INLET GUIDE VANE ASSEMBLY – INSPIRATION

Be inspired by anything. I have a penchant for mechanical technology. I love airplanes, engines, etc. Whatever you might have a strong affinity for, go with it. You might really like Ming Dynasty vases. Or you might have a fetish for the design of cordless phones. Or when you are in the hardware store, you really find yourself drawn to the isle where the shovels are. Or you really like Japanese fashion.

Whatever your craving, follow it, as it can easily lead to an inspiration for your drawings. As I said, I like airplanes. And so I found myself really liking this type of drawing with an aeronautical context. It is a variable fan inlet guide vane assembly. I really don’t know exactly how I found this. I was probably just clicking around with the general theme of aeronautics in mind.  For example, I might have clicked on airframes, which might have led to turbine engines, etc.  But once I saw this type of drawing, I thought immediately that they were really interesting. The variable guide vanes help to control a turbine engine’s stability.

These guide vane drawings provide a relatively easy starting point from which to make a transparent drawing. Actually, making a three dimensional transparent drawing from a two dimensional projection is typically an easy starting point.

The first thing that you do is to draw the basic geometry on your paper. Then you project from that. There is no right or wrong way to do this.  You just start drawing.  The easiest way to create projections is from the corners, or intersections, of the basic geometry. Your projection can be a one point perspective, a two point, an isometric, or any hybrid that you are inspired to choose. The essential constructive method is that a) you select an unlikely starting point and then b) project a three dimensional transparent drawing. And voila, you have created an imaginary object, environment, enclosure, scene, or any other adjective that you feel compelled to apply.

And you have used this process to create a unique construct. Quite possibly not too many people before you have created this sort of thing. It is a unique form. It could apply to something that you are designing. Or it could not. But whether it does or doesn’t apply is not relevant. The point is that you have created a unique shape. And because of an exercise like this, your imagination has been opened. You have increased your design confidence a notch. And plus, you have a really cool drawing that most likely looks like nobody else’s.