You have heard the phrase, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Visualization through images (as opposed to words) allows people to absorb large amounts of data quickly. Sketching is an important skill for engineers and designers. Sketches provide a means through which one can quickly and clearly communicate ideas. Representing existing objects and new ideas with sketches can make the design process more effective and efficient and greatly enhance the ability of others to understand your ideas.
One of the most important skills necessary to create an accurate sketch that realistically represents an object is the ability to make careful observations of the characteristics of that object. Paying close attention to the underlying basic shapes and the relative proportions of various features of the object will allow you to more accurately reflect the true shapes and proportions of the object in your sketch.
Another important key to success in sketching is practice. As is true with most activities (like playing soccer, solving rubik’s cubes, and playing the guitar), the more experience you gain, the better you will perform. So consider carrying a pencil with you wherever you go. When you notice something interesting, something that can be improved, or something you would like to share, make a quick sketch instead of taking a picture. Your sketching skill will improve, you will impress your friends and family with your ability, and you will become a more competent designer.
In this activity we will begin developing our sketching capabilities. You will document your work in your engineering notebook in the following template: 1.5 - Concept Sketching Lego and Calculator (ENET) but first we will review the following presentation.
Next, Review the following videos about concept sketching:
Review the following document to get tips on how to make better sketches:
1.5d - Sketching Tips Guide.pdf
Now it is time to practice. Create a 2D and 3D sketch of each of the following objects. Use the links to the 3D models if you want to work on this and you dont have the objects available to you at this time. We will do the first two objects together and then you will do the second pair of objects on your own.
Now work on these two objects on your own.
If you want to print Orthographic Paper for your sketch you can print these:
After practicing some sketches, we will create 2 Concept Sketches that have at least one 2D view and one 3D view and communicate the most information possible. (Object 1 will be a Blue 2-Unit Lego. Object 2 is a Calculator) Note: the Lego is small. Your Sketch should not be. Make it at least 3 times larger than the actual Lego.
Here is a link to the Engineering Notebook Template. Copy the text of this document to the top section of your own engineering notebook.