Matt Jennings has been hard at work adding to his stock technical illustration component libraries [previously]. New libraries include Workshop – Lifting, Workshop – Automobile and Office Stationery. The illustrations look well constructed, have great line quality, and are super affordable at £7.50 to £10.00 ($12 to $15 USD). If you have a relevant project, these could save you a huge amount of time.
Matthew Jennings wrote in to let us know about his illustration libraries. For £10-15 (USD $16-25) you get a set of fasteners, power connectors, or computer/AV connectors, all in vector format ready to use in illustrations, instruction manuals or parts diagrams. The illustrations show a nice attention to detail and line weight.
Kevin Hulsey offers a similar fastener library (USD $50), with a smaller selection of parts but a greater variety of angles.
Scoop all these up and you’ll never have to fuss with drawing a connector again!
Update: Matthew has added two new libraries. The Fixings library (£15.00) is a collection of 23 common fixings in varying degrees of rotation, and comes complete with placement guides for precise positioning. The Measuring and Marking library (£7.50) contains a variety of measurement tools. Get them here.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5lk-XKShhM
Astute Graphics has done it again. In what seems like a quest to put all of Adobe Illustrator’s native tools to shame, they’ve released a new plugin suite called SubScribe. Included are tools for drawing circles based on 2 or 3 points, connecting and straightening lines, drawing arcs, rotating and orienting artwork and drawing tangents and perpendicular paths (as shown in the video above).
Time to reassign some hotkeys.
SubScribe is free to all Astute Graphics customers.
Dave Correia wanted a print of the Assembly Illustration from Hell to hang by his desk, but couldn’t find a source or a decent image. So he took it upon himself to redraw it and share with anyone that might one as well. Click above for a 17″ x 11″ print-ready copy.
Thanks, Dave. Happy Friday!
Greg Maxson just announced that his book The Complete Technical Illustrator [previously] is now available for purchase as a PDF eBook:
Originally published internationally by McGraw-Hill, this 500-page full-color text is a comprehensive look at vector-based technical illustration. Several software products are featured including Adobe Illustrator and Autodesk’s AutoCAD and 3ds Max, but the procedures and approaches are easily transferred to CorelDRAW, inkScape, Maya, and Blender, among other graphic tools. This text also features numerous illustration tips and case studies of illustration taken directly from business, industry, and commerce. Written in a conversational manner and full of explanations, The Complete Technical Illustrator is a welcome addition to your illustration resources.
Dr. Jon M. Duff has written about and taught technical illustration for forty years and is Professor Emeritus of Engineering at Arizona State University. Greg Maxson has been a professional technical illustrator for over two decades and operates his own studio in Urbana, Illinois.
The Complete Technical Illustrator by Greg Maxson & Jon Duff [$20]
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1TEqhiyZ3k
I’m excited to introduce to you a new plugin suite for Adobe Illustrator, VectorScribe by Astute Graphics.
VectorScribe fills the gaps in Illustrator’s toolbox. These tools give you intuitive yet precise control over your points, paths and shapes—without creating Effects or file incompatibilities across versions of Illustrator. VectorScribe lets you work with your vectors instead of around them.
I’ll go into detail about each tool in the suite later, but in the meantime have a look at some videos and check out the free 7 day trial.
Full disclosure: I was a volunteer beta tester for this software and received a complimentary copy.
VectorScribe by Astute Graphics – $119
Full disclosure: As a beta tester, I received a complimentary copy of this plugin.
This is a very quick and easy tutorial for creating an isometric grid in Adobe Illustrator, which you can then either work directly over in Illustrator or print out for freehand sketching.
If you want to skip the tutorial and get working in isometric right away, download these completed grids in PDF format, ready for printing or import into Illustrator or Corel:
Google Patent Search "Toy Robot"
Looking for some lineart to practice your rendering? Or maybe some plans and elevations to practice a perspective or axonometric drawing system? Check out Google Patent Search, a searchable database of patent applications including the supporting technical drawings.
Quality of the drawings varies, but some digging may save you some drawing if all you really want to do is paint.
[via Boing Boing]
Sometimes freelancing can be like solitary confinement. Big projects, tight deadlines, (and if you’re in the Pacific Northwest, terrible weather) can all keep you locked up in the home studio. To ward off cabin fever I like to listen to a small selection of podcasts, some illustration-related, some business-related and others general interest to stay current with the rest of the world.
Sadly, I haven’t found a technical illustration podcast, but here’s my playlist:
Escape From Illustration Island: The Podcast
In-depth interviews with illustrators, artists’ representatives and art directors. Companion to Escape From Illustration Island, a resource portal and illustration community.
Big Illustration Party Time
A conversational podcast about the ins and outs of freelance illustration and cartooning.
Hawk and Squirrel
A brand new podcast searching for its voice. As manic and entertaining as its hosts (and friends of mine), Chad Covino, Juan Solon and Nimit Malavia.
Freelance Radio
Official podcast of FreelanceSwitch.com covering work and life issues of freelancers.
The Monocle Weekly
A mix of discussions, interviews and field reports on world events and culture.
Stuff You Should Know
Official podcast of HowStuffWorks.com, explains how everyday things and not-so-everyday things work.
Have any podcasts to recommend, illustration-related or otherwise? Let us know in the comments!
Calculate Path Area and Perimeter in Illustrator
Ever needed to determine the area or perimeter of a path in Illustrator? You may (or may not) be surprised that Illustrator lacks this information. Luckily, Telegraphics offers free plug-in filters to add this functionality to versions 7 through CS4!
Path Length and Path Area filters free from Telegraphics