Lesson video

Hello, thank you for joining me.

My name is Ms. Conway, and I will be guiding you through your learning today.

Today's learning outcome is I can render a complex shape and add annotation.

And these are our keywords.

So we have render, annotation, tone, and texture.

I'm gonna go through the meaning of each one of these as we go through the lesson.

So first of all, we're going to start looking at sketching and rendering a complex shape.

So sketching and rendering complex shapes requires the designer to consider the crating technique, and you may have used the crating technique before.

As well as using that crating technique, we then need to build on that knowledge and add tone and texture to the sketch as well.

Tone and texture is only added to a sketch once it has been completed and planned in as a line sketch.

We cannot do it before that particular stage.

If we start to add tone and texture before it is planned and completed as a line sketch, we could end up in a bit of a muddle and with quite a bit to rub out.

It's also easier to add tone on top of texture.

So tone should be the very last stage of the process.

So basically think of it in the order of completing your line sketch, adding texture, and then adding tone.

So let's do a quick check for understanding on that.

When sketching texture on a product, you sketch the texture before the tone.

Is that true or false? Pause the video here if you'd like to take a moment just to think about that.

Okay.

And the answer was true.

It is easier to add tone on top of texture as opposed to the other way round.

So you always sketch the texture first, and then add the tone in afterwards.

How did you get on? Well done if you got that right.

So the stages of sketching and rendering a complex shape are, number one, firstly, you need to sketch your construction lines.

Construction lines are the lines that you use to plan out your drawing.

You usually draw these in quite faintly so that afterwards, once it's all finished, you can rub them out again.

They are there purely as a planning tool.

You're then going to use the crating technique to sketch the crates to plan out the size, the shape, and the proportions of your object or your drawing.

Again, a crate is a planning tool.

So these lines, again, need to be quite faint so that you can rub them out once the drawing is finished.

Take your time with this particular stage.

It's the opportunity to make any mistakes and just to make sure you're really happy with things like the size and the shape and the proportions before you go on to add more detail.

The next stage, you're then gonna sketch that product using the construction lines and the crates as the guide that you had planned for them to be.

So follow those construction lines as crates as much as you can to just draw out a rough kind of outline of your object.

Don't worry too much of it's not perfect at this stage.

You've then got the opportunity to go over it and to kind of tinker with it as you go along.

Your next stage is then to decide on which way or where your light source is coming from.

Your light source is where the natural light would be actually shining onto the object.

You're doing this to try and then move on to rendering and to make it look as 3D and realistic as possible.

Your light source can come from wherever you want it to be.

In this example, I've drawn it coming from the top left of the drawing.

Once you've got your light source drawn in, you can then start to add texture to the product using the right material technique.

Now on this one, I've done plastic or a polymer, and this is quite a smooth surface with not too much of a rough texture to it.

This means I don't have to add too much detail on it, but I do need to make it appear slightly shiny.

Once I've got the texture, that's when I start thinking about that tone, which is the final stage of the process.

So I'm now gonna add tone and that tone is gonna show depth to the product.

I base that tone on where that light source is coming from, thinking about the shadows that will be naturally created and also the highlights that are gonna be created where the light shines directly onto the product.

Let's just do a quick check for understanding on that.

Why are crates and construction lines useful when sketching complex shapes? Is it A, crates help to plan out size and shape, B, crates help to plan out the colour and rendering, or C, crates help to plan out the proportion? Pause the video here just to take a moment to think about that.

How did you get on? Right, the answer was, there was two possible answers here.

So crates helped to plan out size and shape, but they also helped to plan out the proportion as well.

Right time for you to have a bit of a go at this.

The first thing I'd like you to do is sketch the citrus fruit juicer below using the crating technique, and this is the example of the citrus fruit juicer I'd like you to have a go at sketching.

It's also the same as the example that I showed you in the previous slides.

The second task is you are then gonna add tone and texture to the sketch in a colour of your choice.

The picture I've shown you here is in white.

I would recommend not using white.

Colours such as red, green, blue will be a lot easier to show that tone and texture of a polymer.

Now you have got a success criteria to help you with this, and I'll just go through that with you now.

The success criteria for doing this then is, first of all, you want to use your construction lines.

Secondly, use that crating technique.

So use that crating technique to plan the different parts of the product, thinking about size, proportions, et cetera.

Next, don't forget to think about that light source.

Where's that light source coming from? That light source is gonna be really important when you come to add tone.

You also wanna make sure that potential highlights have been added into any shiny materials.

As you're making this out of a polymer, that's really important to include.

And lastly, tone has been considered as well as texture, so make sure you've got both of those in there.

Okay, pause the video here to have a go at this task and good luck.

Okay, how did you get on? Bit of a tricky task I know.

And don't worry if it's not perfect, it'll take practise.

Any kind of drawing technique that you're doing does take practise, and you just need to do it as often as possible to really build up your skills.

So what I'd like you to do now is just look at your sketch and compare it to the example below, as well as considering that success criteria that we went through when I introduced the task to you.

So here is the example again, and let's just remind ourselves of the success criteria.

As I'm going through this, use it as a bit like a tick list.

