well…when i decided to add color the quick part kinda flew out the window. eh well still fun.
feedback, comments?
thanks for looking,
david[/img]
nice loose drawings, but almost too loose to comment. its difficult to read much about the design in such a loose sketch.
R
Nice gestural sketches…there is def lots of excitement and things happening, but like R said, hard to read what you are communicating there. This looks like Painter I’m guessing? I did some sketching along these lines a couple of weeks ago…your page here actually looks not too dissimilar to what I was starting. I’ll track down mine and post later. Anyway, looks good…I think sometimes leaving things loose at first can work. Designers, for the most part, are used to dealing with ambiguity. There is definitely a limit though…you want your ideas to be communicated. There is a great quote…“A man (or woman) who cannot communicate his ideas is the same as a man/woman who has no ideas.”
thank you both for the reply.
i will be the first to admit…i am struggling a bit with my process. what should be first, second, third. i understand design is not linear, but sometimes i wonder how i should approach a project.
i have been doing a lot of “practicing” after work. at work (i am interning at dewalt this summer), i tend to thumbnail quite a bit on paper, then render on a cintiq. i just bought my own cintiq so have been working on doing even the thumbnailing on screen. after adding color i realized it would have been much more valuable to continue to thumbnail, maybe work out some details, then work on some color blocking.
traditionally, i spend about a day or even a day and a half thumbnailing. since this kg project is an after hours type of deal i tried to cram it into a late saturday night session.
today (sunday) as i was working on some of the details, i realized i did not have my design nailed down to begin rendering.
i worked through the following sketch to try to decide where chamfers would be and see how the forms would relate to one another. i began a final render, but was really just rusing through it. i will have to try to knock a final render out this week or after i finish up a few more things with the design.
if any of you would like to comment on anything i have said, that would be great. i know the post is pretty open ended, but i would love to hear what you all have to say about process.
thanks for looking and reading,
david
Hey DW
I like the energy of your sketches. But agree that at some point they need to be more solid in terms of figuring something out for the final product be it color blocking or whatever. This last one you posted shows more functional pieces etc. Looks nice.
I found myself struggling with process as well and trying to force myself into this linear method that just wasn’t really working. So now I kind of jump around…I’ll do some sketching and have maybe a working model of line art that I fiddle with at the same time. I will continuously go back and look at new inspiratrion and just keep spinning the pieces until they come together. I think now I have accepted that my process is actualy DIFFERENT with each project, so it has taken that weight off and allowed me to be more free creatively. I don’t put an expectation on myself to stay linear. Anyways, just my 2 cents.
2 questions: what are “Chamfers” and what’s a “cintiq”?
Did you enter the contest for KG? I managed to squeeze mine out in 3 days, but it was definitely a challenge!
-TH
Here are a few from the series I did. I like to sketch loose as well. I usually start with it being a little tighter and then do some things to loosen it up later.
David- That last sketch is real nice…
JM- I could see that as a baseball cleat…but not for soccer…It has a baseball feel and seems to clunky/bulky for soccer…
the sketches are nice, ambiguity is fine if it is indeed apart of your process (and you do not have to explain/show it to any one in this case), as long at the end it results in a cohesive final product.
learning process is one of those things that is continually evolving, you will find that you will have to adapt your process(es) depending on where you work, the project given, the aim of the project, and what you want to communicate. since you are on internship i would really take advantage of the designers you work with and see how they work and what their process(es) is and see what you can learn form them, you will undoubtedly still struggle, but you might gain some insight on what you need to focus on. as someone just starting out myself, it is really tough trying to figure out how to make the process best work to enable you get the job done. i have found that i tend to brood over a designs, thinking a little too much…
you have a cintiq? sweet! which model?
2 questions: what are “Chamfers” and what’s a “cintiq”?
chamfers are basically edges that are at an angle, it is applies more to hard goods; like parting lines of a product might be chamfered or filleted (rounded edges)
a cintiq is a screen you can draw on…
jm, that is sweet! do you also use a cintiq?
