Students' Reflection on Design & Technology - Secondary TWO Express (2013)

Students' Reflection on Design & Technology - Secondary TWO Express (2013)

It had been a tiring 2013 with two graduating O Level classes under my charge on top of a couple of lower secondary classes. I had to give consultation priority for graduating students in most of all my afternoons after 430pm because all classes had extra lessons everyday from 230pm till 430pm. D&T had extra lessons too but once every two weeks for an hour or less is too little.

My Secondary Two and Three classes did not have the luxury to see me for consultations as often as they wished after school hours.  In most of their reflections, quite a number talk about 'little communication', or commented that 'time is too short' and 'wishing to have more time with the teacher'. A few holidays and school programs that fall on official class times added on to the lack of time. My two weeks In-Camp-Training in July added more misery.  However, I was blessed to have eager Secondary Two students who even though did not get to see me as often as they could, most of them managed their work well. They could rely on the posts and tips I uploaded in Facebook or in this blog to complete their work to a good standard.

My Secondary 3 cohort were weaker academically compared to their peers but they picked up real fast - especially in terms of attitude towards quality work. Though they too did not get to see me often after school, they have improved a lot in terms of self-discipline, self-motivation and taking ownership on being responsible for their successes.

The designjournalsos blog becomes a necessity where students can refer to and hopefully gain some momentum on their own whenever I cannot be reached. This will also help keep their coursework up to date and with good standard.

Making process of the Lady Bug Tea Light Holder - Shaping to Dry Assembly.

This publication shows the making process of the Lady Bug Tea Light Holder - from Shaping to Dry Assembly. This includes tools involved. It is assumed that marking out and general shaping is completed. 'Finishing' is not included.

Dining Accessories Project 2013 by my 2E3 and 2E4 students (Semester 1)

 2E3

2E4

My students of 2E3 and 2E4 have been with me for the past 14 weeks or so working on their individual Dining Accessories Project and this is the result of their time with me. All of them are designed and made by the students under my guidance and facilitation. Great students this year with lots of interesting solutions. We have a range of toothpick to napkin holders, chopsticks to cutlery holders, feedback forms and menu holders and from customer tips to tea light holders. The theme given to the students is 'Innovative Premium Dining Storages' for high class restaurants.

I hope they had a great time with me as I do have a wonderful time with them. Next semester I will see the next half of the class. Let's see what they could come out with.

Fish Note Holder - Design Refinement and Development Demonstrations

The two links are demonstrations on a 'Fish Note Holder' featuring the following topics: 

• Design Refinements and Developments 
• Working Drawing (based on ratios rather than on dimensions) 
• (Simple) Presentation Drawing 
• A Pictorial Presentation of the Making Process. 

Design Refinement and Development + Working Drawing + Presentation Drawing

Making Process (Realization)

Quote

"The inherent messiness of the creative process means that at any time, they can, do, and probably should overlap. Such is the modus operandus of the creative mind: discrete categories often give way to creative continuums." From 'Idea Stormers', Bryan W. Mattimore

Product Research & Product Analysis

Product Research. Product Analysis. 

Are they the same?

What is Product Research? 

When do we do Product Research? 

Why do Product Research? 

The same questions for Product Analysis.

All these questions will be answered in a little while.

Introduction

Very often I see students propose 'Design Opportunities' where product solutions for them are either not a practical necessity in reality or are already in existence.

Another common problem students have with their identified 'problems' is the ignorance that the 'problem' belongs to an isolated case. That means, no one else really have the problem! If a 'product' is created, that product benefits practically no one else. Therefore you must make sure your identified 'problem' does affect a wider group of audience. And this wider audience must recognise and admit to it. You can find that out through a survey or very careful and focused observations. You want to find a problem that is common but unsolved (yet).

The next observation is an extension of the problems highlighted above. They are 'problems' identified from 'worst-case-senerios'. In addition to the failure to study the 'problem' to cover a wider audience, the identified 'problems' came from situations where you only find them in the worst services, the worst hotel, the worst restaurant, the worst food court, the worst toilet, the worst home - where businesses or people are ignorant or did not care about using good existing solutions. 

