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Architectural Drawings Not Clear? Follow These 5 Essential Guidelines — Transcript

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0:00Great design means nothing if your
0:01drawings don't communicate. Today, I'll
0:03show you five visual guidelines that
0:05make your architectural plans instantly
0:07clearer and more professional. In this
0:09video, we'll break down five simple,
0:12repeatable principles for creating
0:13cleaner, more readable [music] floor
0:15plans focused on graphic hierarchy,
0:18consistency, and clear communication for
0:20everyone from clients to contractors.
0:23I'll show you how these visual
0:24guidelines help transform architectural
0:26drawings into something instantly
0:28understandable and professional. To
0:30demonstrate this, I'll be using Rayon
0:31Design, an all-in-one next generation
0:33tool for architects and interior
0:35designers. You can create a free Rayon
0:38account using the link below to follow
0:40along. And you'll also find free
0:42templates used in the walkthrough linked
0:44in the description. So, let's get
0:46started.
0:49Number one, establish a clear line
0:52hierarchy. A clear line hierarchy
0:54creates visual order, separating
0:56structure from furniture, background
0:59from focus, and intent from noise. So,
1:01your drawing reads instantly and
1:03confidently. Let's start by looking at
1:05line weights. So, you can see this um
1:08scheme here, which is a simple um
1:10residential cabin design. So, you can
1:13see the solid areas are the walls. We've
1:15got windows, we've got doors, we have a
1:17series of patterns um to show the
1:20surfaces, and then we have blocks, which
1:22are furniture pieces um with a variety
1:24of different elements and people. Now,
1:27this is obviously made up of lots of
1:29different layers. And thinking about
1:31line weights, we need to think about the
1:32sort of hierarchy of different elements
1:34that we're showing. Let's just very
1:36quickly look at our layer system. So,
1:39we've got annotations there. So, that
1:41turns on and off all of our drawing
1:43elements. So those bits of added text,
1:46all those elements which are in red. Um
1:49so let's turn those off and look at the
1:51main drawing. Um we've got shadows which
1:54obviously help the drawing sort of pop
1:55out. So give it some depth and
1:57threedimensionality to it. We have our
1:59walls. So our walls and our windows and
2:01our doors are all contained within the
2:03same um layer. And then we have our
2:06furniture and our fills. So that has all
2:10of those um sort of added elements that
2:12bring the drawing to life. So things
2:14like the wardrobes, the floor finishes,
2:16the baths um and the beds. And then we
2:20have sort of additional landscape
2:22topography around there. So obviously
2:24when we're putting this drawing
2:25together, we want to be thinking about
2:27what are those things that want to show
2:29as solid, what are those things that
2:30want to show strongly, and what are
2:32those things that want to show a bit
2:33more lightly. So the first thing would
2:35be to make the um the wall thicknesses
2:39nice and strong. So that's obviously
2:40because you're cutting through the
2:42walls, you want them to have some
2:43element of solidity. So all the
2:45elements, so the walls, um the doors,
2:47the windows, they're all referenced
2:49through styles. So styles are on the
2:52left hand side here and they basically
2:54contain the information about the visual
2:56appearance of all these different
2:57elements. So you can see here if I click
2:59on walls, this wall has a style. So it's
3:02a gray 0.3 m. So this contains
3:05information about its properties. So how
3:06thick it is, what the finish is, um how
3:09it appears in the drawing. So I can go
3:11into there and I can edit that style. So
3:14I could make the whole wall one solid
3:16black. You can see that those internal
3:18walls don't change because they're not
3:20the same style. So obviously if you're
3:22looking at that drawing, it's very clear
3:25which elements are the solid elements.
3:28So we could do exactly the same [music]
3:29with the thinner walls and that could be
3:32a black line. So there it gives the
3:34drawing a hierarchy already. It's a very
3:36clear distinction between solid and
3:38void. We can then think about things
3:41like the windows and doors. So again,
3:42you're cutting through them. So they
3:44should have some thickness to them, but
3:47they're much lighter elements. So if we
3:50go into each block, so that's what a
3:52door or window is. It's a block family.
3:54So I can go into that block and I can
3:57look at the styles which have been used
3:59here. So again, we have our style. I can
4:02go in and edit that style. It gives me a
4:05line. So I could change the line color
4:07and I could change the line thickness.
4:09So at the moment it's shown as something
4:11very thin. So I could up that thickness
4:13and say for example I wanted to change
4:15the swing. So I could add a dash to that
4:19line. For example, which accentuates the
4:23temporary nature of the of the door. And
4:25I can change the scale of that dash.
4:27Again I can change [music] the thickness
4:29of the line.
4:31and I can change the color. So you can
4:34see that the other thing to bear in mind
4:36is the view scale. So at the moment
4:38we've got a stroke scale set at 1 to 40.
