One of the more interesting aspects of working in 3-D is that you can visualize what your design will look like. You have so far used the hide and shade commands to give you some idea towards how the final piece will look. The next step is to learn about the RENDER command. This command is the most powerful one for viewing your objects. Using render, you are able to add realistic lighting and materials to get the most realistic view of what you're designing.

AutoCAD has a few ways for you to view an object other than the plan view that you have used for your 2-D drawings. For quick, easy views use the pull-down menu options. To do this choose View > 3-D Viewpoint > (then select one of the four bottom isometric options). Look at the drawing below to see the differences between four views. When doing basic drawings, it is a good idea to use only one view. This will keep you orientated a lot easier. It is most common to use the Southwest view, as this keeps your positive X and Y axes in a logical position. For most of your work in this course, stick with this view.

Once you start working with AutoCAD's materials, you'll soon realize that you don't really have a large selection. What is you need a white stucco material for a wall? Or grass for the lawn, or brushed aluminum, or... well, you get the picture. What you need to do is create your own materials.

You may have already found out why CAD has many advantages over manual drafting. One big advantage is that once you've drawn something, you shouldn't have to draw it again. If you manually drew a house plan, you would have to draw a front elevation, side elevations, and possibly a perspective view. With one 3-D CAD model, you can generate views from any angle either inside or outside the house. Afterwards, if your client needs something changed, you can then make the changes once. If you're drawing mechanical parts, you can generate virtual prototypes or even create rapid prototypes. In this manner Boeing was able to design and prototype the 777 jetliner. This level of engineering would be impossible without CAD.

Suppose that you need to draw something other than a rectangular cube. AutoCAD gives you two commands for those times when you need to draw cylindrical objects. One (revsurf) will give you a complex model comprised of a 3-D surface made up of many facets. The other (revolve) will give you a solid object. The method that you use will once again depend on what you need it for. Take a look at the lamp on this page.