Basics of Drawings and Blueprints: Chapter 1
Drawings
In this module, we will learn about Drawings, Need of drawings, and Use of drawings. Skip to quiz!
Introduction
Drawing is an art or technique representing an object, a figure, plan, or sketch using lines or visuals. The person who draws the drawings is known as an artist. Drawing is one of the oldest forms of human expression, with the other forms of written or verbal communication.
Drawings visually communicate the information required. Like spoken language and body language, drawings express how the object looks. So drawings use visual language to communicate ideas and information.
Drawings are a form of visual language. The visual language uses lines, pictorial images, and symbols to convey specific meanings. It is usually concerned with making drawings on paper, where the visual 3D world or object is expressed as a 2D object on paper.
A quick, freehand drawing, usually not intended as a finished work, is called a sketch. Drawing is also called sketching or idea generation to develop and communicate new ideas. A sketch is the basic version of any drawing.
There are several categories of drawing, including figure drawing, cartooning, doodling, and freehand. Drawings have various methods, such as line drawing, stippling, shading, dots drawing, tracing (drawing on translucent paper), and many more.
In fields outside art, technical drawings or plans of buildings, machinery, circuitry, and other things are often called drawings. An artist who practices or works on any technical drawing is known as a drafter, draftsman, or draughtsman.
A drafter is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawings or plans for machinery, buildings, electronics, infrastructure, and sections. Nowadays, drafters use computer software and manual sketches to draw the designs, plans, and layouts. Let us discuss the need for drawings in a construction field.
Let us understand the need of drawing with an example of the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa, Dubai. By seeing the picture, can we describe:
Height of the building,
The electrical layout,
The HVAC layout, or
The size of doors and windows.
Technical drawings are required for the description of all these questions. The primary purpose of technical drawings is to provide a graphical representation of a building or home. Drawings help to coordinate with all the trades which are required for construction.
Drawings are helpful to provide instructions to the construction workers. With the help of a drawing, we can understand the work progress. Drawings are needed to estimate the cost of labor, bill of materials, create a construction schedule, and obtain building permits.
A set of drawings that complies with local building codes is required for approval from the local authority. If the design is not according to the codes, the building inspection department won't approve the permit. Drawings are a valuable tool for maintenance and repairs, as it has complete information related to the building or home.
Drawings serve as the prime means of communication for constructing buildings. Drawing is a universal language for engineers. Drawings put everyone involved in the construction process on the same level.
The construction process includes the contractor, construction workers, fabricators, the home or building owner, and building inspectors. Drawings consist of details of interior spaces, cabinets, furniture, AC layout, fixtures location, wiring details, and equipment details.
Technical drawings are scaled, detailed, and accurately represent how an object looks, its construction, and the materials used. There are many other uses, but drawings are generally the basis of any building or home.
Some of the essential uses of drawings are:
Detailed view of a building,
Easy to coordinate,
Help to understand the plan,
Helpful for tender,
Bill of materials,
Cost estimation, and
Easy to share.
Reduce the time and effort involved in explaining and understanding the site,
It helps to avoid repetitive works,
At the time of maintenance or repair, drawings are helpful to locate and identify items.
Let us understand the use with an example.
Consider an underground gas pipeline of the city. If a gas pipeline was laid beneath your house 40 years ago, and you are constructing a new house, there is no way for you to know about it. Even the municipal authorities might not know this, but they have the drawings and blueprints of the city and figure out about this gas pipeline.
Without drawing, we would have to dig the ground for construction damaged the pipe or even more dangerous might occur. So, the drawings are necessary and an important tool for any construction work.
Drawing is an art or technique representing an object, a figure, plan, or sketch, and the person who draws it is known as an artist. Without a drawing, we cannot describe the height, material used, and details of a building or home. Drawings have various uses, but it is a base for any construction work.
History of Drawings and Blueprints
In this module, we will learn about the history of drawings or blueprints. We will also discuss how these drawings are drawn. Skip to quiz!
History
Until the mid 19th century, architects relied on skilled drafters to copy their drawings for distribution. Recall that a drafter is a person who prepares drawings or plans. However, in the era of specialized architectural tools, draftsmen produced drawings more accurately and more productively.
Before blueprints evolved into their modern form, look, and purpose, drawings from medieval times appear to be their earliest formations. The Plan of St. Gall is one of the oldest known surviving architectural plans. Some historians consider the 9th-century drawings as the very beginning of the blueprints.
The word blueprint originated in the mid-nineteenth century when engineering drawings were printed on blue paper with white lines. These documents obtained their trademark blue in 1842 when John Herschel discovered the blueprint process.
