crash zone – crime zone - fire zone basic 3d tutorial · 2013-10-01 · crash zone – crime zone...

Basic 3D Tutorial

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Crash Zone – Crime Zone - Fire Zone Basic 3D Tutorial

It’s very difficult for most people to draw in 3D when they are looking at a 2D computer screen. For this reason,

most of your 3D diagram will actually be created in a 2D view. The program then automatically converts objects,

like line types and symbols, to 3D for you. There are some objects, like walls, that you manually assign 3D

attributes to give them a height and elevation. Once you have added the desired height values, just click the 3D

button to see your 3D model of the scene.

Since the program is a true Computer-Aided Drawing application, every point in your diagram has its (X,Y,Z)

coordinates stored with 16 decimal place accuracy. Your 3D model is as accurate as the measurements you use to

create your 2D diagram.

This tutorial will introduce just a few of the 3D features included in the drawing program. As you experiment more

with 3D diagramming, you will want to learn about the more advanced 3D features, including 3D Wall Evidence

(showing evidence on vertical surfaces), adding 3D roofs, lighting control, surfacing, posing 3D bodies, and so on.

Refer to the other portions of the electronic Help for more information on other 3D features.

Starting the Drawing

In this tutorial, we will start with a

predrawn, 2D diagram and learn how

to add 3D attributes to it, such as

elevation and height. This Figure

shows the Get Going 3D sample file

that we will be using initially.

Start Crash Zone or Crime Zone and

open the "Get Going 3D" Tutorial

drawing as follows:

1. Once the program loads, the

"Let’s Get Started" dialog box

appears on the drawing screen.

You can choose to open an

existing diagram from this

dialog box, or you can use the

Open command on the File pull-down menu.

2. Select the "Open" button from this dialog box.

3. Scroll through the diagrams listed in the “Open a Drawing” window.

Basic 3D Tutorial


If you are using the program’s default settings for saving diagrams, this file should be stored on your computer’s

hard disk in this location: My Documents\My Cad Zone\Diagrams

4. Scroll down and click on the name of the file called: Get Going 3D.CZD.

5. Click the OK button to open the drawing.

You should then see the 2D diagram, which we completed for you, displayed on the screen.

Adding 3D Walls

You use the 3D Builder tool to apply 3D height and elevation values to any entities in your 2D drawing. This is how

you can create buildings, tanks, stacks, sky bridges, room interiors, and almost anything you can imagine. The 3D

Builder also has settings for selecting wall and roof colors.

Now we will add 3D attributes to the walls in the diagram using the 3D building tools.

1. Select a wall in the diagram by clicking on it with your mouse. In this example, we selected the

lower wall of the diagram.

2. Select the 3D Builder icon from the Upper toolbar.

3. When the 3D Builder toolbox appears on the screen

enter a wall height of 8'.

4. Apply color to the wall by checkmarking the Wall

Paint option.

Basic 3D Tutorial


The wall paint color defaults to a teal green color. If another wall color is desired, simply click the down arrow to

display the drop down color menu. Choose a different color from the menu by clicking on it.

5. Click the Apply to Selected Object(s) button to finish the command.

Now let’s switch to the 3D View and look at the wall we just modified.

6. Click the 3D Viewer icon on the upper toolbar.

It takes a moment for the program to automatically build the 3D drawing, so a progress bar appears. The more 3D

objects that you have in your diagram the longer this process may take. When the 3D Viewer launches, all of the

symbols in the drawing (furniture, fixtures, and so on) are automatically converted to 3D. The single vertical wall is

the one on which we used the 3D Builder tool to assign it a height of 8’.

You may have to rotate the view of the 3D model to see it the way it is displayed here. Many of the icons along

the top toolbar of the 3D Viewer are used to change the view of the 3D model. You may want to experiment with

changing the view. Navigation will be discussed later in this tutorial.

Basic 3D Tutorial


Now, let’s return to the 2D view and continue to add additional height and elevation values to objects in the

drawing

7. While you are still in the 3D View, Click the 2D icon on the upper-

right of the screen to return to the 2D view.

