(Estimated 3hrs with practical hands-on exercises and assignment)

In this module, we will go over some tools that will be relevant to what we do in the assignment. Some of the tools you will use right away and some may be related to the tools we examine which come in handy later on. They're all the tools that we will introduce to carry us through the logic of the course outlines which is to use exactly what's needed for the practice of Set Design. It's totally ok to explore and get ahead of yourself as this is a great way to learn Rhino but make sure to try to focus on the following tools that I show you! Most importantly have fun!

Drawing in 2D Rhino is good for:

-Drawing Plans (For Tech pack, construction drawings, etc)

-Drawing shapes that you can send for laser cutting or CNC cutting
-Use them to reference or create 3D shapes

In this module, we will talk about lines (called curves in Rhino). We will also cover related topics such as:

-Mouse -how to select and zoom with your mouse

-Going over the 4 views, using zoom icons, the zoom extends, and zoom selected

-Osnaps

-Zoom and Viewing icons and operations

-2D shapes (polygons), Circles, lines (curves), control point curves, Chamfer and fillet, the function of dup edge

-Aliases and shortcut keys

-Grouping objects – As would apply to 2D and 3D objects

After you've reviewed all the above, let's look at the following:

Assignment: Creating a simple 2D plan

Things to notice as you start drawing with Rhino is to pay attention to the sequence of what you need to do to proceed with your tools. In the beginning, it's important to notice why a command or tool is not working your way and chances are that you are not proceeding with the sequence of your actions correctly. Feel free to slow down the videos and duplicate the activity at a slower pace, Good luck!

In this section, we will review the environment for Rhino

If you're using Rhino on a mac here is a quick view of Rhino for mac:

https://vimeo.com/128160449

As there will be subtle differences in the interface in the videos, you may want to change the theme to windows as follows:

Navigate to Rhinoceros > Preferences > Themes and select Rhino for Windows

You may find that the environment on mac looks more simple and uncluttered but the two different interfaces will not look identical and will have subtle differences which you will be able to adapt to very easily.

Use your mouse for zoom, scroll, orbit (wide turns), and orbit (tight turns). Since working with your mouse and moving around is an essential part of the drawing, with a bit of practice, it should become something you do naturally and without thinking too much about it.

Try practicing combinations of zoom, pan, selecting, and orbit (perspective) in the different windows.

Different ways to select an object are also covered here.

Rhino has set up a generic 4 views, when you open the program and how to navigate them using your mouse.

Also, operations attached to viewing is your PAN (right mouse click pushed as you drag the mouse)

and ORBITING in Perspective view.

Other ways to control your view to emulate a 'camera' in Perspective mode are:

(mac users may be slightly different in key functions)

-Alt + Right click = zoom (same as the mouse tracker function)

-Shift + Right Click = Horizontal or Vertical Pan

-Ctrl + Alt + Right Click = Rotary Pan

- Alt + Shift +Right click = 'Camera tilt'

-Alt + Ctrl + Shift +Right click = Lenz adjustment (Fish eye to the extreme close-up)

Explore your Zoom select tab and explore the different options mentioned.

Zoom extends does a great job of letting you where your objects are in your entire viewport.

Sometimes when we draw lines, you will notice that the lines are actually located far from your working area when we apply zoom extends.

It also comes in very handy when you try more advanced operations like 'Make 2D' or 'unrollsrf' where the results are placed somewhere other than the area you're working on and to find it you have to use zoom extends and try to locate them. (it becomes normal after a few times)

Also, it may come in handy when you're working on an important project, and you notice that your Graphics card slows down and you can't seem to be able to zoom into a detail of your objects in the perspective view. some times the problem might manifest when you fall into what I call a 'quick sand' where you are scrolling endlessly, and then you find yourself transported right past your point of aim. This can be frustrating until you apply the remedy above!

Osnaps are your basics for drawing accurately in 2D and 3D. They allow you multiple options to 'snap' to different objects or lines (Curves) accurately together on:

Endpoints, Midpoints, intersections, centers, and much more.

I always keep at least the option 'end', and 'midpoint' checked while I go through my drawing. I will turn others on and off as needed.

Aliases are an important part of Rhino as you become more comfortable with the environment and the tools.

At the start, we may want to stick with the aliases that have been included in your Template but as you go along, try to create your own aliases to be able to do things faster.

In the downloads, you will see an example of a .txt file that you can download into your Aliases as shown in the video

Polygons are great if you are creating a circular/geometrical shape like a tower or something small, like a screw. Its control points give you added options. practice this and reference it as it will be sure to come in handy when you need it!

Once you have reviewed the shapes mentioned above, see if you can explore other shapes such as rectangles, ellipses, etc.

