Practice exercises

Exercise: three views of a mug

1. Study the object

   Put the mug on the table with the handle to the side and turn it around. Note its parts: the body, the base, the handle, the thicker rim. Decide from which side the shape reads best.

2. Choose the front view

   This is usually the view from the front with the handle to one side: it shows the height, the width and the shape of the handle at once. Draw it with light lines, without pressing on the pencil.

3. Add the top view

   Place it directly below the front view so that the widths line up. From above you can see the circle of the rim, the wall thickness and how far the handle sticks out.

4. Add the left view

   Place it to the right of the front view at the same height. Think about which lines will be hidden here and show them as dashed lines.

5. Draw the axes and outline

   Mark the mug's axis with a thin chain line on every view where it appears. Then go over the visible outline with a continuous thick line.

6. Add the dimensions

   Measure the height, diameter, wall thickness and handle projection. Add the dimensions in millimetres, spreading them across the views so that none is repeated.

Exercise: a dimensioned sketch of a shelf

1. Define the task

   Write two or three lines on what will stand on the shelf, where it will hang and roughly how big it should be. That is your small design brief.

2. Draw the general view

   Freehand, without a ruler, sketch the shelf from the front and the side. Show the sides, the shelf boards and where it fixes to the wall.

3. Show material and joints

   Mark the board thickness and how the parts join each other. If the joint method is not clear yet, leave a question mark; that is more honest than guessing.

4. Add the dimensions

   Give the overall height, width and depth, then the dimensions of individual parts. Check that the parts add up to the overall size.

5. Test it with a mock-up

   Cut the parts out of cardboard at a scale of 1:5 and tape them together. The mock-up will quickly show where the sketch contradicts itself.

Check yourself: common mistakes in first drawings

• The views are placed at random and not aligned: the height on the front view does not match the left view
• All lines are the same thickness, so outlines, axes and hidden edges merge into one picture
• The same dimension is repeated on two views, while an important one is missing altogether
• "mm" is written next to the numbers, although under the Russian ESKD rules linear dimensions are given in millimetres without a unit
• The drawing only makes sense to its author: nobody could make the part from it without asking a couple of questions

See also

• Lessons

  Six core lessons: lines and lettering, views, sections, dimensions, sheet sizes and scales, and the assembly drawing.

• Methods

  How a sketch differs from a drawing and a 3D model, how to read a view of a part, what ESKD is, and which myths get in the way of learning.

• Terms

  Short definitions: views and representations, dimensions and accuracy, design documentation.