Explore the intricate process of background image rendering, including how to attach an image file, adjust its position in relation to the building, and manipulate ImageFrame variables. The article also demonstrates how to use the Wipeout command and the Insert block function to enhance the rendering.
Key Insights
- The article explains how to attach a background image to a rendering, adjusting its scale and position, and modifying its drawing order to ensure the building is not obscured.
- It discusses the ImageFrame command and its three variables (0, 1, and 2), which determine whether the ImageFrame border is visible in the drawing and/or the plot.
- The article also demonstrates the use of the Wipeout command and the Insert block feature to enhance the detail of the rendering, including techniques to trace building outlines and add elements such as trees.
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Let's bring in a background image for our rendering. So I'm going to go to the Insert tab, Reference Attach, and what I want to attach is not a drawing, but instead I want to attach an image file. So I'm going to select All Image Files, and there's an image file called CAD302Garden.jpg. I'm going to go Open, Specify on Screen.
I'm going to deselect Scale because I've already sized this image for you. I'm going to go OK, and I'm going to pop the image in at the end right there. Now, you can see that the image is hiding our building, so I'm going to go back to the Home tab, go to Modify, go to Drawing Order, choose Send to Back.
I'm going to send to back that image, and so that image is now behind the building, and I'm going to Save. If I were to go Plot and do a Preview, do you see how there's a border around the image? So what I'm going to do is there's a command called ImageFrame, I-M-A-G-E-F-R-A-M-E. ImageFrame has three variables, 0,1, and 2. If the ImageFrame variable is set to 1, then the ImageFrame border prints.
If the ImageFrame border is set to 0, you can see that it turned off. When I plot, you can see that the border is not showing. When ImageFrame is set to 0, I don't see the ImageFrame border on my image itself.
I can always go to the edge and delete it, move it, whatever. There's also another variable called ImageFrame2, so the values are ImageFrame0,1, and 2. When the ImageFrame value is set to 2, I see the border in the drawing, but if I were to go plot it, the border itself would not plot. So again, typically, most of us keep our ImageFrame variable set at 2 so that we can see the ImageFrame border in our drawing, but knowing that the border will not plot.
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So I'm going to save the file. We've taken our background image and moved it behind the geometry so the geometry is presented. The thing is, we'd really like to have the house block out the background image.
So I'm going to begin by drawing a polyline, and I'm just going to trace the outside of the house. I'm just going to start from a point, and I'm just going to work around the house. So I'm simply going to make a relatively simple polyline, in this case going to the mid, go to the end, working my way around.
I'm not going to get overly detailed as we go through because you can understand the process of what's happening. Again, I'm making a polyline that's going to be tracing around the building, and we're almost there. So please pardon me for one more moment.
I've gotten to the bottom. I'm going to just pick in space and then C to close, and save the file. There is a command called Wipeout.
Underdraw the Wipeout command, and you can see that we have two options, one for frames and one for polyline. So I'm going to choose the polyline option. I'm going to select the closed polyline, and it's saying do I want to erase the polyline, yes or no? I'm going to say no.
So what it's done is it's wiped out the image, but if I were to go plot and do a preview, do you see how the frame around the Wipeout is being displayed? So what I'm going to do is I'm going to undo. I'm going to go back into Wipeout. I'm going to first choose the frame option, and I'm going to say do I want to display but not plot.
I'm going to say off, turn off the frame, and then go back into Wipeout, choose the polyline, and Wipeout erased the polyline. And no, don't erase the polyline. Then I'm going to take my house, and I'm going to say display order, so tools, drawing order, bring to front, save the file again, and now when I plot the drawing, because I've moved the geometry in front, you can see that my Wipeout command has in fact blocked out the image in the back.
So this is a little bit cumbersome, but it does do nice things. I'm going to save the file. There's one more thing I would like to do on the rendering, which is to bring in a tree.
So I'm just going to go to insert, block insert. I'm going to go to browse. I have my landscape tree.
Specify insertion point on screen. Okay, I'm dragging it in. I'm just going to plant the tree nearest to this line right there.
What I'm going to also do to make sure that this tree is in front of the house, I'm going to go to drawing order, tools, drawing order, bring to front, so I brought the tree to front, control S to save, plot the drawing, go to preview, and you can see that we now have our tree in front of the house. I'm going to hit escape, cancel, control S to save. The last thing I want to do is to position the rendering, so I'm just going to go to home tab, choose move, crossing.
I'm going to move from the end of the image to the end up here, and then move previous selection set, arbitrary base point at minus 1.5, minus 1.5. So again, I'm just moving the image a little bit away from the corner. Zoom extents, save the file. Again, I can go to plot, I can do a preview, I see the image there.
I'm just going to do right button plot, and I'm going to make sure that I'm saving it on my C drive, in my CAD 302, and the name of the file I'm going to be using right now. You can see it says VDCI title sheet 100, and then this is the layout itself. I'm just going to delete that out, so that I'm not carrying the layout information in the file name.
There's my image so far. If you would please get this far, and then we'll start adding some more notes onto our title sheet.
