Top 10 Habits of Successful CAD Professionals Learning Photoshop

by Ravi Bhadauria ADMEC Multimedia Institute

Every day it's not possible to be creative or motivational in the work we perform. To eradicate this problem the best solution to is to learn new skills, software/tools, remain updated in latest features, and follow industry trends. Continuous training not only helps us discover our passion, it will also enhance our knowledge. So consistent learning and up gradation of the skill set will make you more valuable employee to any company. It might even make you in good books of potential employers. Photoshop is one tool which is used by a variety of CAD professionals in a variety of ways. Though it's mainly an image editing program, it has many functions that are useful for CAD designers and they should be updated with its new features. Filters, renderings, and transformation tools can enhance the presentation work, improve overall visual communication, and bring creative design ideas to life. In this article, we are going to discuss why it is important for every CAD professional to learn and use Photoshop.

1. Creating Beautiful Presentations

Using a combination of CAD software and Photoshop, can help you in creating successful presentations and develop your design projects to a professional standard. This is a beneficial feature which is why the combination is a preferred choice by every single CAD Designer. It helps in creating professionally executed and composed presentation boards.

2. Compatibility with Other Applications

Photoshop is fully compatible with most of the design tools, whether you're using AutoCAD to produce 2D drawings, or SketchUp to create 3D models. Both programs allow to you to edit and render your concepts with Photoshop.

3. Aids in Communicating Concepts

Applying text to boards is easy. It helps in displaying a site analysis or detail your rationale on one of your final boards to clearly communicate your design ideas. Using Photoshop can make a huge difference to how different projects are established.

4. Adding Special Effects

Photoshop can also be utilized for adding colour, finishes and effects to the visuals. Basic line drawing can be rendered with the use of a few simple Photoshop tools. Learning how to correctly use these tools might take some time, but the end result is worth the effort.

5. Transforming and Distorting Images

You can create the desired finish within your drawings, or within the views taken from a 3D model by implementing manipulation, transforming and distorting techniques on images. For example, image of wood flooring can be used for manipulating flooring and put into the desired place within the visual. The same approach can also be applied for numerous types of finishes, including wallpapers and fabrics.

6. Creating a Realistic Visual

You can build up your visuals and make them much more visually appealing and realistic. For example, adding an outside landscape view and finished effect after the visual has been fully edited, placed and cropped to fit the angles and proportions of the window will create a realistic view in the visual which can be done beautifully with the help of Photoshop.

7. Applying Tools to 2D Drawings

Different set of tools and techniques can also be applied to 2D drawings, for example in the case of plans, sections and elevations. For example, a full-color render can be applied to a hand-drawn floor plan, which can help explaining your vision to your clients. After mastering these skills, you can start to apply them to larger pieces of work. Numerous rendered elevations and lighting effects can be added to simple black and white drawings and views taken from model spaces. For creating a sense of scale, proportion, and depth, you can even add people to your visual designs. To give an idea of depth, tone and shade, you can also add lighting effects.

8. Bringing Concepts to Life

Using the tools and techniques, you can render planting plans, garden plans, and even storefronts and product displays. These skills can be applied to different disciplines within a design context, from garden designs to retail concepts. Any 3D view can be rendered and finished with the help of Photoshop.

9. Importing AutoCAD files to Photoshop

There are several reasons why you might want to move your AutoCAD drawings into Adobe Photoshop. No doubt AutoCAD is best suited for creating accurate, clear and intelligent drawings, but it needs something additional for presentation. If you want to create best presentation drawings, then you have to move away from AutoCAD's vector DWG file format and use a raster (pixel) based application, of which, Adobe Photoshop is probably the best-known example.

10. Both work on Layers

Photoshop uses layers in a similar way as AutoCAD. It can be very useful to organize the drawing to assist in controlling display order and also in applying materials. For architectural plans as an example, grouping walls, furniture, annotation, etc. onto their own designated layers so that it can display only what a user wants for a variety of documents.

As the industry is evolving with time, so should your skills. reading books, joining photoshop course for cad professionals and applying lessons learned to the work you do every day will increase your value and maintain your significance. It is true to say that AutoCAD and Photoshop make perfect partners in a workflow aimed at creating accurate presentation drawings. AutoCAD looks after the "accurate" and Photoshop deals with the "presentation".

If you want to enhance your skills and learn the best techniques which can be implemented on CAD drawings, then CAD Training Institute, one of the best photoshop training Institute in Delhi offering professional courses like Adobe Photoshop Master Course, AutoCAD Master Plus Course, Autodesk 3ds Max Course, Advanced Revit Course and much more. In case of any doubts or want to join a free demo session, get in touch without counsellor at 9811818122.