Once you are back in the 2D view, you use the 3D Builder to continue adding height and elevation values to other

objects. Click the 3D button to switch to the 3D Viewer and see the changes. This process can be repeated as

many times as you like, working back and forth between the 2D program and the 3D Viewer until your diagram is

perfect.

Now we’ll finish building the additional 3D walls by following these steps:

8. Click on one wall, hold down the Shift key on the keyboard and click on the remaining wall sections

to select all of them together. Don’t forget the small, interior wall that separates the bedroom.

9. Click on the 3D Builder icon

(on the top toolbar) and

enter a height of 8' for the

walls.

10. Select the desired wall

color.

11. Click "Apply to Selected

Objects" to apply this height

to all of the selected the

walls.

12. Click the 3D icon to see

the results in 3D.

Basic 3D Tutorial


When you go into 3D, you may find that you didn’t select one or more of the walls and they still show as just a 2D

line. Go back into the 2D View, select them and use 3D Builder to assign a height.

Tip: When you select multiple objects and add 3D data to them, those objects are automatically grouped

together. Do not use the Ungroup command on the Edit menu to ungroup these objects, or their 3D data will be

lost.

Be sure to Save your diagram frequently to your computer’s hard disk.

Adding Custom Line Types

Many of the special Line Types in the program are displayed in the 3D Viewer as the 3D objects they represent.

Some of the custom line types that convert to 3D objects include fences, power poles. traffic cones, guard rails,

railroad tracks, and highway dividers. Other custom line types, such as footprints and skidmarks, are displayed in

the 3D Viewer as flat objects, like they are in 2D.

Next let’s go back to 2D mode and add a 3D fence to the diagram.

Basic 3D Tutorial


1. If you are still looking at the 3D view, click the 2D icon from the

3D Viewer Upper toolbar to return to the 2D Diagram Program.

2. Click the Zoom Out icon from the upper-toolbar so you can see more blank

space around the diagram.

3. Click on the Line Types button, under Properties, on the Left-hand toolbox.

4. Put your mouse pointer on the word Fences and notice the list of possible fences that pops out to

the right.

5. Select the Fence 10' line type, which is a chain link style of

fence.

Objects that you draw from now on (lines, circles, and so on) will have

this fence line type.

6. Select the Single Line command from

the Draw section of the left-hand

toolbox.

7. Click two points to draw a line next to

the building for the fence.

8. Now click the 3D Viewer icon to see the fence in 3D.

Basic 3D Tutorial


Changing Your 3D View

It’s important to become familiar with the 3D navigation tools that allow you to move through the 3D diagram

and view the scene from different angles. We’ll start by setting the Camera and Target heights and locations.

When you open a drawing in the 3D Viewer you can select a camera position (the view from where you are

standing) and a target position (the point at which you are looking). You can also define an elevation for both the

camera and the target. Depending on how you set these elevations, you can view the scene at eye level, as a

witness might have seen it, or from above or even from below the scene. You change the location of the target

and camera by dragging their symbols in the “2D Camera View” window. Whenever one of these targets is moved,

the 3D model is redrawn to show the new view as it relates to the repositioned target and camera.

One simple way to get a completely different 3D view is to use the isometric view buttons on the top toolbar. For

example, clicking the Northeast View button gives you this view:

Basic 3D Tutorial


There are six different flat, or 2D views you can

choose to display. You can think of the flat views

as displaying the scene from inside a glass cube.

Looking at each side of the cube gives you a

different 2D view of the scene. Select one of the

flat view icons from the upper toolbar, such as

the Top View.

The resulting 2D view is displayed.

You can also use the 2D Camera View window to drag the target and camera to new positions. The target symbol

represents the point at which you are looking, or the focus of the scene. To change the position of the target:

Basic 3D Tutorial


1. Move your mouse pointer inside the 2D Camera View

box that is initially in the upper-left corner of the 3D

screen.

