Visual Styles In Inventor 2011

I am pretty impressed with the visual styles in Inventor 2011. Personally, when modeling I prefer to use simple shaded models with edges displayed. But its nice to be able to switch to different visual styles to get a better feel of the part or assembly, instead of having to do a full or partial render. The visual style in the screen shot below is called “Shaded with Edges”. I usually model using this visual style. You will need to click the images in this post to view them in their actual size.

Here is another visual style that I like. It’s called “Wireframe with Visible Edges Only”.

This is not to be confused with the “Illustration” visual style, which has more of a hand drawn look. In my opinion, the “Illustration” visual style makes sense for individual parts or small assemblies. Using it on an assembly like this one does not yield a pleasing sight. I know there are better ways to create technical illustrations, but for some reason, if you had to use these images then the “Wireframe with Visible Edges Only” visual style maybe more suited for technical illustrations than the “Illustration” visual style itself. At least for large assemblies. Here, take a look.

Anyways, seeing this model in the half dead gray color was a bit depressing. So I asked Rob Cohee of Autodesk if he could have someone add some life into it by adding materials. I could have done that myself, but decided that it would be better if someone from Autodesk did it. This is what he sent me.

Well, an engine is going to look like an engine, right? I guess if I wanted some real life, I should have sent him a model of a sunflower. 😉

Here are a few close-ups.

Notice the textures and shadows. Also, it is important to note that none of the screen shots above are renders. They are just visual styles that you can easily switch to while modeling in Inventor 2011. The last four screen shots were taken from a visual style called “Realistic”.