Handout LO-AEC24 David Flynn

Don’t Say Revit Doesn’t Do Beautiful
David Flynn and Mark Thorley

designtech.io
Join the conversation #AULondon

#AU2017
Key Learning Objectives
 Gain an understanding of the wide array of Revit tools available

for concise graphical output
 Discover the quirks of many of the features we take for granted or
underuse
 Explore how we can take a rough model to documentation in the
best possible manner
 Learn how to automate lengthy Filter and Graphical processes
About Us
David Flynn Projects
Experience
David is co-founder at computational BIM
consultancy designtech based in London UK.
David has previously been employed at

Grimshaw Architects as their global Head of
BIM, at KPF, AL_A, Pascall + Watson and
mcFarlaneGreen
About Us
Mark Thorley Projects
Experience
Mark is co-founder at computational BIM
consultancy designtech based in London UK.
Mark’s skillset has led him to be one of the

leaders in Computation and tools such as
Dynamo. Mark has worked for companies
such as Aecom, Grimshaw and Spacezero.
Overview
 There are endless options for making
your drawn deliverables more
concise and clear within the Revit
toolset.
Overview
 There are endless options for making
your drawn deliverables more
concise and clear within the Revit
toolset.
 We will cover settings and
approaches developed by designtech
and BPTW Partnership
 We will not focus on landscaping,
context, backgrounds or Rendering
but purely on well drawn 2D Plans,
Sections and Elevations.
Image by BPTW
Project-Wide Settings
Control Hierarchy
Project-wide Settings
Line Weights - Model
 Revit allows 16 but you should restrict your settings to 6 or 7
standard weights. Similar to the 7 main colours in your ACAD ctb.
 Pen #1 is used to control Revit Surface and Cut patterns and Pen
#2 controls Ceiling Grids. In our settings, we make #1 and #2 thin
enough to not be a concern. Any adjustment is dealt with in
Visibility Graphics
 Revit allows 16 but you should restrict your settings to 6 or 7
standard weights. Similar to the 7 main colours in your ACAD ctb.
 Pen #1 is used to control Revit Surface and Cut patterns and Pen
#2 controls Ceiling Grids. In our settings, we make #1 and #2 thin
enough to not be a concern. Any adjustment is dealt with in
Visibility Graphics
 Use Pen #16 as an ultra-thin line. Revit can go as thin as 0.025mm.
Annotation
Object Styles
 These are the base settings for all
printed graphics
 Instead of Layers in AutoCAD we
control with Categories in Revit.
 All Overrides shown later are
supplanting these settings.
 Without a robust Line Weight table,
Object Styles are useless.
Project-Wide Settings:
Object Styles
 Ceilings, Floors, Walls - Common Edges are always set to 1 and 1
 Hidden Lines are always 1 and 1 with Grey Line Color.

Project-Wide Settings:
Object Styles
 Ceilings, Floors, Walls - Common Edges are always set to 1 and 1
 Hidden Lines are always 1 and 1 with Grey Line Color.
 All Categories with only PROJECTION are set to 2.

All others are set to 1
 No Sub-categories are heavier than the Category

Editing Options
Ways to edit graphics in view:
Visibility Graphics
 These settings represent ‘in
view’ Object Style overrides.
 They are the foundation of View
Templates and need to be
mastered to deliver elegant
drawings.
 Controls are given for elements
being cut or elevated. Similar to
having a second layer available
when an object is cut.
Visibility Graphics - Tips
 Auto-colour walls by setting them to
Course detail level.
 Auto-colour walls by setting them to
Course detail level.
 Use Cut Line Styles to edit how
walls show thick and thin lines.
 Use Cut Line Styles to edit how
walls show thick and thin lines.
Element Override
 A tool not loved by your Revit manager.
 Granular control over graphics at object level
 Very useful when you want to make changes

without disconnecting your View Template
Element Override
 Add a different hatch
to a surface or
heavier lines around
walls.
 Make Curtain Walls
transparent and
coloured. Beware;
there is no control
between glass and
mullions.
Linework
 The most in-depth way to adjust
content but also the most
obscured.
 It is difficult to know what was
changed at a quick glance and
no UNDO button.
 Can be very time consuming and
typically just used to cover gaps
in other settings.
In Depth
Family Sub-Categories
 An area of inconsistency in
drawings that can be quite
tedious to fix.
Image by BPTW
In Depth
Family Sub-Categories
 An area of inconsistency in
drawings that can be quite
tedious to fix.
 Opening Swings are most