Look at your sketch, compare it to the one I've shown you there, and then think about, did you do this part of the success criteria? So first of all, did you use construction lines to plan it out first? Did you use those construction lines correctly as well? How did you get on with the crating technique? First of all, did you remember to use the crating technique? And also then, how did you get on actually using it and reminding yourself how to use it? That crating technique should have worked out things like the size and the proportion.

Right, you should have considered a light source as well.

Didn't matter where that necessarily came from.

It could be the same as the example that I've shown you here coming from the left, or it could be coming from the right or wherever.

Did you add in potential highlights? We're making this out of a polymer, and the polymer was quite smooth and shiny and so would need some form of highlights shown where the light hit it, thinking about that light source.

And has tone been considered as well as texture? Okay, next, we're gonna look at adding annotation to sketches.

So designers sketch to communicate their ideas to others, and also to help plan what they're thinking.

They need to get their ideas across to someone else.

That's very difficult to do just verbally, and it's also very difficult just by writing.

So sketching is the best way to get their ideas across to somebody.

But also it's there to actually plan our ideas and to generate ideas as well.

Now, it's not always possible to show all the information through sketches alone.

That can be quite limiting.

It may be that something is hidden at the back of the sketch, or it may be that it's an internal situation that you just can't quite see what's going on.

It may be the way in which the product is actually used and that needs to be explained.

There's lots of different things that sometimes just cannot be communicated by drawing or sketching alone.

Where that's the case, annotation is needed just to give a little bit more detail to a sketch.

Now annotation is when a comment is added to provide further explanation, clarification or information.

It's a step further than labelling though.

Labelling is usually one word.

Annotation explains things that little bit further and can sometimes also include some analytical comments as well.

So let's just look at this example.

This is a citrus fruit juicer design that was inspired by architecture.

So the example on the left is The Gherkin designed by Norman Foster, quite a well-known, iconic building that you may have seen before.

If you live locally to it, you may have definitely seen it before.

The image on the right is a sketch of a fruit juicer design that has been inspired by The Gherkin.

So you can see it's got that kind of shape that's kind of pointing kind of cone at the top, and it's also got that kind of crisscross on the handle.

Now that sketch is quite informative, but we do need a little bit more information and annotation can help us with this.

So this is an example of annotation on that sketch of the fruit juicer.

So in this annotation, I've actually broken it down into different subheadings, and the subheadings I've chosen to include are anthropometrics, material and function.

Now, I've decided to use these because I've decided these are the things that aren't quite clear just by the sketch alone.

So under anthropometrics, I've written: "The juicer fits the mean average hand span to make it comfortable to use." So I've just explained that it will actually follow that mean average to make sure the majority of people find that really comfortable to use that juicer.

I've also included a subheading of material.

Now, that's really not clear, especially considering I haven't added any tone or texture to kind of explain or to show what that material might be.

So I've put it into the annotation here.

"The juicer will be made out of stainless steel so it doesn't react with acidic fruit juice." Now, even if I had used tone and texture to show this as a metal material, it still wouldn't be clear that it was stainless steel.

That would be a step too far in terms of showing it through a sketch.

So by using annotation, I've been able to explain that, and I've also been able to explain my reasoning as to why I've picked that material.

And under function, I've explained, "The juice that is held in the hand to use and is then pushed into the fruit that is held in the other hand." So again, by just explaining this a little bit further, now it might be obvious in the sketch, but the one end, that kind of crisscross pattern that I've taken from The Gherkin is the bit you hold onto, and it's got a nice grip on it.

And the other bit is the bit you actually push into the juice, sorry, into the fruit.

But that means the fruit will need to be handheld and you're pushing it in in that kind of manner.

I've also included a few more, such as manufacturing processes.

So under manufacturing processes, I've just explained that it'll be made by casting the stainless steel.

This way it can be easily mass manufactured.

Again, I'm just explaining that a little bit more detail that might not be obvious.

Now some people may have worked out that casting would be the best method, but other people with less knowledge or experience might not quite realise that.

So I've used my annotation just to explain that that little bit further.

And under ergonomics, I've also explained that ridges on the base provide hand grip but still remain comfortable for the user with no sharp edges.

Again, I've tried to show that with my shading, but it isn't quite clear that those are actually ridge and 3D in shape.

So that little crisscross pattern are little ridges just to make sure that there can be some grip on that handle as it's twisted into the fruit.

You can see now by understanding what I've written in that annotation that there is a lot more information and detail, and it just wasn't clear through that sketch, and the annotation has helped to just clarify that.

Let's just do a quick check for understanding as that was quite a bit.

So what is the purpose of annotation? Is it A, to explain the parts of the design that can be seen in the sketch, B, to provide further explanation or clarification on what is not visible in the sketch, or C, to explain how the designer came up with the idea for the design? Pause the video here just to take a moment to think about that.

Okay, and the correct answer was B, the purpose of annotation is to provide further explanation or clarification on what is not visible in the sketch alone.

Right, so the types of things that can be included in annotation are things such as materials, like you saw in my example, processes, hidden details that I mentioned before, things that are kind of unclear in the drawing.

They might be inside the product or behind the product or underneath.