4:41So if we were trying to imagine what
4:43this drawing might look like at 1 to
4:44100, we could change that scale and then
4:47our drawing line thicknesses will be
4:49updated to show that. So I pop it back
4:51to 1 to 14. And I can do exactly the
4:54same thing with any of the blocks. So
4:56you can see in here I can change the
4:59types that are related to those. I can
5:01[music] change the thicknesses and I can
5:03do that in any of the block families
5:06that exist.
5:08So you can see there the drawing is
5:10already starting to really show that
5:12depth. So we can do exactly the same
5:15thing with the people. So you can see
5:18here the blocks themselves. The outline
5:20of the block is thicker and the detail
5:22elements within the block are thinner.
5:25And you then you can see um within the
5:28fill, so the patterns that are created,
5:30they're a lighter shade. So again, I
5:33could go into here again, I can edit the
5:35style. Um I can go into my hatch and I
5:38can change the stroke color of the
5:41hatch. I think the mid-graay works quite
5:43well actually, but you get the idea is
5:45that we can have a hierarchy of
5:47different line weights that help
5:49illustrate the drawing and can
5:50communicate the ideas much clearer. And
5:52when you're going through the effort of
5:54creating these different styles, you can
5:56save them and you can share them amongst
5:58your team and your colleagues. So I
6:00could set a standard way that I like to
6:03um present my drawings and I could set
6:05that as a standard within my office. So
6:07all of those users that are using rayon,
6:09they can follow those styles. So as I
6:12showed you before, say I was creating a
6:14um a new wall for example, let's just do
6:17a little test here. If I say save style,
6:21I can call that wall a. I can set the
6:24thicknesses. So, you know, you could
6:27have certain maybe feasibility type um
6:30projects where you're using, you know,
6:32an estimated thickness for a wall. And I
6:34can go into there. I can then change the
6:37field type. So, I can add colors. I can
6:40add a gradient, even a texture
6:44or a hatch. So, you know, I could have a
6:47diagonal hatch that sits um as standard
6:50and I can change the thickness of the
6:52outline of the wall and change the
6:54thickness or um tone of the hatch
6:57itself.
6:58And then you will see that in our styles
7:01library,
7:04if you scroll down to um walls, we have
7:08our wall A. So that will sit within that
7:10library and that library can be shared.
7:12So to share a library, we go up to
7:15share,
7:16go to libraries, and you can see here
7:19there's publish styles. So those styles
7:21can be shared with other people with
7:23with your other teammates. You can even
7:25create your own custom blocks and share
7:26those as well. The really great thing is
7:29anything that's been painted with this
7:30style, once I go in and update it, so I
7:34could go in and say, actually, I want
7:35the outline to be orange. I can edit
7:37that from that style library. So if I
7:39had multiple drawings on a canvas that
7:41had all of the walls related to this
7:43style, I would only need to adjust the
7:45style one place and that would update
7:47everything else. And similarly, if we
7:49jump to the annotations layer, for
7:50example, so let's turn those back on.
7:53You can see all of our annotations are
7:55red. So I could go back into the style
7:57library. I could change those from red
7:59to black to gray to whatever color I
8:00felt like and that would update
8:02everything itself. Similarly, I could
8:04change the um the line types for
8:07example. So, you know, the scale of the
8:09lines, the thickness of the grid lines,
8:11for example, [music] you know, I can go
8:13in here, the thickness of those, and I
8:15can save those as grid line, for
8:18example. So, you know, say on every
8:20drawing that you create, you want to
8:22have your grid consistent. We could just
8:23save a gridlin style and then that would
8:26come into our line styles within here,
8:30which you can see there. So, again, I
8:32could edit it from the style library and
8:34say, actually, I don't want it to be
8:35red. I don't want it to be green. You
8:37can see that. And for me, that's the
8:39really powerful thing about Rayon is
8:40that all these visual communicative
8:42aspects of the drawing aren't
8:44afterthoughts. They're all part of the
8:46process. They're all part of you
8:47thinking um how you want to communicate
8:50that, how you want to display the
8:51hierarchy, and you can very easily
8:53clearly see that within the drawing
8:55yourself. Number two, manage fills and
8:57hatches for clarity. Thoughtful use of
9:00fills and hatches prevents visual
9:01clutter and clearly communicates
9:03materiality, depth, and spatial
9:06hierarchy, especially as drawings become
9:08more detailed. Now, let's dive into
9:11hatches. So, here's another example
9:13project. So, this is a a small apartment
9:15project, which you can see here. There
9:18are a number of hatches um that sit
9:21within this drawing. So you can see here
9:23we have flooring finishes for a living
9:25bedroom space, a diamond type tile for
9:28the bathroom, a larger format tile for
9:31uh the kitchen, and then an external um
9:34patio type fill. Even the drawing itself
9:37has got a hatch to it. So this square
9:39has a a fill which is is a hatch of some
9:42sort. And similarly, if we look down at
9:45the rest of the drawings, we have more
9:47of a um a rendered finish. So, you know,
9:50just like we have the very sort of
9:52diagrammatic hatch here, we have a more
9:54sort of pictorial hatch in these images.