Artists and scientists quickly adopted the blueprint process to reproduce notes efficiently and at a lower cost than previous methods available. By the end of the 20th century, the development of computer-aided drafting (CAD) technology evolved. Drawings are now made on the computer using different tools similar to hand-made drawings.
The computer-aided drafting (CAD) technology and large-format printing processes made the drawing process simpler than ever. It made the printing process make multiple accurate copies faster and easier.
A blueprint is a two-dimensional set of drawings that provides a detailed visual representation of how an architect wants a building to look. Blueprints typically specify a building's dimensions, construction materials, and the exact placement of all its components.
Modern blueprints are not typically blue, but the approved final copies are known as blueprints. Construction drawings, plans, building plans, house plans, and floor plans are all types of blueprints.
Blueprints were made using the cyanotype process. The cyanotype process include a series of process where the architectural drawings were made on semi-transparent paper for printing. The drawing is then weighted down on top of a sheet of paper or cloth coated with a photosensitive chemical mixture.
The chemical mixture is widely known as potassium ferricyanide and ferric ammonium citrate, and is still in use for decorative paintings. In the final stages, the document was exposed to light. The exposed parts of the drawing (the background) became blue, while the drawing lines were blocked from exposure and remained white.
While draftsmen still copied the original drawings until the modern period. In the 19th and 20th centuries, developed out various chemical and mechanical processes for reproducing architectural drawings.
Nowadays, in the modern world, drawings are made using computers with the help of different software programs. The software also includes assistance for the user, and with a single click, many functions are done. Drawings are printed on different types of paper using a plotter which draws lines on white paper.
Drawings were made by the draftsmen using different tools and techniques. A blueprint is a two-dimensional set of drawings that provides a detailed visual representation. In the olden days, drawings were printed using different techniques, but nowadays computerized photocopier is used widely.
Question #1: The person who draws the drawings is known as:
Carpenter
Teacher
Artist
Driver
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Answer: Artist
The person who draws the drawings is known as an artist.
Question #2: A language that uses lines, pictorial images, and symbols to convey specific meanings is a form of drawing and drafting.
Computer language
Visual language
Spoken language
Technical language
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Answer: Visual language
Drawing and drafting are forms of visual language that use lines, pictorial images, and symbols to convey specific meanings.
Question #3: A quick, freehand drawing, usually not intended as a finished work, is called:
Sketch
Image
Graphics
Photo film
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Answer: Sketch
A quick, freehand drawing, usually not intended as a finished work, is called a sketch.
Question #4: The person who makes detailed technical drawings or plans for machinery, buildings, electronics, infrastructure, and sections is known as
Painter
Artist
Teacher
Drafter
Scroll down for the answer...
Answer: Drafter
A drafter is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawings or plans for machinery, buildings, electronics, infrastructure, and sections.
Question #5: What helps to coordinate with all the trades that are required for construction?
Painting
Technical element
Technical drawings
Picture of building
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Answer: Technical drawings
Drawings help to coordinate with all the trades which are required for construction.
Question #6: Which is a valuable tool for maintenance and repairs, as it has complete information related to the building or home?
Buildings
Drawings
Computers
Roads
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Answer: Drawings
Drawings are a valuable tool for maintenance and repairs, as it has complete information related to the building or home.
Question #7: Some of the essential uses of drawings are: (Select all that apply)
Detailed view of a building or home
Easy to operate
A document to keep safe
At the time of maintenance or repair, drawings are helpful to locate and identify items
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Answer: Detailed view of a building or home
At the time of maintenance or repair, drawings are helpful to locate and identify items
Some of the essential uses of drawings are:
Detailed view of a building or home.
Easy to coordinate.
Help to understand better what is to be built.
Easy to share between other trades.
At the time of maintenance or repair, drawings are helpful to locate and identify items.
Question #8: Engineering drawings were printed on blue paper with white lines are known as:
Blueprint
Blackprint
Paperprint
Whiteprint
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Answer: Blueprint
Engineering drawings were printed on blue paper with white lines known as a blueprint.
Question #9: Which technology and large-format printing processes made the drawings process simpler than ever?
Blueprint
Computer-Aided Drafting (CAD)
Internet
Photo printing
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Answer: Computer-Aided Drafting (CAD)
The computer-aided drafting (CAD) technology and large-format printing processes made the drawings process simpler than ever.
Question #10: Blueprints were made using:
Light process
Printing process
Cyanotype process
Blueprint process
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Answer: Cyanotype process
Blueprints were made using the cyanotype process. Blueprints typically specify a building's dimensions, construction materials, and the exact placement of all its components.
Question #11: Nowadays, in the modern world, drawings are made using _____
Computer
Mobile phone
Digital board
Projector
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Answer: Computer
Nowadays, in the modern world, drawings are made using a computer with the help of different software programs.