W2 - Digital Design

My maker apps

I'm getting a new PC! As such, I'll be using this week's task as an excuse to choose what (maker) apps I'll be installing on the mini PC.

Personal goals for this week:

  • test Notion
  • ✔ ! test Freecad
  • test Onshape -> Ondsel ES commertial upgrade | Onshape Ribbon free
  • ! test Blender (extra: CAD Sketcher Add On)
  • test Solidworks
  • ✔ !get better at Inscape
  • ✔ ! check out OBS Studio
  • play around with simulations in Blender physics engine

Conclusion (relevant download links)

These are the installer for the apps I'll work with on my new computer and the rest of FAB Academy (at least for the start, for Windows).

2D Design

3D Design

Game Engines

Simulation

  • ?

Audio, Video

Additional programs (not covered in guide)

Websites to benchmark

2D Design software

Raster

GIMP

free software for raster editing. Recently started using it, still collecting experiences and impressions

Pros and Cons

    + free

    + huge support community

    - I seem to not understand it properly

Adobe Photoshop

I learned it in school a few years back. I haven't used it since.

Pros and Cons

    + super powerful tool

    + knowledge widespread (school, online etc.)

    - expensive license

Conclusion: no redownload

Krita

Free software for drawing digital art. {insert squirtle pic}

Pros and Cons

    + free

    + runs even on tablet

    + amazing features

    - slow programm/ resource intensive (on tablet) -> crashes at times, only low resolution possible

    - no possibility to input an image into a drawn shape (?)

    - transform tool is quite annoying to use (on tablet)

Conclusion: will test on new PC

Paint

Free preinstalled software for basic photo editing and drawing.

Pros and Cons

    + free, easy accesibility

    + reliable

    - a bit weird GUI

Conclusion: preinstalled -> keep

2D Design Software

Vector

Microsoft Power Point

Program mainly for creating presentation material. Basic photo editing, basic animation creation, basic diagrams and charts, basic file resizing, super basic drawing, super basic video editing.

Pros and Cons

    + easy access

    + offers a bit of everything

    + a ton of resources (online, school, professionals)

    + beginner friendly

    + designs available for commercial purposes

    + offers free online version

    - only basic fnctions for anything that's not a presentation

Conclusion: will be preinstalled -> keep

Canva

Software specialised in marketing design tools. Basic photo editing, basic animation creation, basic diagrams and charts, basic file resizing, super basic drawing, basic video editing.

Pros and Cons

    + free plan has everything you might need

    + offers a bit of everything

    + designs available for commercial use

    + works smoothly even on tablet

    + allows for a more creative workflow

    - free subscription has heavy restrictions

Conclusion: install

SketchPad

Free Software for taking notes. Basic drawing. [Insert pic cbone card]

Pros and Cons

    + free

    + runs smoothly on tablet

    - no layer functionality

Conclusion: not necessary on PC

Inskape

Free software for vector editing.

Pros and Cons

    + free

    + works smoothly

    - overwhelming for beginners

Conclusion: will install

Cuttle

Software for parametric 2 dimetional design. [insert pic cuttle]

Pros and Cons

    + parametric design

    + intuitive layout

    - heavy restrictions on free plan

    - sometimes crashes my laptop

    - files only individually exportable and limited amount of free downloads

Conclusion: definetely install!

Adobe Illustrator

I learned it in school a few years back. I haven't used it since.

Pros and Cons

    + super powerful tool

    + knowledge widespread (school, online etc.)

    - expensive license

Conclusion: no redownload. Maybe Adobe Express is worth looking into

RDWorks Thunderlaser

Free software to control a lasercutter.

Pros and Cons

    + free

    + super easy control of the lasercutter at my disposal (UNIKAT)

    + limited drawing and correction methods

    + good tranform functions

    - limited functions

    - image quality suffers considerably when converted from .png/.jpeg into .svg/.dxf files

    - cannot select and scroll at the same time

    - some versions can not open files from the same program on a different computer

Conclusion: redownload

3D Design

Autodesk products

Inventor, TinerCAD, and Fusion 360 - software specialized in 3 dimensional modeling. Options to design electrical circuits and cloud sharing.

Pros and Cons

    + free student program

    + professional software with a lot of features

    + commercial use of designs possible

    + great export options

    - super expensive license

    - license and software need to be renewed/ redownloaded every year

    - does not work properly with an unstable internet connection

    - super resource intensive -> crashes computer

    - requires a lot of memeory

    - does not offer many possiblilities for a more artistic approach

Conclusion: not redownload

Windows 3D Builder

Preinstalled app to make basic objects or alter .stl files. [Insert pic dragonhead]. It is not mantained anymore.

Pros and Cons

    + alter .stl files

    - complex shapes are difficult to make

    - no parametric design

Conclution: not essential but good if preinstalled

ZOO Modelling App

Free 3 dimesional modelling app that is still under developement. Instead of running locally, it creates a model on a server and streams it to the personal computer. It uses it's own, specifically made programming lenguage named "KCL".

Pros and Cons

    + I really enjoy the coding aspect

    - steep learning curve

Conclusion: reinstall

FreeCAD

Free parametric 3D Modeling App.

Pros and Cons

    + free

    + parametric modelling thorugh spreadsheets

    + huge community and many tutorials

    + beginner friendly

    + no issues with unstable internet

    - when I was doing the assembly my laptop almost crashed and froze quite often

    - difficulty with constraints between bodies (maybe I just don't know how to do it yet)

Conclusion: definetely reinstall

Game Engines

Unity engine

Software to develop games and other applications. Works well in combination with Eclipse and Github

Pros and Cons

    + limited commercial usage of design possible, later there is a fee

    + free student license

    - steep learning curve

    - still a lot of bugs

    - very resource intensive -> computer crashes

    - software and license need to renewed every year

Conclusion: only redownload when making a video game again

Audio, Video

Shotcut

Free software for video editing.

Pros and Cons

    + free

    + easy to understand

    - limited export options

Conclusion: redownload if needed

Audacity

Free software for audio editing. [Insert pic Audacity]

Pros and Cons

    + free

    + professional features

    + frequent updates

    - interface might be tricky to use

    - sometimes issues with recording options

Conclusion: redownload if need

>

Xbox Game Bar

Free software to stream and record screens. Shows computer's current performance.

Pros and Cons

    + free

    + activation through keyboard shortcut (windows+g)

    + can screen record

    - can be slow to open

    - only records full screen

Conclusion: if preinstalled no other app for screen recording needed. If not, there are better options available.

Herramienta de recortes/ Snipping Tool

Software to make a screenshot.

Pros and Cons

    + super simple and basic

    + activation through keyboard shortcut (Impr pant)

    + option to make a screenshot of parts of the screen

    + saves screenshots automatically automatically

    - sometimes takes time to load

Conclusion: let's hope it's preinstalled!

HandBrake

Software to compress videos.

Pros and Cons

    + free

    + super fast and simple

    + runs smoothly

    - a bit overwhelming for beginners

Conclusion: definetely redownload