Functional Design

[Forsaken Pluto]

Hey, is it true that things look the way the do because of what they do?

Does function rule/dictate the shape/form something is going to take?

Can you figure out what the purpose of parts of an object are just by observation


How do you research how things work? Read about it, see it in action, Study multiple views?

Are there any general rules and limits on the mechanics that objects are capable of?
Are there any basic laws of how mechanisms work?

It seems that understanding the mechanisms of how things work is just as important as perspective for making something up out of your head. If you have the experience of understanding alot of different objects and their part's functioning and location. Like the humerus rotates inside the scapula, or the knee flexes and extends.

Is the base of it as simple as hey this thing turns, this thing pulls, this thing twists, this thing reaches toward the sun, etc. ?

Is it as simple as using verbs and adjectives to understand mechanisms?

p.s. I don't have a clear cut question, I don't really know what I'm asking. I'm brainstorming because I don't get how to understand more complicated objects I guess. And wondering about the importance of the function of things and how one can go about by breaking things down and understanding them, without being an engineer or industrial designer and getting into all that math boleshit.

[JosephCow]

Form follows function! Generally anyway. Can't really say much more than that unless you're talking about a specific "thing". There's lots of things in this world.

One thing I will say though, nobody is going to give a damn that you know how some bone rotates, or how an engine works, if your drawing isn't good. Knowledge of mechanics wont necessarily enable you to draw that thing. Brings to mind an aphorism by the artist John Ruskin. He's told about a great picture of St. Jerome and his lion; St. Jerome painted by a saint, the lion painted by a hunter, and the chair painted by an upholsterer. To which his reply is essentially "no thanks". (I'm paraphrasing).

You probably get the idea.

[Forsaken Pluto]

I guess I was thinking that if there were some overall principles of mechanics that helped being aware of details of objects and the different positions they took, you would have more to back up your memory of something rather than just remembering what something looked like from a particular view point.
And also helping you design believable concepts that could function atleast in a fictional world.
I've heard form follows function before, I think Vilppu says that. But I don't get how to apply that idea I guess. So if something is needs to stretch and reach the form is going to be more thin and balance off a fulcrum of sorts. IDK I'm a fucking retard lol.
I think probably it seems people just understand things like this unconsiously just by doing alot of drawing.

[JosephCow]

Well, what's an example? Maybe i'm on the wrong track. Because there's so many different contexts where you might need to know how something works, especially if you're talking about design. And a lot where you wouldn't. Do you need to know the mechanics of a clock to draw it? no.

But then cloth, maybe you'd need to know how it folds and drapes. There's different kinds of folds, points of tension, etc. Those are mechanics too, and they effect its outward appearance. But again, if we are just talking about basic drawing stuff, my point is that knowing stuff like that might help, but it wouldn't enable you to draw cloth or anything else.

[Pubic Enemy]

But again, if we are just talking about basic drawing stuff, my point is that knowing stuff like that might help, but it wouldn't enable you to draw cloth or anything else.

This is a good point. If having a functional understanding of something was enough to enable one to draw it, doctors would be able to draw good figures and mechanics would be able to draw great tractors with minimal effort. SOME functional understanding is needed, especially for creating new designs, but there is some basic drawing ability that's more important.

[Artloader]

Hey there Forsaken Pluto, welcome to Crimson Daggers by the way :).

You sound like a bit of a thinker!

If I may read between the lines here - it seems you are thinking about making art from imagination?

Thinking about how things work so that you can make it up out of your head?

Making art from imagination is something I have been giving a lot of thought into myself and for me - I agree with Joseph and Pubic about training in drawing skills but also I think understanding how a mechanism functions is very helpful too - for me it boosts my confidence when I am inventing and confidence is a very useful thing when going into making a piece of art.

[darktiste]

Well you certainly seem to have a strong interest toward analytic drawing.And possibly product design if your really interested by those question.Well to think in term of function you need to start to use the vocabulary that goes with.For example what the use of the object? What it range of motion? How do it shape change if you do this or that.Those are example of question that try to problem solve what the object about and how it behave in 3d space.Being able to have a rich vocabulary help you develop more precise solution to your design problem.But not every product who as a function is functional unless it form was tailored to make it functional.For example a vase that would have an empty inside but no opening would be a fail design.

[darktiste]

Well, what's an example? Maybe i'm on the wrong track. Because there's so many different contexts where you might need to know how something works, especially if you're talking about design. And a lot where you wouldn't. Do you need to know the mechanics of a clock to draw it? no.

But then cloth, maybe you'd need to know how it folds and drapes. There's different kinds of folds, points of tension, etc. Those are mechanics too, and they effect its outward appearance. But again, if we are just talking about basic drawing stuff, my point is that knowing stuff like that might help, but it wouldn't enable you to draw cloth or anything else.

I kinda have a different opinion on that.I say it always help to know how thing work but ultimately it the intention(Story) that determine what the viewer is required to see.I would also argue that even a static clock require you know atleast it the visible component you don't need to know everything about the thing that the viewer doesn't see but it might be necessary if at one point or an other the viewer as to understand the function.Let say you draw a comic or draw for animation in those case there more chance that you have to know more about an object because there can be an actual interaction between a imaginary person and the object.It no longer just a stand alone illustration.

[Forsaken Pluto]

Hey guys thanks for the response I forgot about this thread and saw it in my bookmarks today. The responses are awesome. Thats definitely what I was thinking of or meandering over, but couldn't quite articulate it.
I know that you can't be a doctor and draw a good skeleton and muscles or a golfer and draw a good golf club and course but yeah designing from the imagination is a useful skill in alot of different artistic fields, especially the ones I'm interested in.

Thank you Mariyan for the links.