Project Design - How do you do it?

[JohnBarton]

I am so lazy. I hate to design my cases sometimes. My head is swimming with ideas but I rarely draw them out. I have created templates and line drawings on Corel Draw for all my cases and just about every part for all the cases and still I hate to design. It's like I have all the templates and tools created over the last fifteen years but sometimes I don't want to spend the time to arrange them together to build a sketch (can I even call it a sketch when I do it on the computer with shapes?).

Here is my fundamental problem. Disorganization. A customer will contact me and then we will exchange emails, have some chats through IM, maybe a phone call or two and then when it comes time for me to draw out his/her case I have to pore over all of our emails and chats and find my handwritten notes so as to make sure I don't miss any details. And often I do miss a detail - even when it's right there staring at me.

I think I am going to just go all the way back to the beginning of my career in case making.

Back then 18 years ago I hand drew a form with little sketches of each type of pocket we offered and a blank case form in the center of the page. Down one side I had all the specs listed where I could write those in. At the top was the customer's information.

Would you believe that I have made a few custom case in the past several months and NOT known the customer's full name or their address? And they paid me in advance using someone else's account, wife/father etc....

Sometimes I just find it to be too cumbersome to design using the computer as stupid as that sounds because I have all the tools one could want. For most cases it pretty much drag and drop at this point but I think I'd rather get back to drawing by hand. I guess another way to put it is that I think I feel more connected when I draw it by hand.

Anyone else feeling this way about the things you design?

[thorr]

me and a friend of mine do artwork. drawn, comicbook style art. he loves the computer and only wants to use programs and a waicom tablet. i refuse to do any art thats not on real paper with a real pencil. its all about what your comfortable with.

[tattoosbyjay]

I am so lazy. I hate to design my cases sometimes. My head is swimming with ideas but I rarely draw them out. I have created templates and line drawings on Corel Draw for all my cases and just about every part for all the cases and still I hate to design. It's like I have all the templates and tools created over the last fifteen years but sometimes I don't want to spend the time to arrange them together to build a sketch (can I even call it a sketch when I do it on the computer with shapes?).

Here is my fundamental problem. Disorganization. A customer will contact me and then we will exchange emails, have some chats through IM, maybe a phone call or two and then when it comes time for me to draw out his/her case I have to pore over all of our emails and chats and find my handwritten notes so as to make sure I don't miss any details. And often I do miss a detail - even when it's right there staring at me.

I think I am going to just go all the way back to the beginning of my career in case making.

Back then 18 years ago I hand drew a form with little sketches of each type of pocket we offered and a blank case form in the center of the page. Down one side I had all the specs listed where I could write those in. At the top was the customer's information.

Would you believe that I have made a few custom case in the past several months and NOT known the customer's full name or their address? And they paid me in advance using someone else's account, wife/father etc....

Sometimes I just find it to be too cumbersome to design using the computer as stupid as that sounds because I have all the tools one could want. For most cases it pretty much drag and drop at this point but I think I'd rather get back to drawing by hand. I guess another way to put it is that I think I feel more connected when I draw it by hand.

Anyone else feeling this way about the things you design?

its tough to keep stuff straight i can tell you that being a tattoo artist, all i dois custom work no flash si i have to draw every day im hoping this will help me working on leather

[Tina]

I Looove my pen and paper and would not change it for the world.

To me this way I have full control and not the computer program (or the limit of the same?) "Back to basic" sound like a very good idea and good luck to you John:-)

[JohnBarton]

its tough to keep stuff straight i can tell you that being a tattoo artist, all i dois custom work no flash si i have to draw every day im hoping this will help me working on leather

I can tell you that being able to draw your own images will be a HUGE help to you as a leather worker. I can't draw. At least not in any way that anyone would ever describe as artistic. I can barely bring my ideas to paper in any way that someone else besides me can follow what I am trying to convey.