If you picked 'problems' from cases like the above, frankly speaking, what can you expect on the quality of the service they provide or the suitability of the products they use?

So as a golden rule, identify problems from preferably the best case scenarios. You have a higher chance of hitting a real problem is needs to be solved.

There are many problems from 'worst-case-senerios'. For example, 'the waiter is using a tray that is too small', 'the chair in the hotel room does not match the decoration of the room', 'the toilet is not clean in this hotel', 'the food served does not look appealing', 'the table in the hotel lobby is empty', 'the queue  is too long', 'the flower vase has no flowers', etc. - But remember, we are not in the business of 'rescuing' a failing business, or a failing food store or a failing hotel just because there was a lack in training or business knowledge or even common sense. For all those 'problems' above, the solution is simple. Get some professional help. Get some training. Start using existing solutions. 

In a mini conclusion, an identified 'problem' that the 'carpets are dirty or the decorations of the hotel room is ugly' does not mean that all other established hotels are also the same. An identified 'problem' that 'there is a long queue and customers are getting frustrated' does not mean that all other established services are like that too. Those belong to isolated sad cases of companies or individuals that require basic trainings.

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PART A: Product Research

(Existing) Product research is important right after you think you have identified a design opportunity and before you happily start idea generating. Failure to do so may result in your final product solution being nominal at best.

The objective of (Existing) Product Research is to be aware of all other possible solutions whether they are directly or indirectly solving the problem you have identified. Conduct a thorough search off-the-shelves and online to find out for yourself what could already be out there. 

The good places to look for off-the-shelves product solutions are the specialized shops and city malls where the latest and the most innovative are likely to be found. For internet research, I recommend scouring through the design related websites I have collated. You can find a long list of them on the right hand side of the blog titled 'Design References'. For internet research, the more effective you are with keywords, the more successful you will be to find what you want to find.

Steps:

·         Find existing product solutions through the Internet and from shops (if any).

·         Take note of more ‘web-links’ within the web page that may give clues to the original website of the product or ‘web-links’ that may provide more information about the product.

·         Note that there may be more than one possible existing solution to a single problem.

·         Print the product solution images and paste them in your journal.

·         From the Internet read and study how the problems are presented and how the solution is being described.

·         Save all the web page URLs and information for later use and retrieval.

·         A HANDY TIP: You can use the information to modify and adapt to your own Design Needs & Opportunity write-up later.

NOTE:

1. If you do find existing products, your design challenge will be to bring the existing innovates further and better. 
2. If you do not find any existing products, you might be on your way to inventing a great product solution!

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PART B: Product Analysis

Product Analysis follows Product Research. In Product Analysis, you would have with you at least one existing product to study in detail.

• Study their functionalities and their innovations beyond those beautiful forms. 
• Study the product background. 
• Find out who designed them. 
• Find out why they are designed the way it is. 
• Find out what problems they solve. 
• Note what is good and why. 
• Note what is not so good and why. 
• Note what are the limitations on the existing products.
• Note what could have been done (in your opinion) but not present and why. 
• Find out what else could be practically proposed to make the product work even better.

For product solutions that has more than one solution

• Find out what other products are similar. 
• Find out their similarities and differences between the various similar solutions. 
• Find out what else could be practically proposed to make the product work even better.

At this stage you may also find yourself consolidating good features and functionalities. Save all these ideas for the idea generation stage.

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PART C: Identifying Possible Areas for Improvements

Study the products carefully again and identify possible improvement areas by asking the following questions:

·         What it cannot do yet, but would be nice if it can do?

·         What it cannot do yet, but would be beneficial to the Elderly using it if it can do?

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Final Words

Product Research and Product Analysis should not be done only at the beginning stage of the design process. Throughout the stages of Idea Generation and Development, in addition to your creativity in innovating new functionalities, continue to consult existing solutions and be inspired by them for your next design.

In whatever you do in your design journal, never forget to include images and meaningful annotations.

Finding Design Opportunities 'On-Location' and Using 'On-Location Photographs'

Finding Design Opportunities using 'photographs' and 'observations' on-site are pretty similar where you use your eyes and 'observe' what you see and use your mind to make sense of what is happening on the ground.