9:57So, again, you know, we have the sort of
9:59timber chevron, we have the diamond
10:01tile, um the larger format tile, and
10:03then the external patio area. Um and we
10:06even have a key that sits alongside
10:08that. Now, both these types of hatches
10:12um and patterns are made in exactly the
10:14same way. So to actually make a hatch.
10:17So we can either have a shape that has a
10:20fill. So really they are just different
10:22types of fills. So if we go into the
10:24fill menu here, we can have a solid
10:26color fill. So that can be obviously
10:28whatever we color we want. We can have a
10:30hex code. Um and we can change the
10:32opacity of that that fill itself. We can
10:36have a gradient. So we can change two of
10:38the colors. So we can have a gradient on
10:41there. We can have a texture. So those
10:43are those sort of photographic type um
10:45images which are repeating. So we have a
10:48library of different textures. So things
10:51from tiles, bricks,
10:53um timber, flooring, outdoor things. So
10:57we have a sort of fixed library there.
10:59But you can also add your own um which
11:01I'll show you to to in a second. And
11:03then we have a hatch and those are more
11:05sort of diagrammatic things. So um line
11:07hatches, things that you might use in
11:09your more traditional drawings. Um, and
11:12they can be things from floor finishes,
11:14um, you know, [clears throat] brick
11:16patterns, shingles, or, you know, things
11:19you might use in detailing. So, you
11:21know, things like oblique lines and
11:22vertical and diamond lines. And again,
11:24just like all of our styles, we can set
11:27these. We can change the color of the
11:31hatch itself. We can even [music] change
11:33the line thickness of the individual
11:36element as well. We can even do things
11:38like scale it. So, I can scale the
11:40hatch. I can rotate the hatch. So, say I
11:44wanted a more sort of random pattern.
11:47Um, and I can even offset
11:52the hatch within that frame. And once
11:54you've got the hatch exactly how you
11:56want it, you can save it as a style. So,
11:58just like when we were looking at the
11:59line styles, you can save that as a
12:02hatch style. So, we'll call that stones
12:05hatch, for example.
12:08Um, and I'll just show you the style
12:10library. And you can see on this side we
12:12have the style library, stones, hatches
12:15there. So again, any element which is
12:17filled with that hatch, I could then go
12:19in afterwards and I could change it and
12:21say, "Oh, actually that wants to be a
12:23red hatch." And that would update all
12:25elements of that drawing. You know, I
12:26can even go in and change all of those
12:29things that I showed you before. So, you
12:32know, change the scale,
12:34change the rotation, change the line
12:36thickness. And you'll notice there the
12:39container, so what it sits in the shape
12:42if you like, that also has um a line
12:45style as well. So, I can remove that
12:47stroke edge if I wanted to, and it just
12:49shows up the hatch. And that will
12:51obviously change
12:53with whatever shape I have. I could make
12:56a
12:58circle with that. And I could make a
13:02polyline with that. And if I want to
13:04pick up that style, so the red one, all
13:06I'd need to do is use the [music] picker
13:07tool and that would pick up that style.
13:10You know, even these themselves, this is
13:12just a shape with a fill. So I could
13:14even go in and change that to that same
13:18hatch. Probably wouldn't want stones
13:20indoors, but who knows? And exactly the
13:23same things with these more sort of
13:25photographic representations. So if we
13:27took this hatch, this chevron timber
13:30hatch for example. So we've got herring
13:33bone PNG texture. So we can go in there.
13:36I can see this. So we have a fill. So I
13:39can edit that texture itself. So I could
13:41change the colors. I could increase the
13:43contrast, the saturation. So say that
13:46wasn't just how you know you liked the
13:47pattern but not the tone. So we can
13:49change that and that will update there.
13:52Similarly, I can do exactly the same
13:53things that I was doing before. So, I
13:55can change the size, I can rotate it, I
13:59can offset it, all of those things. And
14:03you'll see in the style, let's give it a
14:06name. We'll call it timber texture.
14:10And you'll see that pop up there. And
14:13again, I can go in from the style side,
14:16and I can do whatever I like with it.
14:21And again, that will update wherever I
14:22go. Now, what about if you wanted to
14:24create your own? So, again, and as
14:27before, if I was to create new elements,
14:30so a circle, a polyline, even if I have
14:35a
14:36um a wall that I want to contain a
14:40space, you know, if we just make this a
14:42simple [music] um solid fill wall, I can
14:47use the bucket tool, which is down here.
14:50So bucket and I can fill that and then I
14:52can change that fill to that. So I can
14:55use the bucket tool very easily to fill
14:57elements between different um surfaces.