2. Position your mouse pointer over the top of the red eye

symbol, which represents your position.

3. Hold down the left-mouse button, and drag the eye

symbol to a new location.

As you move the Eye symbol, the 3D view is automatically updated to be looking from the new point. Using the

same method you can move the green target symbol to see how it affects your view.

The elevation of the camera and target can be set by changing their respective values on the upper toolbar, at the

upper-right of the screen. For example, to look straight ahead (level) from eye level, you might set the camera

elevation to 5 feet and the target elevation to 5 feet. If you were looking down towards the ground at a body you

might set the target to an elevation of 1 foot and the camera elevation to 5 feet.

Basic 3D Tutorial


To simulate a view from a helicopter looking down to the ground you

could set the target elevation to 1' and the camera elevation to 400 ft. If

you were looking up at a cat in a tree you might set the camera elevation

to 5 ft and the target elevation to 25 ft.

Let’s adjust the camera height:

1. Position your mouse pointer inside the camera elevation field on the upper toolbar, click your left-

mouse button and type in a new elevation value of 5’6”.

2. Click in the green target elevation field and type in a new

elevation value of 0'.

3. Move the mouse pointer back onto the viewing screen and the view should change so you are

looking at the scene from an elevation of 5’6”, similar to what an adult would see when standing in

the room looking at the floor.

Tip: If you can only see the green wall, it means

the point of view is positioned outside the

room. If your mouse has a scroll wheel, scroll it

to move forward or backwards through the

scene. You should be able to go through the

wall into the room so the view is similar to the

figure shown here.

You can also change the camera and target elevations by clicking the up or downward slider arrows on the upper

toolbar. By default, clicking these arrows adjust the elevation value in 10' steps. This stepping increment can be

changed in the Preferences toolbox.

Set the Field of View Angle

In the 3D Viewer, you can adjust the "Field of View Angle" to a wider angle so you can see more of the image from

the same vantage point. A wider angle allows you to see more of the image, but also results in more distortion of

the image. A View Angle of 50 degrees is normal vision. The maximum allowed View Angle is 179 degrees.

Changing the field of view can help you see more of the picture in a confined area, but keep in mind that if you

use an angle larger than 50 degrees the picture most likely won’t represent the view as it would have been seen

from an individual at the scene.

Basic 3D Tutorial


Many settings, such as Field of View, can be adjusted in the Preferences toolbox. You

open the Preferences toolbox by clicking the “check mark” icon on the upper toolbar

of the 3D Viewer.

Walk Through Your Drawing

You can navigate through your 3D view using the Move (arrow) keys and Rotate keys located on the upper-

toolbar, or you can use a special keyboard method using the arrow keys on your keyboard’s numeric keypad, if

you have one. (Note, many laptop computers do not have a numeric keypad.) Pressing the arrow keys (up, down,

left, right) move you towards and perpendicular to the target, while the (+) and (-) keys rotate the view.

Tip: To use the numeric keypad to walk through your model, the Num Lock function must be turned off!

First, let’s adjust the elevation and preference values for a walk-through:

1. On the right side of the upper toolbar, set the camera and target

elevation to 5ft high, which is about eye level.

2. Select the Preferences icon to open the

Preferences toolbox.

3. Click in the Step Distance field and change it to 1'.

4. Click in the "Step Angle" field and change the value to 3 degrees.

5. Under the Camera/Target heading click on "Rotate Target around

Camera."

6. Click OK to apply the new preference settings and close the

Preferences dialog box.

If the Step Distance is too big you may find yourself jumping through walls

and out of position as you click the arrow keys. Larger Step Distances are

great for walking through large plants, cities, and other larger settings. For

moving around in even smaller spaces, for example inside a car, you might

want to set your Step Distance and Angle to 1 inch and 1 degree.

The "Rotate Target around Camera" method moves you through the drawing

in a manner simulating the Viewer turning their body (head and eyes) around

the view. The other option, "Rotate Camera around Target," gives a "lazy Susan" effect. This effect is ideal for

looking at the entire drawing from a high elevation.

