CHAPTER 2
Gaining Basic Drawing Skills

Exercise 2.2: Draw Lines

Lines are the backbone of AutoCAD. Let’s begin drawing lines. To start, open the file Ex02.2-start.dwg from this chapter’s companion files.

1. Press Z and Enter twice to accept the command’s default option. Position the cursor over the lower-right portion of the floor plan and drag upward to zoom so that the empty space of the living room fills the canvas.
2. Turn off all status toggles in the application status bar if they are not off already. Status toggles are highlighted in blue when they are on and appear in gray when they are off (see Figure 2.6). The exception to this rule is Graphics Performance, which is always blue if your graphics card’s hardware acceleration is active. Open the Customization menu (last icon on the right) and toggle off Graphics Performance.

   

3. Type L (for LINE) and press Enter. Click two arbitrary points to define a line object (see Figure 2.7).

   

4. Click another point to draw your second segment. The prompt on the command line reads as follows:

   LINE Specify next point or [Undo]:

   Press the down-arrow key and then click Undo in the dynamic menu that appears near the cursor. The last point you clicked is undone, but the rubber band continues to be connected to the cursor, indicating that you can keep drawing lines.

5. Click two more points and then type C (for the Close option) and press Enter to create a closing segment between the first and last points. The Close option automatically terminates the LINE command.
6. Press the spacebar (or Enter) to repeat the last command (LINE). Click two arbitrary points to create a single line segment. Right-click to open the context menu and then select Enter with a left-click to complete the LINE command.
7. Open the Application menu and click the Options button at the bottom. Click the User Preferences tab in the Options dialog box that appears. Under the Windows Standard Behavior section, select Right-Click Customization and then, in the new dialog box, select Turn On Time-Sensitive Right-Click (see Figure 2.8). Click Apply & Close and then click OK in the Options dialog box.

   

8. Select the Home tab in the ribbon and click the Line tool in the Draw panel. Click two points and draw another line. Right-click quickly to terminate the LINE command.

   

9. Right-click again to repeat the last command and then click two points on the canvas. Next, slowly right-click (holding down the right mouse button for longer than 250 milliseconds, to be precise), and you’ll see the context menu shown in Figure 2.9. Left-click the word Enter in this menu to complete the LINE command.

   

10. Save your work. Your model should now resemble Ex02.2-end.dwg, which is available among this chapter’s companion files.

Exercise 2.3: Draw Rectangles

Line segments are treated as individual objects, whereas the four line segments comprising a rectangle are treated as a single entity. Although rectangles can obviously be drawn with the LINE command, specialized commands such as RECTANG are more efficient for constructing specific shapes, and they offer more options. Let’s experiment now with this feature. To begin, open the file Ex02.3-start.dwg from the Chapter 2 companion files.

1. Click the Rectangle tool in the Draw panel and then click two opposite corner points on the canvas. Unlike the LINE command, this command automatically terminates when the rectangle is drawn.

2. Press Enter to repeat the last command. This time pay attention to the prompts in the Command window.

   
   RECTANG Specify first corner point or
   [Chamfer Elevation Fillet Thickness Width]:
   

   You have the opportunity to use any of the options listed in the square brackets before you even begin drawing the rectangle. However, in this case you will use the default option, which comes before the word or.

3. Click the first corner point in the document window. A new prompt appears.

   
   RECTANG Specify other corner point or
   [Area Dimensions Rotation]:
   

   At this point a new command prompt shows another default option before the word or as well as a few options in square brackets. You will again take the default option in this prompt, which is to specify the other corner point.

4. Click the other corner point, and the rectangle is drawn. In addition, the command is automatically terminated.

5. Type REC (for RECTANG) and press the spacebar. Type F and press Enter to execute the Fillet option. The command prompt reads as follows:

   
   Specify fillet radius for rectangles <0′-0″ >:
   

6. Type 2 (or 5 for metric) and press Enter.
7. Click two points to draw the rectangle. The result has filleted corners (see Figure 2.10).

   

8. Draw another rectangle and observe that it also has rounded corners. Some options such as the fillet radius are sticky; they stay the same until you change them. Zero out the Fillet option by pressing the spacebar, typing F, pressing Enter, typing 0, and pressing Enter again. Click two points to draw a sharp-edged rectangle.
9. Save your work. Your model should now resemble Ex02.3-end.dwg, which is available among this chapter’s companion files.

Exercise 2.4: Correct Mistakes

The following exercise will show you how to cancel, erase, and undo. To begin, open the file Ex02.4-start.dwg from this chapter’s companion files.