15:00And exactly the same with these two
15:02shapes. I can pick a style and I can
15:04change those. And then if I went back in
15:06here and I said actually I'm not sure
15:10about that one. I want to go back to the
15:11original. All of those update. Okay. But
15:14what about if you wanted to make your
15:16own pattern? So let's try that. So,
15:18let's just fill this shape for example,
15:21and I will go to add a fill. So, I can
15:26go to texture, which is where those sort
15:28of image patterns um were coming from,
15:30and I can upload my own. So, I've got
15:32this example texture here, which is a
15:35vertical timber. And you can see there,
15:37it loads that into a pattern. And I can
15:41do exactly the same thing I was doing
15:43before. I can change that. I can change
15:46the rotation [sighs and gasps]
15:49and I can even change the color.
15:53Something a little bit grayer.
15:55Yeah, that looks good. So
15:58I can save that as a style and I can
16:02call it external decking. For example, I
16:06might remove the outside stroke and then
16:09I can do pick a style and that will be
16:12updated on whatever I say. And then in
16:14that instance, I might say, "Oh,
16:15actually the scale is not quite right."
16:17So I can find my external decking in
16:20here. I can go to transform and I can
16:22say, "Oh, actually maybe the scale of
16:24Yeah, that looks a lot better." So that
16:26gets updated. Obviously, it's updated on
16:28that one because that's where we were
16:29using it. Um, but that's that. And once
16:33you start exploring, you'll start to
16:35decide when it's right to have different
16:37types of styles in different types of
16:39drawings. So for this type of drawing
16:41for example, so we have different types
16:43of drawings here. So one is about
16:44furniture, one is about electrical and
16:47lighting, one is about construction and
16:49one's about the floor coverings. So you
16:51know in this type of drawing, you know,
16:53a very visual thing that shows you the
16:55pattern that shows you the tones, how
16:57those things interact. Having a a very
17:00visual thing with all of these patterns
17:02is perfect. Whereas that probably
17:03wouldn't work. It would be far too
17:06cluttered for an electric and lighting
17:07plan. So, you need to then start
17:09thinking about how you're bringing these
17:12textures, tones, patterns in to help you
17:14communicate is always going back to
17:17communication. You know, what are we
17:18trying to communicate with each drawing?
17:20Um, and on this one, it's about the
17:22lighting. On this one, it's about the
17:24furniture. And on this one, it's about
17:26the floor covering. So, you're suiting
17:28your purpose perfectly, all with the
17:30tools that Rayon are giving you. Number
17:32three, use blocks to standardize
17:34furniture and symbols. A strong block
17:37system ensures furniture and symbols
17:39read correctly in scale, style, and
17:42hierarchy, creating consistent, accurate
17:44drawings whilst dramatically speeding up
17:46your workflow. Now, on to CAD blocks.
17:48So, Rayon has got an extensive CAD block
17:51library which really helps the process
17:54um of layout, planning, you know,
17:56everything that you could want is in
17:58this block library. To access it, you
18:00have the block library on the left hand
18:02side. And you can see here that if we go
18:04to libraries,
18:06we have all of Rayon's standard
18:08libraries. So things from title blocks,
18:11animals, basic elements, bathrooms,
18:14um dining rooms, kitchens, windows,
18:17hospital treatment rooms, you know,
18:19anything you can think of, there is an
18:21element for you within the Rayon block
18:23library. And if we look at this example
18:25um drawing set here for an urban loft um
18:28you can see a lot of those um blocks
18:31already in the plan. So we can see
18:33things from furniture layout. So this is
18:35one you know fixed layout with all of
18:37these different elements in it. Um
18:38cooktops and chairs and tables,
18:40planting, you know, even people in plan,
18:43bathrooms, doors, windows, all of those
18:47elements are blocks that are placed into
18:49the model. And we even have those things
18:51in plan section and in elevation. So the
18:55same library will have these elements
18:57that you see in plan down here. So you
19:00can see this kitchen element in section
19:02there. That's the same block just with a
19:05different view. So let's take [music]
19:07you know one of these kitchen units for
19:09example. You can see on the right side
19:11it tells you what this block is. The
19:14block itself can have properties. So
19:16there were lots of different tutorial
19:17videos on Rayon that go into different
19:20properties that the different blocks can
19:21have. But you can see here if I click on
19:23it, we also have top and side views. So
19:27I know that if I use this cabinet in
19:29elevation, for example, I can also have
19:33the plan view as well. And that's
19:36perfect because then when I look a
19:38different way at a drawing, I know that
19:39they're aligned, they're the same style,
19:41they're the same shape. Um, all of those
19:43things are pre-built. And just like
19:44before when we mentioned we can change
19:46the style of these things. So if I go
19:48into here I can change the different
19:50line styles which are created.
19:53Yeah, these can have different fills.
19:57So anything that's um pasted with that
19:59style will be updated. You saw all of
20:02those different elements update. Yeah, I
20:05can even change the line style to make
20:07this
20:09a different dash for example. You can
20:11see that there.
