REVIT PURE PRESENTS

DESIGN
USE REVIT TO CREATE BEAUTIFUL
PROJECTS AND POWERFUL IMAGES

SAMPLE CHAPTER
3D VIEWS
By Nicolas Catellier
© Copyright 2019 - BIM Pure Productions
THANK YOU FOR TRYING THIS PACKAGE!

Thank you so much for download a sample of this package! This course is
the result of almost 2 years of research, experimentations and hard work.

The best way to learn the techniques in this course is to try them directly
in one of your own project. Have fun!

HOW TO USE THIS PACKAGE

The best setup for RP Design is to use two screens, one will be used for
the PDF and video tutorials, the other will be used for Revit. If you don’t
have 2 screens, don’t worry, everything will still work fine. We recommend
that you set the PDF at a 75% zoom on screen for the best visual quality.

LEGAL STUFF
This eBook is independent of Autodesk inc. and is not sponsored,
endorsed or affiliated with Autodesk inc. Autodesk Revit is a product that
is wholly owned by Autodesk. Any reference to Revit on this eBook is
made acknowledging this ownership. Refer to Autodesk’s own website and
product pages for specific trademark and copyright informations. Please
visit www.autodesk.com to buy Revit or to get more information.

Version 1.0 - Revit 2019 - January 2019

revitpure.com
 REVIT CAN CREATE BEAUTY

There is a persistent myth that drawings produced in Revit are ugly. People
insist that every presentation documents and renderings need to be
created in Sketchup, AutoCAD and Photoshop. The goal of this package
is to destroy this myth and teach you how to create beautiful drawings and
renderings using Revit.

This course demonstrates in a simple way all the presentation techniques I

have personnaly used with Revit for many years. These tips and tricks can
be incorporated in your practive immediately. They can be used for any
kind of project, from a regular gas station to a fancy museum.

The package is divided in 3 parts. The first is Master Revit Graphics. This is
the “theory” part of the package: you will learn all the tools and overrides
that can be used to affect the graphics of model elements. The second
part is Create Beautiful Views. This is the core of the package, where you
will get hundreds of tips to produce stunning site plans, floor plans, 3D
views and elevations. The final part is Create Immersive Experiences. You
will learn everything you need to know to create beautiful renderings and
experience your Revit models in Virtual Reality.

In this demo sample chapter, you will have access to part of chapter 6,
which is about 3D views. Thanks and good luck.
 TABLE OF CONTENT
PART 1: MASTER REVIT GRAPHICS

1. GRAPHIC DISPLAY
1.1. Default Graphics And Overrides 7
1.2. Understand The Display Hierarchy 10

2. VISUAL STYLES
2.1. Pick The Right Visual Style 21
2.2. Graphics vs Appearance 22

3. VIEW TEMPLATES
3.1. What Is A View Template? 28
3.2. Assign View Template To All New Views 30

PART 2: CREATE BEAUTIFUL VIEWS

4. SITE PLAN
4.1. Create A Beautiful Site Plan 32
4.2. Create A Toposurface 33
4.3. 8 Steps To Create Beautiful Trees 35
4.4. Create A Great Parking Line Family 44

5. FLOOR PLAN
5.1. Create Presentation Plans 47
5.2. 3 Tips To Make A Beautiful Floor Plan 53
5.3. Create A Room Area Schedule 57
 6. 3D VIEWS
6.1. Creating 3D Views 6
6.2. The Navigation Tools 8
6.3. 11 Tips To Create Beautiful 3D Views 16
6.4. Create Beautiful Entourage 91
6.5. Create A Section-Perspective 97
6.6. Create A Plan-Perspective 106
6.7. The Exploded Axonometric 111

7. ELEVATIONS
7.1. 7 Tips To Create Great Elevations 114
7.2. Create An Elevation Material Legend 123

PART 3: CREATE IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES

8. MATERIALS
8.1. 15 Tips To Create Awesome Materials 128
8.2. 6 Tips To Properly Manage Materials 147

9. RENDERINGS
9.1. 7 Tips To Prepare Your 3D Views For Rendering 153
9.2. Default Revit Renderings 161
9.3. Comparing Rendering Plug-ins 165
9.4. 6 Reasons Enscape Is The Best Rendering Plug-In 166
9.5. Lumion Is Fun And Beautiful 175
9.6. Vray: Old-School Raytracing Plug-In 187

10. VIRTUAL REALITY

10.1. Virtual Reality As A Design Tool 189
10.2. The Future Of VR 210
6.1
3D VIEWS
© Copyright 2019 - BIM Pure Productions - revitpure.com DESIGN

CREATING 3D VIEWS
Clicking on the Default 3D Views icon create an orthographic view
of your model.
To spin your model around, hold SHIFT + Mouse Wheel. The center of the
spin will be the selected element.

VIEW CUBE: Click on the corners or faces of View Cube to adjust view.

