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3D Blueprint Tutorial
by Alex Hogrefe | Jul 4, 2011 | Styles / Effects, Uncategorized | 29 Comments

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Yesterday, while watching golf, I saw a commercial that folded paper out of a book into buildings that turned
into a town which then grew into a city, etc. The commercial caught my attention not only because of its
execution and concept, but also because the illustration style was simple and clean using only paper as the
material. This inspired me to experiment with a blueprint style that maintains some of the great qualities of
blueprint drawings, but also gives the appearance of the design projecting off the page 3-dimensionally. There
are many subtle things going on with this image such as faded guidelines similar to what you would see on a
hand drafted drawing as well as textures meant to appear as imperfections left on the paper from the
blueprint chemical processes.

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Break Down (32)

To get started, 3 images will be generated which will be used in Photoshop. Two of them will be exports from Final Moves (10)
Sketchup, and one will be a basic rendering from Kerkythea
Fundamentals (20)
IMAGE 1- BASE IMAGE Over Time (20)
1. In Sketchup, save a view/scene that you want to use for the illustration that way you can get back to the Portfolio Vol. 2 (7)
same view later if need be.
Portfolio Vol. 3 (24)
2. Switch the Face Style to HIDDEN LINE. Under View>Edge Style, check DISPLAY EDGES and PROFILES. Portfolio Vol. 4 (1)

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Tags
abstract aerial axon bird's eye

break down clay diagram Diagrams

dusk elevation Exterior fog HDR

inspiration Interior Kerkythea Landscape

layout Light lighting Model modeling

Night People perspective photography

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Photoshop Portfolio presentation

Quick Tips Rendering Sections settings

setup Site Plan Sketchup snow

spreads Styles Text texture urban

Water winter xray

3. In the Styles dialogue box, select the EDIT tab, choose the EDGE STYLES icon, and check EXTENSIONS.
Set the length to 8 pixels.

4. EXPORT the image as a JPEG, FILE>EXPORT>2D GRAPHIC.

IMAGE 2- GUIDES.
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The point of this second export will be to imitate guidelines seen in hand drafted illustrations back in the good
old days.

5. Select VIEW, and check GUIDES.

6. With guides turned on, begin creating guides that accentuate important axis or angles in the image. To
create guides, measure something with either the ruler or the protractor. Whatever is measured will then
turn into a guideline.

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7. With the guides in place, go to FILE>EXPORT>2D GRAPHIC and save the image as a JPEG. Again, use the face
style HIDDEN LINE and leave only DISPLAY EDGES checked for the edge style.

IMAGE 3 BASIC KERKYTHEA RENDERING.

This Kerkythea rendering is very basic with minimal setting changes. The rendering itself only took 10 or 15
minutes to finish because of the limited use of materials.

8. To begin, export the model from Sketchup using the Kerkythea plugin. Be sure that shadows are on and that
the view you want is set. In the export options, follow the settings below double checking that CLAY is set to
YES.

9. Open exported model in Kerkythea. At the top, select SETTINGS>SCENE. In the scene settings dialogue
box, choose INVERSE in the attenuation drop-down box. The setting will give you soft shadows similar to
what you would get on a cloudy day.

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10. Thats the only setting that needs to be changed. Time to render. At the top, select RENDER>START. In
the dialogue box, DO NOT change the resolution. However, do change the SETTINGS to 07 PHOTONMAP -
HIGH+AA03.

11. Let the rendering cook for a few minutes. To preview and save the final rendering, choose WINDOW at
the top and check RENDERED IMAGE. With the preview box open, select the SAVE button to save the
image to your hard drive.

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11. With the 3 images complete, its time to combine them in Photoshop. Begin by opening the first image
(Sketchup export with extended lines) in Photoshop. Choose IMAGE> ADJUSTMENTS>INVERT.

12. Next, open the Hue/Saturation dialogue box by going to IMAGE>ADJUSTMENTS>HUE/SATURATION. In the
dialogue box, first check COLORIZE. Shift the LIGHTNESS slider to the right to lighten the black
background to a grey color. Next, move the HUE slider till you end up with a good blueprint color.

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13. Drag in the other Sketchup exported image of the guides and move this layer to the top. Again, INVERT the
image so that the line work becomes white on a black background.

14. With this guide layer still selected, change the LAYER BLEND MODE (drop down box in the layers pallete)
to SCREEN.

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15. Open the Kerkythea rendering and drag it to the top layer. Desaturate the image by choosing IMAGE>
ADJUSTMENTS> DESATURATE.

16. The image is a little flat. Adjusting the levels will fix that. Adjusting the contrast would also work, but I
prefer levels because of the added control. Choose IMAGE>ADJUSTMENTS>LEVELS, and move the sliders until
you end up with lighter and darker tones similar to the second image below.

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17. Making sure the Kerkythea rendering layer is on top, set the LAYER BLEND MODE to MULTIPLY.