20:13And then when I reuse that, those style
20:16preferences will stay the same. But what
20:19about if I wanted to add something new
20:20from the library? [music] So say here,
20:22for example, some more kitchen elements.
20:25So [music] I can
20:28add some more plates and bowls if I
20:29wanted to. So that comes in to scale
20:33and it's easy to just drag and drop into
20:36the drawing. Obviously, I can edit, I
20:38can rotate those things if I want to. I
20:41can scale them. And again I can go in
20:43there and I can change the line styles,
20:46the fill styles which are related to
20:48those things. So doors and windows are
20:51blocks in themselves. So when we want to
20:53host a door or window in a wall, we go
20:56to opening. So this will allow us to
20:58choose a block from the library. So say
21:01we just go with a standard door here.
21:03I'll select that and then that will
21:06automatically, you know, hug to my wall
21:09elements. So we wanted a door here for
21:12example. I can change the swing of the
21:14door and that will be hosted in the
21:16wall. I can then you know move that
21:17about as my heart's content and I can
21:19also go in I can change those line
21:23styles as before. I can add a dash for
21:26example. Um and again those will all
21:30live within my block library. Rayon also
21:33has things called parametric blocks. So
21:35if you're looking through the block
21:36library for example, so if we go to I
21:39don't know basic blocks, we can find a
21:42parametric block and these are all
21:44signified by this little shape here. So
21:48for example, we could bring in this
21:51corner sofa. So that just drags in. So
21:54obviously I can I can do things like
21:56rotate it, but you'll see these little
21:59sliders here and that allows me to
22:02adjust the block itself. So rather than
22:04stretching the whole thing to fit, I can
22:07adjust these elements, make them longer
22:10or shorter, make it fatter or thinner,
22:12exactly the same thing. So it fits with
22:15my design intent. It fits within the
22:17space and it doesn't lose that overall
22:19proportion that you want. Um, and that
22:22is, you know, a variety of different
22:23elements from things like doors,
22:26windows, stoves, you know, tables, for
22:29example. [music]
22:31So here, you know, the parametric nature
22:34of the block as the table increases, it
22:37populates the chairs, you know, that's
22:40really smart. So I can adjust those
22:42things and make my furniture fit how I
22:44like without getting into the realms of
22:46just stretching things so they're not
22:47accurate. The other things you can do
22:49with regards to blocks is import blocks.
22:52So you can import things like um product
22:55vendors DWGs or PDFs and have those
22:58within your block library. So if you
22:59have particular furniture um blocks that
23:01you like to use um or you're migrating
23:04from AutoCAD for example um the really
23:07cool tool within Rayon is the AI um
23:10block creator. So say for example I have
23:14a um
23:16uh this very lovely mid-century um
23:21sideboard for example that I want to
23:23place under the TV here. I can go I can
23:27download that image. So you know upload
23:30that file to the AI chat which sits on
23:32the left side here and I can say
23:35generate a product. So here it says turn
23:37a product image or simple prompt into a
23:39CAD block. So I'll click that and then
23:42I'll press send and that's going to be
23:45doing a number of things. So you can see
23:46there it's removing the background. It's
23:49generating an object representation.
23:51It's going to be drawing the top, the
23:53side and the front views. and then it's
23:55going to be estimating the dimensions.
23:57So hopefully it will come in as a
23:59finalized block to scale um and
24:02represents that image that we want.
24:04There we go. So it's generated um the
24:08top, the side and the front view of the
24:11sideboard. Um and I can download that or
24:14I can import each view as I see fit. I
24:18can import each view as I see fit. So
24:20for example, I can at my top view.
24:24Obviously from the top it's not much to
24:26look at, but from the front from the
24:29side you'll see that those things align.
24:31I can also go in here. I can change the
24:34line style. So I could say actually a
24:36sort of mid-graay color would be good.
24:39You know, I could even go in and fill it
24:42for example. So again, I can use that
24:44bucket tool
24:46and I could give that a texture, a tone,
24:48a hatch, um, you know, a color,
24:54whatever I see fit. So that means that
24:56when you're designing, um, your spaces
24:58and a client wants a particular piece of
25:00furniture or has existing furniture that
25:02they want represented in the drawings,
25:04Rayon solves that problem for you. And
25:07just like we can share our style
25:09library, we can also share our block
25:11library. So, as I said before, our block
25:13library is here. Any of the elements
25:15that we've um created, we've edited. Um
25:19we can then go to share. We go to
25:22libraries and we can publish the block.