1. Type L and press Enter. Click two points on the canvas and then press the Esc key; the LINE command is terminated, but the single segment you just created remains. The Esc key will get you out of any running command or dialog box.

   

2. Type E and press the spacebar. Click the line created in step 1 and then right-click; the segment is erased.
3. Click the Line tool in the Draw panel, click four points on the canvas (making three segments), and then right-click to finish the LINE command.

4. Click each of the segments, one at a time. Blue grips appear on the lines’ endpoints and midpoints (see Figure 2.11). Grips are used for editing, and you’ll learn more about them in Chapter 4, “Editing Entities.” In the meantime, it’s helpful to know that if you press the Delete key, the lines are gone.

   

   

5. Click the Undo arrow on the Quick Access toolbar. The lines you deleted in step 4 reappear.

   

6. Click the Redo button, and the lines disappear again.
7. Undo again and, without issuing any command, click two points around the same three lines to create a selection window completely surrounding them. Press the Delete key to erase the selected objects.
8. Click the Undo button’s menu arrow. A list of all the commands you’ve issued in this session appears. Select Erase from the menu to undo the previous step.
9. Save your work. Your model should now resemble Ex02.4-end.dwg, which is available among this chapter’s companion files.

Exercise 2.5: Use Absolute Coordinates

Coordinates can be absolute or relative, no matter which coordinate system is used. Let’s first focus on drawing a line using absolute coordinates. To begin, open the file Ex02.5-start.dwg from this chapter’s companion files.

1. Click the Line tool on the Draw panel. The prompt in the Command window reads as follows:

   
   LINE Specify first point:
   

   Type 0,0 and press Enter. The origin point of Euclidean space has coordinates 0 in x and 0 in y, which is written as 0,0.

2. Now the prompt in the Command window reads as follows:

   
   LINE Specify next point or [Undo]:
   

   Type 3′,0 (or 90,0 for metric) and press Enter. Right-click to finish the LINE command.

3. Save your work. Your model should now resemble Ex02.5-end.dwg, which is available among this chapter’s companion files.

Exercise 2.6: Use Relative Coordinates

Calculating where every object is in relation to the origin point (which is what absolute coordinates require) would be far too cumbersome in practice. Therefore, relative coordinates are used more frequently. Let’s explore how to use them. To begin, open the file Ex02.6-start.dwg from this chapter’s companion files.

1. Click the Line tool on the Draw panel. Click an arbitrary point in the middle of the living room. The coordinates of the point you clicked are unknown; thankfully, with relative coordinates you won’t ever need to find out what they are.
2. Type @3′,0 (or @90,0 for metric) and press Enter twice.

3. Press Enter to repeat the last command. You’ll see this prompt:

   
   LINE Specify first point:
   

4. Right-click in the drawing canvas and hold (for longer than 250 milliseconds) to open the context menu. Select the first coordinate value from the Recent Input menu (see Figure 2.13).

   

5. Type @0,6′ (or @0,180 for metric) and press Enter. A line measuring 6f (or 1.8m) is drawn vertically along the y-axis.
6. Type @-3′,0 (or @-90,0 for metric) and press Enter. Type @0,-6′ (or @0,-180 for metric) and press Enter twice to complete a rectangle.

7. Click the Rectangle tool on the Draw panel and then click an arbitrary point at the bottom of the living room. The prompt reads as follows:

   
   RECTANG Specify other corner point or [Area Dimensions Rotation]:
   

8. Type @3′,6′ (or @90,180 for metric) and press Enter. The same rectangle that you more laboriously drew with lines is already done.
9. Save your work. Your model should now resemble Ex02.6-end.dwg, which is available among this chapter’s companion files.

Exercise 2.7: Use Polar Coordinates

Polar coordinates are another useful way of measuring Euclidean space. In polar coordinates, points are located using two measurements: the distance from the origin point and the angle from zero degrees (see Figure 2.14). East is the default direction of zero degrees.

Let’s explore how to use polar coordinates. To begin, open the file Ex02.7-start.dwg from the Chapter 2 companion files.

1. Click the Line tool on the Draw panel. Click an arbitrary first point in the living room; then type @3′<45 (or @90<45 for metric) and press Enter to end the LINE command.

2. Press Enter to repeat the last command. Click an arbitrary first point, move the cursor up and to the left, type 3′ (or 90 for metric), and press Enter twice. A 3f (or 90 for metric) line is drawn at an arbitrary angle.