likely to be incorrectly set.
 Object Styles and therefore

VV rely on consistency in
sub-categories
In-View Setups
Sun / Shadows
 2 section you need to control.
Sun Setting and Lighting.
 For consistency we always turn
on ‘Relative to view’.
 These only relate to Elevations
as shadows in Plan or Section
tend to make them slightly
cartoonish
In-View Setups
Sun / Shadows
 2 section you need to control.
Sun Setting and Lighting.
 We don’t want much colour so we set
Sun and Ambient Light to full.
 Shadows are set low at 20. This
allows them to sit well with Halftone
line-work across your views.
In-View Setups
Sun / Shadows
Image by BPTW
In-View Setups
Hidden Lines
 Hidden Lines can be used to
give a wireframe view with full
graphic control
In-View Setups
Hidden Lines
graphic control
 Unlike ‘Visual Style-Hidden
Line’, you can control the
graphics of the lines.
In-View Setups
Hidden Lines
graphic control
 Unlike ‘Visual Style-Hidden
Line’, you can control the
graphics of the lines.
 As mentioned earlier, these
have all been set to Hidden and
128,128,128 in Object Styles
In Depth
Transparency
 Transparency for Railings can add
more depth when used alongside
Depth Cueing and Filters.
 Beware that Shadows will not be
cast by elements with any
Transparency applied
 Very useful on Roof Plans when
glazing systems are present.
Image by BPTW
Improving your workflow
Current Workflow
Depth Cueing
 A new tool added in 2017
 Can add great depth to an Elevation or

Section
 Depth Cueing automatically makes

your drawings print raster so it is not
useful for detailed documentation.
Current Workflow
Depth Cueing
 1. Near Fade Location. Where the
fading of content will begin from.
 2. Far Fade Location. Where the

fade ends and becomes consistent.
Anything beyond this line matches
the fade at the line.
 3. Fading Zone. The range of fade

spans across this region
Current Workflow
Depth Cueing
 For Sections, the Near Plane is
consistent as it is the Section
Line.
 So you can add to View
Templates but keep in mind,
Raster means you are
pixelating your drawings.
Current Workflow
Depth Cueing
 For Elevations, view positions vary so they
should not be applied to View Templates.
 Each Elevation needs to be adjusted manually

dependent on distance from Elevation Line.
 Perfect for Planning drawings but not ideal for

technical façade focused drawings.
Current Workflow
Depth Cueing
 For Elevations, view positions vary
so they should not be applied to
View Templates.
 Each Elevation needs to be adjusted
manually dependent on distance
from Elevation Line.
 Perfect for Planning drawings but
not ideal for technical façade
focused drawings.
Image by BPTW
Image by BPTW
Image by BPTW
Current Workflow
Filters
 Filters provide a way to
override the graphic display
and control the visibility of
elements that share common
properties in a view
 Filters are typically how we can
produce drawings that need
colour to articulate types such
as Walls and Floors.
Current Workflow
Filters
 Filters provide a way to
override the graphic display
and control the visibility of
elements that share common
properties in a view
 Filters are typically how we can
produce drawings that need
colour to articulate types such
as Walls and Floors.
Current Workflow
Filters
 Filters can also be used to create depth in your
elevations and sections by creating a project
parameter and assigning line weight override.
 In this example, we assign weight to different

items to highlight primary elements
Image by BPTW
Image by BPTW
Possible New Workflow:
Live Demo
Before
Image by BPTW
Before
Image by BPTW
After
Image by BPTW
Filter Tool
http://designtech.io/download/filters-revit
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Don’t Say Revit Doesn’t Do Beautiful

David Flynn and Mark Thorley

Join the conversation #AULondon

 Gain an understanding of the wide array of Revit tools available

David has previously been employed at

Mark’s skillset has led him to be one of the

 Hidden Lines are always 1 and 1 with Grey Line Color.

 Hidden Lines are always 1 and 1 with Grey Line Color.

 All Categories with only PROJECTION are set to 2.

 No Sub-categories are heavier than the Category

 Granular control over graphics at object level

 Very useful when you want to make changes

 Opening Swings are most

 Object Styles and therefore

 Can add great depth to an Elevation or

 Depth Cueing automatically makes

 2. Far Fade Location. Where the

 3. Fading Zone. The range of fade

 Each Elevation needs to be adjusted manually

 Perfect for Planning drawings but not ideal for

 In this example, we assign weight to different

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