Online Tutorial 2: The Big Idea

Hi All,

This weeks tutorial is called "The Big Idea" and uses two animated axonometric drawings to convey a summary of your developed design with only 6 rectangular prisms.

Here is an introduction:

And here is an example I made to give you an idea of what you'll end up with after following the tutorials below (you'll note that it only uses 4 rectangular prisms ... you have 6):

Axonometric animation with 3 positive rectangular prisms and one negative rectangular prism. 

Online Animated Gif Maker: https://imgflip.com/gif-maker

Making Animated Gif's in Photoshop:

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-to-create-animated-gif-quick-tip-ht

So first things first, what is an axonometric?

An axonometric is a type of architectural drawing that represents three dimensions on a two dimensional page (or screen). In that way it is similar to a perspective drawing that makes it seem like three dimensional objects, or spaces, are coming out of or receding into the page; like looking through a window. The main difference between an axonometric and a perspective is that in an axonometric where two lines are parallel in the geometry of your design they remain parallel in the drawing. You'll remember that in a perspective drawing parallel lines converge at one or more vanishing points.

What do they look like? Here are some examples from Pinterest... (I'd suggest starting your own Pinterest page to capture the things that inspire you; I guarantee it will become an invaluable resource throughout your degree).

And how do you draw them? Take a look at this video tutorial ...

What are they good for? In short, they are best for concept drawings and construction details. 

They are good for construction details because they communicate dimensions very clearly (primarily because they don't distort proportions like a perspective sketch does ... ). See this great example on archdaily where they are used to illustrate traditional Japanese joinery details.

But in this tutorial for ARCH1101 you'll be using them to show a summary of your design; which is a concept drawing. 

Perhaps the best examples of this are from the Architecture firm BIG.

BIG's use of diagrams to clearly communicate their design intent, another way to say their "Big Idea", is unparalleled 

The diagram above in its New York context.

Axonometrics don't preclude curvilinear geometry, but they are trickier to construct.

https://big.dk/#projects well worth a visit

Drawing axonometrics is a great skill to have, you'll find them invaluable in your discussions with your tutors this year and for the rest of your studies, so don't be afraid to pull out your notebook and practice whenever you get the chance.

And finally, be sure to take a look at all the tutors blogs as they identify a particular building, project, movement or product where representing the design through the axonometric made an important contribution to it ... in other words, the way they used the axonometric made the project both distinctive and significant. 

Regards

Russell