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18. The illustration is almost finished. The last step is to add some texture to imitate the texture created from
the blueprint chemical process. To do this, I just went online and found a grunge texture similar to the one
below. Open the texture in Photoshop and move the layer to the top.

19. Finally, set the LAYER BLEND MODE of the grunge texture to OVERLAY.

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Thats it. The first time I created this illustration, it took me about 1 1/2 hours to make including testing
different settings and waiting for Kerkythea to render. Now that I have the workflow down, Im guessing it
would take about 30 minutes to create subsequent illustrations. The techniques are pretty basic, but its
finding the right combination of layer blend modes and textures that give the final illustration a unique
character.

29Comments visualizingarchitecture
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Jointhediscussion

liloah 4yearsago
hi,urworkisamazing.howdoyoumakethreepicturesfromtheexactlythesameangleandblend
exactlywelltogether?
Reply Share

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liloah 4yearsago
imeanwhenitriedtoblendthemtogether,thethreeimagesarenotfromtheexactthesame
angle....howtosolvethis?
Reply Share

liloah 4yearsago
sorryforthedisturb,ijustfoundhowtodoit
Reply Share

adam 4yearsago
Alex,

Thanksforanothergreattutorial.Ihavearequest.Couldyoupleasemakeatutoabouthowyou
combinedecotectwithgrasshopper.Ihavebeentryingtolearnthatfor3monthswithoutbeing
successful.

Thanks
Reply Share

Chelsea 4yearsago
Excellenttutorialagain.Yourworkisappreciated!
Reply Share

DavidSantos 4yearsago
Thistutorialisexcellent,Ihavetriedandlooksverynice!Thankyousomuch,greatwork!
Reply Share

AlexHogrefe 4yearsago
Thanksforallthepositivefeedback.Iwilltrytokeepthemcoming
Reply Share

SalvadorBlumenkron 4yearsago
Thisissuchacreativetechnique!ThereisastyleinSketchupcalledBluePrint...Iwonderifthat
couldbeeditedandimprovedtosavesometimeinPhotoshop.Also,Iwonderifthereisan
automatedprocessthatcanbeconfiguredinPhotoshopforsubsequentimages.

Thanksforyourtutorialsandforsharingyourknowledgeandtalent,veryunusualtoseesomeone
sotalentedandskilledsharinganyinformation.

Cheers
S.
Reply Share

Hermeswatchesinuk 4yearsago
Teasinthelistener&#39seyesarethefinestpossiblerewardforanysinger.Hermeswatchesin
uk
Reply Share

Kevin 4yearsago
HeyAlex,Greatstuff!OnequestionIhaveforyouis,aretheserenderingsmoreofahobbyforyou
thanusedintheprofessionalworldofarchitecture?I&#39monlyaskingbecauseI&#39mcurious
howyoumaintainthisworkbillablewithafirm.
Reply Share

SalvadorBlumenkron 4yearsago
Presentations,marketing,branding.Allthoseare&#39billable&#39.Sometimesyoucanalsomake
arenderingforadeveloperwhoisseekingforaproject&#39sapprovalandneedstoenticethe
investorswithimagery.Wedothisallthetimeatouroffice,andit&#39sveryprofitable.Ihada
smallerfirmwhenIwasyounger,andweusedtodoallthatforarchitecturalfirmsasourmain
business.Inanycase,evenifyoucan&#39tbillthisworkdirectly,itwillenticepotentialclientsto
chooseyourfirmoverothers,that&#39swhenitbecomesprofitableaswell...
Reply Share

ALEXHOGREFE 4yearsago
HalfofwhatyouseeonthissiteisfromschoolandtechniquesIdevelopedinschool.Howeveralot
oftheimagesIpostareillustrationscreatedforthefirmIofficeIworkat.AlotofwhatIpostis
basedonspeed.Iusuallyonlyhave3or4hourstoproduceillustrations.AsSalvadorstated,much
ofitisformarketingandpresentationspursuingapossiblejob.Othertimes,itistoshowaclient
whereweareatwiththedesignandtogivethemconfidencethatthedesignisgoingintheright
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whereweareatwiththedesignandtogivethemconfidencethatthedesignisgoingintheright
direction.Aslongastheimagesaredonewell,itisalwaysworththeinvestment
Reply Share

JooTorres 4yearsago
HiAlex,sinceidiscoveryourwebsiteimakeavisitalldayssincethat...!:)

Ialwaysfindsomethingveryveryusefulformypresentationevolution.

Youcouldseearesultofthistutorialinmywebpagewww.azeromais.com.Didimadeagood
job?!

