Technical Drawing

Vector Shape Tools, Mathematical Drawing, and Geometry

For construction turnarounds, modeling, blueprint plans, perspective, architecture, and simplifying complex organic shapes into geometry.

DIGITAL: Photoshop

Technical drawing typically requires a MOUSE, keyboard, tablet, and the full desktop version of Photoshop, running on a computer.

Buy an Adobe subscription, obtain off-site Photoshop access (see Week 1 Materials and Equipment), or attend the college weekly in your scheduled outside-class time, for access.

Technical Drawing Tutorial

with Construction Turnaround Video, 50min

Technical-Drawing-Tutorial-v101.mp4

General Settings

Use View > Rulers [on/off]
- - Use also a digital transparent ruler layer, included in basic templates and turnaround templates.
Use View > Show > Grid [on/off], and
View > Show > Guides [on/off],
- - See Grid and Guides.
  - Drag new straight-line Guides from the Rulers
  - Use the Move Tool to move Guides, or drag them off the canvas to remove them.
  - Frequently switching Guides and Grid [on/off] is normal.
Use View > Snap [on/off]
- - This is like a magnet, attracting your work to Grid lines, and Guides.
  - Frequently switching Snap [on/off] is normal.
Edit > Preferences > Guides, Grid >
- - Gridline every 1 centimeter
  - Subdivisions: 10
Many aspects of digital technical drawing require a MOUSE.

Move and Free Transform

Move Tool

Use the Move Tool to move layers left, right, up, down, with
- - Auto Select [off],
  - Show Transform Controls [on/off] (either may be convenient),
  - Left-drag to move a layer (or a pixel selection),
  - Constrained movement [SHIFT] key to align on one axis
  - View > Snap [on/off]

Move Tool

Move Tool's main Options, under menu bar, top left

Auto-select may unexpectedly select layers, so switch it [off].

For Move Tool, left, right, up, down:

Show Transform Controls [on/off] either may be more convenient.

For Free Transform (scale, rotate, distort, etc):

Show Transform Controls [on]
and left-click a control.

Free Transform Tool

Edit > Free Transform, or [CTRL]-T

Switch from Move Tool to Free Transform Tool (scale, rotate, distort, etc.) with
- - Show Transform Controls [on].
  - Left-click a control, to enter Free Transform mode, then left-drag controls,
  - View > Snap [on/off],
  - Numerical input,
  - [SHIFT]-drag, [ALT]-drag, [CTRL]-drag combinations, for various constraints,
  - Movable Reference Point, for center of scale and rotation,
  - Right click a control, for other transform modes: Skew, Distort, Perspective,
  - Test and learn,
  - ✔ to accept changes

Move Tool switches to Free Transform Tool, after a control is left-clicked

Free Transform Tool's main Options, under menu bar, top left

Link icon maintains width:height ratio

Display the movable Reference Point, for scales and rotations

Free-Transforming a Vector Shape.
After entering Free Transform mode, right-click the controls, for other Transform Tools

Vector Shape Tools

Vector Shapes are clean geometric shapes, made of editable anchor points.

Vector Shapesaligned on a grid, with Move Tool / Free Transform Tool

Use the vector Shape Tools - Right-click to switch between Line, Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, and Custom.
Use the vector Pen Tool - Right-Click to switch between Pen Tool, Add Anchor Point Tool, Delete Anchor Point Tool, and Convert Anchor Point Tool, to make and edit custom vector shapes. Use SHIFT and ALT for alternative modes.
Use the vector Direct Selection Tool to select, drag and modify the anchor points and handles on vector shapes. Use SHIFT and ALT for alternative modes.

Lines, dashed lines, and slightly complex shapes are in many cases best created with the Pen Tool, a Grid, and Snap.
See also the Custom Shape Tool below, for pre-built adjustable shapes.

Shape Tools - Line, Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, Custom

The Shape Tools

Usually best [off] . By default, vector points will snap to the pixel grid, in Edit > Preferences > Tools.

Pen Tool, Convert Point Tool, Add Anchor Point Tool, Delete Anchor point Tool.