Record your observations in detail using more photographs, various forms of illustrations and annotations. The difference is, the former you can do it at the comfort of your home, and the latter, you do it, well, ... on-location!

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  Introduction

Using on-location photographs are useful strategies to identify genuine needs and design opportunities. 

Firstly because the source - the photographs -  came from a real location.

And secondly, the activities happening and the people involved in them are also genuine. They are happening in the real world in real time. 

Nothing gets closer than experiencing problems first hand. No drama. 

The best sources of information gathered from researches are from primary researches. 

Using a photograph that you take on your own is as close as it gets to primary research.

Fig. 1: A (Fictional) Sketch showing People in a Satay Club and the Activities Around

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STUDENT: "I have the photograph(s) now. What do I do with it?" (see Fig. 1, 2 or 3)

Step 1: A General 'Scan' of the Environement

Cover every corner of the photograph or the chosen location, stop and observe (in detail) at the activities that is going on. Identify objects and products that people interact with. Identify the Target Audiences (Targer User or Target Group) as you go along. Anaysing activities with the Target Audiences in mind is more useful than with a generalized group of people.

• You can begin anywhere in the photograph or the scene, or
• You can select a point and go clockwise or anti-clockwise, or
• You can begin by imagining how you would start walking as if you are in the picture from left to right or vice versa.

Look at what is in front of you and ask, 'What do I see?" then ask more questions (keeping the theme in mind) to 'dig' out more information from the scene. You can use  '5W1H' to help you with this activity.

For example, you ask:

• "Who are the people there?"
• "Where are they going?"
• "What are they doing?"
• "Why are they doing ....?"
• "What (products) are they using to do...?"
• "What problems might they be facing?"
• "Why do they have this problem / inconvenience / frustration?"
• "What could have caused the problem / inconvenience / frustration?" , etc.
• "How does this or that work?", etc.

Or you may have spotted someone's expression and then ask,

• "Why does he/she look quite frustrated?"
• "What happened actually?", etc.

The number and the type questions you can ask is limitless. One question will lead to the other as you try to dig out what is happening at that moment. The more questions you can generate to grill the activities in the photograph or the scene, the more information and insight you will get. 

 

Step 2: Use P.I.E.S. to Identify and Make a list of Needs

• Begin with the Physical, Intellectual, Emotional and Social  ('P.I.E.S.') Needs analysis tool to make a list and categorize the different type of NEEDs on the activities that is going on in the scene.
• Start from identifying Physical Needs, follow on to Intellectual Needs, Emotional Needs and finally Social needs that either present or required based on your observations and interpretation of the photograph or on the scene.
• From identifying and recording the various types of NEEDs, Design Opportunities can be identified.

Step 3: Use  'Activity Mapping' to Study Processes and identify Objects for Improvements

To start using the 'Activity Mapping' tool, you should first select an identified NEED area from Step 3.

For example, your target group are the Elderlies and you target location is Home. There are so many areas around the home. You may choose to focus on the Kitchen.

There are so many things that can happen in the kitchen and you may have identified some 'physical needs' related to activities happening in the kitchen. You might choose to focus on one of activities which happens to be 'pouring a cup of water' from a kettle in the kitchen.

Due to aging and poorer eyesight with less agile hand-eye coordination, you find there was frequent spillage of water on the table. So this is a 'Physical Need' area that needs to pay attention to.

You can then use 'Activity Mapping' to study how an elderly would interact with the cup and kettle and how he pours water out of it into the cup.

• The Activity Mapping is an excellent tool for working out processes and procedures, and also for identifying Products in use. Which in turn is excellent for identifying potential product improvements.

Step 4: Identify the Root Causes

• If you do follow faithfully from Step 1 to 3, I am sure you will by now gathered quite a bit of investigations and insights about what has gone on within the environment concerned. 
• You will also be loaded with quite a bit of identified Design Opportunities after engaging 5W1H, the P.I.E.S analysis & the Activity Mapping  tool to identify NEED areas and the products involved.

