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© 2000 by Ron McIntyre. All Rights Reserved.
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I have always enjoyed making Isometric drawings and I thought I would show how to construct a grid that can be used in CorelDRAW and also to make your own drawing paper. This way you can draw freehand and get ideas. This was done in CorelDRAW 9 using line widths of .003 inches.
Once you construct the grid, you can lock the object on your drawing and use your tools to transform symbols, clip art and construct your own isometric drawings. Then delete the grid leaving your own views.
Isometric sketches can be made on the grid using the isometric axes shown on the right. One axes is vertical, the other two are inclined 30° from the horizontal. Also the grid shown on the right consists of three sets of parallel lines. One set of lines are vertical, a second set inclined 30° from the horizontal, the third set inclined at 150°, measuring positive counterclockwise from a horizontal line.
The grid we are going to construct will be based on .5 (1/2) inch spacing at 32 inches square. Then we can reduce the square to 16 inches and have a grid based on .25 (1/4) inch spacing, and be able to make your paper at 1/4 or 1/2 inch without having to construct a separate grid. You can also reduce your grid by maintaining your Aspect Ratio to arrive at anything between 1/2 and 1/16 inches. Note: If you want to have a grid based on 3/4 inch then increase the finished grid to 48 inches. For 1 inch, increase to 64 inches. You do not have to use a 32-inch square, but can choose what you want. The minimum would be 14 inches as the size to intersect a legal size page.
Since there are several ways to construct this grid, I will show you the way based on rotation of 150° from the horizontal. The three angles are 120° apart and add up to 360°.
Open a drawing of 44 inches by 44 inches, and draw a square of 32 inches. Place it in center of page by pressing P on the keyboard. For those who aren't using CorelDRAW 9, you'll have to do this from the Align dialog. If you do not want to show a page border then go to Tools, Options, Document; and then Page. Uncheck "show page border" and click OK. I chose not to have a page border so I would not see the extra square. Go to Arrange and lock your 32-inch square so it will not interfere while we group our objects.
Draw a horizontal line 44 inches long anywhere on the drawing page. Then select Window | Dockers and open your Transformation Docker. With the Relative Position unchecked, your center object handle checked. Enter at H, 22 and V, 44. This is shown at right. We are going to divide the imaginary 44-inch square into 88 equal parts, each 1/2 inch apart. The reason the horizontal line is 44 inches long is that when we rotate all of the grouped objects they will be wider than the 32-inch square we see. This will become apparent as we move along. The single horizontal line, in Position is shown below.
With your single 44-inch line selected enter in your Transformation Dockers H, 22 and V, 0. Relative Position unchecked and the center object handle checked. Click Apply to Duplicate. This is shown at right and below.
Next go to Effects | Blend (If you have customized Blend back to your Effects Menu) otherwise you'll need to use the Interactive Blend tool. With both 44-inch lines selected, enter 87 steps and click Apply. Select Arrange | Separate, then select Arrange | Ungroup All. Now select all the objects by double-clicking on the pick then then choose Arrange | Group. You should have 89 grouped objects on Layer 1. If you ungroup all of your grouped objects and tab select each object you will see they are each 1/2 inch apart. If you want a better explanation of dividing a line into any number of parts see my explanation in Fabricate Your Own Copper Arrows Part 1.
Since we have 89 grouped objects, reopen your Transformation Docker and click on the Rotation icon. Relative Center unchecked and the center object handle checked. Your H and V should be 22. With your Horizontal Lines selected, go to your numeric key pad and press the plus key to Duplicate the grouped objects. Enter -150° in your rotation box and click Apply.
Deselect your rotated objects and reselect your Horizontal Lines and Duplicate them again. Enter in your rotation box -30° and click Apply.
Deselect your rotated objects and reselect your Horizontal Lines and enter in your rotation box 90° and click Apply. Go to your Standard toolbar and enter 50% zoom, marquee select all of your objects.
You are now ready to Intersect your grouped objects for your finished Grid.
Before you Intersect your grouped objects, you can either Intersect from where you are or move your 32-inch square. I chose to move it. Using the Zoom tool, zoom in as shown immediately below. Go to Arrange and unlock your 32-inch square. Open the Dockers | Shaping | Intersect Docker. Uncheck Target Objects and leave Source Objects checked as shown at right. Click on Intersect With. When the Intersect arrow appears click on the Grid. After the Intersection are complete Shift Select the 32-inch square and Group to retain your 32-inch square. This is shown below. Next Duplicate the 32 inch Grid and reduce it to a 16 inch Grid. This is shown in the third image below.
As you now have two completed Grids you can now draw either 8.5 x 11 or 8.5 x 14 inch rectangles and Intersect your Grids for the paper you want to print, or any size you choose.
While using your Grid in CorelDRAW to draw isometric views it is best to lock the Grid. Also if you use EZ-Metrics along with the Grid you can design just about anything. An example is shown at right.
Below is a finished Drawing Pad that was made to use at work. It is also possible to bind your own. I used Automotive Silicone Gasket Sealer and applied it to the end I wanted to tear off. Let it dry overnight, but most will dry in about an hour. Just make sure you put a plain sheet on top and bottom before applying the sealer. The Sealer I used was called High Temp Red Silicone Type 650 # 65300. Also if you have at least 25 sheets it is best to tape them tight before applying the sealer so it will not get between the sheets.
CD-ROM Labels: Design, Cut, & Install From Glossy Photo Paper · Postcards, QSL Cards, Books and the Duplexing Wizard · Use CorelDRAW to Produce Scrolling Text or Graphics From Screen Recording Software · Creating a Cross Stitch Pattern from an Original Scan · Making Those Fancy License Plates · Creating Stencils To Paint On T-Shirts · Constructing Isometric Grid Paper, A Computer Aid · Making a Full Sized Pattern From a Digital Photo · Fabricate Your Own Copper Arrows, Part I · Fabricate Your Own Copper Arrows, Part II
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