TH-
junglebrodda seemed to answer both questions.
the term chamfer is traditioanlly used in plastic parts. i tend to think of it as a word to explain how a surface runs into another surface. for example, on the heal counter, the chamfer is quite small and tame as it nears the toe box, but is large and swooping as it rounds the heel.
and yea. the cintiq is by wacom.
jb. i just splurged and got the new model. they restocked on wacom.com and i bought it instantly. 21 inch.
david.
Is the term Chamfer used more in the designing of other product? Interestingly, I have never heard it before in footwear. Great to knw though. I get it now. Thanks!
I definitely need a Cintiq in my life 
JM: dope renderings man!
Tony, its a pretty common term in other types of product. Not as much in footwear, but the mold makers should know what you are talking about. It is an easy way to describe an edge (as in: 45 DEGREE CHAMFER ON ALL EDGES OF PART)
Michael
jm, that is sweet! do you also use a cintiq?
Thanks! …Yes, these were done on a cintiq.
tried the blue-ish style out…those are hot.
15 mins before bed.
thanks for looking,
david
Nice!..Good to do quick little sketches like that. Keep it up and continually work on those proportions and views. So are you using a wacom and painter then?
I personally really like your sketching and feel compelled to look at them. What i would like to see initially is how the shoe aids becks as a player firstly and then equal consideration to the aesthetic.
DB has a problem loosing his big toe nail and blisters on the tops of his toes (as do most pro players)
I’d suggest to go away from the tablet and keep on the side views for a while. I really find the sketch style overpowering any ounce of design intent in the drawings.
in the latest sketches above, i really cant see anything other than a few lines on the outsole sketch. crazy perspective angle too is making the communication difficult.
im all for loose sketches, but also believe in efficiency of communication. for the 10 minutes or so the sketches above probably took, you’d get across more in a 30 sec. pencil line sketch. In terms of process, exploration is always OK, but hopefully it gets you somewhere.
not trying to be too harsh, but trying to help. looks like you are falling in love with your drawings, but not really drawing anything from my view.
R
Rich hits it on the head…save the aesthetic once you have sorted out how the shoe will work, construct together and so on. All the KG shoes i have seen reflect Becks as a person but not as an athlete on the field…be nice to see some ideas for ‘on the filed direction’
I do like the sketches though, would be nce if you could get the function working with the style, but again as Rich said…
i agree about the side views. i guess i just saw the cool blue style and wanted to try it. unfortunately, i do not have a scanner in my apt this summer. i packed light as i will be heading straight to europe for 4 months. i will try to scan some side view stuff after work one night.
as for falling in love with my sketches. just enjoy posting. it has been great to generate questions and comments and it is helping me out. i realize the more i continue to post, the more i will understand what is working and what is not working for me. i am sure the advice that is given to me can apply to many other designers…i hope they are reading.
here are some sketches i did during a large co meeting today. moon boot? next gen work boot? eh…i dont know. i may decide to develop this further…after this weekend. i have to get back on the beckham stuff after learning what i have.
what do you like better. straight sketch, or a bit of ps added?
thanks for looking,
david
the above sketches are very nice. muuuuch better, IMHO. with or w/o PS, the concept is much more developed and i can see the design intent much more clearly.
i guess perhaps then its just the tablet. I dont use one, so dont know, but perhaps its the amount of control you get or the software you are using that just gets in the way.
looking at your above sketches, both the side and perspective views are good. i thought it was the 3d sketching that was throwing things off looking at you other sketches, but with these in mind, i dont think its the case. just wacom fever suppose.
keep up the good work and continue posting.
R
last quarter i did a co-op at a design firm in columbus, oh (priority designs). here we worked on taylor made golf products. i worked on some bags before…but i wanted to revisit them.
here is what i came up with over the weekend. late sat…finished up sunday morning upon waking.
thanks for looking,
david
