axotools

December 23, 2024

AxoTools’ improved inverted extrude modes

Sometimes we need to extrude a shape as negative space, that is, space cut out of some other material. This was recently added to AxoTools, but with the latest free update, it’s now improved with three modes or variations on how to do this.

Extrude modes Recessed appears as a depression in a surface, similar to the “debossed” effect in Photoshop. AxoTools draws side walls and a back plane.

Cutout appears to cut the shape out of some thin material and move it backward.

Open appears as a hole in some material by drawing side walls, but leaving the back open.

All three modes add a mask to fit the size and shape of the opening.

If the inverted art needs to simulate an opening in a colored shape, you can check the option to “Add white background behind art.” This adds a white fill to the mask; otherwise, any colored art behind the extruded art will show through in Cutout or Open modes.

See the AxoTools online documentation for more information.

You can download AxoTools plugin for Adobe Illustrator, with 1,000 trial uses before purchasing.

February 20, 2024

New PopArt live symbols for AxoTools

Rick Johnson

PopArt symbols can be dragged from a symbols panel and AxoTools will automatically expand them to fit your choice of axonometric planes in your current document projection. This includes extruded art, art with compound rotations, and with moves along axes.

For example, say you’re building an axonometric village and you want awnings over some of your windows. Rather than build them, or copy and paste them from a previous project, you can store one as a PopArt symbol and drag them into your document as needed.

PopArt demo

You’re not limited to just isometric, either. PopArt will expand and conform to any face in any document projection you set, including an auxiliary projection.

PopArt turn values

table, chairs, umbrella

PopArt can contain several layered objects at various angles. In this illustration, only two PopArt chairs created the four seen here, and the table with umbrella is all one symbol.

Please see the AxoTools documentation for more information on creating and using AxoTools PopArt symbols. And please let me know if you create PopArt symbols you’re willing to share with others!

February 10, 2024

AxoTools Transformations panel improvements

Rick Johnson

Several new features in AxoTools make the Transformations panel more flexible and easier to use.

live preview

Live preview of extruded art shows your shading and stroke widths.

change orientation

Select several Transformations objects at once and change all of their orientation settings. This works best if they all share a common anchor point so that they all “move” together.

You can now expand several Transformations objects at once, rather than one-by-one.

Transformations objects can now embed properties from the Draw Settings panel. In this example, the tan box is divided into four layers, and the blue cylinder is set as seated against another surface.

To embed custom settings, check the option “Art has custom draw settings.” The info boxes in the Draw Settings and Transformations panels will display a blue circle to indicate that the settings chosen apply only to the selected object. These fields will otherwise display a document or globe icon to indicate whether the current Draw Settings are global defaults or are saved locally in the document.

Please note that the fill method is still applied globally, though, to ensure that the color and shading are consistent across all art in the document.

These features are new in AxoTools plugin for Adobe Illustrator version 25.0.2, now available for download.

January 15, 2024

AxoTools adds control bar

Rick Johnson

Illustrator users know that we need panels to access controls and options, but it quickly fills valuable working screen space. Collapsing panels to icons helps, but repeatedly opening and closing them can be a hassle, as well. One option Adobe brilliantly engineered for Illustrator is the control bar that shows a limited number of essential controls consolidated into in a thin strip.

The newest version of AxoTools now includes a control bar as well. You can access it in the menu Window > AxoTools > AxoTools Control.

The first item shows at a glance the projection of the current document. Double-click it to open the Projection panel to change it. Next is a label showing the current document’s scale ratio and units used in AxoTools’ panels that calculate scale measurements. Again, double-click the label to open the Preferences dialog to change the scale or units.

Next is a series of four buttons to project or unproject art, which work exactly like the buttons in the Projection panel.

The next set of four buttons control options that affect projecting and other functions. The first one selects whether reference points are used. This one has a blue background when active to make it easier to spot since you would normally want to keep this option off unless you are busy projecting art from various ortho views to an axonometric view as described here.

The next option controls whether to automatically project a copy of the selected art. The third button chooses whether to rotate ellipses so that the anchor points align on the major and minor axis when projected. Fourth is the option to apply properties in the Draw Settings panel when projecting art.

At the far right is a shortcut to open AxoTools’ online documentation.

Are there other items you would like to see included here? They could static like these controls, or dynamic — visible only under some conditions. Let me know what you need!

November 14, 2023

Fastener libraries for AxoTools

Rick Johnson

One of the new features in AxoTools is adding fastener libraries in the form of specially-formatted symbol libraries. AxoTools comes with a fastener library, and you can add others. Industrial Artworks has already created a library of nearly a hundred high-quality fastener symbols, which is available for purchase.

To install AxoTools’ symbol library, open the AxoTools Fasteners panel. In its flyout menu, select the item to Update “AxoTools Fasteners.ai” file.