And also the function of the product as well.

However, there are more subheadings that you might want to use, and it will completely depend on what information you're trying to get across to the person looking at the sketch.

And the subheadings that can be used for product analysis are actually the same ones that can be used for annotation.

So let's just remind ourselves of the subheadings that are used for product analysis.

They are environment, cost, aesthetics, manufacture, ergonomics, lifecycle, safety, user, materials, function, form and size.

And as I said, which ones you pick from these will really depend on what you are trying to get across.

There's no expectation to use them all.

You'd only choose the ones that are relevant to you and your sketch or your design.

So choosing the most appropriate subheadings will be completely and utterly up to you.

Anything that you feel needs that extra clarification or information.

Extra information may include the materials you think the product could be made from, possible joining methods, possible finishes, hidden details, like I mentioned before, dimensions, or even ergonomic considerations.

So for example, if you are trying to work out how to make your design, you would choose to explain things such as the materials you're planning on using, the manufacturing processes, and also include sizes and dimensions in your annotation.

So you choose these three, manufacture, materials and size.

Using the subheadings that we use for product analysis just helps to frame your thoughts and give them a little bit of structure.

It also makes sure that you don't miss anything that is actually quite important and you just haven't quite thought of it.

Let's just do a quick check for understanding on that.

What subheadings could you include in your annotation if you were trying to explain how your design fits the user? So A, lifecycle, user and materials, B, ergonomics, user and size, C, manufacture, ergonomics and lifecycle, or D, environment, cost and user? Pause the video here.

Just take a moment to think about that.

Okay, how did you get on? The answer was B.

So if you were thinking of including in your annotation how the design fits the user, you would use the subheadings ergonomics, user and size.

Think about all those really user centred comments and points.

Well done if you got that right.

Okay, time for you to have a go at this.

So using your knowledge of materials and material processes, you're going to add annotation to the image and the sketch that you've already drawn of the fruit juicer in task A.

You're going to explain using the following subheadings, manufacture, materials and function.

Don't worry about any of the subheadings at the moment, just focus on those three and put as much detail into that as possible.

Remember to use keywords and technical language as much as possible.

Pause the video here to have a little go at this and good luck.

Okay, how did you get on? Now, I'm gonna show you an example of mine.

Your answers may be slightly different.

You may have chosen slightly different materials and slightly different material processes.

That's absolutely fine.

You can check over those to check that they would still actually work with this juicer, but don't worry if they're not exactly the same as mine.

But just to give you an example, under manufacture I have written, "The juicer will have been made through injection moulding, so that many can be made at once." Now, that's really good for any kind of mass manufacturer.

It's also really good for getting tiny details as well.

Injection moulding will allow for all those little kind of curves, and those little folds and little kind of gaps to be made really nice and cleanly.

The shape is complex with internal and external curves, which could not be made easily by other processes.

Under materials, I've explained, "The fruit juicer is going to be made from polypropylene." This is the perfect material as it's resistant to chemicals.

It is also lightweight and tough, and it's easy to move around the kitchen but also will not break if dropped.

So again, I've explained what material I'm going to use, but I've also explained why I've chosen that material.

That's a really important habit to get into when you are doing any kind of annotation or analysis.

It's incredibly useful technique just to get used to because in the examination you will always be asked to justify or explain your choices.

And under function, I've written, "The juicer has a tray to catch the juice but keeps the seeds separate.

There is a handle to keep the juicer steady, but this could be bigger." Now, you see here I've actually analysed my design a little bit.

I've explained that actually, that handle could be a little bit bigger.

So don't be afraid to kind of do a little bit of analysis, and if you think there's something could be improved, you can include that in your annotation as well.

How did that compare to yours? Have another little look over yours, reread it and just check if you've got all the details that you would want to have in there, and you've also justified your decisions as much as you can.

Remember, the more information you can give in the annotation, the better.

Okay, let's just summarise today's learning then.

So we've been looking at mastering 3D sketching, but also the annotation side of things as well.

Now mastering 3D sketching, as I mentioned, does take a little bit of practise.

So don't be afraid to go back over some of these skills maybe in lesson, but maybe at home as well, just to practise them.

The more you practise your drawing technique, the better you are going to get.

Your annotation is exactly the same.

It will take practise and the more you kind of annotate your designs, the more you get used to explaining things and adding in your decisions.

Don't forget to use your prior knowledge when you're annotating on things such as materials and material processes.

Right, so let's actually summarise.

Sketching and rendering complex shapes requires the designer to consider the crating technique as well as adding tone and texture to the sketch.

Now, crates help to plan out the size, shape, and proportions of a sketch.

They can take some practise getting used to, but once you've got used to crating, it really can help you work out those proportions correctly.

Annotation can be added to a sketch to provide further explanation, clarification or extra information.

So anything that isn't clear on the sketch alone, you can add that in using annotation.

And when annotating, you can choose the most appropriate subheadings to include based on what you feel needs to be explained.

That's completely and utterly up to you, depending on what you are trying to get across and what you feel is not clear in your sketch.

Okay, I hope you've enjoyed the lesson today.

Thank you so much for joining me and I will see you soon.