Art, Business, and CAD are the Pillars for the New York Jewelry Design Institute’s Curriculum in 2018.
Computer-aided technology has taken the jewelry industry by storm. Though there are several steps to learn when using CAD, it is far from being a complex software program. For any jewelry designer, mastering techniques found while using CAD, will elevate them far beyond other designers. The key to using CAD, is remembering that practice makes perfect. Remember to take things slow and continuously practicing your skills. Soon you feel like a pro!
UNDERSTANDING AUTOCAD INTERFACE
Becoming familiar with the AutoCAD interface is the first important step to enhancing your CAD skills. With continuous updates for users, AutoCAD interface is user friendly and easy to understand. When getting started, it is important to begin understanding how to access different drawings and modifying tools.
VIEWING A DRAWING
The next step to understanding CAD is learning to navigate through available drawings. Learning to zoom in, zoom out, pan, and zoom extend are important steps to familiarizing the navigation.
UNDERSTANDING DRAWING TOOLS
After you have learned the basics, it is time to move forward with different techniques to brining your drawings to life. Learn the capabilities of each individual drawing tool. Do not be afraid to play around with each instrument to learn it’s functions. AutoCAD has made sure to make each drawing tool very similar and easy to use. The labels for each tool, truly explains what the tool can be used for. A square tool will draw a square, the line tool with draw a life, and so on. What is important, is that you have a strong grasp on the function of each tool before moving forward.
PRECISION AND SELECTION
A great advantage to AutoCAD is the level of precision their software brings. The precise input option lets designers to enter values for specific coordinates on their drawings. The selection tool is also important, and allows users to select specific objects from the drawing to work on. Once someone become for accustomed to the AutoCAD tool, there will be several objects in one drawing, yet the software makes it manageable for individuals.
MANAGING A DRAWING
Understanding how to manage one’s drawing or objects inside the drawing is very important to the look of your work. Drawing management works with the layers and layouts of the complete drawing. This can sometimes be a difficult technique to master, but once understood, will help any designer elevate their art.
DESIGN AND COLLABORATION
Many times, jewelry designers will find themselves working on complex projects and working with others to complete. With AutoCAD, designers can work simultaneously with others and dividing the design into separate files. This allows individuals within the team to work on the project when they have the time to do so. It also allows tracked changes for the drawing so all team members can see the work completed since they left.
Making sure to keep practicing and navigating through AutoCAD is of the upmost importance. Enhancing your CAD skills can only make one a better jewelry designer. At NYJDI, we are proud to offer private sessions on Understanding Jewelry CAD. If you would like more information on this course, check out its class page.