25:24So, I just slide that little toggle and
25:26then that will allow me to share that
25:28block library with other drawings um
25:30with other members of my team. Number
25:32four, add professional annotations and
25:34graphic elements. Graphic elements like
25:37dimensions, tags, and scale bars give
25:39drawings technical credibility and
25:41construction clarity. A strong approach
25:43is using a monochromatic base with a
25:45single accent color such as red or
25:47orange to highlight key information. I'm
25:50back on the Urban Loft project and I
25:52want to talk about annotations. So
25:55obviously one really striking element
25:57about these drawings are the bright
25:59orange annotations and this is done for
26:02clarity. Obviously, when the rest of the
26:04background drawing is monochrome, having
26:06something [music] with a bit of color
26:09really helps that clarity element. It
26:11helps the drawing sort of pop. So,
26:13whether this is a sort of red, an
26:14orange, um, a bright green, you know, a
26:17color that really, you know, cuts
26:19through and shows those key elements of
26:21information that doesn't get confused
26:23with other lines. So, you can see here
26:26all of those elements with the orange
26:29[music] tone. So things like the titles
26:30of the drawings, um materials,
26:33annotations,
26:35styles,
26:36um section lines,
26:39dimensions, even areas, um and spot
26:42heights. These can all be custom
26:45colored, um you know, they could even
26:47match your branding if you wanted to,
26:49but it all serves a purpose. It's there
26:51to help communicate those key elements
26:53of the drawing. And you can see that's
26:55used through this drawing set for things
26:57like grid lines as well. you know, even
26:59things like the electrical and lighting
27:01plan is in that color and that really
27:03helps that clarity. You know, it sits
27:05above this sort of monochromatic
27:07background um and makes that really
27:10clear. You know, even things like these
27:11pop outs, you know, different hatches,
27:15um different symbols all sort of
27:17highlighting, you know, that additional
27:19layer of information through those
27:20annotations. The annotation styles in
27:23themselves are quite simple. So, again,
27:25we have the style library. So we have
27:28text styles. So just like we have wall
27:30styles and fill styles, we have text
27:32styles as well. Um and you can see there
27:35that this text style I can call that
27:39body text
27:41orange
27:43for example which you can see down here.
27:46And within that I can change the color,
27:48I can change the size, I can change the
27:51font, I can even give that text
27:53properties. So just like with the
27:55blocks, just like the other styles, we
27:57can set up a standard text, a standard
27:59[music] font, a standard size that you
28:01want to continue through all of your
28:02drawings. And similarly with things like
28:04these lines. So you know the grid lines
28:07themselves, this can be a line style in
28:10itself. So if I save that style and I
28:12call it grid line, I know that any line
28:15which is pasted with that grid line
28:17style will be the same. It will be
28:19consistent across all of my drawing
28:20types and all the elements that you can
28:23see. So things like the little tag
28:26windows, um the spot heights,
28:29the section markers,
28:32the tags, these are all elements or
28:34blocks that are built into Rayon. So
28:37just like with our styles and we'll go
28:38back to our block library. So we've got
28:41title blocks and annotations. So you can
28:43see here we already have these things
28:45like elevation markers, [clears throat]
28:47um section cuts, north points, all these
28:50different elements that you're used to
28:51seeing on architectural drawings.
28:53They're already pre-built. I [snorts]
28:55mean, the great one is having the title
28:56blocks already pre-built. So, you can
28:58just drag and drop those. You know, you
29:00can edit your own um title block or you
29:02can create your own custom one. Um you
29:05can make sure it sizes properly. You
29:07know, you can add colors. You can add
29:08your company information for example.
29:11And you can share that library across
29:12your multiple projects so everything is
29:14consistent. So, you know, even here, for
29:17example, I can drag these in. I can make
29:20sure that they're to scale how I want
29:22them to appear. And I can go in there
29:25and I can change that style for example
29:28and I can, you know, I can make this a
29:31bright color as just as I've been
29:33saying. We can make this a bright
29:35orange.
29:37Exactly the same with the text. You
29:40know, I can even pick a text style.
29:42[music]
29:45[sighs]
29:46[gasps] You know, I can even change the
29:47text colors. There we go. Obviously,
29:52because that's a block, I can copy and
29:54paste that where I want it. I can scale
29:56it, and then I can reuse it across my
29:58projects. One of the key pieces of
30:00advice when you're thinking about
30:01annotations is about separating them
30:02out. So, I always like to put them on
30:05different layers. So, you'll see here
30:07that we have an annotation layer. You
30:10can see that that in this example, for
30:12example, we have all of those
30:14annotations. So things like grid lines,
30:17dimensions, notes, areas, spot heights,
30:20section lines, window and door tags. All
30:23of these elements, basically the orange
30:25elements are all sitting, [music] you
30:27know, with on within
30:29the annotation layer. But what about if
30:32we wanted to dimension this plan for
30:34example? So let me just quickly add
30:36[music] a new layer and we'll call that
30:40dimensions.
30:41Make sure that that's above. So that's
30:43sitting above the drawing. Um, and I'll
30:46show you the dimension tool. So the
30:48dimension tool here. So externally. So
30:51the dimension tool here. So externally I
30:54can click click and then drag out. So I
30:57can create my own custom um annotation
31:01type. So I can change the font. I can
31:03change the font size. Make something
31:07nice and clear.
