Section cuts will be an awesome addition to the next upgrade! Please, please do it. I'm a full time architect and I am shifting to Blender from Autocad and Lumion. And different tools such as floor plan with dimensions to simulate CAD file will definitely make this add-on as gamechanger. Thank you for the awesome work.
Amazing update. Your add-on construction lines is becoming a saviour and a game changer for many Sketch-up users. Riding over a powerful open source blender software, with the new features you are working for, I am sure, and adding a good set of tutorials for Sketchup users, this is certainly one of the most awaited piece of plugins for Architects, Urban designers, and product designers. Now what we need is a plugin to make production output as drawings from the models to generate plans, section cuts and views, in a Sketchup Layout like environment. I wish if we could have someone develop that. Then it is going be a good contender for Sketchup pro.
As an update or a completely new add-on would be mind-blowing to be able to export technical drawings with measurement to PDF, or to any file format, like you can do with Sketchup and other softwares. As an interior designer this is something much needed in Blender. I'm very excited you mentioned this!
CL Publish is in the works and I'll be posting a preview video sometime soon. It will be basic to start with but like CL will be regularly updated and developed.
Bravo. I have to admit I installed your previous version and then never really remembered to use it. When it didn't work with the Blender upgrade, I shrugged and though "oh well." But I'm really excited by this new version. Even some of the things you are describing as 'minor changes' look like huge frustration savers. But please, please develop the dimension lines as you describe at about 29:00. Once you can do that in blender and create actual ortho drawings (a la Sketchup>Layout) then I won't have to keep spending $1k a year to keep my CAD license going. The only thing that has kept me from moving to Blender entirely is the difficulty in generating drafting layouts and what you are describing, combined with the Feet and inches (not feet and decimal fraction of inch i.e. 1' .8679" ) will finally make Blender a viable CAD alternative. Thank you so much. I'd pay $100 for a version 1 that had those features. And BTW thank you for taking the time to make a clear and detailed tutorial of your tool. I'm astonished by how many people go to all the trouble to develop an add-on and then make a 2 minute video with annoying license-free techno music and a few pop-up text boxes. Great work all around.
Thanks for the comment Sean, I really appreciate that. This comment and the ones below are really solidifying the need to develop a way to output drawings. As I mention below, I'll get a prototype done soon to test the way I think it can be done. I'm sick of paying the license fees for other software too and can't wait to make the full switch.
A couple of nice features to have would be: 1) Being able to set guides to specific angles. 2) To be able to create guides by dragging from an axis line like you can from an edge.
Nice work! I am so glad you relize the drafting/anotation/presintation side of CAD is VERY important. In blender we have a truly magical display in Eevee, Cycle and Matcaps. However even with Measureit, PyClone, Specification Sheet, Tech Draw and others. Getting an annotated, titleblock, ortho + 1/4 view page to print out is just WAY to complicated for us professionals who have to work at lightspeed with demanding and mind-changing clients. I was a spoiled with Solidworks drafting and Composer PDF software. Hell even Fusion 360 struggles with printouts.
It depends on what version of Blender you're using but it might be to do with Overlays (Shift+Alt+Z whilst CL isn't running). You may need to go through the individual overlay check boxes.
Great Blender add-on representing a great amount work of cleaver work from an experienced and talented guy (Architectural design, CAD programming, Python programming, artistic flare and very polite and well spoken presentation. A real bargain for technical drawing in Blender. 👌👍. Peter Kelly, Australia.
Notice at 20:00 - your horizontal guidelines always show a dimension of 100.0m, rather than the actual distance from original line. Have noticed this little bug in use myself, except I usually use mm so it's even more obtrusive displaying 100000.0mm! Nice update though otherwise and am really looking forward to using this now that it's behaving with 2.93. Thank you for not having to hit enter before numerical input, so much better. Tips box is helpful and nicely done. Been designing mostly in Blender but still revert to Sketchup for a lot of boxy quick architectural slap ups. Simply having the Tape Measure tool has long been a crutch for me in SU except it's not a crutch is it when it's actually just a bloody good idea.
Thanks for pointing that out. Can't believe I didn't clock it. Someone has mentioned that on a 4K monitor the dimensions and tip box text are both hard to read, so I'll put out a fix for both of these soon (0.961 build).
Maybe you already have this, but consider a mirror command; also calculate area/sq footage would be great. The Layout/Print is also what blender's been lacking. Keep it up! Was a CAD/BIM manager for 35 years, and you're on the right track. Wonder if autodesk is getting sacred about now.........
Re presentation such as dimension scale drawings, as you allude to at the end. This is something I need to do continuously, and my workflow is design in Blender, export to Sketchup, do dimensions and export a 2D drawing, and very often assemble even more formal engineering drawings through Layout so page scale is correct and can mix many views on a page and mix in with other elements from others' CAD blueprints. Now with Blender dimensions getting slightly more useful but confined to Edit mode selections, and CL dimensions now beginning to address that, we are getting closer to being able to stay in Blender. Yes, standoff dimensions with leader lines and arrows would be pretty important, as well as call-out leaders with remarks, but moreover a black line on white page style that is print friendly would be a huge help. Could focus on doing single views to start, eventually move to multi-view as in Layout. I could see this being a separate add-on to keep things simpler and it really is a distinct separate function from the CL focus. Definitely worth paying for.
