Design: Tables- Shin kickers
#25
Just to clarify my position, I know nothing of the designer and, in criticising his work, I intend no personal implications so far as he is concerned.  I occasionally post pictures of my own work.  This is usually well received but I do wish those who don't like it (and there must be some) would tell me so and - most importantly - tell me why.  I am very keen on taking an analytical look at designs in any field in order to work out why I like or dislike them.  This process is valuable to me because I learn from it and I am also able to learn from the insights of others.  My wife is unafraid to criticise my design ideas and often, she is right; our first ideas are not always our best ideas.

Jim
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#26
Hi Jim

Critique is important. I want to improve what I do. 

While it is great - and also important - to receive appreciative comments from others, since this does inspire us to post our work, receiving nothing more than that would lower the value of a forum. The value of a forum lies in the frequency with which members risk their true thoughts. When this rarely occurs, the forum just becomes a social event. The ability of a member to critique a piece takes some insight, and their willingness to take the time to examine one's piece is a compliment. 

I've been staring at a mock up of a sofa table I am just beginning. It is drawn life size on an MDF sheet. It's in 2 dimension, and I try an visualise in it 3-D. What will the detail look like? Have I the proportions right? How will I construct it? And - later after all is done - could it have been done differently? What did I miss?

Regards from Perth

Derek
Articles on furniture building, shop made tools and tool reviews at www.inthewoodshop.com
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#27
Hi Derek,

My sentiments exactly.  My process is similar except that I use paper and pencil for very bad sketching, but I can at least get a feel for what I am after.  When I think I am getting somewhere near I switch to 3D CAD at which I am barely more competent so the process is slow, but it introduces a huge dose of reality because CAD takes no prisoners and and does not allow details, whether aesthetic or structural, to be fudged.  Photo-realistic rendering and the ability to "walk round" are hugely beneficial to the assessment of proportion and line.

I have been attending furniture making courses at West Dean College here in England with inspirational teacher Bernard Allen for getting on for twenty years and I am still amazed by the number of students who turn up with no clear idea of how the structures of their projects will work.  This laziness has, I believe, at its heart a lack of understanding of the value of self analysis and criticism of one's own ideas and of the opinions of one's teachers and peers,  I will often turn up with a clear scheme of things and then make significant changes in the light of the analysis of others.  Best of all, I always learn something new. It's a joy!

Jim
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#28
Hey Derek, I stock up on political roadside signs. They are corrugated plastic sheets, pretty strong. Then I do 3-d mockups with razor-knife and Scotch tape. Works better with cubistic projects. Another material I have tried is the thick rigid insulation board; used to be cheap, and if you don't mind pink.... You can always carve away parts and even buildup the plastic boards with tape. 

Re: CAD. After 20+ years of digital design in 2-d, I still have to work at receding perspective. A design using Golden Ratio always seems stretched out on the 2-d screen. But field sighting or a photograph does wonders for design perspective. I am drawn to that proportion every time. We used to be able to export AutoCAD designs into Sketchup which was easier to 3-d.

Time to look for another victim .... er, subject. Problem is, they almost need to clobber you in the snoot to justify girding up in armor to flail away. I am usually stuck with dragging up really bad stuff to stick. Maybe, something subtle?
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