Manythank&#39sandkeepthegoodwork....moretut&#39spleaseeeeeeeeeeeee!:)

PS.:LikeisaidinyourFacebookpage,"welcometomyclub.......marriedmen&#39sclub":)
Reply Share

ALEXHOGREFE 4yearsago
reallynice.Yourwebsitelooksamazing.Whatdidyouusetobuildit?
Marriedmen&#39sclubisagreatclubtobein
Reply Share

JoaoTorres 4yearsago
Alexarchitectureiswithoutdoubtmygreatestpassionalongwithmywife!
ShewouldkillmeifIdidnotsayit:)

Butamongotherthingsalwaysenjoyedwebdesignandoddlyenoughmysiteisbeingdevelopedin
Joomla!Itisamagnificentplatformandontopofthatisfree,butsurelyyou&#39vealreadyheard
withWordpressandotherplatformsofitskind.TheoneIchoseandIfeelmorecomfortableisthe
joomla.CoupledwithatemplatethatIfoundtobebeautifulisgoodoratleastIthinkso.

Thesiteisstillbeingupdatedcontent,butalreadythenextdayyoushouldbeabletoviewasample
ofmywork(architecture/design/designMotosports/naming/branding/).

Thankyouforyourwordsandwaitimpatientlyforyournewtutorial...!:)
Reply Share

Balin 4yearsago
IlovewhatyouaredoingAlexthisiswhatihavebeinglookingforforsuchalongtime"Architecture
&Graphics"thanks
Reply Share

PestControlCroydon 4yearsago
WowAlex,thisisreallyimpressive!andit&#39sallveryinteresting.JustwhatI&#39vebeen
lookingfor.
Reply Share

meril 3yearsago
perfecttut,butistillhaveaproblem:atpart11:icannottakeakerkyrenderatthesameangleof
thesketchupmodel,mykerkymodelalwayszoomsout,andtheangleseitheropenwiderorclose!
howcaniadjustthekerkytheacamerawiththatofthesketchup?
Reply Share

AlexHogrefe 3yearsago
WhenyouopentheSUmodelinKerkythea,donotmovearoundinthesceneorchangetherender
resolution.Also,areyouusingtheSUexporter?
Reply Share

meril 3yearsago
thanksforyourquickreply,but
no,idonotmovearoundinthemodelanddonotchangetheresolution,andyes,iamusingthesu
exporter:(
Reply Share

meril 3yearsago
mymodelstillzoomsoutinkerky,butifimarkmyscenenumberintherenderwindowinsteadof
"currentview"itworksfine!thanksagainforthetut.
Reply Share

JohanDuran 3yearsago
http://visualizingarchitecture.com/3dblueprinttutorial/ 13/15
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MuchasGraciasporelTutoriallequedoeternamenteagradecido
Reply Share

H.Jamous 3yearsago
HiAlex..

Yourworkisamazingbuddy.I&#39maninteriorarchitectandimveryinterestedinpresentation
techniquessoucanimaginehowmuchiloveyourwebsite.it&#39slikeheaven.
Sothankyousomuchforsharingyourknowledge.youhaveinspiredmetocreatemyownwebsite
tooandsharethethingsthatiknowwitheveryone.butimsureitwon&#39tbeashalfawesomeas
urs.

keepitupandmayGodblessyoubuddy:).

H.Jamous
Reply Share

ALEXHOGREFE 3yearsago
ThanksJamous
Reply Share

hialex 3yearsago
alexyouaresocool.thxforyourtuterial
Reply Share

Bec 3yearsago
I&#39vebeenexperimentingwithalotofyourtutorialsforthefinaldrawingsofmyarchitecture
projectthisyear.IaminmylastyearofhighschoolinNewZealandandgoingtouniversityfor
Architecturenextyear.
Thoughtyoumightbeinterestedtoseetheresultsofyourwork:)Ireallyenjoyyourtutorialsand
theideasinthem.
http://mouseluva.deviantart.co...
Reply Share

AlexHogrefe 3yearsago
@Bec,
GoodluckinArchitectureschool.Yourofftoagoodstartandthanksforpostingyourillustration.
Reply Share

katerina ayearago
Alexthankyousomuchforallyourgreattipsandtutorials!Iespeciallylovethenonrealisticones,
likethisone,Ithinktheyprovideamore"artistic"result!Keepupthegoodwork,allthebest!
Reply Share

CharlesCollin 9daysago
damdude,youhavetalent!dontknowhowyoulearnallthatbut...seemstohavealotofwork
behindthat!reallyappreciatethefactthatmoreoverthat,youshareyourworkandtips.
Reply Share

ALSOONVISUALIZINGARCHITECTURE WHAT'STHIS?

Private:VRaySettingsOverview NewProject:TrainPavillion
18comments3daysago 9comments4monthsago

AvatarDaveMasonHiAlex,Justwonderingifyou AvatarSebastinCardosowheredoyoufindyour
werelookingintodoinganotherroundof designconcepts?howdoyougetinspired?i'm
printingforyourlatestportfolio? abigfanofyou!I'vebeenwatching

PoolRendering:WorkflowVideos HDRArchitectureIllustrationTutorial
11comments9monthsago 13comments9monthsago

Avatarcris_csnnicework!!thankyouverymuch! AvatarAdityaRaoheyalexgreatstuff!imsure
youreamazing!:D manycs5userswouldbeverygreatfulifyou
putupatutorialofhowwecandothe

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