Preparing Architectural Drawings and Exporting PDFs with Make2D in Rhino 8

What you’ll learn in this guide

Preparing a 3D model in Rhino 8 for drawing output involves two key steps: generating 2D curves from the model with Make2D, then using the Print command to fit the drawing to a page. This guide covers single-view and four-view output options, hidden-line and silhouette settings, layer organization, and scale controls in the print preview.

Make2D converts model edges and outlines into flat curves. The output is generally created on the World Top plane; when CPlane projection is selected, the curves are placed on the construction plane of the active viewport. The Print command handles decisions such as selecting a viewport or layout page, output type, paper scale, and line properties. For this reason, generating the drawing and printing it on a page should be treated as separate steps to check.

Requirements and getting started

The McNeel documentation referenced here is for Rhino 8. To use Make2D and Print, you’ll need a model and a decision about which view or views to include in the drawing. The sources don’t specify an account requirement or any additional plug-ins that need to be installed.

Review the file’s layer structure and view arrangement before generating linework. In Make2D, curves can be sorted into sublayers by type; choosing a main output layer helps keep the workflow organized during later editing and printing. The list of available printers may include a PDF driver; Rhino PDF, Rhino’s built-in PDF option, supports saving layers.

Step by step: from model to 2D drawing

1. Choose the objects to include in the drawing. Run the Make2D command, select the objects to convert, and set the placement and object visibility options. Decide at this stage whether to generate the result from a single active view or from multiple views.

2. Choose a projection method. The View option creates a 2D drawing from the active view. By default, the output position is determined by the view, with the lower-left corner of the view placed at the World origin. The CPlane option creates a drawing from the plan view of the active viewport and places the result on that viewport’s construction plane.

3. Set up a single-view or four-view layout. To generate four views, use the First angle or Third angle option. First angle creates the European first-angle layout; Third angle creates the US third-angle layout. These options use orthographic projection relative to world coordinates. In the first-angle layout, plan curves are created from the World Top, World Front, and World Left views; in the third-angle layout, they are created from the World Top, World Front, and World Right views.

4. Set line content and object properties. Tangent edges adds the tangent edges of polysurfaces to the drawing. The Hidden lines option creates hidden lines on the specified hidden layers; Scene silhouette displays object silhouettes with a heavier lineweight. Clipping plane intersections adds clipping-plane intersection lines. You can choose whether object properties are inherited from the input objects or determined by the output layers. Group output groups curves by source object.

5. Use registration if you need to generate aligned output for comparison. Register with previous helps align curves from an earlier output with the new drawing; this option works with View and CPlane projections. When registration is off for the first drawing, the view used is saved; when registration is turned on for the next drawing, Rhino attempts to use the same registered view. Maintaining a parallel view is easier. Changes to a perspective view can disrupt the match; if no match is found, the current view may be used as a new registration.

Set up page and PDF output with Print

1. Choose the drawing and area in the preview. In the Print command, you can select a viewport or layout page. Extents adjusts the active viewport to include all objects in the model; Window prints the selected area. Set lets you define a new print area. The Print preview lets you check the layout and scale before outputting the drawing.

2. Choose the output type and color. Vector output prints lines, curves, and filled areas as vectors; by default, Rhino uses this method for items that can be printed as vectors. Raster output creates a bitmap image, but raster output does not support saving layers to PDF. Color options are Print color, Display color, or black and white.

3. Check the scale and lineweights. In the Print window, you can select a scale from the list or specify the relationship between paper units and model units. Lineweight settings include an overall multiplier, default thickness, and linetype options. To display lineweights and colors in the print preview, use the PrintDisplay command or Print Preview in the viewport title. To display linetypes in the viewport, use the LinetypeDisplay command.

4. Save the file with Rhino PDF. When you select Rhino PDF as the destination, you can save layout pages as separate PDF files; a prefix, page number, or page name can be added to the file name. When you use a PDF driver other than Rhino PDF, layouts with the same paper size are printed as multiple pages in a single PDF file. Check the multi-layout selection and page previews before outputting the file.

Common issues

Make2D does not automatically create a line where two intersecting objects pass through each other. If the drawing needs to include such a line, create the curve with the Intersect command and add it to the objects included in Make2D. If silhouettes are very close to another curve in a view, they may not appear on the correct layer; check the output layers and line visibility.

If you expect a view to align with an earlier drawing, remember that Register with previous works only with the relevant projection options, and changes to the view can affect the match. For printing, keep in mind that raster output does not preserve PDF layers and that print colors and lineweights depend on the selected settings.

Impact on architectural and visualization workflows

Make2D bridges the gap between a model and 2D documentation for architects, interior designers, and visualization teams who want to generate view lines from model geometry. A single-view selection focuses on drawing from a specific viewpoint, while the four-view option lets you prepare orthographic views in the same step. Layer organization, hidden lines, and silhouette settings directly affect drawing legibility.

For office and student submissions, the key point is that seeing lines on screen does not guarantee they will print as expected on the page. Check the scale, output type, color mode, and lineweight in the preview. If preserving layers in the PDF is important, use Rhino PDF and consider vector output instead of raster. Verify results that depend on the printer or paper settings in the preview before printing.

Next steps

Once the drawing is generated, review the curves organized by layer and the hidden lines; check the required view, print area, and scale for the page layout. If you have multiple layout pages, confirm which pages are active in the Print window and that the page order in the preview is correct. Finally, determine PDF layer requirements and output colors based on the purpose of the submission.

Sources and license

This guide was prepared in Turkish using McNeel’s official help documentation for the Rhino 8 Make2D and Print commands. Both sources are freely licensed; the content has been adapted rather than translated directly.