What is the ancient art of drafting? The art of drafting spans multiple millennia across hundreds of civilizations. It was the cornerstone of human progress and little rivals its importance in aiding our lives. However, in recent years drafting by hand has become far less prominent. 

Uses of Drafting 

Drafting is a skill commonly used in architecture. Where it is used as a bridge between the architect and the builder in the form of blueprints. These blueprints can then be copied down and used in other areas. However, these blueprints have rigorous requirements set to ensure that drafts 

The standardization of drafting methods also introduced the ability to build off one’s predecessor. Something colonization and settlers too great advantage of. Since every settler instead of needing to create their own house could instead follow a series of blueprints. This led to several types of houses such as the housing boom in the 2000s where hundreds of houses in America were made that looked identical to each other. This also led to recognizable architectural designs. Since people would enjoy a certain style where then the design and drafts of it would then be brought to other parts of the country.  

The introduction of Technology 

However, traditional methods of drafting with pen and pencil with the introduction of technology have grown less common. Due to the time-consuming manner of drafting as well as the difficulties needed to create a draft on paper, most modern structures as well as designs are made with 2D or 3D CAD’s (computer aided design). 

Why CADs are used is due to how long difficult drafts take as well as drafting is messy. Since it requires multiple drafts and design stages to achieve the result. With CADs you can manipulate a singular draft with clicks and presses of buttons with no smudges, dark lines, and mistakes. 

 

The Basis of Drafting 

As the title suggests, drafting is all about lines, small lines, thick lines, short lines and much more, each serving a singular purpose that fits together to create a narrative. There is the “visible object” line which is the foundation of all drafts. It is used to show the viewable angles and edges of an object. However, since when you are drafting sometimes you are only able to see one or two sides at a time there is also the “Hidden object” line which is used to show where lines are on the other side. Which helps when viewing objects at different angles since it shows where something you see on one view is on the other. 

There is also the “Extension and dimension” lines which show the length of each object. A very crucial part of drafting since these are what shows the reader how large or what size the object should be. One such incident involving incorrect sizing and implementation of the Harmon hotel’s steel support. Which caused the hotel to be dismantled and destroyed in 2015. 

Lines and technology 

Drafting has been around for an exceptionally long time. Even with the introduction of technology traditional drafting is still used and taught. It will be used for a long time, even though the methods of doing so would change. However, the same basics would remain and affect our daily lives.