Hear Hear! DN if you can make this happen, 10 thousand small firm architects and designers grinding away under the yoke of Autodesk, Trimble, and Vectorworks will write you into song and legend. We will build a giant stature of you in your honor. Sitting on top of a 2m x 2m plinth of course ;)
I'm working to put all of the requirements together at the moment and think that the base list is: 1) a way to save and print a scaled view (top, side, perspective, etc.) at a defined paper size and orientation. I think it would need to save to svg or .pdf 2) standoff dimensions 3) section cuts. I think with just those 3 things to start, it would take us a long way. Most of the other items we might need (text, title blocks, etc.) could be done in a vector drawing package or .pdf editor. I think I've come up with a good way to get multiple pages working in Blender and I intend to get a rough prototype done soon, so I can see how things work in practice. Once it's done I'll ask a few people to take a look at an experimental build.
@@dndrawings svg or pdf that opened cleanly in Inkscape could be very slick, that text and title block kind of thing is so easy in IS, and probably much faster than trying to get Blender to do it. Actually any kind of clean black line drawing export to Inkscape? Yeah that would rock. I see that Chipp Walters has a couple addons out Sketch Style and Chalk Style that can produce very sophisticated b+w line art, but dimensions don't seem to feature.
This is great - I don't know if you have used formZ but this seems similar. A great tool you could implement would be a double line tool with consistent wall width then click to extrude
A big thank you for all your effort in creating this sophisticated beautiful add-on. I'm quite certain that it is most appreciated by everyone that has downloaded it and put it to good use. my question is has anybody had a chance to see how it works with the latest version of blender 3.0 ?
Thanks for the kind words Mark. I've been testing on Blender 3.0 over the last week or so and it's been working well. I've had a couple of Mac users report that the guide measurements are not showing up now. This may be an OpenGL issue. I'm looking into this but it doesn't seem to affect Windows or Linux.
Great work, thank you very much (my birthday is tomorrow), good developpement since I bought 0.92 . Your project sounds so good since I am leaving Sketchup (and think more and more to stop teaching it) due to their pitiful, miserable developpement and consideration for users. Nice kick in their ass. A lot of people are thinking about the theme of presentation and section plans and it would be great to unify those energies (to bad I am not able to code). Bravo et merci !
Thanks for the comment, Oliver. Really pleased to hear that you like the new update. Agree with you on the SU comment. I've been a user for well over a decade now and they're not going in a great direction. I can see lot's of users feel the same. Happy Birthday for tomorrow!
Awesome work man! Very helpful for me to migrate from sketchup to blender for architectural modeling. Cant wait for the next release, bets its gonna be much much more helpful for us. Thanks for making this add ons. Cheers!
Thanks very much for the comment. I really appreciate that. I've got an interim release coming out this week, to fix a few issues and work on the 0.9.7 release is well underway. Cheers
Nice add on. Can I request for update for dimensioning and print out feature, like Lay out for sketchup. It will be great. (edit: already mentioned in the video 😆)
For offseting edges I usually will inset the edges and apply them directly on top of the original edges so they are effectively duplicated. Then use scale to expand them outwards.
But it's not the same as offset. Usually, the result will be different. Scaling doesn't guarantee even distances between original and offset edges. There is another addon "offset edges" which adds that exact functionality.
Can't wait to try out these new features :) I can't help but notice that the audio quality of your voice recording is a bit distracting. Would you mind trying to find out what the problem is? You can also send me the your recordings if you want to. I work in the audio industry and am able to clean up voice recordings (remove pops and buzzing noise etc.). I'd do it for free ofc as a thank you for the addon ;)
Thanks for the comment. Yes, I think my mic is on its last legs. It's just a cheap lapel mic so I've just ordered a new one, which should be better fit for purpose. Thanks for the offer by the way, that's very generous. If I have recoding issues with the new one (hopefully I don't), I'll get in touch. Cheers.
I can help test the add-on if you like. I'm going to be using Blender 3.2 Alpha. If the grid snap doesn't work at the moment you could let people type in the X, Y & Z points (0,0 or 0,0,0). That way you can set the exact point instead of just clicking to start drawing something.
Hi Glen, Thanks for the comment. I've written my own grid-snapping now, which is included in the latest release (0.9.62). It currently works on the major grid points when in orthographic views and in the next version there will also be an option to snap to the subdivisions. CL will auto-lock to X,Y,Z directions and also when dragging perpendicular to an edge, or continuing in the edge direction. You can then lock the movement using Shift+Ctrl. Would be very useful to hear if you have any issues running CL on 3.2 Alpha. Cheers
@DN Drawings I'm very interested in your addon it is a huge step in the right direction. I have visited your page but couldn't found any information about the release dates. So it would be very kind if you could always add the release date for each release. If you do that, I will definitely consider buying your addon. Further, it would also be important to know whether your addon still works with Blender 3.0. Therefore it is significant to keep the information up-to-date on your website. Keep the good work going on!
