2. What is a sketch?
• In the most basic sense, a sketch is a
drawing that is done quickly, without great
detail and with only pencil and paper.
• The advantage of sketching: since only a
few materials are needed, sketches maybe
done anywhere.
3. Materials Used
• Paper used includes:
• plain paper or newsprint
• graph paper to help maintain proportion and
scale
• Tracing paper
• Pencils and erasers
• Do not use drawing tools
4. More on sketching
• Good sketching techniques are used to capture
initial ideas.
• In addition, they are used to refine ideas and
communicated technical information.
• 5 basic, visual symbols are used
• There are nine reasons to sketch
• There are 5 types of sketches
5. 5 Basic, Visual Symbols
• Point: symbol that is used to describe a
location in space
• Line: path between 2 points
• Surface: flat or non-flat element created from
curved lines
• Plane: a flat surface
• Texture: Surface quality
6. Reasons to Sketch
1. Persuade people who make decisions
2. Develop a refined sketch of a proposal
3. To clarify a complicated idea
4. To give design idea to drafters
5. To develop a series of ideas for refining a
new product or part.
7. Reasons to Sketch
6. To analyze or develop best methods and
materials for a part
7. Record permanently a design improvement
on a part that already exists
8. To show that there are many ways to look at
or solve a problem
9. To spend less time on drawing
8. Types of Sketches
• The type of sketch to be used depends
on the purpose of the sketch and on the
intended lifespan of it.
• The sketcher needs to take in to
consideration who will be using the
drawing and for how long the drawing will
be used.
9. Rough Sketches
• Drawn quickly using jagged lines
• Primary purpose is to express ideas or thought
quickly
• Tools are not used
• Attention is focused on proportion
• Notes or labels are added as needed
10. Refined Sketches
• Drawn more carefully than a rough sketch
• Have better line quality than a rough sketch
• Better proportion
• Use basic tools such as straight edges and
templates
11. Presentation Sketches
• More refined than a refined sketch
• Used to convince management or clients to
accept or approve ideas
• Usually shown in an eye-appealing 3-
dimensional view to appeal to non-technical
people
14. Overlays
• An overlay is a piece of translucent paper used
to trace over drawings
• Has three primary purposes:
1. Reshaping an idea
2. Refining a drawing without really changing it
3. Add various options to a basic drawing
15. Terms to Know
• Visualize: To picture in the mind’s eye what
something looks like
• Implementation: To draw or create an object
after it has been visualized
Ed visualized how to fix the stairs and then implemented
his plan.
