In this lesson I will show you how to model a door. To begin with, I will activate the Orbit function, change the viewing angle and zoom in on the detail that represents the opening in the facade wall. After that, I can use the Layer Off function to turn off the layer on which the ground floor is located. Until now, I have separated all the elements by layers, so I will also create a separate Layer for the door. This involves activating the Layer Manager, selecting the New function and entering an appropriate name. After that, I just need to activate a new Layer by selecting this icon and change its color. On this occasion, I will choose orange and close all boxes by selecting the OK button.

When modeling some elements, their representation in two dimensions cannot help you much because you have to start from scratch. I’m going to start by clicking on this icon and turning on the Dynamic UCS feature. If it is not available for you, click on the icon in the far right corner of the screen and select the appropriate option from the menu. After that, I can run the Rectangle command and place the cursor on the surface that represents the facade wall. AutoCAD will automatically adjust to the new parameters, which means that the drawing plane will be temporarily shifted to a vertical position. If I now continue to draw a new element, it will appear on the facade wall, which is what I wanted to achieve. This feature is very handy, so after each view change I will be able to select a new drawing surface.

Since I only drew these two rectangles as an illustration, I’ll delete them and move on to something more concrete. In this case it means that I need an element whose starting point is in the lower left corner and the opposite one in the middle of the upper edge of this opening. From what can be seen from the base, this door is partially glazed, which means I have to use the Offset function and define the inside edge of the frame. If I turn these two polygonal lines into the so-called Region, it will be much easier for me to make a 3D object out of them. That’s why I’ll run the appropriate command from the keyboard, select both boxes and press Enter. Since I have converted line elements to surface elements in this way, I can run the Subtract function and subtract this smaller one from the larger frame. If I also use the Extrude function after that, an almost finished door will appear on the screen.

I need a new Layer for the glass, so I’ll go back to the Layer Manager and create a layer called 3D-Glazing. After that, I just need to activate it and give it a blue color. I’ll use the Rectangle command again to draw the new element, and if it turns out that the Dynamic UCS function isn’t able to find a suitable plane, simply zoom in on the element you want to bind to. I will easily draw a suitable frame and then apply the Extrude function and turn it into a very thin prism. Since the glass is usually in the middle of the frame, I’m going to run the Move command and use the Ortho function to move this element a little more.

For this glazed frame to really be called a door, it only needs a handle. Before I use any of the drawing functions, I’ll run the Layer Make Current command and change the active layer in one go. After that, I can use the Sphere function to draw a ball and choose the point in the lower right corner of the frame as the center. Its diameter must be relatively small, and on this occasion I will decide on 3 units. If I then move it 2 units to the left and 42 up, this element will really start to look like a doorknob. In the end, I just need to move it forward a little and connect it to the frame.

Having completed one wing in this way, I can create the rest of the door in a very simple way. It is enough to start the Mirror command, select this element and draw its mirror image with one stroke. Considering that the door is usually located a little deeper inside the facade wall, I only need to move it away from the outer edge and thus complete the drawing of this element.

For the sake of easier manipulation, I suggest that you connect the elements consisting of several different parts into groups, and this can be done by applying the command of the same name. You can also start it via the keyboard and then simply select all the elements that should be included in the future group. After that, it won’t be difficult for you to copy its content to several other locations and complete this facade in no time.

Since the same door exists on the other side, I will make another copy and then turn it 90 degrees and place it in the appropriate position. In order for everything to be as it should be, I have to repeat the last step and move the entire door a little deeper towards the interior of the building.

I now have everything I need to complete another facade so I’ll fill in these gaps in a few strokes and check that all the elements are in place. Everything seems to be fine, except that there is an opening here that can only accommodate one wing. Of course, this does not mean that I have to start from the beginning, because I can always use some of the existing objects. To prove it to you, I will copy one double door and delete the part that I don’t need. Considering that this is a group, I have to temporarily turn off linking by pressing the Control+H keys before selection and turn it on again after deleting the redundant elements. In the end, I just need to put what’s left in the right position and check if everything is in its place.