Drawing Detail Hat for Drafting Symbols: Step-By-Step Tutorial

In this video, we will continue drawing our drafting symbols by creating the detail hat. Remember, in a previous video, we mentioned that the detail hat and detail symbol work together, so the detail hat should fit right on top of this circle.

We will not draw the detail hat in the same drawing as our detail symbol. These should be saved as separate files while we begin to build our library of drafting symbols. That library doesn't all have to be in the same drawing; instead, we will talk later in the course about how to combine these drawings into one file to create a construction document set or a single drawing.

So, for now, let's go to File > New, select our VDCI Fundamentals template, and hit Open. Remember, this opens the template, but it's really creating a new, unnamed drawing. Before I draw anything in this project, I'll go to File > Save, and remember that CTRL + S is the shortcut to save on your keyboard. This will be titled, again in all caps, Detail-Hat.

I can hit Save, and, like we did for the detail symbol, the next step will be to create a new layer. We can create a new layer by going to Layer Properties. I'll go to my Layer Properties dialog box, choose New Layer, and then type A-SYMS for symbols.

Now, I'll go to the color picker and select color 120.

It's right here, or you can type 120 in the text box and hit OK. The last thing we need to do is make sure this is the active layer.

I'll go over to this symbol, double-click, and A-SYMS will be the active layer. I can confirm this in the drop-down. I'll hit X to close the window and press CTRL + S to save my model.

This symbol is drawn using a 1.5-inch diameter circle as its base, forming the bottom arc of this triangular hat. We practiced drawing a circle in the last video, but just as a reminder, we want to use the Circle tool and specify a diameter of 1.5 inches.

I'll do that twice. Let's go to Circle.

Remember, 'Specify' means click or type. I'll type 0,0 for the center of my circle.

I see it's asking for a radius, so I'll type 'D' and hit ENTER to change that to Diameter, then type 0.75 for my 1.5-inch diameter.

Hit ENTER.

I'll undo that circle, and please follow along. Circle.

Center point is 0,0. Hit ENTER.

I'll type D, hit ENTER for my diameter, and now I can type 0.75 or 1/2. Hit ENTER to lock in my half-inch circle.

Now, I can go to View > Zoom > Zoom Extents to see the circle, or a helpful trick is to press the middle mouse wheel twice.

If I click it quickly, I'll perform a Zoom Extents.

Again, that's double-clicking the middle mouse wheel.

When the circle is in view, I'll press CTRL + S to save, and then check my handout to see that we expect to have our triangle up here.

To move and zoom to see that space, we need to use our three-button mouse. With the scroll wheel, I'll move my cursor into the middle of the circle, then scroll down or away from the screen.

That will zoom out one click at a time.

I can zoom in by scrolling in or up on the scroll wheel.

Scroll out so your circle is about this size.

Then, hold down the middle mouse wheel to activate the Pan tool. Next, I'll drag my mouse while holding down the middle mouse button and move my circle down on the screen.

I'm not using the Move tool.

The circle is not moving relative to 0,0. I'm just moving the camera so I can better see the space where I need to draw geometry.

It's critical to become familiar with the Pan and Zoom tools so you can zoom in and out and pan to the areas where you need to draw geometry.

When my circle is in this location, I'll press CTRL + S to save, and we will finish drawing this symbol in the next video.