However, not every problem or design opportunities you have identified are good for solving. Design Opportunities may refer to all identified 

a) problems or potential problems to solve,

b) areas for product for improvements,

c) design challenge for an alternative or another clever idea, or

d) opportunity for an invention.

• In reality, some 'problems' you identified may not even be problems as it seems! They are in your potential design opportunity list because of your 'assumptions' and 'good guesses' that they are problems. 
• Next, you should be concerned about finding the root causes of those 'problems' you have identified to making sure your design opportunity is really worth spending the next few months solving and subsequently working out a solution.
• To 'find the root cause', you'll have to engage the 'Five Whys' technique to test your assumptions and to get to the root cause(s) of those so-called 'problems' you have identified. 
• The ultimate 'Five Whys' questioning technique is almost a full-proof litmus test to reveal the real problems from your initial assumptions and from those that were thought to be problems.

• By the end of this step you should have at least 3-5 confident potential Design Opportunities for selection.
• Even if you end up with 1 or 2 design opportunities it is fine. Because you will be very sure you have found genuine needs to solve.

Step 5: Existing Product Research and Product Analysis

Identifying the root cause of the problem in Step 4 is important. An equally critical step next is to do an Existing Product Research to study existing products and solutions that may have already been designed for the 'problems' you identified.

• Existing product research is probably the second most important step after the Five Whys. 
• Even if you have found the root cause of the problem and that may potentially be the ideal design opportunity, there is still a possibility that you might not be aware of existing solutions that have already been designed. You do not want to end up creating stuffs that has already existed. Do you?

• Research and study all existing products that are directly or indirectly related to the problem you have identified.
• Understand and compare their functionalities.
• Seek to understand how and why they are designed they way they are and what problems do they solve.
• If you discovered that solutions for the problem already existed, you can still transform that into a design challenge to design and create a better one. 
• But before you do that, you got to study every possible existing solution in the market.

• Do Product Analysis on them to identify all the features and functionalities, the good and the bad points and their 'hidden' potentials.
• The P.M.I. technique can be used here.
• 'Hidden' potentials refer to possible 'functionalities' that the products could have done to cater to the problem better but is have not yet realized as a designed feature in the existing solutions you have studied. If you find 'hidden' potentials they are probably the most valuable Design Opportunities you can ever find.

Step 6: Selecting Design Opportunities using 'Benefits' as Criterion for Selection

• Finally we arrived here. You've got a few Design Opportunites now. How do you go about selecting the best one for your coursework?
• One way is to make a list of 'benefits' for each one of them. 
• Assuming if a solution is found, what are the benefits and who benefits. etc. 
• Then compare the benefits and select the one that benefits the most people.
• In other words, you want to compare the 'catchment area' of the benefits. Does this solution only benefit me? Him or Her? Or does it benefit a wider group of people? A family? A society or community? The neighbourhood? The nation? Or internationally?
• The Design Opportunity that has the widest 'catchment area' should be the winner.
• But also bear in mind time, ability and technological feasibility. That means even if you choose the most promising one, are you able to design and make it with your current ability, knowledge and time, and using what is available in the school to realize your product solution?

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Closure... more examples...

Fig. 2: A (Fictional) Sketch showing Tourists in a Hotel and the Activities Around

 

Fig. 3: A (Fictional) Sketch showing a Bell Boy Moving Luggages

All figures 1, 2 and 3 can be used as practice for the six steps described in this post.

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Now go and plan where to go for your observations or to gather photographs for identifying Design Opportunities.

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Drawing Basics - Isometric Drawing - Practice

Drawing Basics - Isometric Drawing -

4-Parts Practice Tutorial

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Fig. 1: Types of Drawing Techniques

Introduction 

Fig. 1 shows a variety of drawing techniques you can find or use in most sketches or drawings. Everyone of them has its own role and function to play in an art work.

In this practice, we'll be concentrating only on the ISOMETRIC drawing technique.

A 'shape' is a two-dimensional (2-D) drawing. A 'shape' has an 'area'. Not a 'volume'. A triangle, a square, an oblong, a rectangle, an octagon, etc. are all examples of geometrical shapes. 

