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The Complete Technical Illustrator, by J. Duff & G. Maxson

Click on the cover to purchase your copy of the CTI PDF.

Originally published internationally by McGraw-Hill, this 500-page full-color text is a comprehensive look at vector-based technical illustration. Several software products are featured including Adobe Illustrator and Autodesk’s AutoCAD and 3ds Max, but the procedures and approaches are easily transferred to CorelDRAW, inkScape, Maya, and Blender, among other graphic tools. This text also features numerous illustration tips and case studies of illustration taken directly from business, industry, and commerce. Written in a conversational manner and full of explanations, The Complete Technical Illustrator is a welcome addition to your illustration resources.

Topics include: Data and Tools; Reproduction and Workflow Management; Orthogonal Layout; Axonometric Views; Axonometric Circles; Axonometric Scale Construction; Axonometric Projection; Axonometric Shearing; Perspective Techniques; Line Rendering; Photo Tracing; Emphasis with Color; Color Rendering; PostScript Materials; Text and Technical Illustrations; Engineering Drawings and 3D Illustrations; AutoCAD Data in Illustrations; Modeling for Illustration; Raster Materials; Animation and Technical Illustration.

Included in the CTI PDF download is a Flash-based axonometric calculator called AxonHelper.

Created by Jon Duff, AxonHelper automates much of the data used in making axonometric illustrations. It includes data for determining the major and minor axes of ellipses. It also contains data for scale construction, shearing, 3D camera position, and 3D object rotation. This data can be found for a number of “standard” axonometric views–isometric, dimetric, and trimetric. Instructions for using AxonHelper are included.

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Dr. Jon M. Duff has written about and taught technical illustration for forty years and is Professor Emeritus of Engineering at Arizona State University. Greg Maxson has been a professional technical illustrator for over two decades and operates his own studio in Urbana, Illinois.