Variety: Much is written about the enormous impact of technology in such film disciplines as cinematography and visual effects, but production design has also been hugely affected. One of the big issues these days within art departments is balancing traditional hand drafting with computer drafting.
12 comments:
What an interesting article, and a very relevant topic. I, personally, like both computer drafting and hand drafting. I agree with Carnegie Mellon's standard, which is that their students should know both types of drafting because clearly, they are both important mediums. This article does a fantastic job of displaying the advantages and disadvantages to both and it makes me very happy that I go to a school that will teach me both. I learned quite a bit about hand drafting being used to design sets for movies, because I had this idea that everybody uses some form of CAD, but the advantages to hand drafting become really clear, because the author provides examples, like how the set shouldn't be made by just copying and pasting columns, because there is very little creativity in that. So, shout out to DIck Block for teaching hand drafting!
I was under the impression that the industry preferred computer drafting over hand drafting for reason this article mentions: it's more efficient to share and edit files. I assumed that because of the easy copy and paste capabilities, the speed of which drafting could be completed on the computer was faster, and it surprised me to read that set designers that start with the computer model take longer. This article as a whole comforted me though, because I would much rather hand draft than computer draft. I do not like having to use computers all the time, and for me, personally, doing scenic design on a computer feels like it takes away some of the artistry of it. Like the article said, with hand drafting, more character can be added to the set pieces with the little hand drawn nuances that a design is more likely to find the opportunity to find if they are repeating structures by hand, rather than just copying and pasting lines. Drafting by hand lets you create curves and organic structures way easier than any sort of computer could – the organic world, in my opinion, can not be recreated with any sort of technology. This article has renewed my faith that my love for hand drafting and designing by hand is not something that will set me back in the professional world, and may even give me an advantage.
Just about every school I applied to held a different notion about the place of hand drafting in the design world. Some didn't even bother to teach young designers to draft by hand, while yet others didn't even touch CAD. Part of what I love about our program is that it teaches both, but stresses hand drafting skills (at least freshman year). During high school, I used Vectorworks to draft a few sets. What I've found is that, as I've gained more skill hand drafting, I've come to be able to better spatially understand my drawings than I did when I just clicked a few buttons. I think this is what the author is getting at when they quote Mark Villarino, who explains that "when people draw by hand it seems like they encounter the same issues I do when I try to build. A lot of times when I get computer prints, they’re missing information." As such, I personally believe that ALL designers should start their education with hand drafting. However, in many situations, CAD can make the drafting process more efficient, and it definitely should have a seat at the table, but using CAD without having hand drafted before is similar to using a calculator without being able to mental math: You're missing fundamentals that allows CAD to, as the name implies, to assist in drafting.
I think that there is a happy medium between hand drafting and computer drafting. But I don't think one is better than the other. Like all things, each has their faults and each has their merits. Personally, I think it is easier to translate my ideas onto paper with a pencil before moving to a computer. Since our hands and pencils aren't constricted by the coding of a program, we are able to directly draw out what is in our minds. However, once the designer has solidified their ideas and know what they want, the design should be translated into a digital space so that it can be manipulated and shared quickly. However, I think that a physical 3-D model should always be made because it is better understood by people who are not accustomed to viewing something on a flat screen and seeing it as 3 dimensional. A physical model makes the whole set more tangible and actors can look at it and physically see where they can and cannot walk. For me, a hybrid of hand-oriented processes and digital processes works best. Even though hand drafting stresses me out a lot as I make sure all of my lines are even, I think there is a merit to learning it before digital drafting. I think that that is the process that history has taken - designers hand drafted first then digital drafting was created - so following the natural process helps a designer develop a mind that dissects scenery in different ways. It is the standard and, as we know, standards must always come first. Each human brain is unique and works in different ways. Each designer has a process that works for them and if it works, it works.
It’s really interesting to hear this article say that if two designers starting a job at the same time the one who is a hand drafter will farther along than the CAD drafter. Usually we think of it the other way around since we are so used to computer things being faster than things done by hand. Though I have seen how free and fun hand drafting and hand designing is. There is that added personality to a design that is lost when you computer draft it and then copy the same thing over and over. Even if in the end the design is three or more of the same object in real life and so will look copied, by drawing it multiple times it gives you the space to be able to add to the design as you go, which will develop a more interesting design at the end in a different way than a completely computerized design.
