| AutoCAD has been the standard Computer Aided Drawing (CAD) tool for at least the past 20 years. It is still standard in most markets and is important for any student of architecture, construction or design to understand.
| Adobe is another tool with many programs, like Photoshop, that is used by designers in nearly every field. Adobe Illustrator is extremely useful, if not vital, to the architect and student. Illustrator is like AutoCAD in that it is a program that draws lines and fills, but it is great at representational production like lineweights and patterns.
These programs work together for production in AutoCAD and presentation in Illustrator. Draw in AutoCAD and make lineweights, fills, and layouts in Illustrator.
| Vector vs. Raster:
AutoCAD is a Vector software. It thinks in lines that can be sca
led infinitely, and the files a
re very small. This makes it conducive to drafting documents.
A Raster program, like Photoshop, thinks in pixels, which are squares of color. These are not infinitely scalable, but are conducive to photographs and art which contain many shades of color.
»»»» For this project you will draw your plans, sections and elevations in AutoCAD. You will do your lineweights and fills in Illustrator and then make your presentation in InDesign (which we'll teach later).
| Now use this basic site plan linked below to make your own site plan. Open it in AutoCAD and add details. Save as a DXF. Open it in Illustrator and add more details. Do most of the following:
Add labels.
Do lineweights.
Add trees.
Add traffic symbols.
Create and add fills and poches (patterns).
Make your own diagrams and use multiple layers to make multiple diagrams.
Add any information that will communicate clearly what this site is.
| Other Site Plan/Diagram Examples:
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