A 'shape' can also be 'organic'. An 'organic shape' cannot be described using a geometrical term like a 'square'. They are actually hybrids of many shapes joined together and sort of 'blended' using curves or lines to make up a final 'shape'. 

An example on how different geometrical shapes can be combined to form 'organic' shapes can be found here.

A three-dimensional (3-D) object is called a 'form'. A 'form' is an area with a third dimension - the thickness. Similar to 'shapes', a 'form' can both be 'geometrical' or 'organic', or a combination of both. 

A short video showing the difference between a 'shape' and a 'form' can be found here.

NOTE: The tutorial that follows assumes that the student is already able to construct an Isometric Block.

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Part 1: BASICS

Stretch / Squeeze / Add / Subtract

Fig. 2: Basic Drawing Technique (Part 1)

Fig. 2 shows the cube being transformed longer by adding more cubes or shorter by making cube 'thinner'. If you take away the lines that separate two or more cubes, you get a rectangular block! 

Steps:

1. Begin by drawing a cube, 30mm each side, in the middle of the page.
2. In the adjacent blank spaces in your sketchbook, draw another cube and make this 'longer' by adding another cube beside it. In a way it looks like you are 'stretching' the cube longer. You can add it from the front, back, on the left or the right hand side. Add more cubes in every direction (Up, Down, Left, Right) to make rectangular blocks of various lengths.
3. Next, it is time to make your cube 'thin' by 'squeezing' it. Draw in every direction thin blocks. Draw long and thin blocks by adding another thin block beside it. Draw a various lengths of thin blocks in every direction. By making a block thinner than a cube, you are in a way 'subtracting' from the original size.
4. Use your creativity to drawing more variety of blocks by stretching, squeezing, adding and subtracting a cube.

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Part 2: BASICS

Stretch / Squeeze / Add / Subtract / Enlarge / Minimize / Combine & Creative Combinations

Fig. 3: Basic Drawing Technique (Part 2)

Fig. 3 shows an extension of Part 1 by not only adding or subtracting more cubes, but by combining two or more cubes together you make larger objects in a variety of forms. Similarly, by deliberately leaving out some cubes, you create a 'hole' or a 'hollow'. 

Steps:

1. Begin by drawing a cube, 30mm each side, in the middle of the page.
2. Draw your next cube larger. You can make your cube larger by adding more cubes surrounding a smaller one. Draw a variety of larger cubes of different sizes.
3. Draw a group of cubes and deliberately 'miss out' one of them. When you created a 'space' by deliberately leaving some parts out, you just 'subtracted' a portion of it from the original mass.
4. Use your creativity to drawing more variety of blocks by enlarging, minimizing, stretching, squeezing, adding and subtracting a cube. Combine them to make more odd forms.

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Part 3: INTERMEDIATE

Pyramids / Non-Isometric 'Cut' Surfaces / Through Holes / Recessed Shapes / Creative Combinations

 Fig. 4: Intermediate Drawing Technique (Part 3): Creative Combinations

Fig. 4 shows more advanced use of the techniques shown in Parts 1 & 2 and making use of them to create more complicated forms. Shapes can be used on the surface of a block to build a new form and when they are 'pushed' into the block, they create a through hole of any shape.

Note:

Notice the surfaces that are not colored? Do you know whey they are neither colored red nor blue, or even shaded grey like the top?

Those surfaces are called non-isometric surfaces. They do not belong to the rules of an Isometric Drawing. 

These slopes can be created accurately by first drawing a cube or a block, and then  'crated' using guide lines to show where the slope should start and end. If you tried drawing those non-isometric slopes or surfaces without first using an isometric block, it will be close to impossible to get a decent looking object.