3. Press L and then press the spacebar. Click an arbitrary first point, type @4′<180 (or @120<180 for metric), and press Enter. The line is drawn to the left from the first point because 180 degrees is the same direction as angle zero but leads in the opposite direction.
4. Type @3′<–90 (or @90<-90 for metric) and press Enter. Negative angles are measured clockwise from angle zero by default. Press C and then Enter to close the 3:4:5 triangle you’ve just drawn.
5. Type UCSICON and press Enter. UCS stands for user coordinate system. You, the user, can change the coordinate system’s orientation. Type on and press Enter. An icon indicating the directions of the positive x- and y-axes is displayed in the lower-left corner of the canvas (see Figure 2.15).

   

6. Type UCS and press Enter. The prompt in the Command window reads as follows:

   
   UCS Specify origin of UCS or [Face Named Object
   Previous View World X Y Z ZAxis] <World>:
   

   There is much you can do with the UCS, but here you will simply rotate the UCS about its z-axis (the axis coming out of the screen). Type Z and press Enter.

7. Type 90 and press Enter to rotate the coordinate system. Observe that the UCS icon has changed to reflect the new orientation (see Figure 2.16).

   

8. Type PLAN and press Enter. The prompt in the Command window reads as follows:

   
   PLAN Enter an option [Current ucs Ucs World] <Current>:
   

   The option in the angled brackets, <Current>, is what you want, so press Enter to make this selection. The house is reoriented with respect to the current UCS (see Figure 2.17).

   

9. Click the Line tool on the Draw panel. Click an arbitrary first point in the living room, type @3′<45 (or @90<45 for metric), and press Enter twice to end the LINE command. The new line has a different orientation with respect to the original line you drew in step 1 (see Figure 2.18).

   

10. To restore the current coordinate system to its original state, called the world coordinate system (WCS), type UCS and press Enter twice. Then type PLAN and press Enter twice more. The plan is oriented to the WCS as it was initially.
11. Save your work. Your model should now resemble Ex02.7-end.dwg, which is available among this chapter’s companion files.

Exercise 2.8: Create Circles

Let’s draw some circles on the kitchen stove to represent the burners. To begin, open the file Ex02.8-start.dwg from this chapter’s companion files.

1. Zoom into the stove in the kitchen. Two of the burner circles are missing, and you will draw them.
2. On the Home tab, take a look at the Layer drop-down menu in the Layers panel and observe that Furniture is the current layer (because you see its name without having to open the drop-down). Open the Layer drop-down menu and select Equipment as the current layer (see Figure 2.19).

   

3. You will use preexisting points as guides in drawing the burners. However, the points are difficult to see right now because they are represented as single pixels. Expand the Utilities panel on the Home tab and select Point Style or type PTYPE and press Enter. In the Point Style dialog box, select the X icon and click OK (see Figure 2.20).

   

   

4. Click the Circle tool on the Draw panel. Before you click a center point, hold down Shift and right-click to open the Object Snap context menu.

   

5. Select Node from the context menu (Figure 2.21) and then click point A (shown in Figure 2.22). The prompt in the Command window reads as follows:

   
   CIRCLE Specify radius of circle or [Diameter] <0′-0″>:
   

   Type 3g (or 8 for metric) and press Enter to create a circle with a radius of 3″ (or 8 for metric).

   

   

6. Right-click to repeat the last command. The prompt in the Command window reads as follows:

   
   CIRCLE Specify center point for circle or
   [3P 2P Ttr (tan tan radius)]:
   

   Type 2P to indicate the two-point option and press Enter. Hold down Shift and right-click to open the Object Snap context menu. Select Node and then click point B (shown in Figure 2.22).

7. Hold Shift again, right-click, and choose Node. Click point C (shown in Figure 2.22), and the CIRCLE command is completed.
8. Click the arrow under the Circle tool in the Draw panel and select 3-Point. Shift+right-click and select Tangent. Click the circle you drew in the previous step.
9. Hold Shift, right-click again, and type G. Notice that this letter is underlined in the word Tangent in the context menu (refer to Figure 2.21). Click the circle on the bottom left.
10. Type TAN, press Enter to invoke the Tangent object snap, and click the circle on the lower right. You can type the first three letters of any object snap as an alternative to using the context menu. AutoCAD draws a circle precisely tangent to the three others (see Figure 2.23).

    

11. Erase all three point objects and the last circle you drew to leave the four burners of the stove.
12. Save your work. Your model should now resemble Ex02.8-end.dwg, which is available among this chapter’s companion files.

Exercise 2.9: Create Arcs

Arcs have more options than circles because of the complexities of the geometric situations in which arcs can be drawn. In the next set of steps you will use one such arc option to draw a door swing. To begin, open the file Ex02.9-start.dwg from this chapter’s companion files.