In this section, you will get to do an assignment using all the previous tools discussed in this section but you will also see some new useful tools that you can add to your tool kit such as:

-Picture command

-Using the Offset command

-Trim command

-Gumball to copy a line

-Distance command to measure

-Drawing an Arch for a door

You will be using the downloadable 'Napkin sketch' which sometimes comes across your way from the designer (Production Designer) or the Art Director. These rough sketches are for you to turn into a scaled drawing so that it can be understood, confirmed, and trusted as a workable design. Take this example of a sketch and create a 2-D plan in rhino, along with a window and door.

Things to notice as you start drawing with Rhino is to pay attention to the sequence of what you need to do to proceed with your tools. In the beginning, it's important to notice why a command or tool is not working your way and chances are that you are not proceeding with the sequence of your actions correctly. Slowing the videos down may help point out certain actions you may be missing within the sequences in the command line, Good luck!

In Section 2, we looked at making a simple plan. Even though there are many tools in Rhino, focusing on what we need here for the 2D drawing will help us not get overwhelmed in the program and get comfortable with these simple skills so we can build on top of them.

Section 3 is a follow-along video of how to create a Teck Pack using all the tools (plus a few more) that you've learned so far. As you go through the video, feel free to pause each step and follow along. It's okay to slow down the video so you don't miss any sequence of steps.

As you go through these sections, you will come across new tools and certain design terminology such as 'scale'

It can be anything relating to tools, or concepts (eg. grasping the idea of what is a scale tool. what is a scale toolbar? What are we talking about when we talk about the importance of the concept of scale in design?

Now that you've had a chance to do a Tech Pack assignment and put Rhino to work for you, it's time to take a look at a few other examples of this type of visual communication and get an idea of what works best in these different styles of drawing. All you see in the videos are good drawings but as a part of learning, let's look at things that are working and any improvements that can make them better. As a set designer, good practice and experience make you better at what you do. Sometimes reflecting back and looking at your drawings after a busy film project is a great way to pick out visual info that you may have missed which you can apply to your next project.

At a very minimum this type of visual communication should always include these minimum items:

-Clear and easy-to-read plan

-Scale ruler

-Title -The Art department coordinator and assistant usually package the drawings with the help of the art director / assistant art director, along with a consistent title block (Process and styles depends on the particular Art department)

-North Arrow

Because 2D communication is flat, Architectural standards have established a method where the closest object to you gets the heaviest line weight, and the use of a variety of line weights helps to create depth in a flat 2D image.

We use the command 'Printdisplay' to help us see the different 2d line weights as we draw in Rhino.

Tech Pack and specifically Tech Pack plans are used when all the heads of the departments go out and review scouted locations as well as build sets. The Tech Pak should contain visual communication to allow the group of various departments to discuss what they need for the Exterior or Interior of a chosen location or set. In this exercise, watch the video and follow along in the exercise to create a Tech Pack plan using Rhino. The downloadable includes the image from google maps which we will be tracing, however, it's important to practice extracting the image yourself from google (by using a tool, eg. a snipping tool in windows) so you can practice in case you need it for another Tech Pak assignment in the future.

The finished image of the Tech Pack is included in a jpeg format so you can see the level of detail normally expected for such a document. Make sure that our Tech Pack is very clear and free of any text or dimensions on the plan itself (with the exception of having information like street names on Ext. location plans etc) The idea is to have an uncrowded, clear space for different film departments to make notes and sketches. For Interior plans, don't include any visual information that is not attached to the actual construction or location of the set, such as pieces of furniture, etc. ( but you would definitely want to include the Bar in a nightclub because it's a permanent part of the set.)

Some tools and processes discussed in this video:

-'Picture' tool

-'Scale' tool (scale function tool which is not to be mistaken with scale toolbar found on maps).

-Properties/materials/transparency tool - To make your file transparent for tracing.

-Polyline

-Rectangle tool

-Trim tool

-Use Layers to Lock the items that you don't want to move such as a raster file that you're tracing.

Tip: Use and hold down the 'Alt' key while using the lasso for selecting so that you don't move the picture you are working on (This is for when the picture is not in a locked layer).

-Use the Gumbal tool to resize the Scale and Rotate the 2D objects.

-copy command

-Interpolate line tool

-Setting up a sheet size or Layout (8.5" x11")

-Resizing and reorienting your sheet

-Sizing and Locking your viewport in the layout

For creating the Scale Ruler, we draw a line inside our model (double-clicking, and once highlighted, drawing inside the viewport) this is to get a sense of the length of the scale ruler.

-Rectangle tool

-Move command

-Line tool

-Divide command

-Hatch command

-Double-clicking and change existing text.

-Extending the length of lines by clicking on the line and then lasso selecting the point after which you can.

move the point of the line to the desired length (using your Osnaps).

-Selecting points - By using the command 'Selpt' to select and delete unwanted points left around by the divide command.

-Using the Group command to group the Scale Ruler together and place where it needs to go on the plan.

PLEASE FOLLOW THE STEPS