Make2D and Dynamic Section Drawings in Rhino 8: An Architecture Guide

Scope: Two different approaches to 2D drawings in Rhino 8

There are two separate workflows for creating architectural elevations and sections in Rhino 8. Make2D creates flat curves from object edges and outlines in one or four views. Dynamic vector drawings create sections and views from clipping planes; section curves, hatches, and background geometry in the output can be organized on separate layers.

These two methods shouldn’t be treated as interchangeable tools. Make2D is suited to creating a line drawing from a specific view. Clipping-plane-based dynamic drawings can update automatically when the section plane is moved. However, you need to update these drawings separately when the model is edited.

Create a 2D view with Make2D

1. Select the objects to convert into a drawing and run the command:

Make2D

1. Choose the view for the output and set the visibility options. The “View” option uses the active view; “CPlane” uses the plan view of the active viewport and places the result on that viewport’s construction plane. If you need drawings in multiple standard views, choose a first-angle or third-angle layout. Third angle creates World Coordinate System orthographic projections from World Top, World Front, and World Right views; first angle creates them from World Top, World Front, and World Left views.

2. Decide how to organize the output lines. Choose “From input objects” to preserve object properties, or “By output layers” to use the properties of the output layers. “Layer name” sets the main layer for the 2D drawing; different curve types are classified into sublayers. Use “Group output” if you want to group curves by their source objects.

3. Set line options to suit the drawing. “Tangent edges” creates the tangent edges of polysurface objects, “Hidden lines” creates hidden lines, and “Scene silhouette” creates object silhouettes with a heavier line weight. Use “Clipping plane intersections” to add clipping plane intersections to the drawing. The “Viewport rectangle” option is also available if you need to draw the viewport boundary in a perspective view.

When creating output again from the same view, “Register with previous” attempts to preserve the previous layout. Matching a parallel view is especially straightforward; however, camera changes in a perspective view can disrupt the alignment. If a match can’t be found, the previously saved view may be replaced with the new one. Turn this option off to force a new parallel view to be saved.

Set up a dynamic section drawing in Rhino 8

1. Select a clipping plane and run the command to create a section drawing:

ClippingDrawings

1. In the command options, set “AddBackground=Yes” to add the background, “Projection=Parallel” for the projection, and “ShowLabel=No” to hide the label. Before completing the drawing, snap to a point in the view to set its position. These are example settings shown in McNeel’s Rhino 8 documentation; background or label preferences may differ from project to project.

2. Use drawing layers to edit the section linework. Since section curves, hatches, and background geometry are organized into layers, you can control which components appear in the view through layer visibility. The example shows hiding the S_00_DrawingHidden layer to remove hidden lines. Run this command to display the drawing on a layout page:

Layouts

1. Observe how the drawing updates automatically when you change the position of the section plane. However, if you edit the model or add new objects, run this command separately to update the drawings:

UpdateClippingDrawings

To add dimensions to the section view, create a new S_00_Dim layer and make it the current layer. After double-clicking inside the layout detail view, use the dimension command and snap to the drawing to add dimensions:

Dim

Impact on architectural and visualization workflows

Make2D supports technical drawing preparation by converting edges in plans, elevations, or perspective views into editable curves. When multiple views are needed, the choice between first- and third-angle layouts determines their placement on the sheet. Options for hidden lines, silhouettes, and tangent edges let you tailor which lines the output includes to suit your workflow.

Dynamic section drawings are especially useful for sections and views created with clipping planes: the output can update when the plane is moved, while layers help manage visibility separately in the model space and layout. However, you still need to run the update command after making changes to the model. McNeel’s Rhino features page states that the software runs quickly on a typical laptop and doesn’t require special hardware; this statement isn’t a separate hardware test for a specific project or workload.

Common mistakes

• Don’t assume Make2D will automatically create the intersection line where two intersecting objects meet. The documentation states that this line isn’t created. Use the Intersect command to create the required curve and add it to the objects included in the 2D drawing:

Intersect

• Don’t assume that model changes will always update section curves in a dynamic drawing automatically; run the update command after editing the model or objects.

• Don’t assume “Register with previous” works with every projection type. This feature is available only with View and CPlane; camera changes in a perspective view can disrupt alignment.

• Don’t assume lines are on the wrong layer before checking the output layers. Silhouettes may not appear on the correct layer if they’re very close to another curve in the view.