A dialog will ask you to confirm whether you really want to install it. Click the OK button, or press Escape to cancel..

You will probably get a message that the file and folder cannot be created in the Symbols folder. Click the Yes button to create it on your desktop.

You should now see a folder named “AxoTools Symbols” on your desktop. Navigate to your Symbols folder, located in your Adobe Illustrator application folder in Presets > [Language] > Symbols, and copy the “AxoTools Symbols” folder here. Your operating system will ask you for permission to copy the file. If you look in this folder, you’ll see one Illustrator file named “AxoTools Symbols.ai” which you can open to see the available symbols and read instructions on how to create your own fastener symbols. If you purchase an additional symbol library or create your own, this is where the file should be placed.

Restart Illustrator. On launch, AxoTools will look for this folder to load fastener symbols into their corresponding menus in the Fasteners panel. If you also install the Industrial Artworks symbol library, your Screw variations menu should look like this:

The divider separates generated symbols drawn for any projection from the symbol-based fasteners, which are typically drawn in isometric. The two slotted hex screws and two drywall screws come with AxoTools. The items identified with “IA” are from Industrial Artworks.

Please let me know how your experience goes with installing, using, and perhaps creating fastener symbol libraries.

November 12, 2023

AxoTools adds Fastener panel and tool

Rick Johnson

AxoTools has added a new Fasteners panel to help you quickly create fasteners of common types and sizes, scaled to fit your document.

Check the fasteners you want to create and choose a variation in the menus, then select a size from the list of presets. If you’re creating a bolt or screw, enter a shank length. The hole can be created either with or without matching threads.

Choose one of the four available axonometric faces and click the “Create fastener(s)” button.

These options also define the fasteners created with the Axo Fastener tool.

Click or drag the Fastener tool to create a set of fasteners rotated to any of your document’s axes, and sized to your document’s scale.

Built-in fastener selections include 17 types of nuts, bolts, and washers drawn as path art in your document’s projection — that’s any projection, as it is not limited to only isometric.

In addition, 14 other fasteners are included in a symbol library that you can use as-is, modify, or add your own custom fasteners. Threaded shanks are automatically added to screw/bolt heads and threaded holes are added to nuts. If you’re using multiple stroke widths, the stroke widths of the fastener symbols are changed to your standard widths and the symbols expanded to fully-editable art.

Extensive, professionally-drawn symbol libraries will also be available soon from other sources.

These new features are available now in a free update to AxoTools.

For more information, please refer to the online documentation for the Fasteners panel. Download AxoTools and try it yourself.

May 6, 2023

AxoTools adds “bottom” projection support

Rick Johnson

If you adjust the Tilt value of your projections using the dial control to the right of the proxy cube image, you’ve possibly found that it now allows you to tilt far enough to show the bottom of the cube. You could also just enter negative values for the left and right axes, or a negative Tilt value.

When that happens, the projection buttons change their orientation to make sense for the inverted view, including moving the “top” buttons to below the sides for “bottom” projections.

The left and right axes will now both show as negative values.

In this example, how many of you had one of these in your living room growing up? Stereo consoles were quite the rage in 1970, but were replaced with component-style equipment not long afterward. It provides a good example of an underside view, to show the location of the four feet.

In this case, I’ve defined the four zones, which now need to include options for bottom-left and bottom-right zones, as well as bottom reference points. In most cases, you really won’t need to define zones, but if you have large or complex ortho views that you move or extrude by reference, it can save you from some unexpected behavior later.

While revising the Zone tool and zone creation, it seemed a good time to make other improvements to the Zone tool and its functions to make the process easier and more intuitive. Reference points are now visible while the Zone tool is active, and they can be created here now, as well. Rather than draw a rectangle every time, you now have the option of selecting art from an ortho view, and the tool will draw a rectangle to enclose it. Other details are available in the updated documentation for the tool.

To summarize, the Projection panel now supports Tilt and Turn values that show many combinations of the left and right planes, plus the top or bottom.

Now, this may be going kind of crazy, but it would be possible to add the option to project art to a back surface. This might look like a sign painted on a window, but appearing backward as viewed from inside the building. Would that be useful?

April 9, 2023

AxoTools Gallery: see what others are creating with AxoTools

Rick Johnson

Illustrators all over the world have been creating amazing work with AxoTools. You can see a sampling of them in the new AxoTools Gallery. Many thanks to all who contributed. One of the entries is shown below.

Library book shelf modules, Vladivostok, Russia

These bookshelves in the form of Cyrillic letters were designed by Egor Chistyakov. He started with the shelf front surface as a compound path, then extruded with multiple line weights and shaded color. Shadows and other details were added.

AxoTools Gallery