Steps:

1. Begin by drawing a cube, 30mm each side, in the middle of the page. Note: In Fig.4 I drew it at the top left hand corner.
2. To create a PYRAMID is simple. If you can draw a cube in seconds, the pyramid will be out no slower than you can draw your cube.
3. Here is how: You must locate the centre of the square at the top of the cube. That makes the 'tip' or the 'apex' of the pyramid. There are two ways you can do that. First method, you split the square into quarter smaller squares by drawing a 'cross'. Each line in the middle parallel to the edge of the square. Where the lines intersect, that is the middle point or apex of the pyramid. Second method, you draw two intersecting diagonal lines starting from the furthest four corners of the square. Where the lines intersect, that is the same middle point or apex of the pyramid.
4. Next, you locate three points at the base of the pyramid where the 'tip' or 'apex' of the pyramid will join to make the edge of the sloping pyramid. 
5. Note that since a pyramid has a square base, there must be a forth point. So yes, the fourth point is still there, but because the forth point will be at the back of the pyramid, and say we assumed the pyramid is opaque, we don't see it it from the front. So it is not necessary to show the back. However you can still use 'hidden' lines to show that it is there. But I am not going to talk about hidden lines here. 
6. You should notice by now if you move the top 'point' of the pyramid anywhere else on the paper and join the three point bases to the 'point' you can draw a variety of 'funny' pyramids that are slanted. If you place the 'point' up high, you get a really 'tall' pyramid. If you place the 'point' close to the ground, you get a 'stubby' pyramid. If you place the 'point' to the left or the right', the pyramid now looks like the "Leaning Tower of 'Pyramid' Pisa" which is kind of funny.
7. Next 'Cut Surfaces'. A very quick recap: By now you should have read about non-isometric surfaces. The side walls of the pyramid are all non-isometric. But we can draw them accurately by placing a reference point. Recall point 3. 
8. So for any 'cut-surfaces' that are non-isometric, we can do the same by drawing guidelines to show where the starting point of the 'cut' and where the 'surface-slope' will end.
9. Begin at the top of a block. Draw a line to mark out a 'triangular' shape at a corner of the block. I drew it at the corner nearest to me. Next, you can decide where the 'slope' shall end. I picked a point that is touching the ground. You can choose a point anywhere along the vertical line.
10. After you have located your 'point', you'll then locate the two ends from the first lines you drew in step 9, and join them to the 'point' at the bottom. Give it a light shade or hatch to show that there is a 'sloped' surface. And there you go. You just created a non-isometric 'cut-surface' on an isometric block! Isn't that painfully simple?
11. Finally, creating 'through holes' using various shapes. Fortunately, drawing holes of any shape through a block is also very simple.
12. Firstly, draw your isometric guide lines on the chosen surface of your block so that you can sketch your chosen shape on it. 
13. Take the cube with a square hole example at the bottom left in Fig. 4. I have chosen the vertical surface on the left. Secondly, begin by drawing four lines offsetting from the four edges of the square. You still have an isometric square shape. You may end up with a square, or a rectangle, whatever. It does not matter. Mine is a smaller isometric square shape residing somewhere on the top left of the surface. See that?
14. Finally, once you draw the shape on the surface, it is time to 'push' the shape 'inwards' INTO the block to create a 'hole'. Exciting isn't it? But how do we do it? Which line should we draw to create that illusion of a square hole? 
15. You are just ONE line behind. Yes. Just ONE.
16. If you use the example I show you, you'll notice there is only ONE more line to complete the 'through hole'. But how do you know which 'point' to pick to draw that final line?
17. You'll need a little imagination here. Imagine, if there really was a square hole, and you've already drawn the 'square' on the vertical surface. And you are now looking at it from where you are. Where would the visible line that represents the edge of an internal square be? It should be at the back of the square. Once you locate the point, draw the final line 'in' the square to complete your very first 'through (square) hole'!
18. Other variations of 'through holes' are 'recesses'. That means the 'holes' do not go through the block from one end to the other. Well they have flat 'bases' or 'bottoms'. 
19. The example on the bottom right in Fig. 4 shows a pretty complex combo of randomly modified collection of blocks. Two of the 'holes' are examples of recesses. Can you spot them? Clue: They are rectangular 'recesses'.
20. Make use of all possible combination you learned above to create beautiful block forms.

