Visual communication | Building blocks for product sketches In the world of designing and developing, a clear and quick communication of ideas is useful and perhaps even imperative. Being able to visualise and bring to life the products you have created in your mind will help you convey your ideas more convincingly. This book covers the basics of drawing products in perspective. Instead of advanced concept sketches of cars and ships, expect the important aspects of various types of perspective, as well as instructions on how to properly draw and colour simple blocks and cylinders in order to create the illusion of three-dimensional reality, and combining different basic volumes into one simple product. All materials used in the book are common in the world of product design and engineering. Although the technical branch increasingly uses software to draw and document products, setting up a 3D model on a computer can take a relatively long amount of time. Therefore, being able to quickly and clearly sketch that what you have in mind is an immensely valuable skill. The theory in this book is accompanied by useful examples in the form of pictures and drawings, so that it can function as a simple and accessible reference book once you start drawing and designing products yourself. Table of contents Introduction & Reading guide 7 1 | Materials & Techniques 9 1.1 | Drawing materials 10 1.2 | Line drawing 12 1.3 | Marker techniques 18 1.4 | Pastel techniques 20 1.5 | Colours 22 1.6 | Lay-out 24 2 | Perspective 29 2.1 | Horizon line 30 2.2 | Central perspective 34 2.3 | Two-point perspective 36 2.4 | Foreshortening 38 2.5 | Three-point perspective 42 2.6 | Isometry 46 3 | Block shapes 49 3.1 | Setting up a drawing in perspective 50 3.2 | Light and shadow 56 3.3 | Colouring blocks 68 4 | Cylinders 73 4.1 | Circles and ellipses 74 4.2 | Ellipses and perspective 78 4.3 | Vertical cylinders 80 4.4 | Colour and shadow on vertical cylinders 82 4.5 | Cylinders in perspective 86 4.6 | Colour and shadow on horizontal cylinders 92 5 | Combining shapes 97 5.1 | Two additional basic shapes 98 5.2 | The basic volumes 110 5.3 | Drawing simple products 112 5.4 | Drawing more complex products 116 5.5 | Rounded shapes 118 5.6 | Cast shadows of a combined volume 124 Further sketching 130 Sketch together 136 Acknowledgments 138 Literature 138