DB8611 - From Sketch To 3D And Back Coaches: L. Reindl and dr.ir. B.J. Hengeveld Student: Marjolein Kors M1.2 Date: 3/2 - 28/3
W
Practising geometric forms
Acquiring skills and making miles The first few days of the module covered a collection of sketching, making and rendering techniques. Creating a good base to work from in
the following assignments of redesigning a saw handle in a day and a mixer in a week. Even while the tempo was quite fast I tried to immediately practise the skills, work with the programs and explore the tricks and tips while
they got introduced. Of which some results are visible on these first few pages.
Textured background Photoshop rendering of a radio
Day 1
in and as can be seen on the top right used within Photoshop to explore shading and materials.
After warming up by sketching some geometric After that we continued within Photoshop and forms we started with sketching saw handles. These first saw handle designs were then scanned rendering while creating a radio.
Day 2 The second day went more in-depth in sketching. Exploring different techniques for example using soft pastel for rendering, sketching on layers of
transparent paper to create more freedom while exploring the sketch and using an already existing design as starting point to make sure that your sketches are immediately in the right size.
Day 3 The third day was in the theme of foam sketching. What meant that translated the on transparent paper created saw handle design into a foam. The
resulting foam sketch was then again traced on to Handsaw handle paper, improved and visualised in foam.
BENCHMARKING HANDLES
Redesigning a saw handle To practice and further explore the within the first days learned tools and techniques we were assignment to redesign a saw handle in one day.
An assignment which I started by looking at the already existing saw handles. Overall I liked the more minimalistic forms and the ones who included a sort of balance in curves and edges.
Reviewing my previous foam sketches I thought both of them were quite bony and chaotic. What I did liked was how the last version already started to play with the light, bended it and creating different shades of grey.
Sketching I continued with the idea of bending the light through the shape. Thereby I tried to make the form minimalistic but at the same time with a
sort of tension. What I did by combining different contrasts in the form such as round against sharp edges and flat against curved surfaces. The sketching itself started with some small rough form explorations. From which I chose the
most interesting ones and translated them in 1:1 scaled sketches, exploring and improving the form through each layer of transparent paper.
Improved grip, slightly more ergonomic
Foam sketching From sketching on paper I moved on to sketching in foam. What became more of a merged process of sketching on paper and in foam, trying to find
the right form. Each time improving the form on paper, creating it in foam, experiencing the way that it holds and bends the light, alternating the form of the foam and then again sketching it on paper.
Rounded grip
This resulted into two handles of which I chose to continue with the slightly more ergonomic one. The next step was to scan the model and do some line studies on the model within Illustrator.
Exploring with materials
Final saw handle redesign
As practise I explored a bit with materials and their effects in Photoshop.
After continuing in Illustrator this all resulted in the saw handle redesign as it is shown on the left.
Week 2: Redesign a mixer
shop. Overall these mixers were all quite the same, with light, form and colour. with the same boring design and same way of use.
The second week was in the theme of redesigning Above I have collected some of the mixers which a mixer. What I started by benchmarking and I did liked mainly due to the way that they played exploring the feeling of different mixers in the
Sketching The next step was to start sketching mixers. What I did by firstly making small simple form sketches, choosing a couple interesting shapes
and then translating these into 1:1 sized sketches. Then layering transparent paper on top while improving and exploring (an aspect of ) the shape on each layer.
Foam sketching
how they looked, and felt. These were then improved a couple of times by alternating between sketching on paper and in foam.
Once some interesting shapes were created I started with foam sketching. What meant creating 3D shapes out of the sketches while experiencing But explore different shapes and trying to go away
from the boring “mixer look “ the eventual foam sketches did all looked quite the same and mixer like.
What is a mixer actually? Feeling a bit stuck I decided to take a step back and look into the functions of a mixer. What is a mixer actually? What does it needs to do? And
what does it consists of? I found this overview which quite well sketches I hoped that this could make me able to design the main functions of a mixer. from the core of a mixer and so with more freedom concerning the visualisation.
The way of Holding a mixer
in the comfort of a mixer. Research it a bit more in-depth it turned out that holding It In a slightly angled position is the most comfortable way. To In the process of developing a better idea of mixers I also tried to mix myself. Doing so I noticed be precise there should be a 17 degrees angle between the direction of the whisks and your that especially the way of holding means a lot
wrist. This namely allows your wrist to be in a neutral position while mixing.
Rounded - Sharp
Straight - Curved Light - Shadow
Strong lines - Smooth lines
inimalistic - Ergonomic
Parallel - Angled
Inspiration from contrasts Nevertheless still feeling stuck in redesign the mixer I took a literal step back from the sketches at studied them from a distance. Even while this
did not improved my opinion towards the foam sketches it did made me realise what was missing. What was not a new form or way of use but rather the use of light and the balance in contrasts as I had been able to do within my saw handle design.
Realising that I really liked the look and feeling of the saw handle I decided to use it as a starting point for the mixer. Exploring if I could integrate the same kind of feeling in the mixer redesign.
Playing with light and shadow Being aware of my fascination regarding to the way that light can be bend through a surface I tried to look for some examples and inspiration
from my surrounding. I noticed that it is especially quite often successfully applied within car design. What I thus used as inspiration for the mixer.
And sketching again! Studying the lines of the cars provided a new perspective and made me eager to try it out. I wanted to discover wherever I could successfully
use this lining myself and thereby wondered if it was possible to translate the feeling of the saw handle into a mixer. Again I started the sketching with some small rough sketches and used the most interesting one
as a starting point of a full size sketch. This sketch was then explored further while trying to create a balance in angles, round and sharpness and light and shadow. What resulted in the following foam sketch =>
Foam model side version one: Line created by a groove.
Foam model side version two: Line created through an angle.
Foam sketching and line studies
chosen and integrated in the from the sketches created foam model. One sides had the line created by a groove and the In advance of this foam model I had explored a bit other by changing the angle while sanding. While on how I could catch the light and use it to create I liked the side with the line created by changing lines in foam. From which two methods were
the angle better I chose that one to continue on. Thus scanning the model and exploring the lines through Illustrator. During which I tried to make sure that the parallel angles were parallel, the angles the same and so on.
Including the whisks, benchmarking and line study Considering that when a mixer is in use the
whisks are basically one with the mixer I decided to include their positioning (location, angle, attachment) in the design. Initially (as can be seen in the foam model) I had the idea to make the whisks foldable in the body
so that storage would get more convenient. Still liking the idea but not the way as it was executed in the foam model I decided to further explore it through a line study.
Final mixer redesign To create the final redesign I continued in Illustrator, constructing the form, adding light and shades, placing some text, creating details and
eventually designing the whisks in illustrator.