CAD is a one semester course open to juniors and seniors. It is a computer art class where students use the professional level program Autodesk Maya to learn 3D modeling, rendering, and visualization. It has a wide variety of applications, from architecture, engineering, and interior design, to animation, video game design, and visual effects. Students in the class also practice 3D printing, hand rendering, and use various websites to help support their design processes. Their work is then compiled into a portfolio to help them as they prepare for college admissions.
Interior Design and Constructing Floor Plans
Students built on their knowledge of interior design, layout, and building floor plans with house designs. They used the website floorplanner.com to lay out and render their designs.
3D Printing
Students learned about the many applications for 3D printing in contemporary society - from the biomedical field, to architecture, to entertainment, and many others! They developed their own designs, through research, sketches, and finally 3D modeled their designs for printing in the online application TinkerCAD. Each design can be exported for 3D printing.
Future Cities
Students learned about some fundamental issues in contemporary urban planning. Cities are very complex, and require the smooth intersection of many different functioning systems! Students were challenged to then design the city of the future.
Building Illustration
Students learned about the history of modern architecture and the contributions of famous architects. They developed designs for buildings, and used their choice of media to render it in an illustration.
Built Model
Students in the spring semester created their own building illustrations, and used them as a basis to construct their own building models.
Skyline Project
We discussed the iconic nature of skyscrapers on city skylines, and learned about the different ways important buildings can change skylines. Students then chose a city to create a concept for, and illustrated their designs.