_Next PageA lot goes into a project even before the design. Mainly ideas are composed first as sketches and doodles. Then those sketches become more refined, on this page I put down some of the various sketches that I made of the projects I have at this site.
I usually make all my sketches on plain paper, (the kind in the metal spring for a binder). Most of the drawings here are much smaller than the original sketch. Also you have to remember that all the sketches here are pre-design. This "sketching phase" is necessary in almost all aspects of building things, it helps you think out how your project is going to be made and all the steps or mistakes that may go with it.
The above sketch was one concept idea for my lamp. As you can see the base is very much different than it is now. One of the ideas was to have different seasons for each side of the lamp. Another thought was to have a forest scene on each side, going through the phases of seasonal changes. Another was a boy and his kite, at least on one side of the lamp as is shown in the picture above.
This collection of sketches were ideas for the base. At this time the shade was done already, and I was able to start designing the base. One of the ideas was to have the base round instead of square, but it was too difficult to think out. However the overall shape (tapered at the bottom) was the idea all along.
This was really the hardest part of the whole base, I needed to figure out how to make a place for the wiring, while making it look good, delicate to look at, yet be strong enough to support the lamp. This picture shows the basic idea of how I was going to achieve what I wanted.
When I was designing that fish lamp a ton of things went through my head. The shade I pretty knew much knew how I was going to build it. But the base was another thing all together. I needed to make sure the base was strong yet weak looking. It had to withstand being tilted and various angles without falling over (in case someone bumps into it).
This project was really a pain to draw, so a I basically just made quick sketches of what I wanted. I had to imagine the rest. When I made this drawing the lid was already done. Originally I was going to have sides that looked like the upper part of the sketch (with flat sides). Then I thought it would be a neat idea if I made the sides curved. The lower part of the sketch looked good on paper (BTW I sketched it at full size originally), but when I drew the pattern onto the mold, the pieces would have to be broken up too much. I decided to just keep the pillars and remove the plant life and fountains.
This was pretty much the final drawing of the tray. It basically shows me what the measurements are, placements of jewels, and the angled trim piece, (so the tray will fit within the curved portion of the lid.
These were other concepts for the sides of the tray. The top one is the one I used. Simple to look at and fairly simple to build. The middle one, I would have made if I had more space, but the main reason I didn't make it was because it would have been next to impossible to clean. The drawing on the bottom, I didn't want to use this one because I wanted the tray to look like a completely different element. It was supposed to look like the high tech part of "Atlantis".
As you can see a lot of work goes into designing. Basically you have to see the entire project done, in your head, and all the steps that goes with that. But also you have to be able to see what will go wrong if you design it the way you do. Will the door or lid open? Or will something be in the way.
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Started on 9-22-98