Hi Leon, thanks for the comment. That's a very good point. I'll add release dates on the website now. For the record, the latest release is 0.9.61 which was released on 11 Nov 2021 and it does work with Blender 3.0 . Thanks.
@@dndrawings Superb! Your response time is a positive exemplary which increase my trust in you. I promise you, I will follow your development and watch in which direction it goes and next year I will buy your addon. I will report you after my purchase. And maybe I will make some functional suggestions after examine your addon for a while :-)
Thanks for the great video. Let's all ask the Blender team to add the grid data to an API. I think this is super important to be able to draw easily. I was actually just looking for a SketchUp replacement and found this. Pablo and a few other programmers are always checking what people want and work on stuff that has the most requests. I also didn't realize Blender didn't have PDF screenshot option. If we draw lines with this add-on will it autolock to the X, Y & Z axis? Just by moving the mouse, instead of just using the shortcut keys.
Hi Glen, Thanks for the comment. I've written my own grid-snapping now, which is included in the latest release (0.9.62). It currently works on the major grid points when in orthographic views and in the next version there will also be an option snap to the subdivisions. CL will autolock to X,Y,Z directions and also when dragging perpendicular to an edge, or continuing in the edge direction. You can then lock the movement using Shift+Ctrl.
hi, yeah just bought the thing.. it's promising.. anyway, what you wanna be looking at is grid modeler - I'd say it does the same things grid and cutting wise .. this cad approach is great, but I'm looking forward polishing it up proper
I just bought this addon yesterday, as someone coming from autocad this is very helpful so thank you very much for taking the time to make this 😎👍🏻. Just one question, with the line command is there a way to specify what angle you want? I know you can snap to the xyz axis but if I wanted to draw say a line 100mm long at a 30° angle how would you do that?
This is something that is on the development list and will hopefully make it into the next release (0.9.7). In the meantime, you can set your guide at 100mm, then select and rotate by 30°.
@@dndrawings no problem. I'm very impressed with your addon. Just thought of something else, if it's possible, a snap to tangent. Been trying to get a line to the tangent on a cylinder and it's a bugger. My workaround atm is draw it in 2d in autocad and import it into blender as a dxf file.
You're doing a phenomenal job! Righ now I'm frustrated because I can't easily make plans with different views and sections of an object and easily add measurements, like I can in Autocad and Rhino. If you could develop this feature I would be so glad, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
Thanks very much for the comment. I'm currently working on my next add-on (alongside CL) which does exactly what you describe. I'm at a stage where you can add multiple views, scaled correctly to paper size, with dimensions and the ability to export to .svg. I'll post a preview video fairly soon. Sections are a must-have but will require more time. It's something I've been frustrated not having too, so I'm really excited to get a working version out sometime soon.
@@dndrawings That's great news! Do you have a rough estimate when the add-on (or a beta version) will be available? And have you thought about the price?
@@mrlightwriter Development is going well so I'd like to get out a beta before the end of the year, though it might be early next. I imagine the price won't be far off of what CL is, as it'll be released in beta also.
i am looking forward to the tutorials of version 1! i am a long-time blender user, i discovered CAD for 3d printing recently, i tried several CAD software but i found it extremely frustrating to use in certain design scenarios ( freeCAD ). so i was VERY happy to find this addon for Blender so i have some level of familiarity. but i am a bit confused and overwhelmed by what is or is not possible with this addon.
Thanks for the comment. Have you taken a look through the manual on my website? www.dndrawings.com/construction-lines-tutorial-096 If there is anything in particular that you are looking for or unsure about, contact me through the feedback form on the website and I can answer your questions view email.
best Blender addon ever! I hava a question if I buy this 0.9.6 version Can I just update it whenever the new version comes out or I should buy it again?
Thank you very much for the update and the excellent explainer video. Looking forward to seeing things continue to develop. Just a quick comment/question on the topic of adding an offset feature - is this not the same as selecting a face and scaling outwards? Thanks again.
Thanks, Colin. With the offset, I want to keep the original face and I find that if I do an extrude then scale on a face, Blender seems to create an extra face but won't keep the original one. After your comment though, I've tested further and think that Blender's inset and extrude/scale are close enough to the functionality that I probably don't need to add it in. Saves me some development ;-) Thanks for the comment.
@@dndrawings thanks Dan. Glad it helped. Actually I meant just scale the original face without extruding it or extruding in place first which I think is pretty much the same as inset if you go inwards and would be offset if you go outwards. I’ve been using your new release this morning to redo something I was struggling with and it’s been so useful. Thanks again.
@@colinrichman4812 Really glad it helped with your project, Colin. That's always great to hear. Yes, I think face scale/inset will pretty much cover the requirement. I might see if I can do a quick link to the operator so you don't have to leave CL to do it.
@@dndrawings Obviously, scaling the edges outwards is not the same as offset. Usually, the result will be different. Scaling doesn't guarantee even distances between original and offset edges (an ellipse is the perfect example to demonstrate it). There is another addon "offset edges" which adds that exact functionality, but it would make sense to also include it in CL addon.
Thanks for the comment. You can select a face and press 'I' which will inset the face or you can press 'E' to extrude and then 'S' to scale which has a similar effect to an offset. I'm still thinking about developing a dedicated tool in CL for this.