I don’t think I could add more to this article if I tried. However, the article doesn’t really talk about 2D computer drafting. The fact that the article ends by saying that a good design is a good design shows the main goal is the communication of the idea. While 3D models may be easy to manipulate, it isn’t as easy to create organic shapes – as the article says. The article does indicate the importance of hand drafting and drawing in training and I completely agree. I think there are a lot of tools and techniques used when hand drafting that translate to computer drafting. There is also an element of the thought process used when hand drafting that is clear when looking at a drawing done by someone who has only learned drafting on a computer. Personally, I prefer computer drawing because I can’t draw a straight line to save my life. That wouldn’t be an issue if I followed the rule that my drafting teacher taught us – nothing should be drawn freehand when drafting.
Like al the others above me I find this to be a interesting argument. I personally prefer doing things that are not complicated quickly by hand drafting them. However that said I do generally prefer to computer draft mostly because I feel it allows me to look at how multiple different elements will react with each other that is pretty hard( realistically time consuming) to show in hand draftings. I'm curious like Daniel is as to why the article completely ignored the idea of 3D modeling and drafting. Of course making a 3D model is going to have more of a initial time sink but i do not see that being as strong of a argument when it comes to a 2D drafting on a computer. I also really like the ability to bring in blocks for hardware or other objects that I feel can help give computer drafting advantage over hand drafting. But in the end I feel that both are important skills to learn and am happy to be doing so.
Many friends sent this article my way when it was first posted. I was originally an architectural engineer in undergrad and got a lot of hand drafting experience then. Later when I switched to Design and Production I again did a fair amount of hand drafting and is a great place to introduce the basics in both scenic and lighting paperwork and design. I then quickly moved into CAD drafting. There will always be a need to hand draft and everyone should learn it as a first step. It helps to set drafting standards and cultivates an application of what the computer can do. The amount of precision and speed that things can be done in CAD is convenient especially with multiple objects and copies of the same thing. Take the time and learn both as the need for each has their time and place.
This article I think puts for a lot of interesting points on a somewhat debated topic in the field today as the vast majority of drafting is and has shifted from hand to computer. Its funny how when applying to schools and looking at different designers in the field you see different opinions on the subject left and right with the different opinions on the subject. I think there are some interesting thoughts though about this article though and how the two different mediums force the designers into two different sort of approaches for their draftings. Hand drafting is something that I have to say does have that sort of connection and muscle memory to the piece along with its own personal flair. While the detail that you are able to create and the workability that computer drafting gives you just can't even begin to be touched.
This article touches on something much larger than just hand vs computer drafting. It touches on the effects of technology and why it is or isn’t good. The article talks about hand drafting and its creative nature and that is something I can agree with very strongly. Computer drafting makes it very easy to do “cookie-cutter” type stuff because it is just two clicks to copy and paste something. However, to draft something means you have to create the whole thing every time and that gives you not only the ability to change it but it gives you more time to think and create, give more character to in your ideas and then on page. Computer drafting is great because it is fast but I equate it to taking notes. If you take notes on the computer you can refer back to it easily and transport it in your pocket. You can type generally faster than you right and that allows for people to get more information down quickly. However, when you write notes you lack that luxury but gain the knowledge better. There is a correlation that was found between such, and acquiring knowledge is better done through written notes much like more creative sets can be shown better if they are drafted vs generated.
I am perplexed on this issue of hand vs CAD drawings. While I see the benefits of cad I do like this process of hand drafting if i am not rushed. I think as a designer I will definitely be using cad at some point in the process. But I think the importance of being able to Draw is more important than being good at hand drafter. I think to see your design to be approved you need to be able to illustrate it, right? I would assume in both methods of cad vs hand draw, is they both need a phase of tech drawings to start the build process. I think if you can sketch and illustrate very well, you can sell you idea and get started on those tech drawings even faster. But I would be interested to see how close this Idea is to the real world application
Reading this article on hand drafting highlighted a lot of things that I had not previously thought about. First off, I would have thought that the digital drafting technique would end up being faster than hand drafting because of the ability to copy and paste repeating elements. However the article points out that hand drafters can immediately start actually drafting, whereas a CAD drafter would have to create a full model first. Secondly I never had thought about needing to draft organic shapes. So far all we have been drafting are man made objects with mostly hard edges, and nothing broken, bent, or really jagged. From working with modeling tools on computers I can definitely say that it is significantly more difficult to make a tree on a computer than it is to just draw a tree. I’m very glad that we are learning to hand draft now because it will be a skill that I have for the rest of my life, and from what the article was saying it may soon be an extremely unique skill.
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