1. Pan and zoom into the bathroom by dragging and rotating the mouse wheel.

2. Select Doors from the Layer drop-down menu in the Layers panel.

   

3. Click the Arc tool’s drop-down flyout menu in the Draw panel, which is indicated by the arrow under the word Arc. Select Center, Start, End. This is the sequence in which information must be entered.

   

4. Type INT, press Enter to invoke the Intersection object snap, and click the center point A shown in Figure 2.24.

   

5. Hold Shift and right-click. Select Endpoint from the context menu and click the start point B (shown in Figure 2.24).
6. Type END, press Enter, and click the arc endpoint C (shown in Figure 2.24). The arc appears, and the command is completed.
7. Save your work. Your model should now resemble Ex02.9-end.dwg, which is available among this chapter’s companion files.

Exercise 2.10: Draw Polygons

When you want to draw triangles, squares, pentagons, or any figure having equally sized edges, use the POLYGON command. You can draw these shapes inside or outside a circle or specify the edge length, as shown in the following steps. To begin, open the file Ex02.10-start.dwg from the Chapter 2 companion files.

1. Select the Home tab if it’s not already active. Make the Furniture layer current by selecting it from the Layer drop-down menu in the Layers panel.

2. Zoom into the living room.

   

3. Click the Rectangle tool’s drop-down flyout and select the Polygon tool. The prompt in the Command window reads as follows:

   
   POLYGON Enter number of sides <5>:
   

4. Type 4 and press Enter to draw a square.

5. The command prompt now reads as follows:

   
   POLYGON Specify center of polygon or [Edge]:
   

   Type E and press Enter to specify an edge length and direction. Click a point somewhere in the living room as the first endpoint of the edge, type @2′<0 (or @60<0 for metric), and press Enter to specify the second endpoint of the edge relative to the first one, using polar coordinates in this case. A 2f (or 60 in metric) square appears.

6. Press Enter to repeat the last command, type 6, and press Enter to draw a hexagon. Click a point in the living room where you want to center the hexagon. The prompt now reads as follows:

   
   POLYGON Enter an option [Inscribed in circle
   Circumscribed about circle] <I>:
   

7. Press Enter to accept the default Inscribed In Circle option.
8. Type 1′ (or 30 for metric) as the radius of the circle and press Enter. A hexagon fitting inside a 1f (or 30 in metric) radius circle appears (see Figure 2.25).

   

9. Save your work. Your model should now resemble Ex02.10-end.dwg, which is available among this chapter’s companion files.

Exercise 2.11: Join Nonparallel Lines

Fillet and Chamfer can be used to join lines that are crossing as well as lines that don’t meet. Chamfer doesn’t work on parallel lines at all, but Fillet will create a half circle connecting the endpoints of parallel lines, regardless of the fillet radius. Let’s explore the FILLET and CHAMFER commands. To begin, open the file Ex02.11-start.dwg from this chapter’s companion files.

1. Position the cursor on the canvas and type CHA (for CHAMFER) or select Chamfer under the Fillet icon in the Modify panel. Press Enter and then press the down-arrow key to expand the command’s options.
2. Press the down-arrow key three more times and press Enter to select the Distance option in the Dynamic Input display (see Figure 2.26). Type 1′ (or 30 for metric) and press Enter twice to input equal first and second distances, which are 1f (or 30 for metric) each.

   

3. Click one line and then hover the cursor over the second line; you’ll see a preview of the chamfer that will be created. Click the second line to perform the chamfer and complete the command. (The chamfer is shown in the middle of Figure 2.27.)

   

4. Type F and press Enter to execute the FILLET command. Press the down-arrow key and choose Radius from the Dynamic Input display. Type 1′ (or 30 for metric) and press Enter.

   

5. Click the first line and then position the cursor over the second line; the fillet preview shows on the screen. Click the second line to commit to that particular radius. (A fillet is shown at the right of Figure 2.27.)
6. Save your work. Your model should now resemble Ex02.11-end.dwg, which is available among this chapter’s companion files.

Exercise 2.12: Join Crossed Lines with Fillet

When lines cross, there are multiple fillet and chamfer possibilities on different sides of the intersection. In the case of crossing lines, you must select the lines on the portions that you want to keep, as shown in these steps. To begin, open the file Ex02.12-start.dwg from this chapter’s companion files.

1. Type F and press Enter. Press the down-arrow key to access the Dynamic Input display and select Radius. Type 0 and press Enter. Now Fillet will not create an arc at all.
2. Click the points A and B, as shown in Figure 2.28. The lines are joined at their endpoints, and the remaining portions of the lines beyond their intersection point are trimmed away.

   

3. Save your work. Your model should now resemble Ex02.12-end.dwg, which is available among this chapter’s companion files.