Using the Line Command

Essential to all AutoCAD drawings, LINE is the first command you’ll explore as you construct the shape shown in Figure 2-1. Whenever starting a brand new drawing in AutoCAD, it’s always best to take a step back and consider the object or objects you would like to construct. In this case, the shape shown in Figure 2-1 most closely resembles a square. Applying this basic strategy, you’ll begin by defining each of the four sides of the square by using the LINE command, and then build upon this basic shape with several additional commands introduced later in this chapter.

In traditional architectural drafting, lines were often drawn to extend slightly past their endpoints (see Figure 2-2). Today we have entire applications that can open a CAD drawing and not only apply this effect, but make the image look hand drawn. A popular application for applying such an effect is Autodesk Impression. I won’t be covering Autodesk Impression in this book; however, you can visit http://autodesk.com/impression to learn more about it.