SECTION BOX: Activate in view properties, use arrows to adjust box.

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3D VIEWS
© Copyright 2019 - BIM Pure Productions - revitpure.com DESIGN

CREATE A PERSPECTIVE
Perspectives (camera) are created by clicking an observer point,
then clicking where the observer is looking.

Then, adjust Crop Region to set the limits of the perspective.

To adjust the observer, click the crop region and go to plan view. The
camera will be visible and you can adjust the position. If some part of the
view is invisible, make sure to adjust Far Clip settings.

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3D VIEWS
© Copyright 2019 - BIM Pure Productions - revitpure.com DESIGN

THE NAVIGATION TOOLS

The navigation wheel is an underused tool that is very helpful to navigate
inside 3D views. Activate the tool on the right side of your 3D view
window.

WALK AROUND THE MODEL

Use the Walk tool in the navigation wheel to walk around in the view. Then,
use the Pan or Look tool to make final visual adjustments. Use Rewind to
go back to previous view limits.

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3D VIEWS
© Copyright 2019 - BIM Pure Productions - revitpure.com DESIGN

ADJUST THE FOCAL LENGTH OF A PERSPECTIVE

If you adjust the crop region of a perspective, the view dimensions will
also be modified. To modify the 3D extents while keeping the same sheet
dimensions, change the Focal Length. Open the navigation wheel, click
the small arrow sub-menu and select “Increase/Decrease Focal Length”.

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3D VIEWS
© Copyright 2019 - BIM Pure Productions - revitpure.com DESIGN

USE SIZE CROP TO ADJUST PERSPECTIVE VIEW SIZE

To adjust the size of a perspective to print on a sheet, use the Size Crop
tool instead of moving the blue boundary points. Select the crop then click
on Size Crop. Use the Scale (locked proportions) option to keep the same
proportions. Change the value until you get the size you are looking for.

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3D VIEWS
© Copyright 2019 - BIM Pure Productions - revitpure.com DESIGN

SELECTION BOX TOOL

The selection box tool allows you to show in a 3D view an element you
selected in any other view type. The selection box will create a section box
around the element.

BE CAREFUL NOT TO OVERRIDE YOUR 3D VIEWS

Watch out: the Selection Box tool will override your default 3D view.
That means if you want to keep a copy of selection box views, you have to
rename them so they don’t get overridden. The default 3D view is the one
with the { } symbols.

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3D VIEWS
© Copyright 2019 - BIM Pure Productions - revitpure.com DESIGN

NEW IN REVIT 2019: UNCROPPED PERSPECTIVE

There is a certain awkwardness when using perspective views in Revit.

The controls are not as user-friendly as in 3rd party plugins like Enscape,
where you can navigate like if you were in a videogame.

In Revit 2019, you can now create an uncropped perspective view. That
means you can navigate in views without having to constantly adjust the
crop region. This feature can only be used with views that are not placed
on a sheet. Sadly, the navigation controls are still lacking.

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3D VIEWS
© Copyright 2019 - BIM Pure Productions - revitpure.com DESIGN

NEW IN REVIT 2019: TABBED VIEWS

Revit 2019 offers a brand new tabbed view style. You even have a mini-
icon next to the view name indicating the view category.

It is also possible to have multiple tabs in the same window, like in the
image below.

Drag a tab next to another to show the docking preview.

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3D VIEWS
© Copyright 2019 - BIM Pure Productions - revitpure.com DESIGN

NEW IN REVIT 2019: IMPROVED WINDOWS MENU

The Windows submenu in the view tab has been modified. The Close
Hidden, Cascade and Replicate tool have been removed and replaced by
Close Inactive and Tab Views.

Overall, Revit 2019 has many substantial improvements to navigate

between multiple views.

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3D VIEWS
© Copyright 2019 - BIM Pure Productions - revitpure.com DESIGN

NEW IN REVIT 2019: 3D VIEWS WITH SCOPE BOX

Scope boxes can be used to crop plan views and elevations. In Revit 2019,
you can now assign a scope box in a 3D view properties to create a Section
Box fitting the scope box. See the image below for an example.

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3D VIEWS
© Copyright 2019 - BIM Pure Productions - revitpure.com DESIGN

11 TIPS TO CREATE BEAUTIFUL 3D VIEWS

1- ACTIVATE ANTI-ALIASING

Aliasing occurs when an angled line looks pixelated. To activate anti-

aliasing, go to Graphic Display Options in the view and check “Smooth
Lines With Anti-Aliasing”.

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3D VIEWS
© Copyright 2019 - BIM Pure Productions - revitpure.com DESIGN

2- ACTIVATE SILHOUETTES

Go to Graphic Display Options in the view settings. In the silhouettes

menu, select a line with a sufficient thickness. As you can see below, the
3D view becomes much more alive and gains a sense of depth.

