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Isometric or what - scale, rotate, shear settings

post #1 of 7
6/30/12 at 11:13am
Thread Starter 

I'm trying to draw a set of simple maps in 3D in Illustrator.  It's a remake of a drawing done years ago and I want to keep the basic feel, so it is based on a run of 2 and a rise of 1 on a regular grid.

 

I need help with the settings for the top/bottom plane action.

 

With isometric, I have 4 actions set up:

Left Face

     > scale 86.602% horizontal, 100% vertical

     > shear horizontal axis -30°

     > rotate -30°

 

Right Face

     > scale 86.602% horizontal, 100% vertical

     > shear horizontal +30°

     > rotate +30°

 

Top/Bottom Clockwise

     > scale 86.602% horizontal, 100% vertical

     > shear horizontal +30°

     >rotate -30°

 

Top/Bottom Counterclockwise

     > scale 86.602% horizontal, 100% vertical

     > shear horizontal -30°

     > rotate +30°

 

These work very well, no problem.  This, however, is not the look of the original and so I want to work at 1 by 2 or however it might be explained.

 

The problem:  how to make the top/bottom planes for a 1 by 2 image (again, I don't know what it should be called; I am not a pro artist).

 

For the 1 to 2 version, I have left and right actions:

Left face

     > scale horizontal 75%, vertical 100%

     > shear 26.57° vertical

 

Right Face

     > scale horizontal 75%, vertical 100%

     > shear -26.57
 
This works well enough for the vision look I'm seeking and gives a slight lower angle view than true isometric.  However, I can't seem to get the top/bottom plane to work and end up making them by hand (1:2 is pretty simple after all) but would like to set an action for it as I have quite a few buildings to put together.
 
Anybody know what settings to do for 1 by 2?  What do I even call this?
 
 
 
PS: Mods, if this should go elsewhere, such as the Mac Apps section, please move it. Sorry.

Edited by Bergermeister - 6/30/12 at 11:50am

 

Your = the possessive of you, as in, "Your name is Tom, right?" or "What is your name?"

 

You're = a contraction of YOU + ARE as in, "You are right" --> "You're right."

 

 

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Your = the possessive of you, as in, "Your name is Tom, right?" or "What is your name?"

 

You're = a contraction of YOU + ARE as in, "You are right" --> "You're right."

 

 

Reply
post #2 of 7
7/2/12 at 5:30am
Thread Starter 

Still working on this.

 

Looked back at the iso settings and gave the 1:2 another try.

 

Came up with 

Scale= H=100%  V=89.55%

Shear  Horizontal  26.57

Rotate  26.57

 

This is closer and still likely not correct, but can be ironed out.

 

However, I am still unable to get the top/bottom planes to work right.

 

Any ideas?

 

Your = the possessive of you, as in, "Your name is Tom, right?" or "What is your name?"

 

You're = a contraction of YOU + ARE as in, "You are right" --> "You're right."

 

 

Reply

 

Your = the possessive of you, as in, "Your name is Tom, right?" or "What is your name?"

 

You're = a contraction of YOU + ARE as in, "You are right" --> "You're right."

 

 

Reply
post #3 of 7
7/3/12 at 12:55pm
The top plane, you'd rotate 45 and then scale 50% vertically.
Left and right plane, scale horizontally by 1/sqrt(2) = 70.71%
Shear left plane vertically by atan(1/2) = 26.565, right plane by -26.565

You might need to scale the side planes vertically before shearing but it depends on the image you are matching. You will also have to watch the stroke outlines, turn off align to pixel grid and round the stroke caps and corners. Create a vertical guide and snap all 3 to it. Then when you overlap the edges, it'll look ok.
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post #4 of 7
7/3/12 at 2:19pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks, Marvin.  It works!  

 

 

The project is just a remake of a map I made years ago for my EFL classes.  It's just a fictional town, so no worries about matching images.  It was originally done in AppleWorks (yep, that was fun) and it was high time for it to be improved.  It also has been a good chance to learn more about Illustrator.

 

Your = the possessive of you, as in, "Your name is Tom, right?" or "What is your name?"

 

You're = a contraction of YOU + ARE as in, "You are right" --> "You're right."

 

 

Reply

 

Your = the possessive of you, as in, "Your name is Tom, right?" or "What is your name?"

 

You're = a contraction of YOU + ARE as in, "You are right" --> "You're right."

 

 

Reply
post #5 of 7
7/6/12 at 5:27am
Thread Starter 

Are there any 3D apps for Mac that can work in the 1 by 2 format?  Lots of games are in this style (Virtual City, for example) and their graphics are amazing.  Not that I want anything near the same level of detail (my original is nothing more than slightly elaborate cube-like buildings).  It would be fun to play around, though.

 

Someone suggested Xara, but it is Windows only.

 

Your = the possessive of you, as in, "Your name is Tom, right?" or "What is your name?"

 

You're = a contraction of YOU + ARE as in, "You are right" --> "You're right."

 

 

Reply

 

Your = the possessive of you, as in, "Your name is Tom, right?" or "What is your name?"

 

You're = a contraction of YOU + ARE as in, "You are right" --> "You're right."

 

 

Reply
post #6 of 7
7/6/12 at 9:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bergermeister View Post

Are there any 3D apps for Mac that can work in the 1 by 2 format?

Sketchup is one:

http://sketchup.google.com/intl/en/download/

There is a plugin to let you jump to a particular axonometric projection or you can just pan around to get the right look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M5ncJG5Nk8

http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=323&t=29018
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post #7 of 7
2/27/13 at 12:12pm

I had a question, 
How the process of convert isometric <> orthogonal?

 

Quote:

The top plane, you'd rotate 45 and then scale 50% vertically.

Reverse this one?


However, Extrude and Bevel effects can convert 2d view to isometric and how to reverse the process, direct using opposite value of  Extrude and Bevel effects does not work too. (Sorry, not much math and geometry knowledge, and newbie to image)

 

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