3D Faces and Materials

All right, forgive me I'm new to the forum and brushing up on my 3D CAD skills. Let me get this straight I cannot attach Hatch to 3D images I have drawn, correct? I can however attach materials, color and shading to my drawing that I have created drawing with 3DFace command, not Extrude. Hatch is only for 2D drawings only? Materials are the same as Hatch but for 3D Faces, Solids and Modeling? The other question, which I might be answering myself is; do I need a 3D program to get the imaging I see everywhere with the detail that I see here posted as works? Can I do the same work through regular CAD?

Please forgive me for the drawn out questions, I'm just confused. I just want to start adding real detail to my 3D images and need some direction i.e. Materials, Render.

Thanx for putting up with newbie confusion and banter. Oh I'm stuck with 2004 if that helps.

AKRider

Hatches can only be applied as a planar entity. That plane, though, can be at any orientation (See Sample). This would be useful to convey surface information while dealing with the model in a “Vector” mode, i.e., where underlying model is readily available.

The other mode, “Raster”, is now more commonly associated with rendering – as can be achieved via View/Render/Render in the default menu structure of AutoCAD 2004. (That particular rendering system is outdated compared to the newer one available since AutoCAD 2007). This mode is where Light/Shadow, Color/Material/Bump, Reflection/Transparency can be added.

3DPlanarHatch.dwg

Thanx for the help Seant. Raster is the mode used for taking a drawing to the level of your avatar, which is very cool. But what about the necessity for other programs, such as 3d Max and architectural. They are specific as well make the process easier or better detail?

Yes, 3D Max is much more geared towards rendering and animation. It has a lot of additional features designed to enhance manipulation of surface textures, a lot more control while tweaking lighting environments, etc. The image (or animation) is the end result.

With AutoCAD, documents are the end result, and the rendering capability is set to assist that documentation effort. I will say, however, that AutoCAD’s renderer does make a very good assist.