3d Modeling? Footwear? Worthless?

[Guest cromulus]

hey all,

I am an ID student extremely stuck to getting to athletic shoe/skate shoe design also...maybe...technical accessories. I have heard different advice from people about whether I should spend more time building skill in the adobe suite if that is my route. I have seen all types of illustrator/photoshop renderings doing searches. I dont know if these people know what they are talking about. does anyone feel like throwing some advice my way? I am currently learning solidworks on my own time and rhino is one of our required classes. I have been sketching daily but, is there anything else I should be doing. Anything would be appreciated. Whats the secret handshake?

[Cyberdemon 17]

Sketching and rendering is typically more important in the footwear area where a profile sketch can communicate the majority of the design. Thats not to say you shouldn't also spend some time working with a CAD program, Rhino would be a great place to start because it's very fluent for doing complex surfacing over something like Solidworks. (Shoes are basically all surfaces anyways). Using Rhinos unwrap feature you could even design a shoe in CAD then create templates to even build a real prototype. Might be a useful party trick to have in the portfolio.

 

Keep in mind though, design studios will still want to see some diversity even if you focus on footwear. Being a well rounded designer is a great asset and will be key to getting a job.

 

Take a look at http://www.michaelditullo.com/ if you haven't already. He's currently in the footwear industry, but you can see that his design skills range from cars to coffee makers.

[Guest cromulus]

thank you cyberdemon,

this is some helpful advice. I have heard that rhino had better surfacing capabities. Once again, much apreciated info. thank you.

you a virginian?

[Guest mylesmontgomerydesign]

in terms of programs and capabilities. check out the modo program, www.luxology.com but i'm sure with footwear the ability to draw and quickly change and refine details are the key skills to learn

[skinny 0]

Hand drawing and illustrator are how most soft goods are designed. The shoe guys may use 3-d for the soles but for fabric, marker sketches and illustrator are standards. 3-d data's benefit comes from using that geometry to model an exact copy. There is none of that with soft goods, the end process they'll use are flat patterns that can be cut or stamped out. Illustrator along with a decent knowledge of what forms you can/cannot make with the particular fabric is the best route to go.