31:10I can change my stroke. So I think
31:12having the stroke is orange as well is
31:15quite nice. I can have extensions. So
31:18again I can change the color of those.
31:21Can change the line weight here. So you
31:24can see those bits there. So I can go in
31:27there and I can say maybe a five dash. I
31:33can change the end. So I could change
31:36that from the diagonal to an arrow.
31:40extensions are a bit
31:44Yeah, the line where it needs to go up
31:46slightly.
31:491 eight. Um, maybe the arrows can get a
31:52bit bigger. 1.1.
31:59And then I can save that as a style. So
32:00I can call that dimension
32:05A. And then you will see here in my
32:07style library, if I scroll down
32:11to the bottom, there we have dimension
32:13A. And again, I can go in afterwards and
32:15adjust those if I see fit.
32:18So I can then go through and dimension
32:21um my [music] drawing. And obviously,
32:23similar to AutoCAD, I've got a single
32:25dimension or I've got a chained
32:27dimension. So let's just delete that one
32:30for a second. We could do a chained
32:31[music] dimension. And I can go one,
32:34two,
32:36and that will continue to add dimensions
32:38as I click. Um, and obviously there's a
32:41bit of an art to adding dimensions. So,
32:43you know, dimensioning off of key
32:45elements, not over dimensioning the
32:46drawing, not over constraining elements,
32:49you know, dimensioning the things that
32:51actually matter to you as an architect
32:52or, you know, make the space how you
32:56envisioning it, you know. So, if I was
32:58doing this, I wouldn't be dimensioning
33:00the furniture. I'd be dimensioning the
33:01build elements, you know, the clear
33:03areas that I need to do. And dimensions
33:06are different to different people. So,
33:07if you're um creating a construction
33:09drawing, your dimensioning will be
33:11different because you'll be talking
33:12about setting out. So, setting out from
33:14grid lines, things like that. Whereas,
33:16if I'm dimensioning a plan for a end
33:19user, they just want to understand how
33:21big their space is, it's a much simpler
33:23process.
33:25So, obviously, we can do that. [music]
33:27we can dimension, you know, key elements
33:30within the space. You sometimes when
33:33you're creating a chain, it's helpful to
33:36um alternate the dimensions. And
33:39similarly, you know, I like to keep them
33:42out of the way. So up in the top left or
33:46right corners of the drawing so they
33:48don't dominate the drawing too much. And
33:49then we can, you know, change those
33:51levels by turning them on and off. So,
33:53we've got our proposed dimensions.
33:55[music] We've got our original
33:56annotations. So, all of those elements
33:58that we showed previously,
34:00and hopefully you can see that having
34:02these bright colors on this monochrome
34:04drawing background works really well.
34:06Number five, harness AI to support
34:08faster visualization. The first four
34:11guidelines ensure your drawings are
34:12clear, professional, and buildable. But
34:15great drawings also need to communicate
34:16feeling. Rayon's built-in AI tools help
34:19bring your designs to life instantly
34:21without adding time or complexity to
34:23your workflows. Now, let's have some fun
34:25with the AI tool. So, I'm still back in
34:27my um drawing of the twotory loft um and
34:31I want to have a look at this section.
34:33So, this is a section through the
34:34building. Now, what I've done is to turn
34:37the annotations off. So, to clear the
34:40drawing back. So, you can see that. I
34:43now want to go into the AI chat. So what
34:45I want to do is create an axonometric
34:47view from this 2D section. So to start
34:50with I will do add screenshot. So just
34:53on the little plus tool there's add
34:54screenshot. I'll create a frame around
34:57my section. So that basically takes a
34:59snapshot of that section and then I'll
35:02go into tools. So we can do a number of
35:04workflows already set up within the
35:06tools. So there's generate image,
35:07generate tracing, generate product,
35:10stylize. So you can have different types
35:12of styles um or generate axonometric. So
35:15create an aonometric view from a scene's
35:18floor plan or section. That's what we
35:20want to do. So this will be looking at
35:22that section and trying to extrapolate a
35:243D form out of it and present it in an
35:26aonometric fashion like that. So you can
35:29see the preview here. So this just opens
35:31up another window. So you can see his
35:33understanding of the gallery, of the
35:36dressing space, of the kitchen, and it's
35:39made a slightly strange choice with the
35:41stairs. Um, but we can go from there. So
35:44what I can do now is insert that in. So
35:48you can see there I could even make, you
35:50know, another page that explores those
35:53ideas in 3D. And with that image, I can
35:57adjust that image as well. So I can do
36:00things like edit, I can upscale it, I
36:03can remove the background. So for
36:05example, let's just remove the
36:06background here. So you can see that
36:09that gets rid of the white border around
36:12it. Now why don't we try reusing that
36:15image? So I can click on that image and
36:17I can say reference in the chat. So that
36:19will then be reooking at that image
36:20that's just been created and I could
36:22stylize it for example. So why don't we
36:24try a clay model? So that will then be
36:28looking at that line drawing and trying
36:30to, you know, imagine it as a clay
36:33model. Wow. There we go. So again, we
36:36can preview that and we can insert it.
