This second week the #academychallenge is to design the final project in 3D and for this we have to explore the world of digital design. The idea is to test 2D and 3D digital design programs, and sketch a a first design.
Previously I've already had some experience with CAD (Computer Aided Design) and I know how to use some programs, but in class we were recommended several open source programs and online platforms that I didn't know yet; this seems very useful to me, since you don't need to buy a license. So I have been encouraged to try some them out.
📆 January
As memory is fragile and mine even more so, I will write down here the most used concepts in the world of 2D and 3D digital design.
To come up with the design for my final project, I sat down to explore the idea in more depth. Ohmmy will help you to have the ideal oxygenation ratio. But how am I going to achieve this?
This device is an interactive training assistant to learn how to breathe correctly and with controlled rhythms (like Yoga breaths). The difference between this product and an App, is that this device allows you to physically interact with it and therefore the user will have a more sensory experience.
The breathing trainer with rhythm, through interaction with light, shows us the correct times how to do yoga breaths, it has 3 options for breathing rhythms. The user must imitate what he sees on the backlit surfaces 1 (inhale) and 2 (exhale). The lights are staggered and will mimic the breathing cycle; inhale and exhale.
The device will sense some of these options: Perhaps sense the moving arms, the pressure applied with the touch of the hands or the user's breath. And this imitation (of the user) will activate the illumination of two more surfaces that, if the user is performing the breathing correctly, surfaces 3 (inhale) and 4 (exhale) should show the same rhythm as surfaces 1 and 2. The device will have the added bonus of aromatherapy to make the whole routine very friendly and a concentration of various senses; which allows you to use it while you are not exercising during the day.
To have an approach to my idea graphically I looked for an application that allows me to express it. Before I had used the Sketchbook app which is from autodesk and is free. So I gave it a try. The idea was to represent how the lights were going to represent the moments of inhalation and exhalation of oxygen that occurs when we breathe.
This drawing is in plan view, looking from above. And it brings to mind butterflies, the lightness and colorfulness of their wings.
Sketchbook is a Raster application, that is to say, it allows us to draw and paint and to obtain images in .jpg, .png, etc. But it has the particularity that you can get gifs and also videos from frames, this functionality has been very useful to express my idea in 2D.
Continuing with my experimentation I looked for a software that allows me to work with vectors and I found Inkscape which is a vector graphics editor and the best thing is that it is open source and free, it is a powerful and easy to use tool for both professionals and non-expert users. In this exercise I will vectorize the sketch made previously in sketchbook to see the ease of work that offers me for my project.
Once I downloaded and installed the software I ran it and we found this interface where we visualize the important tools that will be used in the development of a project, these are: the navigation menu, the toolbar and the layers area, many more are visualized, but these are the most important.
The first thing that I will do is to import the image worked previously in scketchbook to vectorize it, then I will use the tool called Pen Tool of the toolbar to draw the vectors, then I will make some exercises of boolean operations like union and subtraction to test this tool since it is useful in the development of a project. I will finish with a comparison between the original raster image and the generated vector.
It is time to experiment in 3D 😀 and for this I will try Rhinoceros software which is used for 3D modeling and is NURBS based. I will experiment by modeling a part that I designed previously in 2D, the first thing I will do is to import the reference sketch where I show the plan and the section that my design part will have. Then I will draw with lines the sections and I will convert the lines to surfaces, then I will create the surface that will be the perforation and I will run the trim tool to cut the excess. Finally I will create using the mirror tool the final object, I will put a material so that it can be visualized clearly and I will proceed to make a 360° rotation animation. Here is the explanation of the steps with images.
- The design process can go from less to more. Starting with sketches, and then converting them into two-dimensional digital designs, or in vectors to be three-dimensional designs. It is important to choose the right programs and that they are compatible with each other because a lot is exported/imported.
- I tried free programs like Sketchbook and Inskcape and they worked very well to create the designs.
- 3D modeling is a challenge that takes many hours of trial and error, I was working with Rhinoceros and I was able to achieve the model I wanted which fills me with joy to have achieved.
-I learned that the design process can go from simple to complex, starting with sketches and then transforming them into 2D digital designs and 3D models. It is crucial to choose the right software to facilitate the workflow.
-I explored free programs which were effective in creating my designs. These tools proved to be accessible and practical, helping me to capture my ideas with ease.
- Achieving the objectives for this assignment was very rewarding and reaffirmed my ability to meet technical challenges.