Higher Graphic communication

A short summary of the content, assessment and calendar for the course.

Covering the topics of paperless offices, remote working, communications technology, sustainability, etc.

All relevent British technical drawing standards.

This brief unit covers the guidelines and practice around location plans, site plans, floorplans, elevations and sectional views. British Standard construction symbols also covered.

A brief exploration of the types of graphics found in the Higher course. Covers preliminary, production and promotional graphics.

A brief history of CAD, and its advantages and limitations to a company. CAD libraries and stock models are also covered. Bottom-up and top-down modelling is also explain, as is cloud computing.

AA glossary of modelling, sketching and assembly tools and edits. Work in progress.

Short tutorials covering some occasional Autodesk Inventor tasks

The loft tool allows an object to be created from differently-shaped cross-sections, but there are oddities and nuances. This project introduces the loft tool and some advanced techniques for creating production drawings. It makes use of an abridged version of the 2018 assignment.

The sweep tool can create convoluted pipes and elongated, twisted parts. Threads - on both holes and studs - are vital for real life assembly. Both are covered in this project. We make use of an abridged version of the 2018 assignment.

This project continues with the abridged 2018 assignment. The final part - the lampshade (modified) - is made and then two rendering exercises are attempted. You will learn how to apply materials, textures and decals to parts, and how to render a product within a virtual environment.

This project introduces helixes and extends work done on tangency.

We build on what was learned at National 5. Explanations, examples and exercises relating to: balance, emphasis, mass/weight, proportion, rhythm, proximity, shape, texture and whitespace. 

Build upon the colour theory from National 5 with more depth and description, plus actual proof that warm colours advance while cool ones recede. This unit also introduces Value and exam technique for colour-based questions.

Fonts, serifs, drop shadows, reverses and all that.

A quick skills activity to reintroduce DTP software

Gutters, columns, margins, prepress proofs, and all the jargon associated with printing magazines

A description of basic addition- and subtraction-based tangency skills, plus a number of examples based around swimming pools.

At Higher level you are expected to be able to draw accurate and beautiful pictorial sketches, specifically, obliques, isometrics, planometric and one- and two-point perspectives. This unit contains several practice examples using chairs and stools. Also included is the sketching part of the 2022 assignment. 

A series of activities to draw orthographic sketches from given pictorial views. Your sketches must be in excellent proportion and be an accurate depiction of the object.

Clicking the image will take you to a collection of 3D blocks. These blocks can be inspected, manipulated and rotated. Use them to practise orthographic and pictorial sketching. Link here