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Perspective in AutoCAD

The document provides instructions for using AutoCAD's dynamic view (DVIEW) command to create a 3D perspective view of a drawing. It describes how to select target and camera points to define the perspective, then manipulate the distance between them and the camera angle to refine the view. Additional steps include saving the perspective as a named view for later retrieval, and returning to an orthogonal plan view for editing.

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Ronald O.
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496 views

Perspective in AutoCAD

The document provides instructions for using AutoCAD's dynamic view (DVIEW) command to create a 3D perspective view of a drawing. It describes how to select target and camera points to define the perspective, then manipulate the distance between them and the camera angle to refine the view. Additional steps include saving the perspective as a named view for later retrieval, and returning to an orthogonal plan view for editing.

Uploaded by

Ronald O.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Perspective in AutoCAD

1. The perspective imaging program built into AutoCAD will prove itself
easier to do than manually constructing a perspective drawing of your
project the old fashion way. AutoCAD's DVIEW command stands for
"Dynamic VIEW." This means that as you manipulate the parameters of
perspective, you will be able to dynamically adjust your view and the
appearance of the drawing. This gives you a very powerful ability to
select the most pleasing view of the group of buildings.
2. The first step is to bring the drawing back into the plan view. Make sure
that you are in the World Coordiante System - type UCS<RET><RET>
(note the two carriage returns). Then type PLAN <RET><RET> (note
the two carriage returns). Zoom to extents, and then zoom to half of the
extents by typing Z <RET> .5X <RET><RET>.
3. Type DV<RET> on the keyboard (or select "View" from the pull-down
menu then "3D Dynamic View").
4. At the prompt "Select Objects:" select the area of the drawing you want
to view during the preparation of the perspective viewing by selecting
objects by placing a "window" around the entire drawing image.
5. At this point you will successively select the "TArget" point (where you
are looking toward), and the "CAmera" point (where you are looking
from). To do this, type PO <RET> (this stands for "POints"). You will be
prompted to select the location of the "TArget" point first. Pick one
corner of the building as your "TArget" point. Then you will be prompted
to select the "CAmera" point in the same manner. The "CAmera" point
means where your eye is placed in relation to the "TArget" point. In this
exercise, to set the "CAmera" point, pick the diagonally opposite corner
of the building for the "CAmera" point. The view will automatically
change to align with the camera to target vector. Note that both target
and camera are located at the ground level ("0" height elevation).
6. Next you will adjust the distance between the "CAmera" point and the
"TArget" point. Type D <RET>. This will bring up a slider bar at the top
of the screen where you can slide a pointer left or right until you have a
satisfactory size to the image. The Distance command will place your
eye on the diagonal line established by selecting the "TArget" and
"CAmera" POints, but will increase or decrease the actual distance
between them. The "TArget" remains where it was set, and the
"CAmera" moves along the line. The effect is that the object you are
looking at will become smaller or larger. Once the Distance between
the "TArget" and "CAmera" has been set, AutoCAD will switch to
perspective viewing, so that parallel lines converge, and vanishing
points are established.
7. Next you will change the angle of the line between the "CAmera" point
and the "TArget" point, through the "CAmera" command.
Type CA <RET> then move the mouse to fly up and around the
perspective dynamically. Do not dip the cursor below the center of the
screen, or you will be looking from under the drawing.
8. If you need to enlarge the image on the screen, you can change the
distance again - type D<RET> and use the slider bars. You cannot
use the standard AutoCAD Zoom command. The DVIEW Zoom
command is different from the standard AutoCAD "Zoom" command - it
allows you to change the length of your imaginary lens in your imaginary
camera, that is the lens to film distance. As you might expect, a 50mm
lens is a so-called "normal lens," a 30mm lens is a "wide angle," for
example, and a 800mm lens is a "telephoto lens." Note that as you
move your pointer mouse back and forth over the slider bar the status
line shows the resultant lens length, and the view will dynamically
change to show you what it will look like. The results of the view in
terms of potential distortion will follow that of an actual camera. What is
actually happening is that the "cone of vision" widens with a shorter
lens, and narrows with a longer lens. The DVIEW Zoom command does
not affect the distance between the "CAmera" point and the "Target"
point. This command will possibly take some time to get used to. You
should try out various lens lengths to see how it varies the perspective
view. I suggest a relatively short lens length, say about 30 mm, because
it increases the dramatic angularity of the perspective.
9. Type <RET> to end the perspective setup. This will bring you back to
the Command: prompt and out of the perspective imaging program.
The drawing will still appear in perspective view, and you will not be
able to edit it. You will need to return to an orthogonal view (i.e., a non-
perspective view) to edit your drawing.
10. Once you are pleased with your perspective view and you are through
tinkering with it, you should save it as a memorized "view." To do this,
type V<RET>. This will bring up the "View Control Dialogue Box."
Select the "New" button. Type in the name of this view P1. Then pick
the "Save View" button. Then pick the "OK" button. This view in its
perspective mode will then be able to be brought back "restored" in any
viewport.
11. To allow editing of the drawing, you should return to the "plan" view by
typing PLAN <RET><RET>.

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