I found something, that works perfectly for me, as an offset function, like AutoCAD, but it can only offset to the inside. I select in edit mode the face I want to offset and "Face>Inset Faces", I input the value and enter. It worked for drawing Floor Plans with CL perfectly.
For the selections there are 2 out of 4 movements that work. 1st selection with object inside (top left to bottom right) 2nd selection with all objects in contact (bottom right to top left). Would it be possible to only use the 1st (left to right) and 2nd (right to left) movements without considering the up and down? Thanks
Hi, when i key in 2000mm for line or measure tools the dimension is not accurate. Is there any solution as i am working on millimeter and version 2.92. thanks
@@dndrawings Hi, in the chat here i type mm is to let you know i working on millimeter but on actual blender i just key 2000 without mm. and the guide line dimension show 100.0mm.
@@jeffkoh79 This is an issue with the length display on horizontal guides. It will always show 100 for horizontal guides, as this is the default length of a horizontal guide (see prefs). However, it will have travelled 2000 from your start point (if that's what you've typed). Try with a normal guide (press alt to change from horizontal) and you can check this. It's a bug that has now been fixed for version 0.9.61 (should be released soon).
This is a known bug that has been fixed for the coming release (0.9.62). Will be out soon. In the meantime, you can use simple numeric values rather than expressions.
@@dndrawings yes. I haven't been using because of this issue. I was trying to do some precision modeling, but not allowing me to enter in the exact measurements maked this add-on pretty useless.
This probably means that you're using the numpad. If you want to use the numpad for input then press Enter before entering a number. The number row doesn't require you to do this. You can change the behaviour in the preferences.
when i want to draw rectangle in the midlle of the surface it does not work, only it works if i place a rectangle from an edge of the object, than i can place another one on the surface.
Yes, the current version works on Blender 3.0. As a note, there were some changes to the boolean modifier code in Blender which affects how CL's extrude works. It seems to be less stable. I've noticed some updates to the Blender code in those modules in the last week, so hopefully, version 3.0.1 will fix the issues.
Grid snapping is coming in the next version 0.9.7. You can enter a numeric value when drawing a line by using the number row or pressing Enter before using the number pad. Settings to adjust are in preferences.
Thanks for making blender easier for sketchup users! (Giving walls materials is remains still difficult tho :p hate how blender creates alot of lines on a wall when you wanna make holes)
@@dndrawings Iam new to blender but in skechup walls get cleaned up automatic will in blender you walls get a lot of lines when i wanna make a hole in it. Making it harder to give wall a material. another thing is in sketchup you just select the wall and select a material and the wall gets that material. As far as i know to give a wall in blender a material it takes more steps. btw this has nothing to do with your awesome addon tho
@@dndrawings they don't get my card .they said to use another card.i make a PayPal account for purchasing but I can't complete to success. I have Googlepay .but they not accept that .what I do? I need construction line addon .(from India)
terrible murmuring and high pitch noise in the background amplified with lips smacking. No recording of the keys being pressed and erratic long presentation.
Section cuts will be an awesome addition to the next upgrade! Please, please do it. I'm a full time architect and I am shifting to Blender from Autocad and Lumion. And different tools such as floor plan with dimensions to simulate CAD file will definitely make this add-on as gamechanger. Thank you for the awesome work.
Yes then we could do perspective section architectural renders… blender would be so much more powerful
Amazing update. Your add-on construction lines is becoming a saviour and a game changer for many Sketch-up users. Riding over a powerful open source blender software, with the new features you are working for, I am sure, and adding a good set of tutorials for Sketchup users, this is certainly one of the most awaited piece of plugins for Architects, Urban designers, and product designers.
Now what we need is a plugin to make production output as drawings from the models to generate plans, section cuts and views, in a Sketchup Layout like environment. I wish if we could have someone develop that. Then it is going be a good contender for Sketchup pro.
Thanks! I'm going to start a prototype of the output tool and hopefully, that will end up doing exactly as you say.
As an update or a completely new add-on would be mind-blowing to be able to export technical drawings with measurement to PDF, or to any file format, like you can do with Sketchup and other softwares. As an interior designer this is something much needed in Blender. I'm very excited you mentioned this!
CL Publish is in the works and I'll be posting a preview video sometime soon. It will be basic to start with but like CL will be regularly updated and developed.
@@dndrawings thank You for your hard, and much needed work for the Blender community! 🙌
Bravo. I have to admit I installed your previous version and then never really remembered to use it. When it didn't work with the Blender upgrade, I shrugged and though "oh well." But I'm really excited by this new version. Even some of the things you are describing as 'minor changes' look like huge frustration savers. But please, please develop the dimension lines as you describe at about 29:00. Once you can do that in blender and create actual ortho drawings (a la Sketchup>Layout) then I won't have to keep spending $1k a year to keep my CAD license going. The only thing that has kept me from moving to Blender entirely is the difficulty in generating drafting layouts and what you are describing, combined with the Feet and inches (not feet and decimal fraction of inch i.e. 1' .8679" ) will finally make Blender a viable CAD alternative. Thank you so much. I'd pay $100 for a version 1 that had those features. And BTW thank you for taking the time to make a clear and detailed tutorial of your tool. I'm astonished by how many people go to all the trouble to develop an add-on and then make a 2 minute video with annoying license-free techno music and a few pop-up text boxes. Great work all around.
