1. SETUP

In this edition we will show you how to draw a fancy 3D trim board complete. Start out in 2D mode to simplify the drawing of the base elements for the trim. Once you are in 2D mode, start by setting your units. Activate the Units command by pressing U on the keyboard, then set two points by clicking on the far left and also clicking far right of the drawing window. When the units box is displayed enter 3 for the measured distance. Select a brown color.

2. Draw Board Cross Section

Activate the line command by pressing V or selecting it from the toolbar. Setup your first point anywhere on the screen by clicking in the drawing area.

Next we will use Point Relative to set three more points. Point relative allows you to set a point an exact distance from another point or cursor position. Press the apostrophe ‘ key to activate Point Relative. In the Point Relative dialog box, select the Last Point radio button, then enter –1” in the X field and 0 for Y and press Enter.

Press the apostrophe key again for Point Relative. This time enter 0 for X and –6” for Y and press Enter.

Press the apostrophe key one more time and enter 1” for X and 0 for Y and press enter twice. This sets the last point and ends the line command. This will give us a tall C shaped line.

Next we will add rounded edges to this line using the Semi Circle. To activate the semi circle command go to the Draw menu, choose Arcs, then Semi Circle. We will use the gravity snap to set the first point. Do this by moving the cursor near the lower right endpoint of the line and right-click. {see note 1 at right}

Now use Point Relative to set the second point of the semi circle. Press the apostrophe key, make sure the Last Point option is selected, and enter 0 for X, and .5” for Y and press Enter.

Now we want to copy that semi circle and place the copy on the top end of the line. We can do this by placing the cursor near the upper end of the semi circle and right-clicking to select it. Once it is selected press the N key for Duplicate. This makes a copy of the selected entity from its selection handle and moves it to the next point set. To place it just set a point -- we will use the gravity snap to do this. Place the cursor near the top end of the line and right-click. This snaps the upper end of the semi circle to the end of the line.

Next we will connect a line between the open ends of the semi circles using a line. First activate the line command and place the cursor near the open end of the top semi circle and right-click to Gravity snap the first point there. Next Gravity Snap to the open end of the bottom semi circle, and press Enter to end the line command. Finally press Ctrl+A to select all and press B for Combine Lines. This will create an enclosed side profile for the  board.

Draw Flower

Draw the flower to the right of the board profile. Let’s start by selecting a different color, like green. To draw the first petal of the flower, activate the semi circle command by going to the Draw Menu; choose Arcs, then Semi Circle. Set the left point for the semi circle by simply clicking in a blank area of the drawing window. -- Next press the apostrophe key for Point Relative. In the Point Relative box make sure the Last Point option is selected and enter –1” for X and 0 for Y, and press Enter. This creates a 1” semi circle for the top of our petal.

Now move the cursor near the midpoint of the semi circle and take you hand off the mouse. You are going to use the keyboard only to draw the next entity. Press Ctrl+K for Midpoint Snap. Then press the C key to activate the Curve command. We will then use Point Relative to set points for the curve. Press the apostrophe key for Point Relative. Remember! Don’t move your mouse! Enter 0 for X and press Tab to move to the Y field and enter –2” for Y. Now press the Enter key and the first point of the curve is set 2” down from the top midpoint of the semi circle. Press the apostrophe key again for Point Relative, this time enter -.45” for X and 1” for Y, and press Enter. If you didn’t move your mouse you will have a short curve. Now grab the mouse and move the cursor to the lower left end of the semi circle and Gravity Snap to it (right-click it). Press Enter to end the curve. This gives us the left side of the petal.

To make the right side, gravity snap to the lower open end of the curve just created. {See note 2 at right} To activate the mirror command, go to the Edit menu, then choose Selection Edit, then Mirror. In the mirror dialog, choose to mirror on the X Axis. To finish, Gravity Snap back to the same point (the bottom end of the curve just created). This will finish the petal and give you an upside down teardrop shape.

Now to create the flower... select the 3 curves just created. Do this by first clicking to the upper left of the petal. Then drag a selection box around the entire petal, when you release the mouse it will be selected if it was completely in the selection box you drug. Combine them by pressing B for Combine Lines.

Now set the selection handle at the tip by placing you cursor very close to the tip and right-clicking to Gravity Snap there. This will set the selection handle (Blue Dot) there.

