Andy's "Sketch-a-few times a week"

Rendered up a simple earbud from the last sketch

Core wouldn’t let me upload an image for some reason? It kept saying that the file was empty, even when I tried to upload the same file from last week.

Andy, are those supposed to go in the ear? Hard to judge the scale here. The cable looks very thin.

They are supposed to go in the ear. The cable was originally going to be the full diameter of the circle area that it currently goes into, but I felt like it overpowered the actual earbud on the page at that size. Maybe I’ve gone too far the other way? A side view of it in an ear would help with visualising scale and context too, I’ll keep that in mind for slightly ambiguous forms! I’ll do some edits after work :slight_smile:

Take a look at the typical in ear. There are two styles, a bud which hangs out in the ear using fracture, and a true in ear with a silicone tip that goes in the ear canal. Both have much deeper housings to create an acoustic chamber. The diameter is a parameter based on average ears but the depth is where most of the design is, unless their is an element that mechanically locks into the ear contours… sorry, I’ve worked on a lot of headphones so I’m being a touch more critical, but thought you might to riff off a little technical feedback.

Here are a few patent drawings to give you a sense of scale…





I hadn’t even thought about the acoustic feasibility aspects of the design to be honest. I do love the technical feedback though, it’s great to be able to get real feedback from a designer who has actually worked on this kind of product.

So when a company starts out with a new line of headphones, most of the design time goes into making sure that the earbud stays in place to create the best acoustic chamber possible? I imagine it’s a challenge fitting so many different components in inside also.

Thanks for the feedback Yo!

It’s been a while! Mixed a Viking sword with a katana grip because I’ve been watching too many smithing videos by Alec Steele :laughing:

Back to basics on my Ipad. I’d say something clever about this if I knew what it was. Maybe a sugar jar?

Doodling away the past few months of rust with some circles for the first sketch of 2019.

Timber bookcase coffee table with a fatty glass top.

Mr Whippy van because it was super hot today and I really wanted ice cream!

Nice to see you back at it Andy!

Watch that lower right hand corner on the table sketch. Either the corner is off or the shadow is off.

I know it is just a sketch, but did you have any thoughts on how you would make that table? If it was bent I think the radii would be bigger and it would likely be split in 3 parts (they could be essentially modular units). You wouldn’t want to hog it out of lumber. It would be a crazy expensive amount of wood and then a crazy amount of machine time to waste all that raw material. If you made it out of metal it could be break formed easily.

Thanks Yo! It feels good to be sketching again.

Do you mean that the shadow goes too far past the table corner to the right?

I agree that actual timber isn’t efficient. I was originally thinking of bent sheet and then hydro dipped with the timber texture. The only downside of bending heavy gauge metals with brake forming is the flaring you get on the edges of the radii as the material contracts and stretches.

I also considered an aluminium extrusion, but I don’t know of anywhere that could make or control the warpage on something this large. It could be broken down into side/mid parts that snap together but would change the timber pattern flowing smoothly after coating. I’m sure somewhere in China has the ability to control it!

Front profile of protective Enduro bicycling sunglasses. I like to protect my nose from rocks and branches in any way possible, and sunglasses are more comfortable than goggles for longer rides. I’ve gone with a thin goggle-style strap to keep them in place through all of the bumps and jumps.


Nice sketch Andy!

Thanks Yo!

I was doodling without any real focus and ended up with a hollow lounge chair. Maybe it could be made from a firm sponge?

Sponge lounge

Andy, that digital version has some nice pop to it.

Thanks Yo. I always appreciate the feedback.

I’m trying to use more contrast in my sketches to communicate form as I think a lot of my previous sketches are quite flat.

Quick one from last night exploring silicon grip tea cup profiles.

Photography assisted by Coco the cat

I need at least one powerpoint with lots of USB ports :joy:

Warmed up with these toasters this morning but I’m not happy with it…


So I also sketched out some paper shredders.

Stackable tech tower. Why do I always have to install another box with another plug when they could all just fit together?