Thanks for the comment Sean, I really appreciate that. This comment and the ones below are really solidifying the need to develop a way to output drawings. As I mention below, I'll get a prototype done soon to test the way I think it can be done. I'm sick of paying the license fees for other software too and can't wait to make the full switch.
I very much liked this, something I missed terribly in Archipack.
A couple of nice features to have would be: 1) Being able to set guides to specific angles. 2) To be able to create guides by dragging from an axis line like you can from an edge.
Nice work! I am so glad you relize the drafting/anotation/presintation side of CAD is VERY important. In blender we have a truly magical display in Eevee, Cycle and Matcaps. However even with Measureit, PyClone, Specification Sheet, Tech Draw and others. Getting an annotated, titleblock, ortho + 1/4 view page to print out is just WAY to complicated for us professionals who have to work at lightspeed with demanding and mind-changing clients. I was a spoiled with Solidworks drafting and Composer PDF software. Hell even Fusion 360 struggles with printouts.
@DN Drawings Guide line is not showing the numbers for Feet, Inches what should be the problem can u tell.?
It depends on what version of Blender you're using but it might be to do with Overlays (Shift+Alt+Z whilst CL isn't running). You may need to go through the individual overlay check boxes.
I'm using blender 3.0
This is amazing!! Well done
Thanks!
Great Blender add-on representing a great amount work of cleaver work from an experienced and talented guy (Architectural design, CAD programming, Python programming, artistic flare and very polite and well spoken presentation. A real bargain for technical drawing in Blender. 👌👍. Peter Kelly, Australia.
Just emailed you, Peter. Thanks again.
@@dndrawings Hi Dan, no email has arrived as yet (SATURDAY); check address?
Cheers, p.
@@nedbazzvictoria6948 Just resent it. Cheers, Dan
Notice at 20:00 - your horizontal guidelines always show a dimension of 100.0m, rather than the actual distance from original line. Have noticed this little bug in use myself, except I usually use mm so it's even more obtrusive displaying 100000.0mm! Nice update though otherwise and am really looking forward to using this now that it's behaving with 2.93. Thank you for not having to hit enter before numerical input, so much better. Tips box is helpful and nicely done. Been designing mostly in Blender but still revert to Sketchup for a lot of boxy quick architectural slap ups. Simply having the Tape Measure tool has long been a crutch for me in SU except it's not a crutch is it when it's actually just a bloody good idea.
Thanks for pointing that out. Can't believe I didn't clock it. Someone has mentioned that on a 4K monitor the dimensions and tip box text are both hard to read, so I'll put out a fix for both of these soon (0.961 build).
Thanks so much for your work on this.
Maybe you already have this, but consider a mirror command; also calculate area/sq footage would be great. The Layout/Print is also what blender's been lacking.
Keep it up! Was a CAD/BIM manager for 35 years, and you're on the right track. Wonder if autodesk is getting sacred about now.........
Re presentation such as dimension scale drawings, as you allude to at the end. This is something I need to do continuously, and my workflow is design in Blender, export to Sketchup, do dimensions and export a 2D drawing, and very often assemble even more formal engineering drawings through Layout so page scale is correct and can mix many views on a page and mix in with other elements from others' CAD blueprints. Now with Blender dimensions getting slightly more useful but confined to Edit mode selections, and CL dimensions now beginning to address that, we are getting closer to being able to stay in Blender. Yes, standoff dimensions with leader lines and arrows would be pretty important, as well as call-out leaders with remarks, but moreover a black line on white page style that is print friendly would be a huge help. Could focus on doing single views to start, eventually move to multi-view as in Layout. I could see this being a separate add-on to keep things simpler and it really is a distinct separate function from the CL focus. Definitely worth paying for.
Hear Hear! DN if you can make this happen, 10 thousand small firm architects and designers grinding away under the yoke of Autodesk, Trimble, and Vectorworks will write you into song and legend. We will build a giant stature of you in your honor. Sitting on top of a 2m x 2m plinth of course ;)
@@seanposkea :D
I'm working to put all of the requirements together at the moment and think that the base list is: 1) a way to save and print a scaled view (top, side, perspective, etc.) at a defined paper size and orientation. I think it would need to save to svg or .pdf 2) standoff dimensions 3) section cuts. I think with just those 3 things to start, it would take us a long way. Most of the other items we might need (text, title blocks, etc.) could be done in a vector drawing package or .pdf editor. I think I've come up with a good way to get multiple pages working in Blender and I intend to get a rough prototype done soon, so I can see how things work in practice. Once it's done I'll ask a few people to take a look at an experimental build.
@@dndrawings svg or pdf that opened cleanly in Inkscape could be very slick, that text and title block kind of thing is so easy in IS, and probably much faster than trying to get Blender to do it. Actually any kind of clean black line drawing export to Inkscape? Yeah that would rock. I see that Chipp Walters has a couple addons out Sketch Style and Chalk Style that can produce very sophisticated b+w line art, but dimensions don't seem to feature.
