When we started talking about doing the workstation the first thing I wanted to do what to draw it out on paper. Most drawings I do are on computer, but there is something about using pencil and paper that I enjoy. There is a freedom that you can’t get with a computer. The downside is that manual drawings take a long time, especially if you want to do a detailed one. Also, manual drafting just does not have the same accuracy as CAD systems no matter how careful you are.

I initially did the drawing below (click to see the entire image) in about 15-20 minutes. It would have gone much faster had I have had all of my drafting tools, most of which are at work. With this drawing I was mainly trying to see if the space would work for what we wanted, and if it would look ok being so close to the window. I also sketched a few lines for a future upper cabinet above as you can see. I did not add many details since I was mainly drawing it for spatial relationships. Those would come later on the computer.

The next drawing I did was using AutoCAD. I didn’t necessarily add more details, but I was able to more accurately lay out the cabinets and determined the sizes. You can see I didn’t even add simple details like drawer pulls. Locating light switches and outlets was also done in this drawing since I will have to move a couple boxes and I needed to decide where to put them. You can also see from the full AutoCAD drawing that I experimented with adding the future upper cabinet as well.

A full 3d rendering was the last work I did. This definitely wasn’t necessary, but I enjoy doing them and this was a good excuse. You can spend a lot of time with these 3d models trying accurately represent reality. Beside getting the correct shapes as with manual drafting or AutoCAD there are many more variables to consider such as color, texture, lighting etc… Lighting seems to me to be the most difficult to represent. In the image below I added a lamp which produces a very obvious yet somewhat realistic shadow on the wall and ceiling.

To more accurately explain what’s involved in producing a rendering like the one above I will post an article specifically on that subject since it can be so involved.