Each week, I share some of the books and other resources I have found inspiring in my investigation into 3D design for 3D printing. The full list lives here on the pinboard “3D Design to 3D Print Inspirations” and each #3DThursday I share about those that I most highly recommend.
As I began hunting through my references for a good book to bridge from architecture to product and industrial design, I grabbed, as do many people passionate about both drawings and design, a classic book by Francis DK Ching (known by most of his fans as “Frank Ching”) on Design Drawing. This book is invaluable to those looking to draw buildings, objects, and environments as a means of understanding them better. While it is a staple for building techniques for those first training in architecture, it has a very wide audience of beloved fans even beyond that field. If you have any questions why, check out either of the two videos below — the “Build A Drawing” video (link) or the popular video of Frank giving a spontaneous drawing lesson. As much a master class in observation and understanding how to collect and communicate objects in 2D space as what you need to learn to render three dimensional drawings effectively.
From the publisher’s book description:
Get the completely revised edition to mastering the visual language of architecture.
In his distinctive graphic style, world-renowned author and architecture educator Francis D.K. Ching takes us on another exciting journey through the process of creation. In Design Drawing, Second Edition, he unmasks the basic cognitive processes that drive visual perception and expression, incorporating observation, memory, and rendering into a creative whole. This edition unites imaginative vision with fundamental architectural principles to cover the traditional basics of drawing, including line, shape, tone, and space. Guiding the reader step-by-step through the entire drawing process, Design Drawing also examines different types of drawing techniques such as multiview, paraline, and perspective drawings — and how they can be applied to achieve stunning results. In addition, this edition:
Goes beyond basic drawing books—Ching not only covers the principles, media, and techniques of drawing, but also places these within the context of what and why designers draw.
Features more than 1,500 hand-rendered drawings—beautiful illustrations that reinforce the concepts and lessons of each chapter.
…For professional architects, designers, fine artists, illustrators, teachers and students alike, this all-in-one package is both an effective tool and an outstanding value, demonstrating concepts and techniques in a visually stimulating format that transcends comparable works in the field….
