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Struggling with design work, sketching, or managing academic pressure? Whether you're a student balancing deadlines with creativity or an educator seeking clarity in your teaching approach, this blog offers focused, practical support in Design & Technology — from visual communication to process thinking and digital fabrication. Since 2007, Design Journal SOS has helped readers overcome real classroom challenges with grounded strategies and insight. 💬 Have a topic you're curious about? Or found something here that helped you? I welcome your questions and reflections — they keep this space alive and evolving. 🔗 Follow for updates: Facebook /designjournalsos (Copyright © 2007–2025 Daniel Lim)
Showing posts with label orthographic projection. Show all posts
Showing posts with label orthographic projection. Show all posts

01 March 2022

Three-Point Perspective Objects into Simple Manageable 3D Isometric Forms

It is always a challenge for students to copy a real world object especially if these images come in the form of a photograph of a product. Or they might have taken a photograph of an object. The real world is always presented in its natural three-point perspective

To reproduce these references onto paper, students often tries too hard to copy the real thing in its entirety realistically. This is not necessary. And it takes up too much time. 

It will be good enough to be able to capture it’s essence, it’s general shape and form. Only later to study it’s function and features. From the simplified version and perspective. 

In this case, we attempt to represent the real thing in simple 3D Isometric blocks. You don’t need to include the minor curvatures and texture and patterns on the real thing.

Omitting these details do not affect the quality of your explorations on their functionality.

Watch the video to find out how you can do this. You may wish to follow the video and practice it on your own. Pause anywhere you wish along the video as you follow through the steps.


Three-Point Perspective Objects into Simple Manageable 3D Isometric Forms

In this video I show you the steps of getting this done with an example of a bar stool chair:

  • First we interpreted the real world three-point perspective image of the chair by drawing major blocks over the reference. 
  • Then we present it on 2D Front and Side Orthographic views. 
  • Finally  we use these references to produce a 3D Isometric version of the real thing.

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    18 February 2022

    Sketching & Drawing 2: Basic 2D Orthographic Projection (example: A Low Back Chair)

    The need for an orthographic projection is a slightly more advance step into the design process. However the orthographic projection can also be very effectively used to  quickly illustrate an idea in different views. 



    Using a 2-dimension approach to do that can speed up the process of drawing, yet achieve a similarly good objective. This approach to using orthographic projections at the early stage of design may be useful for students who may not be able to sketch in 3D quickly yet. 

    So putting on paper in 2D views to illustrate an idea first is a good strategy. Once that is done the student may wish to work out later how a 3D presentation can be done.



    To produce an orthographic projection, since you will notice it is a 2D sketch or drawing, you will require again various combination of blocks to help you establish the relationship between parts of the objects before you draw the object as a whole. The need for guidelines cannot be further emphasised. 

    Many students draw without using any guidelines. These sketches were never good. If there are they will be VERY rare.


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    If you like the video and my contents, please Subscribe, LIKE and Share. 

    Let me know in the comments what else you like to learn and watch.

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