@@dndrawings That seems to be a great starting point! I would only add Leaders to that list, but maybe it's better to leave it for a future update.
Thanks. it's nice how you made it even closer how SketchUpworks
problem is that arcs still doesn't cut the face
This is great - I don't know if you have used formZ but this seems similar. A great tool you could implement would be a double line tool with consistent wall width then click to extrude
A big thank you for all your effort in creating this sophisticated beautiful add-on. I'm quite certain that it is most appreciated by everyone that has downloaded it and put it to good use.
my question is has anybody had a chance to see how it works with the latest version of blender 3.0 ?
Thanks for the kind words Mark. I've been testing on Blender 3.0 over the last week or so and it's been working well. I've had a couple of Mac users report that the guide measurements are not showing up now. This may be an OpenGL issue. I'm looking into this but it doesn't seem to affect Windows or Linux.
Very nice!!!
Great work, thank you very much (my birthday is tomorrow), good developpement since I bought 0.92 .
Your project sounds so good since I am leaving Sketchup (and think more and more to stop teaching it) due to their pitiful, miserable developpement and consideration for users. Nice kick in their ass.
A lot of people are thinking about the theme of presentation and section plans and it would be great to unify those energies (to bad I am not able to code).
Bravo et merci !
Thanks for the comment, Oliver. Really pleased to hear that you like the new update. Agree with you on the SU comment. I've been a user for well over a decade now and they're not going in a great direction. I can see lot's of users feel the same. Happy Birthday for tomorrow!
Awesome work man! Very helpful for me to migrate from sketchup to blender for architectural modeling. Cant wait for the next release, bets its gonna be much much more helpful for us. Thanks for making this add ons. Cheers!
Thanks very much for the comment. I really appreciate that. I've got an interim release coming out this week, to fix a few issues and work on the 0.9.7 release is well underway. Cheers
@@dndrawings please v0.9.7 release?
This is the most anticipated development. Thank you for your efforts. I look forward to the day when Blender will completely replace skp.
Thanks for the comment. Me too!
Nice add on. Can I request for update for dimensioning and print out feature, like Lay out for sketchup. It will be great. (edit: already mentioned in the video 😆)
:-D Development on the new add-on is coming along nicely, so I'll put out a preview video early in the new year.
@@dndrawings great...thank you
For offseting edges I usually will inset the edges and apply them directly on top of the original edges so they are effectively duplicated. Then use scale to expand them outwards.
But it's not the same as offset. Usually, the result will be different. Scaling doesn't guarantee even distances between original and offset edges. There is another addon "offset edges" which adds that exact functionality.
Can't wait to try out these new features :) I can't help but notice that the audio quality of your voice recording is a bit distracting. Would you mind trying to find out what the problem is?
You can also send me the your recordings if you want to. I work in the audio industry and am able to clean up voice recordings (remove pops and buzzing noise etc.). I'd do it for free ofc as a thank you for the addon ;)
Thanks for the comment. Yes, I think my mic is on its last legs. It's just a cheap lapel mic so I've just ordered a new one, which should be better fit for purpose. Thanks for the offer by the way, that's very generous. If I have recoding issues with the new one (hopefully I don't), I'll get in touch. Cheers.
I can help test the add-on if you like. I'm going to be using Blender 3.2 Alpha. If the grid snap doesn't work at the moment you could let people type in the X, Y & Z points (0,0 or 0,0,0). That way you can set the exact point instead of just clicking to start drawing something.
Hi Glen, Thanks for the comment. I've written my own grid-snapping now, which is included in the latest release (0.9.62). It currently works on the major grid points when in orthographic views and in the next version there will also be an option to snap to the subdivisions.
CL will auto-lock to X,Y,Z directions and also when dragging perpendicular to an edge, or continuing in the edge direction. You can then lock the movement using Shift+Ctrl.
Would be very useful to hear if you have any issues running CL on 3.2 Alpha. Cheers
@DN Drawings I'm very interested in your addon it is a huge step in the right direction. I have visited your page but couldn't found any information about the release dates. So it would be very kind if you could always add the release date for each release. If you do that, I will definitely consider buying your addon. Further, it would also be important to know whether your addon still works with Blender 3.0. Therefore it is significant to keep the information up-to-date on your website. Keep the good work going on!
Hi Leon, thanks for the comment. That's a very good point. I'll add release dates on the website now. For the record, the latest release is 0.9.61 which was released on 11 Nov 2021 and it does work with Blender 3.0 . Thanks.
@@dndrawings Superb! Your response time is a positive exemplary which increase my trust in you. I promise you, I will follow your development and watch in which direction it goes and next year I will buy your addon. I will report you after my purchase.
And maybe I will make some functional suggestions after examine your addon for a while :-)
@@leonlionheart5927 Thanks. I really appreciate your comments.
Thanks for the great video. Let's all ask the Blender team to add the grid data to an API. I think this is super important to be able to draw easily. I was actually just looking for a SketchUp replacement and found this. Pablo and a few other programmers are always checking what people want and work on stuff that has the most requests. I also didn't realize Blender didn't have PDF screenshot option. If we draw lines with this add-on will it autolock to the X, Y & Z axis? Just by moving the mouse, instead of just using the shortcut keys.
