Think, Draw, Make

Updated on Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 5:00PM by MAD21

By Alan

You want to build something? The steps used to be: Think, sketch, draw, draft, design, prototype, engineer, fabricate, cut, form, machine, assemble, build, mass produce.

Some of those steps required specialized training, or years of experience to do. In the last few decades, the world changed because you could get fabrication from Computer Numerical Controlled machine tools to grind away material from a giant block of metal, plastic or wood.

But, in the last few years, this has dramatically changed. Imagine being able to think of a shape or object, draw it in the computer, and have a real model of it sitting in your hand an hour later. The part isn't carved away from a big block, instead it is created layer by layer from scratch, in plastic, metal,

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Animation And Technology

By Alan

With Pixar's release of the movie “Up!” they continue the huge string of successful films they've crafted since 1995. These movies, produced by a group of individuals who felt that the future of animation was with computer animation, not by hand-drawn still images. Critics of the computer animation methodologies lack warmth or character. In fact, staying with the old school method of drawing was probably a great downfall of the Disney Studio's animation department. The acquisition of Pixar by Disney was a recognition that using computers as tools for animation is necessary to complete films on time and on budget with what Hollywood wants. Hollywood isn't really about making entertainment. Hollywood is about making money. Pixar had one shot with Toy Story, and if they hadn't pulled it off, they (and the computer animation methods) might have been set back by years.

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