A New Course…

Summertime! And preparing for fall teaching.

Hand Drawing Bicycles for Designers and Engineers.

This course is an introduction to technical and analytical skills and conceptual knowledge for iterative hand drawing used in 3D design and engineering. For 3D designers and engineers drafting and drawing go hand in hand, in ways critically required for the fields. While working exclusively in digital drawing is the norm, a person who can draw ideas by hand does perhaps has a fuller understanding of the object and project. We will do drawings of bicycles, bicycle components, and bicycles in locations, using drawing tools including pen, pencil, and marker. With the bicycle as context, you will learn: iterative drawing, sketching diagrams, loose orthogonal drawings, measured two-dimensional and three-dimensional drawing, perspective, isometric study and basic drawing skills (line, contour, cross-contour, value, volume, texture, color theory).

Course format consists primarily of studio work. Guidance will be given through lecture, demonstration, individual feedback and critique. Grading is based on time invested in the work, participation in class critiques, improvement throughout the semester and implementation of concepts covered in class (regardless of student’s skill level). The course work will require some research work.

There are three elements in this course that will guide the routine. One is that most of the work you do in the course will be done in class. To set a purposeful context for your drawing, I will ask you to come up with a bikepacking idea, from which a bicycle, components, camping gear etc. will be imagined. These objects and locations will become content for your drawing. We’ll refer to this over the course of the semester. Documenting your work will be the third element.