Hi Glen, Thanks for the comment. I've written my own grid-snapping now, which is included in the latest release (0.9.62). It currently works on the major grid points when in orthographic views and in the next version there will also be an option snap to the subdivisions.
CL will autolock to X,Y,Z directions and also when dragging perpendicular to an edge, or continuing in the edge direction. You can then lock the movement using Shift+Ctrl.
hi, yeah just bought the thing.. it's promising.. anyway, what you wanna be looking at is grid modeler - I'd say it does the same things grid and cutting wise .. this cad approach is great, but I'm looking forward polishing it up proper
I just bought this addon yesterday, as someone coming from autocad this is very helpful so thank you very much for taking the time to make this 😎👍🏻. Just one question, with the line command is there a way to specify what angle you want? I know you can snap to the xyz axis but if I wanted to draw say a line 100mm long at a 30° angle how would you do that?
This is something that is on the development list and will hopefully make it into the next release (0.9.7). In the meantime, you can set your guide at 100mm, then select and rotate by 30°.
Thanks for the comment by the way
@@dndrawings no problem. I'm very impressed with your addon. Just thought of something else, if it's possible, a snap to tangent. Been trying to get a line to the tangent on a cylinder and it's a bugger. My workaround atm is draw it in 2d in autocad and import it into blender as a dxf file.
@@Keltoi87 This has been on my list for a while, so thanks for the reminder. I'll try to get in for the next release.
You're doing a phenomenal job! Righ now I'm frustrated because I can't easily make plans with different views and sections of an object and easily add measurements, like I can in Autocad and Rhino. If you could develop this feature I would be so glad, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
Thanks very much for the comment. I'm currently working on my next add-on (alongside CL) which does exactly what you describe. I'm at a stage where you can add multiple views, scaled correctly to paper size, with dimensions and the ability to export to .svg. I'll post a preview video fairly soon. Sections are a must-have but will require more time. It's something I've been frustrated not having too, so I'm really excited to get a working version out sometime soon.
@@dndrawings That's great news! Do you have a rough estimate when the add-on (or a beta version) will be available? And have you thought about the price?
@@mrlightwriter Development is going well so I'd like to get out a beta before the end of the year, though it might be early next. I imagine the price won't be far off of what CL is, as it'll be released in beta also.
@@dndrawings Thank you again for your clear answers. I'm looking forward to it!
i am looking forward to the tutorials of version 1!
i am a long-time blender user, i discovered CAD for 3d printing recently, i tried several CAD software but i found it extremely frustrating to use in certain design scenarios ( freeCAD ). so i was VERY happy to find this addon for Blender so i have some level of familiarity. but i am a bit confused and overwhelmed by what is or is not possible with this addon.
Thanks for the comment. Have you taken a look through the manual on my website? www.dndrawings.com/construction-lines-tutorial-096 If there is anything in particular that you are looking for or unsure about, contact me through the feedback form on the website and I can answer your questions view email.
How do you change the text size inside the guide box? Mine is too small
This is a preference in the 0.9.61 interim release. Coming this week (I'm hoping to release either tomorrow or Friday).
best Blender addon ever! I hava a question if I buy this 0.9.6 version Can I just update it whenever the new version comes out or I should buy it again?
Thanks for the comment. I'm really please you like it! Yes, you only need to pay once. All future updates are free once you purchase.
@@dndrawings I can't wait for Angle measurements Update, Great Job and Good Luck
Great need the offset tool!!!
Thank you very much for the update and the excellent explainer video. Looking forward to seeing things continue to develop. Just a quick comment/question on the topic of adding an offset feature - is this not the same as selecting a face and scaling outwards? Thanks again.
Thanks, Colin. With the offset, I want to keep the original face and I find that if I do an extrude then scale on a face, Blender seems to create an extra face but won't keep the original one. After your comment though, I've tested further and think that Blender's inset and extrude/scale are close enough to the functionality that I probably don't need to add it in. Saves me some development ;-) Thanks for the comment.
@@dndrawings thanks Dan. Glad it helped. Actually I meant just scale the original face without extruding it or extruding in place first which I think is pretty much the same as inset if you go inwards and would be offset if you go outwards. I’ve been using your new release this morning to redo something I was struggling with and it’s been so useful. Thanks again.
@@colinrichman4812 Really glad it helped with your project, Colin. That's always great to hear. Yes, I think face scale/inset will pretty much cover the requirement. I might see if I can do a quick link to the operator so you don't have to leave CL to do it.
@@dndrawings Obviously, scaling the edges outwards is not the same as offset. Usually, the result will be different. Scaling doesn't guarantee even distances between original and offset edges (an ellipse is the perfect example to demonstrate it). There is another addon "offset edges" which adds that exact functionality, but it would make sense to also include it in CL addon.
@@colinrichman4812 Take a look at my reply about scaling/ offsetting.
Great tool.... thank you for all your effort !
Thanks for the comment!
defenitely needs this addon
This addon support in Blender 3.0?.
Yes, works fine on Blender 3.0
It is a lifesaver, I bought it. I have a question how can I use something similar to offset of SketchUp?
