen presentation and any 2D output by going to Window > Styles > Edit > Edge Effects and turning off Endpoints and Extensions.
-Gully
Thanks Gully! You are absolutely right that being able to interact and move around on-screen is the best way to see the results. But I need to be able to email shots to my wife as I make changes since she’s not always around to look over my shoulder. I’d like to provide a cleaner view, and now I can thanks to your tip.
Cheers!
-Nick
It does! Thanks DaveR!
That’s funny; when I was married, it seemed like my wife was looking over my shoulder every minute of the day.
-Gully
LOL! I’ve definitely been there.
-N
You can create named scene pages for different views so you can come back to them and export a 2D graphic image file later from the same exact camera position. Scenes can also have different style settings from other scenes.
As far as “looking good” … that would likely mean applying materials to faces in the model. (Materials can be simple colors, or also have image textures embedded.) See the help on using the PaintBucket tool and the Materials Manager.
Often a “work” scene page will have textures and fancy edge styles off, and export scene will have the fancy things turned on.
Use File > Export > 2D Graphic… (and choose the image type from the dropdown list,) … give your export a name (it often helps to include a date or revision number in the name,) browse to where you wish to save the image, and click the “OK” button.