Dioramas 3 - A few questions
ForestB
Newcomer
Just purchased yesterday. Trying to follow the essentials PDF, but loads of issues.
1) Moving. Click the move icon, check. Right click and prior, check. instructions say to move it to make room. How? Clicking gets me the select area, arrow keys do nothing, essentials skipped the how to move it part of moving.
2) Tabs. For some reason, regardless of the shape, it will NOT let me put a tab on every side. Simple box, 3 of 4 sides. Side of house with peaked roof, 4 of 5 sides. It seems to be making the remaining tab as a single line inside the wall structure.
3) Drawing fold lines. Not in essentials doc, but kinda essential to build.
Are there any video tutorials for this product?
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Hi ForestB :)
You mention the 'Right click and prior' stage of the process here. That will select the last thing you had selected, and isn't the first type of selection that is usually described. Normally, to start a move you need to click on the edge of the object you want to move at that point, press D for do it, and then click again to pick it up to start the move.
Which pdf are you reading?
If you are looking for tutorials there are hundreds of them, but if you want the very bare basics to start with you could work through the CC3+ user manual (you might already be doing that - sorry if you are), or try one of these videos by Remy Monsen, depending on how far you have gotten already:
Or, if you want more choice now or after a couple of those, have a look at this list:
Thanks for the response! I am reading the PDF that came with Dioramas 3 DIO3_Essentials.pdf I was following the step-by-step walkthrough and everything went well up to step 14...
"14 Click Move , right-click and choose Prior.
Move the wall inside the grid, leaving enough room for a second identical wall net."
No how-to on moving the wall...it jumps on to step 15 telling how to copy the existing object.
To be honest, the PDF leaves a LOT to be desired...and other than that, there is zero documentation on Dioramas 3. I am not seeing the textures that are used in the example buildings on the profantasy.com site, just ultra-generic textures. I've spent all day with zero progress to show for it and starting to get annoyed and thinking this may be beyond me.
I really wish they sold Dioramas as a stand alone program, with real documentation. I am really considering the 14-day return at this point and going back to doing buildings by hand in Corel and Photoshop. :(
The dioramas guide do assume some familiarity with CC3+. For example, for step as you refer to, it skips telling you about hitting "Do It" after you are done making the selection since this is common behavior whenever you use a CC3+ command that requires a selection.
There isn't that much documentation on Dioramas 3 itself, mostly because almost every is done using regular CC3+ commands, Dioramas is mostly a set of specialized templates, textures, and symbols. There are a few special commands, like the tabs and stuff which is handled for the most part in the quick access guide.
I tried replicating your problem with not being able to put tabs on all sides, but I am unable to replicate that. Not sure what could be happening there.
Seems like an oversight if the quick start guide doesn't mention fold lines and cut lines, but there are buttons for both of these in the left hand toolbar set. They are just basic lines, without any special functionality.
As far as I can see, all the textures from the examples on the Dioramas product pages should be in the product, but which textures the program presents you with depends on which style you picked when starting your drawing (Bitmap A, Bitmap B, Vector, Pro) [You should use one of the first two], but keep in mind that the finished examples isn't just a texture on a surface, additional details have often been added by placing symbols, drawing things like beams, and adding shapes on top of them, the textures provided are the starting background.
The Tome of Ultimate Mapping goes further into Perspectives 3, but just as with the quick start guide, it does assume familiarity with CC3+, you'll quickly reach a block if you just try to read the Dioramas section. And of course, the Tome is a paid product, intended for users who wants a deeper dive into the software.
Thanks Monsen.
I found the fold and cut line buttons, but they do not seem to DO anything. Select start point, next point, next point, enter...nothing drawn. The tabs thing drives me nuts...been messing with it all day. Draw a triangle, flaps on 2 of 3 sides, one side draws a solid line in the graphic....box, 3 sides....pentagon, 4 of 5 sides....etc. Did a complete uninstall of all components and reinstalled, same.
I am attaching a quick drawing I made. Started adding tabs on the long side on the right, going counterclockwise, first 4 tabs drew fine, 5th will not, just makes a line (circled in red), side 6 and 7 tabs drew fine. I drew all of them the same way, just one side ALWAYS ends up a line instead of a tab.
I am seriously rethinking my purchase. ALL I wanted was an easier method of making paper models, one that did not require a 3D modeling and export to unfolder software then manual texturing OR drawing it all by hand in a graphics program and add graphics in photoshop. It looks like it MIGHT do what I want, assuming I could figure out the tab issue and the interface reminiscent of the space shuttle console in complexity.
There is also a Live mapping video on this which i found VERY useful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=856YXJBiBPg
When you place your tabs, try switching off snap (bottom right corner) before placing them, it might be snapping that interferes with the placement when placing along a diagonal.
The fold/cut lines commands should leave behind a visible line. Just for troubleshooting purposes, try drawing a longer line with these commands on a clear background. That should make them more visible, and a longer line lets you see if there are any issues with the line dashing that makes it invisible.