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Part 4: Advanced

Elipse (Isometric Circles), Cones, Application of Circles and Arcs on Isometric Surfaces and Edges

Fig. 5: Advanced Drawing Technique (Part 3): Creative Combinations

Most products or objects that we see in our everyday lives are not simply made up of blocks. Otherwise it will be a very boring world. 

We learned from Parts 1-4 , starting from the very basic isometric cubes and blocks to more complicated modifications, to create complex forms like combining blocks, and subtracting parts from them. 

Part 4 serves to complete what we have learned so far and to bring us another step closer to drawing real world objects as they are. Round objects and curved surfaces makes up a great deal of all the shapes and forms around us. Not every thing are block and triangles. 

However, sketching the curves and circles right and accurately in isometric requires some knowledge in how those lines work. A circle is not a 'circle' when you need to draw them isometric. The circle becomes an 'elipse'. In Fig. 5, you'll find a tutorial on how to draw an 'elipse' using a pair of compass.

In step 4, you'll first need to learn how to draw Isometric 'Circles' from all surfaces off a cube. Then you'll learn how to draw curved edges along the corner of a block, hence introducing round edges. Its a very important drawing skill to learn since most of the products you design and make will have 'rounded' edges for added aesthetics value. And here you learn to draw them.

Steps:

1. Begin by drawing a CUBE, 50mm each side, in the middle of the page.
2. Practice drawing 'circles' (elipses) on each of the surface of the cube. A step-by-step example on how they can be done can be found at the bottom left of Fig. 5.
3. Now that you are able to draw elipses efficiently on all sides of a block, you are ready to draw either a vertical or a horizontal cylinder.
4. To draw a VERTICAL CYLINDER, duplicate the elipse on both ends, top and bottom, on the surface of a tall block.
5. After that you'll join the two outer most edges of the circle from top to bottom with vertical lines to form the edge of the cylinder. And you have a vertical cylinder.
6. Note: To do steps 4 & 5, you need to construct the guidelines (see point 2) for drawing an elipse two times on the bottom surfacea and the top surface before you draw in the elipse.
7. Do the same for a HORIZONTAL CYLINDER.
8. To draw a CONEis extremely simple. First you draw an elipse at the base of a cube, or at the base of a tall square-based block. At the top of the square surface, split it in to square quarters. You will find a 'spot' in the middle of the square where the lines intercept.
9. Next you join the lines from the 'apex' (the tip of the cone), downwards to the outermost left and right edges of the elipse at the bottom.
10. Slightly more advance, you can draw a 'FLAT-TOPPED' CONE. The principle is the same as drawing a cylinder. When you draw a cylinder, say, your toilet roll, the top and bottom diameter is the same. However a 'Flat-topped' cone is like your regular cylinder, just that the top elipse is smaller. Once you draw the top elipse smaller than the one at the bottom and join them up like drawing a cylinder, you have a 'Flat-Topped' cone. Simple. You can now draw an inverted 'Flat-Topped' cone if you want. This time the base is the smaller elipse.

With all these skills you have learnt this far, you can create cylinders or cones, or simply blocks on top of a block or a cylinder and cylinders and blocks at the side of the blocks all over place. Draw them big and small. Combine shapes to make weird looking ones. 

You can also draw 'internal' holes of different shapes. Those 'internal' holes can be through holes, i.e. the hole goes through the block. Or the 'internal' holes can be a 'recess'. That means they stop at a certain distance from the surface creating a 'flat' hole, of whatever shape you can draw.

Make use your ability to draw elipses efficiently to introduce curves to the edges and corners of a block to make them look 'rounder'.

Use your creative licence to create objects you see around you by 'combining' or 'subtracting' different shapes and forms into bigger and more complicated shapes and forms. In this way you are also 'modifying' and 'morphing' shapes and forms to create your final art work. This is how things are drawn.

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Finally, practice and practice and practice. Make mistakes and figure out why your drawing looks funny. Work it out and learn from mistakes. Draw loads of stuffs. And soon with enough perseverance your drawing will start to turn out more like what you wanted them to look like.

Without practice and determination and loving it, even the best techniques and tutorials available could not help you come close to producing a decent drawing. So start sketching now. Do them in a sketchbook. Do lots of them. Have FUN.