This website uses cookies. You can read more about what we do with them, read our privacy policy.
Lesson 6: Applying Construction to Everyday Objects
Computer Mouse Demo
Demo Video
This is something more than a few people have struggled with, and for good reason. Computer mice combine both hard surface qualities with smooth, organic curves, and can be very challenging to construct with the standard geometric means.
This recording has no accompanying audio commentary.
Step by step
So as usual, I construct a box. Here we're going to be using the encapsulating box approach, but with a bit of a twist. For now, make sure you subdivide the box and draw a line going down the center of the box length-wise, all the way around. Think of this as constructing a plane inside the center of the enclosing form.
So here's the twist - instead of constructing our object with geometric primitives, we're going to start out by drawing orthographic studies off to the side. That is, a flat drawing of the mouse's profile from the side, and from the bottom. Make sure to factor in proportion, as that is our main focus. Feel free to subdivide these orthographic studies as much as you want, but be sure to subdivide the actual 3D planes as well, as you will be trying to replicate the same shapes there.
Note: The use of orthographic plans demonstrated here is very loose and basic. For more information on how to leverage these more fully in your own object constructions, be sure to read through these notes and the demo presented there.
If you look at my side view orthographic, you'll notice that I've included both the overall silhouette as well as the shape that sits on the far sides of the mouse. Just as I transferred the other details, here I transfer this far side information to the planes on both sides of the box. Patience is key here, and make sure you draw the smooth curves from your shoulder, as your wrist will cause them to come out stiff and awkward.
Carefully looking at the overall form of your reference, start connecting the pieces. You'll notice here that initially I tried to do so within the encapsulating box, but I quickly realized that I had underestimated the amount of vertical space needed. It is okay to go beyond your bounds, but don't do so lightly. In most cases it's very important to respect the space enclosed by your box, and to work towards fitting everything snugly inside of it. Beyond a certain point though, mistakes made early on can't really be avoided.
Aside from the extra details I've started adding (probably too early), the major change to the form here is that I cut a substantial gap between the buttons, where the scroll wheel will eventually go. Note that I cut this equally on both sides of the center line, and that I pay close attention to how this cut curves down towards the base.
When constructing the scroll wheel, I draw only one ellipse. You certainly can choose to draw two, and depending on your comfort level with visualization and cylinders in general, it may be the better choice. Still, here I made that decision in order to reduce the amount of clutter. As with everything else, with all of the subdivision, clutter is a major factor here. Still, the solidity of your forms and construction is of the highest priority. One of the main reasons I made that decision was because this was intended as a demo, so clutter would have made it much more difficult to follow.
You could also choose to build this cylinder as a box initially, but again, that would further compound the clutter problem and may not be entirely necessary. Make sure you pay close attention to the proportions and sizing of the scroll wheel in your reference image before beginning this phase.
Framed Ink
I'd been drawing as a hobby for a solid 10 years at least before I finally had the concept of composition explained to me by a friend.
Unlike the spatial reasoning we delve into here, where it's all about understanding the relationships between things in three dimensions, composition is all about understanding what you're drawing as it exists in two dimensions. It's about the silhouettes that are used to represent objects, without concern for what those objects are. It's all just shapes, how those shapes balance against one another, and how their arrangement encourages the viewer's eye to follow a specific path. When it comes to illustration, composition is extremely important, and coming to understand it fundamentally changed how I approached my own work.
Marcos Mateu-Mestre's Framed Ink is among the best books out there on explaining composition, and how to think through the way in which you lay out your work.
Illustration is, at its core, storytelling, and understanding composition will arm you with the tools you'll need to tell stories that occur across a span of time, within the confines of a single frame.