Now go to the Draw menu and choose Circular Array. Now adjust the settings in the Circular Array dialog box  -- choose 10 copies, a span angle of 360 degrees, Radius ratio to 1, and check the Keep Perpendicular box. Now Gravity Snap back to the same point at the tip of the petal. Drag a selection box around the entire flower and press B for Combine Lines. You now have a finished 2D flower.

Make Everything 3D

To make these simple 2D shapes into 3D models it's necessary to switch to 3D mode. Do this by click the 2D/3D toggle button on the main toolbar, then press Shift+Ctrl+W to fit the drawing to all 4 windows. You should see your flower and panel in all 4 windows from different angles Main Perspective, Front, Top, and Side.

Now click on the flower to select it (the entire flower will be selected when you click it if you combined all the lines as in the previous instructions). Now make it a plane with the Make Plane command. Go to the Edit menu; choose Selection Edit, then Make Plane.

Next we’ll draw a circular border around the flower. Activate the Circle command by pressing the O key (note: that’s the letter O not a zero). In the Circle dialog box choose the Plane option. Now set the center of the circle using the Center of Gravity snap tool. Go to the Point menu and choose Center of Gravity, then click on the flower and the point will be set at the center. To set the radius of the circle press the apostrophe key for Point Relative, make sure Last Point is selected and enter 2.25” for X and 0 for Y and Z and press Enter twice.

Now press F3 to repeat the Circle command. Use the Center of Gravity command to set the first point. Then press apostrophe for Point Relative again. This time enter 2.5” for X, 0 for Y and 0 for Z and press Enter twice. You now have created 2 circular planes.

To create the circular border, subtract the inner circle from the outer circle. Go to the Edit menu and choose Pane Subtract. Now click on the inner circle, then the outer. This subtracts the inner from the outer. Finally click to the upper left of the outer circle and drag a selection windows around the circle and flower to select it.

Then go to the Tools menu and choose Group Define. This will allow us to manipulate this entire design as one entity.

Make the Board 3D

Now to make the 3D board form out of the 2D profile created earlier. First set the selection handle on the lower left corner of the profile. Do this by placing the cursor near that corner and right clicking to gravity snap to it.

Now rotate it 90 degrees. Press R for rotate, and in the rotate dialog box choose the Y-axis, and enter –90 for the rotation angle and press Enter twice.

With the board profile still selected go to the Edit menu, choose Selection Edit, then Make Plane.

Now use the Extrude command to extrude (stretch) this profile into a 3D board. Press the X key to activate the Extrude command. Make sure all the check boxes in the extrude dialog box are unchecked and the scale is set to 1. Gravity Snap to the same bottom corner to set the first point there, then press the apostrophe key for Point Relative to tell it how far to extrude. Make sure Last Point is selected, and enter 30” for X, 0 for Y and Z. Press Enter twice, then Shift+Ctrl+W for fit to windows. Now see the 3D board.

Make Flower 3D

Move the flower up above the board in order to make it 3D too. Right-click on it to select it. Then press M for move, and move it above the board and click to set it there.

Activate the Extrude command by pressing X, and set the first point using the Center of Gravity tool. Go to the Point menu and choose Center of Gravity, then click on the flower. A point will be set in the center. To tell it how far to extrude, press the apostrophe key for Point Relative and enter 0 for X, and Y, and .125” for Z. Press Enter twice. This creates a 3D extrusion of the flower.

Now drag a selection window around the entire 3D flower with circle border to select it, then go to the Tools menu and choose Group Define.

To move the flower into place, first zoom in on the middle left side of the outer circle using the zoom section tool. Press Z for zoom section, then drag a selection around the middle left side of the circle. Next right-click to Gravity Snap to the back edge just above the midline of the outer circle. (See image below)

This will be your selection handle. Press Ctrl+W to zoom out, and press the M key to move this onto the board. Place the cursor near the midpoint of the front left edge of the board and press Ctrl+K for midpoint snap. This will place the flower at the midpoint of the left side of the board.

Now array this flower across the board using the array command. Go to the Draw menu and choose Array. In the Array dialog box enter 6 for direction 1. Move the cursor over the top of your selection handle (blue dot) and press the comma key for Gravity Move to place the cursor back onto that point. Now press the apostrophe key for Point relative, and enter 5” for X and 0 for Y and Z. Press Enter twice. Then press Shift+Ctrl+W to fit to window, and shade it by pressing F8. Choose Medium and click OK.

Now you have finished creating a 3D flower trim board. Happy drawing!

Here's an Internet-quality (low-quality) image of the 3D trim you'll be creating.