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3D VIEWS
© Copyright 2019 - BIM Pure Productions - revitpure.com DESIGN

3- USE LINEWORK FOR MORE LINEWEIGHT PRECISION

The silhouettes edges tool is very useful, but in some cases it might create
an effect that is too broad and general. The Linework tool (shortcut:
LW) allows you to control every individual line in a view. Select a Line Style
and click on the line you want to modify. Adjust the blue dot boundary if
necessary.

The linework tool can also be used for another function: removing the
silhouette effect on a line. The silhouette effect can be overkill on some
lines. Selecting <Not Silhouette> will individually remove the effect. The
standard visual settings will be used for that line.

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3D VIEWS
© Copyright 2019 - BIM Pure Productions - revitpure.com DESIGN

4- ACTIVATE CAST SHADOWS

Go to Graphic Display Options in the view settings. Go to the shadow

option and check “Cast Shadows”.

In the Lighting sub-menu, you can adjust the value for Shadows. Reducing
the value to about 20-30 is often a good idea.

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3D VIEWS
© Copyright 2019 - BIM Pure Productions - revitpure.com DESIGN

5- ACTIVATE AMBIENT SHADOWS

There is a second type of shadows available in Revit, called Ambient

Shadows. They are used to mimic the natural lighting condition from a
cloudy sky and reflection from surrounding objects. Go to Graphic
Display Options in the view settings. Go to the shadow submenu and
check “Ambient Shadows”.

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3D VIEWS
© Copyright 2019 - BIM Pure Productions - revitpure.com DESIGN

6- USE CONSISTENT COLORS VISUAL STYLE

The best visual style for casual visualization is Consistent Colors.

While not the most realistic style, it produces a quality good enough for
conceptual style view. This visual style is also very fast and loads quickly.

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3D VIEWS
© Copyright 2019 - BIM Pure Productions - revitpure.com DESIGN

7- HAVE FUN WITH THE GRADIENT BACKGROUND

An underused tool in Revit visualization is the gradient background.

The default colors are OK, but by messing around with different color
schemes, you can get pretty interesting and artistic results. Go to Graphic
Display Options, then to the background submenu. Pick colors for sky and
horizon. In the image below, we experiment with a very emotive sunset.

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3D VIEWS
© Copyright 2019 - BIM Pure Productions - revitpure.com DESIGN

8- TRY SKETCHY LINES FOR CONCEPTUAL VIEWS

Sketchy lines can be useful to produce a 3D view resembling a conceptual

sketch. When shown to a client, it indicates that the project is still evolving.
Views that are over-realistic should be avoided early in the design process.

Go to Graphic Display Options, then to the Sketchy Lines submenu.

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3D VIEWS
© Copyright 2019 - BIM Pure Productions - revitpure.com DESIGN

9- USE HIDDEN LINE STYLE WITH MATERIALS ACCENT

An alternative to the Consistent Colors style is to use the Hidden Line

style with a touch of accent colors.

In the image below, we go to the Materials menu in the manage tab

and set a solid fill pattern for the glass material. As you see in the 3D view,
everything is white except for the windows. If you want to create an effect
for a single view only, use the Override By Category tool on the glass.

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3D VIEWS
© Copyright 2019 - BIM Pure Productions - revitpure.com DESIGN

10- USE AN IMAGE BACKGROUND

When you are ready for a more realistic type of view, try using a .jpeg
image for the background. Go to the background tab and select your
image. Use the Offset tool to adjust the height.

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3D VIEWS
© Copyright 2019 - BIM Pure Productions - revitpure.com DESIGN

11- CHANGE THE VIEW SCALE

Like you learned in tip #2, the silhouettes tool is very helpful to create an
effect of depth and a line thickness hierarchy. Another weird trick you can
use in addition to this one is changing the view scale. As you see in the
images below, a view set at 1:200 will have lines much thicker than a view
set at 1:100. Play with the scale until you get the look you wish to have.

If your 3D view is placed on a sheet, be careful when changing the scale,

it will affect the size of the view on the sheet. Therefore, the use of this
technique is mostly helpful when working on views that are not placed on
sheets.

Since you cannot change the scale of perspective views, this trick only
works with isometric views.

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 WANT MORE?

revitpure.com/design

Did you enjoy this sample chapter? It is the tip of the iceberg. The full
package contains hundreds of fun, simple and efficient tips that you can
apply right away to your own projects. The DESIGN package will teach
you how to seduce your clients using Revit.

Any question about the package? Send an email at: nick@revitpure.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

My name is Nicolas Catellier. I am an architect,
designer and BIM manager based in Quebec City,
Canada. I’ve been working with Revit since 2011
and I am a Autodesk Revit Architecture Certified
Professional. I am also a technology enthusiast, a
musician and a father of one. Besides Revit Pure, I
also work for Atelier 21 Architects.
revitpure.com
© Copyright 2019 - BIM Pure Productions