Sketching questions

Hi guys,

I do not have an industrial design degree so I didn’t get a formal education in design.

Hence I have a few (many) questions about sketching, if you would indulge me.

  1. Do industrial designers use a slanted drawing table like architects? Why do we use them? Do you use them or do you sketch on a normal horizontal desk?

  2. Do you draw standing up or sitting down? Do you use a stool with a back? When you want to sketch for hours how can you draw standing up?

  3. When sketching do you place your hand on the paper or does it have to be floating above the paper?

  4. Do you tape the paper to the table when sketching so the paper wouldn’t move?

  5. I saw the GM sketching video and I learned a lot from it. What is velum?

  6. Do you spend more time sketching or prototyping? Architects cannot prototype, per se, but we can. So do you spend your time working on your design in 2D on paper or do you start modelling instead?

Thanks.

Adonia.

  1. Do industrial designers use a slanted drawing table like architects? Why do we use them? Do you use them or do you sketch on a normal horizontal desk?

Horizontal

  1. Do you draw standing up or sitting down? Do you use a stool with a back? When you want to sketch for hours how can you draw standing up?

Sitting down

  1. When sketching do you place your hand on the paper or does it have to be floating above the paper?

Both

  1. Do you tape the paper to the table when sketching so the paper wouldn’t move?

No

  1. I saw the GM sketching video and I learned a lot from it. What is velum?

A translucent smooth paper like thick tracing paper. Rarely used anymore.

  1. Do you spend more time sketching or prototyping? Architects cannot prototype, per se, but we can. So do you spend your time working on your design in 2D on paper or do you start modelling instead?

Back and forth

Hi,

Thanks a lot for this valuable information and for calming my mind that I will be sitting down in the future :smiley:.

Can you tell me why architects use the slanted drawing table? Why do industrial designers draw on a horizontal surface instead?

Do you use transparent paper to trace over the original idea? I liken it to layers in Photoshop. Is this technique used?

Thanks.

Adonia.

  1. Do industrial designers use a slanted drawing table like architects? Why do we use them? Do you use them or do you sketch on a normal horizontal desk?

Slanted - presents the paper in a more perpendicular orientation to line of sight. Architects and hand drawn technical drawings typically need much larger sheets - easier to reach the hole sheet.

  1. Do you draw standing up or sitting down? Do you use a stool with a back? When you want to sketch for hours how can you draw standing up?

Standing up or on a high stool at a drawing board.

  1. When sketching do you place your hand on the paper or does it have to be floating above the paper?

On the paper - you need fine arm and wrist control.

  1. Do you tape the paper to the table when sketching so the paper wouldn’t move?

Both – depending on the sketch

  1. I saw the GM sketching video and I learned a lot from it. What is velum?

Vellum is smooth and translucent. Technical drawings were done manually on vellum so that they could be used to produce duplicate prints using diazo contact prints. Vellum paper gave way to Mylar film in the 1970’s.

  1. Do you spend more time sketching or prototyping? Architects cannot prototype, per se, but we can. So do you spend your time working on your design in 2D on paper or do you start modelling instead?

Both – Architects don’t generally prototype but they do make scale models to look a form, massing and detail.

Thanks Dan for the explanations.

I have a better idea now about sketching. It makes sense that there is no need for the slanted table as the line of sight is not relevant when drawing objects.