Week 2: Adobe Illustrator Cubic Drafts

This week we discussed and drafted more 3D cubic shapes. However, unlike last week, we utilized Adobe Illustrator. Compared to the paper drafting, this was much more convenient and easier to do. Next week, we will be working on cutting these designs out using a laser cutter. These were my results of Illustrator drafting.

Composition: The materials I used to design these 3D shapes were Adobe Illustrator and a Mac Desktop computer. From these materials, I was able to draft out these designs with relative ease compared to the multiple attempts on graph paper. Since they had to be different in design, one with insert tabs and the other two with different tab placement, the challenge was envisioning how insert tabs worked and how to portray that.

Craft: The cube was created by first drafting the three cube designs in Adobe illustrator by making the outline of the shapes, including the tabs, with the pen tool. With the grid of Illustrator up, I was able to accurately size the cubes. Following from that, I then used the line segment tool to make the dashed lines of the folds by making a line and clicking the stroke icon and selecting dash. This was all created on a single layer.

Concept: The concept of these pieces was the refining of our drafting skills and with Adobe Illustrator. Being able to fully grasp the inner workings of the industry standard was a well received and important aspect of this week and something we will continue to work on, I'm sure.