Does anyone still design with paper and pencil

[Gregory Hairston]

I am very computer literate. In fact I'm a techie. I am pretty good with sketchup, ecabinets and used cad and other programs. I am currently back in school taking classes and one of my classes is an art drawing class. It got me thinking does anyone still design with drafting tools or does everyone uses computers. I can see the need for both and would like to know how others do things. In my drawing class I may spend twelve to 15 hours on a drawing I find it relaxing and it gets the right side of my brain going. When sitting at the computer I find I spend more time figuring out how to draw this than just drawing. It becomes a left brain dominant act and less creative. Your thoughts???

Greg

[Dave Richards]

I think there's a lot of good reasons to draw with pencil on paper and I know of many people who prefer it. I still do, too, although you probably wouldn't know it. With a drawing done on the computer I can make modifications to a design more quickly and since I'm working in 3D I can easily look at what I've done from all angles. If I wanted to show all sides of something I drew on paper, I would have to make multiple drawings and there'd be the potential for errors. A few years ago we had an architect design a house for us. He did some very nice 2D elevations. I thought it would be a good exercise to make a 3D model of it in SketchUp. I discovered the roof he had drawn in one of the side elevations was different from the front elevation. Neither looked wrong in the drawings he made but the roof couldn't have been built to match both at the same time.

No matter what media you choose to do your drawings, you need to be intimately familiar with it. If you have to spend a lot of time thinking about how to use the tools, your attention is diverted from the creative process. You've been drawing on paper since you were very young (and maybe the walls before that. ) so you don't have to think about how to work a pencil.

[Mel Fulks]

I have have used that phrase ,too. "Hiring someone to design because they can work a computor is the same thing as hiring someone to design because they can work a pencil." Computor drawing has brought some terrible "designs ". Good use of circle segments , circles, and ellipses is almost non existent . The ability of the computor to compress and elongate forms totally incompatible ,needs to be controlled.

[paul cottingham]

I am a retired techie, and I design (when I do) with pencil and paper. I would rather be building than learning -another- piece of software. That plus it isn't ported to Linux or Mac (my wife's, not mine :-).)

[Dave Richards]

I retired techie, and I design (when I do) with pencil and paper. I would rather be building than learning -another- piece of software. That plus it isn't ported to Linux or Mac (my wife's, not mine :-).)

What isn't ported to Linux or Mac?

[paul cottingham]

Sorry, I was talking about sketchup. And it may be ported to Mac, now that I think of it (it is). But not Linux unless very recently, I don't believe.

[Dave Richards]

It has been ported to Mac for years. I've been using it for over eight years and and it was available for Mac before that. There are many people running it under WINE so Linux works, too.

Make no mistake. I'm not trying to talk you into using SketchUp. I'd never try to talk anyone out of using paper and pencil.

Curves?



Meh.

[Ryan Mooney]

I find doing concept sketches is still faster for me with a pen and paper. The problem I have with the computer is that its to easy to start futzing with the details and I loose sight of the larger picture. I sort of split if between design and engineering. When I want to design something I sketch and shade until it looks good, then I can engineer it to actually work/correct proportions, etc.. A good part of that is due to how I think, others will of course be different.

[Dale Cruea]

I used to draw/design everything with pencil and paper. I liked it and it kept me busy.
I now use Sketchup just because I can change the design easier and getting rid of my drafting board gave me a little more space.
I like that when done I can see the 3D views.
This helps me see a lot of mistakes easily.
I make the joints also. When building I can get the dimensions directly from the Component.
I can even make full sized templates if needed. They are not exact but very close.
I like that I can sketch it Sketchup to get the proportions and sizes to my liking.
I can also send a copy to a client to have them view it in Sketchup Viewer and I don't have to mail my paper copies to them to mark up or lose.

[paul cottingham]

It has been ported to Mac for years. I've been using it for over eight years and and it was available for Mac before that. There are many people running it under WINE so Linux works, too.

Make no mistake. I'm not trying to talk you into using SketchUp. I'd never try to talk anyone out of using paper and pencil.

Curves?



Meh.

Fought with wine for days. Sucked it up and found a laptop with windows. Still too steep a learning curve for me. I know thats lame.

[Dave Richards]

Paul, if you are actually interested in learning SketchUp, perhaps you just need someone to help you get off on the right foot. Compared to other drawing programs, SketchUp's learning curve is fairly short and shallow. It's like anything, though. You have to want to learn how to use it and practice. It's sort of like woodworking in that respect. If you get what you need with your pencil and paper, though, you might not have that interest.

[paul cottingham]

I was in the tech industry for almost 20 years, as a techie and a trainer. To be honest, learning a new piece of software just sounds painful to me . In fact, the simplicity of pencil and paper kind of appeals to me because it is so low tech.
that being said, someday I will learn it, I'm sure, it seems inevitable.

[Dave Richards]

Simplicity is good. If you decide you want to go down the SketchUp path look me up. I'll help you get off on the right foot.

[glenn bradley]

I pretty much always start with a pencil and paper. I have one of Tage Frid's book where he blasts designs that start with the aesthetic and then determine the method. I'm afraid that this is exactly how I design my pieces . I decide what I want something to look like, the 'feel' I want it to bring to the space it will occupy, then I figure out how to build it. Rough sketches move to SketchUp once the "feel" comes together; then I start getting specific. For me, diving into a build without a solid target in mind will lead to something that looks like I made it up as I went along (and not in a good way). This doesn't mean that there aren't "design modifications" along the way but, mostly I already know where I am going while trying to get there ;-)

[paul cottingham]

Simplicity is good. If you decide you want to go down the SketchUp path look me up. I'll help you get off on the right foot.

That's very kind, thank you.