Direct Selection Tool (white arrow)

Shape Tools and Pen Tool - main Options: PLEASE CHANGE
- - Use Shape mode
    1. - Creates new vector shape layers, in the Layers Panel ( one layer per shape), rather than Paths, or Pixels.
      - IT'S MUCH EASIER TO CONTROL SEPARATE SHAPES THIS WAY
      - Many layers? These can easily be collected together neatly, into a layer group sub-folder. When all is done and approved, a group of vector layers can be rasterized and merged, if no further editing is likely.
  - Empty Fill (diagonal red slash)
  - Light blue Stroke, 4 px, Solid Line

Vector Shapes, Anchor Points, Direct Selection Tool

A simple video tutorial for editing anchor points with Direct Selection Tool (White Arrow)

Vector Shapes can be easily modified with

Move / Free Transform Tool, or
Direct Selection Tool (White Arrow).

Duplication / Copy and Paste

An important time-saving method is to re-use geometric shape layers that are already precisely sized and aligned.

Layers Panel > Right Click Layer(s) > Duplicate Layer
Move Tool > leftmouse drag the duplicated Shape Layers in one axis only, with the [SHIFT] key, to the new pose, keeping the alignment.

Brush Tool

Use the Brush Tool for drawing in pixels with straight lines:
- - 1. Tap and release once at the desired start of the line
    2. Hold down the SHIFT key
    3. Tap and release once at the desired end of the line
Use the Brush tool with freehand Symmetry.
Increase Smoothing for freehand pen drawing
When using multiple strokes, clean up one side of a line at a time only
Trace over vector Shapes in a pixel layer

Brush Tool

Symmetry, in the main Tool Options bar

Smoothing, in the main Tool Options bar

Draw ellipses inside construction boxes
See Digital Drawing Basics > Precise Shapes with Brush Tool

Precise shapes with Brush Tool. Yes, you can.

Typography

Use the Type Tool, the fastest method for NEAT text.
Photoshop Type is made of vector shapes
For general production, choose fonts that are easily understandable. All caps or small caps are often clearest.
For folks who choose freehand handwriting, please draw light, horizontal, parallel guide lines first. Then in a new layer, write neat handwritten labels, within the lines, using the pixel Brush Tool.
See:
- - Neat handwriting
  - Architectural lettering style

Architectural lettering style

Type Tool

...but no spell-checker! Please find and use one, e.g. Language Tool.

Window > Character, for detailed font settings.

Custom Vector Shapes

Custom Shape tool

browse pre-built editable vector Shapes
download for free from the web, and import into Photoshop. Here's a good example site, or you can Google around.
Vector shapes can also be imported from Adobe Illustrator

Custom Vector Shapes

Custom Shape tool - Enable Legacy Shapes

Custom Shape tool - browser

Investigate

For details on specific tools, see

Adobe Photoshop User Guide

Adobe Photoshop in-App Help

TRADITIONAL

Traditional Tools

Buy and use required equipment, as instructed in Week 1 Materials.
- - Use basics: transparent plastic ruler, light blue pencil, 2B pencil, eraser, sharpener.
  - Use Math Sets, and Curve, Ellipse and Stencil Tools.
  - Use Graph Paper with 1mm grid lines.

graph-paper-1mm-sq-A4.png

Graph Paper, 1mm square, A4, printable

Traditional Construction

Draw ellipses inside construction boxes
Draw over Graph Paper with 1mm grid lines.
See Week 2 > Precise Shapes (Traditional)

Precise shapes, Traditional. Yes, you can.

Traditional Typography

For neat, handwriten labels, draw horizontal, parallel guide lines. Fit handwritten labels within the lines. See:
- - Neat handwriting
  - Architectural lettering style
  - Language Tool - online spelling and grammar check

Hybrid Digital - Traditional

Make a geometric plan / blueprint with Photoshop vector Shape Tools - Line Tool, Ellipse Tool, Rectangle Tool, Pen Tool, and Grid, then print this, then trace over it, traditionally.
Digitize your traditional drawings, paste/drag the drawings into Photoshop, free transform, and align them to a mathematical grid.