Computer program

I would go with Sketchup. It is primarily 3-D, but you can certainly use it for 2D.  It is free.

If you are looking for dirt-simple, you can do basic drawing in Keynote which is probably already on your Mac. The advantage of Sketchup is that the drawing can be dimensional. Plus, once you get the hang of it, you will get sucked into 3-D, which is great fun.

I agree with AVANTI's answer!

"Jump" into SKETCHUP! easy to learn and very funny! 

Strictly 2D: I'm making attemps with LIBRECAD and DRAFTSIGHT; many possibilities but harder to assimilate! I usually work for several years with another light and efficient software but it's only in french (MICOPLAN).

jpv in France

Thank you both.  SketchUp is a gold mine... if I ever learn it all.

Good luck for the future! 

If you need help...

jpv in France

jpv69 posted:

Good luck for the future! 

If you need help...

Same here! 

"Evans Designs" sells a very nice product for doing building flats.    It has various windows, doors, trim and accessories.    It also has various wood and brick/stone siding to use and roofing materials.

I have used  it for many projects on my layout and others in both HO and O.    Everything is available in different scales.

I don't know if they support Mac.   It runs fine on many Microsoft operating systems.

   http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/index.htlm

Okay, I have a problem.  I've got some nice 3D stuff done but how do I set it up to do 2 dimensional walls?  If I can make these parts I can learn how to "layer" them to get three dimensions with doors and windows set in and frames further out, etc.

Remember you're dealing with a "dinosaur" here.  I've been working with computers since 1966 and still don't understand them, like them, or trust them much, and I don't speak computerese.

Assuming we are still talking about SketchUp:

Use the SHAPE tool to draw a rectangle. You can then use the 2-D tools (shape, arc, pencil, etc) to draw on the surface of the rectangle. The same will work with any other 2-D shape (circle, etc). If you have a closed shape drawn on a rectangle, you can "pull" it out to form a 3-D extrusion. Or, you can pull the rectangle itself to give the wall thickness.

Exactly!

In fact, the shapes tools and the push/pull tool are the main tools on SKETCHUP.

JPV69

I still can't make a simple 2d rectangular shape.  It keeps reverting to 3d and I don't need that feature for what I'm trying to do.

Let's take it from the top.

Select the "Rectangle" tool:

Drag out your rectangle.  (It is in 3-D space, but it is a 2-D object):

Still using the rectangle tool, click on the surface of the rectangle, and drag out a second one inside it:

Draw two more rectangles, inside the surface of the second one:

Switch to the "Push-Pull" tool. Click on the first rectangle. Push in a little to give the wall some thickness:

Now use "Push-Pull" to click on the window frame. Pull out to give the frame some depth:

Finally, switch to the "Select" tool (the arrow). Click a window to select it. Hit the Delete key to erase it. Repeat for the other window:

If you want to stay in 2-D, just skip the "Push-Pull" steps.

Hope this helps.

I still can't use that as a template to make walls.  

How do I get the top and bottom lines parallel and the right and left walls to meet the top and bottom walls squarely at the corners? 

Ah.  You problem is that by default, the model is rendered in perspective, but for your purposes you need "Parallel (also called orthogonal) Projection".  Try this:

--In the CAMERA menu, select "Parallel Projection". This turns off perspective. The image will look funny to your eye, but it will turn off all the rendering adjustments that are causing your problems. For example, the parallel edges of a rectangle will always be the same size.

--Use the "orbit" tool to move the camera until you are looking straight toward the object you are interested. This is a little tricky--pay attention to the three axis lines.

You are now looking at a drawing just as it would be if drawn on a piece of paper. You can print it out and piece it together.

To be honest, there are tools that are probably better for your purpose, but all the ones I know are a LOT harder to learn, and SketchUp can do so many different things well that I still think it is your best bet.

You could also try Inkscape. It's a 2D vector-drawing application that is free/open source and is available for Windows/Mac/Linux.

Vector drawing are represented in the computer as mathematical equations rather than collections of dots, so the end result can be resized up or down without any loss of quality. Plus, all the points of the drawing are movable once set down as part of the drawing. One of the tools is a ruler ( the (M)easurement tool) that will allow you to measure your lines and adjust them accordingly if the image needs to be a specific real-world size upon printing.

I've been using Inkscape for 2D images for quite some time, and can offer similar assistance as you received for SketchUp above (but keep that application around too, it's worth learning--just watch tutorial and time-lapse videos of people using it...I re-learned it to build "sets" for 2D pictures when I needed to correct the perspective of the background ) 

---PCJ