If you’re really into art, design and/or architecture, you’ve no doubt heard about the process of technical drawing. As it is a very particular style, there are of course lots to learn, especially if it’s something you really want to develop into a really useful skill.
We’ve put together a bit of a guide to introduce you to technical drawing and hopefully point you in the right direction of learning it.
What exactly is technical drawing?
Technical drawing, also known as drafting or draughting, is the act and discipline of composing plans that visually communicate how something functions or is to be constructed (according to good old Wikipedia).
There are some really amazing examples found on Pinterest that can show you exactly what technical drawing is, and it will also show you that it’s not all about drawing buildings and cars too…we particularly love the constructed true-to-life Lego man example!
What is it most commonly used for?
Technical drawing is essential for communicating ideas in industry and engineering. Producing industry-acceptable engineering drawings requires academic training, yet it’s also becoming more common to use this technique to create drawings with a true sense of ‘realism’.
The aim of technical illustration is therefore mainly ‘to generate expressive images that effectively convey certain information via the visual channel to the human observer’.
What do you need to do it?
A lot of industry-based technical drawings are crafted on a computer, yet it’s still widely acknowledged that using technical drawing tools and paper are in no way inferior, especially if just trying out the technique as a hobby.
You can pick up technical drawing equipment online at sites like this – http://www.artifolk.co.uk/technical-drawing-equipment.htm – which is great as they provide packs with everything you need. This is also ideal for people like art or architecture students who do want or need devices that will make their drawings absolutely spot on.
How can you get started?
There’s a fantastic guide here to getting started with an engineered drawing that’s well worth checking out if it’s completely new to you, and you’d like a thorough guide to starting up.
Getting clued up on simple elements of drawing is also a really good idea when it comes to technical drawing, including understanding how things like perspective works, and also things like shading too as these techniques will really help your pictures look more technical and real. Keep a sketchbook of your progress to help you visualise how much you have developed your techniques which can be a great way to see how far you’ve come.
Disclosure: This post is brought to you from Artifolk
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