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A random thought: I work as a software engineer. Also, I can think about 3-dimensional structures and sketch them on paper sufficiently to record the idea for

by mmagin 14y ago

A random thought: I work as a software engineer. Also, I can think about 3-dimensional structures and sketch them on paper sufficiently to record the idea for later thought or sharing. But, darn, all CAD software seems incredibly tedious to me -- even that which people say is "easy" to learn. It kind of reminds me a lot of every time I try to use IDEs for developing software (I'm the sort of person who likes a good text editor and the unix shell for software development.) I'm wondering if this represents a valuable insight into what is lacking in existing CAD software, or if it's an just a necessary learning curve I haven't climbed that's inherent to the problem space.

unimpressive 14y ago
Full disclosure: I have almost zero experience in this area. I'm under the impression that CAD users learn the scripting language that goes with the software to automate a lot of the tedium. They're also the people who buy those crazy mice with the eight macro buttons and extension ports.
alanctgardner2 14y ago
Two things I've noticed with Photoshop and 3D modelling software like Blender: - There's always a faster way to do what you want, but you have to know about it. It seems like every photoshop tutorial I see introduces a new, difficult brush or technique. I guess the only way to be acquainted with these is to spend a ton of time in the software, messing with everything. Essentially, you need to make a career - or life-consuming hobby of it. Otherwise you have a very small set of tools which can do everything, but excruciatingly slowly. - Artists spend hours doing even simple things, because it's a craft and they want it to be perfect. Programmers are used to knocking out quick iterations and seeing immediate results. I'm not sure if this takes a different sort of mindset, longer attention span, or just a real dedication to what you do. I suspect OP's dad has this mindset, because fine woodworking would be similar in this respect. I've just accepted that I'm not cut out for art; I take photos, but I don't even have the patience to do post. It's a very foreign mindset to me - it seems tedious, but every choice really does require human interaction, and skilled interaction at that.
cdjk 14y ago
Take a look at OpenSCAD or SolidPython. They're 3D cad programs where models are explicitly created as programs - it might be an easier way to think about it.

by mmagin 14y ago

unimpressive 14y ago

Full disclosure: I have almost zero experience in this area. I'm under the impression that CAD users learn the scripting language that goes with the software to automate a lot of the tedium. They're also the people who buy those crazy mice with the eight macro buttons and extension ports.

alanctgardner2 14y ago

Two things I've noticed with Photoshop and 3D modelling software like Blender: - There's always a faster way to do what you want, but you have to know about it. It seems like every photoshop tutorial I see introduces a new, difficult brush or technique. I guess the only way to be acquainted with these is to spend a ton of time in the software, messing with everything. Essentially, you need to make a career - or life-consuming hobby of it. Otherwise you have a very small set of tools which can do everything, but excruciatingly slowly. - Artists spend hours doing even simple things, because it's a craft and they want it to be perfect. Programmers are used to knocking out quick iterations and seeing immediate results. I'm not sure if this takes a different sort of mindset, longer attention span, or just a real dedication to what you do. I suspect OP's dad has this mindset, because fine woodworking would be similar in this respect. I've just accepted that I'm not cut out for art; I take photos, but I don't even have the patience to do post. It's a very foreign mindset to me - it seems tedious, but every choice really does require human interaction, and skilled interaction at that.

cdjk 14y ago

Take a look at OpenSCAD or SolidPython. They're 3D cad programs where models are explicitly created as programs - it might be an easier way to think about it.