[swinewerx]

When I started leather ork I could not draw or tool , mold into the shape it needs to be, anything to do with leather working at all. I had to teach myslf, I have extreme difficlty paying attention and m impatience was way too crazy, I do have an extreme case of ADHD. What I did and was doing was using one of my camerasto shoot the shot and print it out on my now third printer. That is a good method but my home computer is very shot. I guess I better get a new one, fate is knocking at my leather rooms door.I got real good at this fun though. I accidentally ran into a leather working place with all kinds of employees, but none of them did the toolngfor a living thing. Most of her shops customers are usually newer to nbrand new harleys. I was still a begginer then, after about two years of doing what I would call grill mark people, what that means is if they are at a party the only time they will eat anything from said BBQ is only when th grill marks are perfect and symetrical. Got really into it with her shop, along with all the jap crap chops the litle lady and I have. I am truly a jap crap chop enthusiest! I beleive I have Been a subcontractor therE for at least six years. The funniest thing happens whenever a customer of hers meets me they almost always seem to almost run for thier lives. I get a lot of work from her shop, way cool to have on the side. My major or the most I do for her are the Harley davidson bar and shield, evrytime I do these I have been instructed to absolutey without a doubt put the litle R right next to the s in cycles part of the bar and shield. When I first started I had to redo so many I thought she was going to tell me to hit the trail and NEVER!!!!!!! Come back. All work I did for rh first two years were inspected to get the official grill marks certification . When I do any now there is no doubt that I am doing great there is no inspectios done at all, way cool. I just for one I have nevr done before, a rugged cross with a crown of thorns as a halo, so it had t be moved to make it a halo. They gave qnd give me a drawing of some sort and I usually use my home computer but not for at least two months. I actually had to make this cross about 30% bigger than what was given to me. It takes a long time for me to draw anything, I will always go over it quite a few times always able to find even the tinyiest flaw in my drawing skills. I really don't mind having to draw, I heard it is good to do for your health. I don't think I will ever get a fancy program to help, I too really like to actually feel a part of the project. I really love leather work , it is virtually unstoppable of what a person with a very vivid and sometimes insane imagination can come up with. Once, one of my frames of one of my chops broke in to places , I did not modify this frame in the beggining. I already taught myself how to weld and fixed it. After fixing the frame, I went ahead qnd covered th dual down tubes with leather and did what I call" pin cutting" and made them the same color as the frame, orange with some of the gold frost stuff that really hives the leather a look so not lie real leather. I have been accused of using a giant stamper for this one seat that took me two weeks to tool alone, lots of tooling no smooth spaces at all. Also, accused of using fancy vynil that was already embossed into the seat cover. Many others as well no need to type about it, these issues are not bothersome to me. My newest goal is to have at least twenty chops minimum! The most I would love to have is thirty. One thing I also do is, I got just a few old assed leather paper backs with all kinds of belt patterns which I usually use for a border for one of my one leather piece seats with no folds or creases and very beautifully molded also no stitches or seams , molded! to the extreme. The very difficult thing about teachng yourself a cool hobby is, when you go to your Tandy shop or whatever else thee is out there, you don't know the type of toling you are doing, and you don' t know the name of that tool or item you so dspeately need . Beveling was one or them, I learned that word the hard way, in public if anyone didn't know they knew thn I was not a knowledgeable person. This also applies with welding, to this day I have to tell just welding supply place that I don't understand or speak fluent welding. But leather working I have not been stumped for a very long time. Which shows that I really love leather working and anything that has to do with leather Working/ tooling. There is one thing that kinda upsets me badly, if a person has totally unique leather work let's say a seat and a saddle bag that is absolutey georgeous, if they have a chick blocking the good shots or what could have been a up close And personal photo of talent , everyone has it some where some how! I wanna see it not to copy oh, heck no! I don't ever look at porn! I would rather see choppers and one off custom stuff made by the owner on that said chopper, wher it gets the best is when it has the first two check marks checked off go being there. There is one last final victory/ ecstaticed/overwhelming joyous Wow! That would be when it is a jap crap chop also, I know it seems crazy, I know I need help, but there are no facilities or drs or psycho therapists that can help. It is me who has gone way past the point of no return, hey have a good one and let's keep tooling!!!

[iwannabeacowboy]

After reading the above, I'm still trying to figure out what your saying.

[dustin29]

I will second that.

[Kevin]

I think he's saying he likes The Horse (Back Street Choppers), But the bodacious girls get in the way of actually seeing the bikes.

Kevin

[tattoosbyjay]

I can tell you that being able to draw your own images will be a HUGE help to you as a leather worker. I can't draw. At least not in any way that anyone would ever describe as artistic. I can barely bring my ideas to paper in any way that someone else besides me can follow what I am trying to convey.

i hope your right i have a million ideas now all ineed is the time to putthem to leather, well well if you ever need help finding refferance material for something feel free to ask