Set Design Workflow in Vectorworks 2025

INTRO: USER SETTINGS

My Preferred Settings for any Project
PART 1: BUILDING THE THEATRE

1. Setting Up your Document

2. Building 3D Theatre Architecture

3. Setting up a Camera and Saved Views

4. Adding 2D Fill for Architecture

5. Adding Masking


PART 2: BUILDING THE 3D SET
6. Adding a Figure

7. Building Platforms

8. Building Walls, Doors and Windows

9. Adding 3D Render Textures for Walls, Platforms, Doors and Windows

10. Adding Cornice using Extrude Along Path

11. Adding Furniture

12. Adding a Backdrop and Trees using Image Props


PART 3: GENERATING A 2D DRAFTED GROUND PLAN
13. Creating a Ground Plan - Viewport on Sheet Layer
"

14. Adding a Plate Border and Title Block
"

15. Cropping a Viewport
"

16. Labeling Your Ground Plan - Viewport Annotations
"

17. Adding a CL, PL, SP, and Notes
"


PART 4: GENERATING 2D DRAFTED SECTIONS AND ELEVATIONS
18. Creating a CL Section View
"

19. Creating Wall Elevations
"

20. Dimensioning Wall Elevations
"

21. Drawing Details and Final Touches
"

Types of Scenery and Moving Scenery

Here you can download our class slides for Types of Scenery
Many scenic materials are also in these slides.

These are the slides we used in class that cover Handling Scenery.

Tool Slides

Hand Tools

Power Tools

Here are some hand tools and power tools that you'll encounter in stagecraft.

Theatre Spaces, Shops, and Safety


Here are some stagecraft slides for types of theatre spaces, shops, and safety equipment.

Tool Safety Videos

Here are some pretty thorough safety videos made by the Power Tool Institute. They may feel a little long, but they have important information.

Please remember that these tools can be dangerous. Even if you have had previous experience with tools, these safety precautions are essential. A Yale University student was killed a few years ago when her hair was caught in a lathe.

Table Saw
Miter Saw
Circular Saw

Stagecraft students need to watch these videos before they use tools in class. Scene shop employees need to watch them once each year.

Sculpting Foam Balusters

I built a hot wire cutter to sculpt some balusters out of EPS foam.

Here's a video to see it in action. The sound is muffled since we're wearing respirators.

And here they are in use for Much Ado About Nothing

Thanks to Jacobs Online for helping me figure out what transformer to use.

Converting Audio File Formats in Apple Music

MP3 files sometimes have timing issues and can skip or hang up, especially on large files. It is always better to use WAV files or AIFF files.

If you have an MP3 file that you want to use for a show, you'll want to convert it to a WAV file.

Here's how you do this using Apple Music:

  1. Launch Apple Music. Make sure your Apple Music import settings are set to wav by going to the Music menu > Preferences > Files > Import Settings > select create using WAV Encoder.
  2. Back in your music list, highlight your desired sound file and go to File > Convert > Create WAV Version.
  3. Drag the new version from your music list to your desktop or show folder.


Note: If you purchased the file online, it may be restricted and you may not be able to change the format.