Working with Hatches, Gradients, and Tool Palettes - AutoCAD 2011 and AutoCAD LT 2011: No Experience Required - page 569

You need to hatch the top 2 ′ -0 ″ (610 mm) of the wall with a gradient. To
determine the boundary line of the hatch, you'll turn off the layer that has the
shake pattern. You'll then create a guideline to serve as the lower boundary of
the hatch:
1. Make the A-ELEV-SHAD-BNDY layer current, and then turn off the
A-ELEV-WALL-PATT layer.
TIP try using the Off tool ( LAYOFF command) found on the Home tab ➢
Layers panel to turn off the a-eLeV-WaLL-patt layer.
to use it, simply start the LAYOFF command and then select the wall
hatching. Because the wall hatching is on the a-eLeV-WaLL-patt
layer, it is turned off by graphically selecting an object on that layer.
2. Use the RECTANG command to draw rectangles that extend from the
corners, where the roof and vertical lines meet, to 2 ′ -0 ″ (610 mm)
below the lowest three roof lines. Figure 11.11 shows the rectangles
to draw in bold and the windows hidden for clarity.
Draw these retangles.
F i G u R E 11.11 Creating the boundaries for the forthcoming gradient
3. Make the A-ELEV-SHAD-PATT layer current, and then start the HATCH
command. From the Properties panel within the Hatch Creation tab,
change the Hatch Type property to Gradient (see Figure 11.12).