Technical Illustration is illustration meant to visually communicate information of a technical nature. Technical illustrations can be components of technical drawings or

diagram A diagram is a symbolic representation of information using visualization techniques. Diagrams have been used since prehistoric times on walls of caves, but became more prevalent during the Enlightenment. Sometimes, the technique uses a thr ...

s. Technical illustrations in general aim "to generate expressive

image An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimension ...

s that effectively convey certain information via the visual channel to the human observer".Ivan Viola and Meister E. Gröller (2005).
Smart Visibility in Visualization
. In: ''Computational Aesthetics in Graphics, Visualization and Imaging''. L. Neumann et al. (Ed.) Technical illustrations generally have to describe and explain the subjects to a nontechnical audience. Therefore, the visual image should be accurate in terms of dimensions and proportions, and should provide "an overall impression of what an object is or does, to enhance the viewer’s interest and understanding".

Types

Types of communication

Today, technical illustration can be broken down into three categories based on the type of communication: * Communication with the

general public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

: informs the general public, for example illustrated instructions found in the manuals for automobiles and consumer electronics. This type of technical illustration contains simple terminology and symbols that can be understood by the lay person and is sometimes called creative technical illustration/graphics. * Specialized engineering or

scientific Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence f ...

communication: used by engineers/scientists to communicate with their peers and in specifications. This use of technical illustration has its own complex terminology and specialized symbols; examples are the fields of atomic energy, aerospace and military/defense. These areas can be further broken down into disciplines of mechanical, electrical, architectural engineering and many more. * Communication between highly skilled

expert An expert is somebody who has a broad and deep understanding and competence in terms of knowledge, skill and experience through practice and education in a particular field. Informally, an expert is someone widely recognized as a relia ...

s: used by engineers to communicate with people who are highly skilled in a field, but who are not engineers. Examples of this type of technical illustration are illustrations found in user/operator documentation. These illustrations can be very complex and have jargon and symbols not understood by the general public, such as illustrations that are part of instructional materials for operating

CNC Numerical control (also computer numerical control, and commonly called CNC) is the automated control of machining tools (such as drills, lathes, mills, grinders, routers and 3D printers) by means of a computer. A CNC machine processes a ...

machinery.

Types of drawings

Main types of drawings in technical communication are: * conventional line drawings, * exploded view drawings, * cutaway drawings, and * clip art images

Techniques

Technical illustration uses several basic mechanical drawing configurations called axonometric projection. These are: * Parallel projections (oblique, planometric, isometric, dimetric, and trimetric), and * many types of perspective projections (with one, two, or three

vanishing point A vanishing point is a point on the image plane of a perspective drawing where the two-dimensional perspective projections of mutually parallel lines in three-dimensional space appear to converge. When the set of parallel lines is perpendicu ...

s). Technical illustration and

computer-aided design Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...

can also use 3D and solid-body projections, such as

rapid prototyping Rapid prototyping is a group of techniques used to quickly fabricate a scale model of a physical part or assembly using three-dimensional computer aided design ( CAD) data. Construction of the part or assembly is usually done using 3D printin ...

. *In the natural sciences, "scientific illustration" refers to a style of drawing using stippling and simple line techniques to convey information with a minimum of artistic interpretation.

Examples

References

External links

Technical Illustration – A Historical Perspective
by Kevin Hulsey
Technical Illustration in the 21st Century: A Primer for Today’s Professionals
by Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC) 2007. (requires login)
Stuttgart Database of Scientific Illustrators 1450–1950 (DSI)
(with more than 6000 entries and 20 search fields) {{visualization Illustration

Illustration An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vide ...

Object visualization