Basic 3D Tutorial


Using the method discussed previously, adjust the target point and the initial camera position using the 2D

Camera View.

7. Drag the green target symbol to the point where you want to look, on top of the entertainment

center, in this case.

8. Drag the red camera symbol near the chair in the living room. This is the point where you imagine

yourself initially standing.

From this view you can see the coffee table, part of the couch, the door to the bathroom, and a portion of the

entertainment center. The bedroom wall hides the rest of the entertainment center. Now let’s walk through your

diagram using the keyboard arrow keys:

9. Make sure Num Lock is turned OFF.

10. Press the Up arrow key on the numeric keypad (the 8 key).

This moves the camera and target symbols 1’ in the direction of the target. If you imagine a line between the

camera and target symbols, the Up and Down arrow keys step the camera along that line, either towards or away

from the target. The Left and Right arrow keys step the camera in a direction that is perpendicular to this

imaginary line. The distance and angle between the camera and the target always remains constant.

Basic 3D Tutorial


11. Press the Up arrow several times to simulate taking several steps forward toward the

entertainment center.

If you were to continue moving in this fashion, you would probably run into the bedroom wall. You can continue

pressing the Up arrow and walk right through it, or use the left arrow key to move in a perpendicular direction.

12. Use a combination of the Up and Left

arrow keys to move along the wall until the

camera symbol is in the center of the opening

so you can see the entire entertainment

center as shown here.

Another way to change the direction you are walking

is to rotate your view with the + and - keys on the

numeric keypad. Press the + key to rotate the target

3 degrees counter-clockwise (the rotation stepping

value we set in the preferences toolbox). Rotating

the target is like moving your head and looking from

side to side.

13. Press the + key on the numeric keypad to

rotate the view counter-clockwise until you

can see the bed.

You may need to press the + key several to do this, or you can go to the Preferences dialog box and change the

Step Angle to a larger increment. Once you have turned in the direction you want to look, you can continue to use

the up arrow keys to move toward the target in 1' increments.

Mouse Navigation

You can also navigate around the scene by placing your mouse pointer in the scene and dragging the mouse up,

down, left, or right. Dragging the mouse upward toward the top of the screen is the same as increasing the

elevation of the camera, as if you are moving up away from the scene.

1. Place your mouse pointer near the center of the screen and hold down your left-mouse button.

2. Slowly drag the mouse upward and notice the view update.

3. Notice the value for the camera elevation at the upper-right of the screen has increased.

4. Dragging the mouse left or right rotates the view of the scene according to the options that are set

in the Preferences dialog.

5. Slowly drag the mouse to the right, then to the left and notice the view update.

Basic 3D Tutorial


In this case we set the rotation method to rotate the target around the camera and use a rotation increment of 3

degrees. You can change these options and drag the mouse left or right again to see the effect on the view.

Try these different techniques to move around your drawing for a while to experiment with obtaining a specific

view. Remember that you get the best views if you don’t get too close to objects in the drawing. Viewing the

diagram from further back allows you to better see the relationship of different elements at the scene.

Taking Snapshots

Once you are satisfied with a specific 3D view of your model, you can take a snapshot of it and save it to a .jpg

image file.

Snapshots are automatically saved to your Documents

folder, under a sub-folder called “My Cad Zone”.

1. To take a snapshot in the 3D View, click the camera icon on the right side

of the upper-toolbar.

2. Change the view and click the Snapshot icon again to take other snapshots.

3. Go back to the 2D view and the Snapshot dialog box is automatically

displayed, showing all the snapshots you created of this diagram.

4. Select one of the snapshots and click the Place button to place that

image in your 2D diagram.

You can also bring the snapshot images into a word processor or any other

reporting system that imports the standard .jpg image format.

Basic 3D Tutorial


This completes the Basic 3D Tutorial. There are many other 3D features included in the drawing program which

you will use to create more advanced 3D models. Be sure to experiment with the other features on the 3D pull-

down menu.