36:38So I just want to remove the background
36:40again [music] and we can have that next
36:42to the original and you can see how it's
36:45kept the exact geometry, but it's
36:47imagined the drawing very differently. I
36:49think that looks great. And then why not
36:51try another version. So again, we can do
36:53reference in the chat. I can go to
36:54tools. I can go to stylize and I can say
36:58render. So this will then be trying to
37:00create a realistic version.
37:06So again I can do exactly the same
37:08thing. Can remove the background. And
37:11now we have three very quickly
37:15to make
37:17imaginations of this space.
37:21We could even try something like um
37:25make
37:27this
37:29a wood textured
37:33model.
37:39>> Yeah, it's pretty good.
37:43Yeah, I think that's even better.
37:47And really with this, you can keep
37:48experimenting. So, we've got those sort
37:51of spaces
37:53explored in three different ways, all
37:54from one flat-on elevation section. Now,
37:58let's go full circle and export our
38:00drawings. Once your drawing is clear and
38:03resolved, exporting should be seamless.
38:05In Rayon, you move directly from drawing
38:07to presentation without switching tools
38:09or breaking your workflow. Okay, so with
38:11those elements drawn and the annotations
38:14added and the drawings looking great, we
38:16can now look at exporting them. So you
38:18can export things in a number of
38:19different ways. So in the traditional
38:21way, so exporting a PDF or a PNG. So we
38:25can go up to the menu, we can go to
38:26export, we can export an image, PDF,
38:30DWG, or even a rayon file if you're um
38:32transferring it between different teams.
38:34So if it's an image, I can select my
38:36page. So you'll notice here that each of
38:38my sheets has got a page number. So why
38:41don't we try um page five? So this has
38:44my um section and elevation on. Now I
38:48can change the name.
38:54I can change the format. So I can change
38:56it from a PDF, the resolution, a PNG,
38:59the quality. Um and I can decide whether
39:01the stroke scale is per page or per
39:03screen. So obviously per page it will be
39:06scaled correctly for the scale of your
39:08sheet. For screen it basically scales it
39:11how you see it. So I tend to go for page
39:14and that means that everything is coming
39:15out lovely and crisp. I can save that
39:19what where I want and go from there.
39:21Similarly I can do exactly the same
39:23thing with PDF. So again I can do PDF. I
39:27can choose a sheet page six for example
39:30and again I can change the name the
39:32image quality and I can change the
39:34stroke scale. Again I can choose the
39:36location um
39:40and the file name. if everything's
39:42looking good. So, you can obviously
39:44export your PDFs, your PGs, um but the
39:48real power of um Rayon is in the
39:50sharing. So, let me show you that. So,
39:52if we go up to the right, we have our
39:54share um button. And just as we can
39:57share our libraries, so we can share our
39:58styles and our blocks that I showed you
40:00previously, we can also share our
40:02presentation. So rather than having to
40:04export PDFs, collect them, download
40:07them, um, and then upload them to a file
40:10transfer site and send your client a
40:11link, we can do all of that just by
40:14sliding this one toggle. So this will
40:16publish our presentation to a link. Um,
40:18so I can copy that link to an email to
40:20send my client or I can just open it.
40:23And here it will be loading the
40:24presentation. And you can see here it
40:27has all the different pages from the
40:29variety of different images and pages
40:31that we've created. All of the line
40:33weights are nice and refined.
40:35Everything's looking good. You can see
40:37there the drawing we created with the
40:39annotations, the section and elevations,
40:42those AI visuals that we created all on
40:45drawing shoot. It's all looking good.
40:47And that's all just from one link. And
40:49the really great thing is that if we
40:51change anything, so say for example, I
40:54went in here and I said, "Oh, these are
40:56a bit big on the page. Maybe I'll have
40:58two smaller ones and this one bigger
41:00one.
41:02over here for example and added a few
41:04titles or something like that. I can
41:06then go back into the share and I can
41:09press update that little spinner. I'll
41:12press update, publish now again. I can
41:14then go back in and open that
41:19and you'll see there
41:21my updated drawing is there. So that's
41:23all within the same link. So the client
41:25isn't actually having to, you know,
41:27download things multiple times. They're
41:29always going to have the latest as long
41:30as you've updated it on there. Perfect.
41:34Clear drawings don't happen by accident.
41:36They're built through simple, consistent
41:38visual decisions. And these five
41:40guidelines should build a solid
41:41foundation that you can use on every
41:43project. Try it out for yourself. You'll
41:46find a free Ryan account and the
41:47template that we use linked below.
41:50Thanks so much for watching and I'll see
41:51you in the next one.

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