Thanks for the comment. You can select a face and press 'I' which will inset the face or you can press 'E' to extrude and then 'S' to scale which has a similar effect to an offset. I'm still thinking about developing a dedicated tool in CL for this.
@@dndrawings Thank you for your reply. This feature will be amazing as the rest CL tools.
I found something, that works perfectly for me, as an offset function, like AutoCAD, but it can only offset to the inside. I select in edit mode the face I want to offset and "Face>Inset Faces", I input the value and enter. It worked for drawing Floor Plans with CL perfectly.
I want to be able to dimension the model and resize edges etc by changing the number within the dimension. Like in Fusion 360
This is something that's on my list and will be included - not sure what version yet.
Thank you
For the selections there are 2 out of 4 movements that work. 1st selection with object inside (top left to bottom right) 2nd selection with all objects in contact (bottom right to top left). Would it be possible to only use the 1st (left to right) and 2nd (right to left) movements without considering the up and down? Thanks
Hi, when i key in 2000mm for line or measure tools the dimension is not accurate. Is there any solution as i am working on millimeter and version 2.92. thanks
Hi, there's no need to type the units, so instead type 2000 not 2000mm. Hope that helps.
@@dndrawings Hi, in the chat here i type mm is to let you know i working on millimeter but on actual blender i just key 2000 without mm. and the guide line dimension show 100.0mm.
@@jeffkoh79 This is an issue with the length display on horizontal guides. It will always show 100 for horizontal guides, as this is the default length of a horizontal guide (see prefs). However, it will have travelled 2000 from your start point (if that's what you've typed). Try with a normal guide (press alt to change from horizontal) and you can check this. It's a bug that has now been fixed for version 0.9.61 (should be released soon).
Next version release date?.
Er...there is a outset as well as inset but i forget what keys you press but it is in Blender
amazing work DN drawings (bought it) but, can we get surface area when face is selected, also combine with other faces gives total s area, thx.
Thanks for the comment! Surface area of faces is now on the list (either single or in selection). cheers
Hi sir, please upload 0.9.7 version ....we are need to measurement tools show the dimenstions...please add this program.
Why is it crashing when im trying to make dimensions on a circle. I would type in 150/2 or any number and it would crash making me restart blender.
This is a known bug that has been fixed for the coming release (0.9.62). Will be out soon. In the meantime, you can use simple numeric values rather than expressions.
@@dndrawingsgot it thanks!
@@dndrawings Theres issues when im entering in the value as well. If im trying to make a circle at 100mm it would only make a 20mm circle
@@xevenau Is this still happening with the new version (0.9.62)?
@@dndrawings yes. I haven't been using because of this issue. I was trying to do some precision modeling, but not allowing me to enter in the exact measurements maked this add-on pretty useless.
please tell me, why i press 3, only change the angle of view, it not set the parameters of the line.
This probably means that you're using the numpad. If you want to use the numpad for input then press Enter before entering a number. The number row doesn't require you to do this. You can change the behaviour in the preferences.
It looks like sketchup.... It would be much useful if you can also create a sketchup layout alternative.... For printing plans with scaling...
when i want to draw rectangle in the midlle of the surface it does not work, only it works if i place a rectangle from an edge of the object, than i can place another one on the surface.
Do you mean that the rectangle is not cutting into the surface? Are you working in Edit mode on the surface you want to draw on?
@@dndrawings well in object mode. actually it is ok now... but thanks for your quick reply
V 0.9.7 release date?
works with Blender 3.0?
Yes, the current version works on Blender 3.0. As a note, there were some changes to the boolean modifier code in Blender which affects how CL's extrude works. It seems to be less stable. I've noticed some updates to the Blender code in those modules in the last week, so hopefully, version 3.0.1 will fix the issues.
@@dndrawings many thanks! I use Blender with Mac, does it work the same?
@@LksKain Works fine on Mac and Linux.
@@dndrawings I bought it and will wait for future releases -)
why the hell can't you snap to the grid? or enter a numerical value when drawing a line???
Grid snapping is coming in the next version 0.9.7. You can enter a numeric value when drawing a line by using the number row or pressing Enter before using the number pad. Settings to adjust are in preferences.
Thanks for making blender easier for sketchup users! (Giving walls materials is remains still difficult tho :p hate how blender creates alot of lines on a wall when you wanna make holes)
What are you finding difficult about adding materials to walls?
@@dndrawings Iam new to blender but in skechup walls get cleaned up automatic will in blender you walls get a lot of lines when i wanna make a hole in it. Making it harder to give wall a material. another thing is in sketchup you just select the wall and select a material and the wall gets that material. As far as i know to give a wall in blender a material it takes more steps. btw this has nothing to do with your awesome addon tho
Blender 3.2.2 ??
as of 8/822 only works up to 3.0.1
3.2.2 ?
finally....
I can't purchase
What plaform are you having problems with? Gumroad or Blender Market?
@@dndrawings they don't get my card .they said to use another card.i make a PayPal account for purchasing but I can't complete to success. I have Googlepay .but they not accept that .what I do? I need construction line addon .(from India)
@@dndrawings can I buy it anywhere in the world with using credit card
terrible murmuring and high pitch noise in the background amplified with lips smacking. No recording of the keys being pressed and erratic long presentation.