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Week 3 - Computer-aided designing

I have tried out Adobe Photoshop, Tinkercad and Rhino earlier. This week I explored GIMP, Inkscape, Autocad and Fusion 360.
I found GIMP more difficult to use than Adobe Photoshop - I guess it's just a matter of practice before getting used to it or may be because in Photoshop I have only edited videos. I have never tried much photo editing.
Inkscape was great.
I really enjoyed trying Autocad, especially because our instructor passionately demonstrated its different unique and handy features. Autocad is great for 2D operations but looks limited for 3D.
Fusion 360 is very easy to learn and use for 3D operations. I could only try the basic operations. I would love to learn more - especially assembling parts and simulating.

Here are the design files:
Inkscape file 1
Inkscape file 2
GIMP file 1
GIMP file 2


1. 2D designing: Inkscape and GIMP
2. 3D designing: Autocad
3. 3D designing: Fusion 360


After doodling around a little with Inkscape, I decided to use it to make a graphic that would demonstrate the need for my final project idea. Here it is:


Vector graphics designing using Inkscape, followed by raster graphics designing using GIMP

Free HTML5 Bootstrap template
I downloaded images of the 'Headpod' and 'Glassouse' from their respective product websites. I imported these into Inkscape.
Free HTML5 Bootstrap template
I used the powerful 'Trace to bitmap' tool to vectorize both the images. For the glassouse image, I used : multiple scan(5 colours) and remove background. For the headpod image, I used : Multiple scan, with 30 colours.
Free HTML5 Bootstrap template
I could move the glassouse on top of the headpod image. However, the bitepad was not aligned with the boy's mouth.
Free HTML5 Bootstrap template
I used the 'Edit path nodes' to extend the bitepad at the appropriate angle to the boy's mouth.
Free HTML5 Bootstrap template
However, the multiple scans made it difficult to move all the scan layers to the new position. So, I tried 'Single scan, colour quantization (4 colours), remove background' this time to vectorize the glassouse image.
Free HTML5 Bootstrap template
It was easier to move the bitepad to the mouth now.
Free HTML5 Bootstrap template
I exported the file as JPEG image and opened it in GIMP. I added colours to the Glassouse.
Free HTML5 Bootstrap template
I also tried to 'Indianize' the boy :D
Free HTML5 Bootstrap template
The result is not that bad. I'm proud
Free HTML5 Bootstrap template
For the last photo, I added the photo of a 'circuit' taken from the internet and aligned it with the headpod. I added a rectangular layer on top of it, filled it with colour and increased transparency.">

NEXT : 3D modeling using Autocad