There is a lot of speculation as to what the future of publishing might look like. If one thing is for certain, it’s that it will involve a screen. Apple’s irresistibly cool hardware, intuitive software and lucrative App Store created a trifecta that arguably saved the music industry. With the iPad, Apple looks to do the same with the publishing industry, from books to magazines to newspapers.

A screen presents new opportunities for a once-static medium, while users demand richer more immersive experiences. The iPad presents its own challenges, like the exclusion of Flash, opting instead to provide these experiences via new developing web standards loosely referred to as HTML5.

To test these new technologies, I put together this interactive HTML5 demo using the Canvas element, Javascript and artwork from my Mecanum Wheels motion illustration.

A few caveats: This demo works only in the latest versions of Safari, Chrome and Firefox. On iOS devices like iPad, iPhone and iPad Touch, it may run slow because Javascript is processed much slower than the native Xcode.

Some one-step how-to spot illustrations done for Canadian Family magazine’s Summer 2010 issue; How to eat the whole lobster, How to whistle with a blade of grass, How to make a jumpsie rope and How to raise an astronomer. Thanks to AD Colleen Nicholson who made this project a summer breeze.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-j9TReI1aQ

It should come as no surprise that I’m a huge fan of Mythbusters. I like their “failure is always an option” maxim, meaning if you have an idea you should try it out, what’s the worst that can happen?

While watching the program one day, I noticed something weird about their forklift — it moved sideways. It didn’t just turn on a dime, but actually moved perpendicular to the direction of the wheels. Upon closer inspection, they looked more like worm gears than wheels. The answer was just a Google away: The Mythbusters’ forklift is equipped with Mecanum Wheels, also known as Omni Wheels or Ilon Wheels. These wheels work by rotating independently, depending on the desired direction of travel.

I had an idea that this might make for an interesting motion graphic (above), since still images really don’t do this technology justice. So I tried it out (what’s the worst that can happen?)

I’ve always been into music but only recently picked up a guitar and started to learn to play. I had seen guitar tablature (or “tabs”) before, but only knew it as some sort of esoteric shorthand musical notation encoded in monospaced gibberish; a specialized language for people who had studied music and practiced guitar to some degree.

When I started browsing for the best approach to learning guitar, the first page of every book, the first image on every site, the first video in every tutorial, was always an image like this:

Whether it takes the form of a drawing or marked-up photograph, this image is the standard starting point for learning to play guitar. Ignoring all other elements, the title and the image of the hand alone clearly communicate “to do this, do this.” To play the G chord, place fingers 1, 2 and 3 on strings A, E and e, in positions (frets) 2, 3 and 3, respectively.

The chord chart to the left abstracts this fingering map, representing the fingers, strings and frets in a simpler, more condensed form. It’s understood that these two images represent the same thing,”to do this, do this,” but without the fingering map the chord chart would mean nothing to the uninitiated.

The tablature (or “tabs”) on the right further abstract and condense the concept. We are presented with a column of our six strings with numbers representing the position (or frets) our fingers need to be in. The specific finger we use for each string/fret is taken for granted and omitted.

Whatever form it takes, this image is a technical illustration. It decrypts esoteric, specialized knowledge into general knowledge that any person could interpret and employ. With one image, I went from looking at a bunch of lines and numbers to music.

Minneapolis-based Martin Ashal was charged with the task of communicating a broad range of thermal insulating access doors, viewports and wall panels for their client, an industry-leading manufacturer. The products are used in a variety of temperature- and humidity-sensitive applications, such as medical facilities, laboratories and clean rooms. The challenge was that the products are fully customizable, designed to meet each customer’s needs.

Under the direction of the talented Austin O’Brion, I created this series of icons to differentiate the product range by panel thickness and insulating ability.

The first decorated trees were adorned with apples, strings of popcorn, candy canes and pastries in the shapes of stars, hearts and flowers. In 1847, Hans Greiner, an artisan in Lauscha, Germany, began producing more permanent decorations – glass baubles in the shape of fruit and nuts.

To do this, he heated a glass tube over a flame, then inserted the tube into a clay mold, blowing into the heated glass to expand it into the shape of the mold. After the glass cooled, a silver nitrate solution was swirled inside, the outside was hand tinted, and the bauble was finished with a cap and hook.

The ornament became vogue in the late 1840s, when a photo of Queen Victoria’s Christmas tree was shown in a London newspaper, decorated with lights and glass baubles from her husband Prince Albert’s native Germany. Today, holiday decorations are second only to gift-giving in seasonal sales. Ornaments are mass-produced world-wide, and about 20 small glass blowing studios still exist in Lauscha, Germany.

2009 was a great year for me. Thank you to everyone who was a part of it. I look forward to starting something new, solving problems and making things in 2010. Happy holidays!

Some fellow techies and I have started Technical Illustrators.org, a blog and community by and for technical illustrators. We feature portfolios of colleagues and share tutorials, techniques, resources, tips & tricks of the trade.

With more and more of the traditional in-house technical illustration jobs moving overseas, techies are finding themselves out on their own. In a time when communicating information clearly, accurately & concisely is paramount, there is huge demand for their skills however their trade is relatively unknown. It’s our goal with this site to unite these independent professionals and raise awareness of this highly communicative medium.

For more, visit us at Technical Illustrators.org!

I recently had the pleasure of working under the exceptional art direction of Ryan Reynolds from MSDS on Electrification Roadmap. This report is a vision for an electric transportation sector and nationwide supergrid, published by the Electrification Coalition, a not-for-profit group seeking to affect energy policy to reduce economic, environmental and national security risks.

I created lineart illustrations describing the different technologies that enable electric transportation: the different drive-train configurations (hybrid electric, plug-in hybrid electric and full electric) contrasted with conventional internal combustion engines, lithium-ion cells and battery packs, and home charging stations.

We also worked together on concepts for the cover that leaned towards editorial illustration, an area I’ve been exploring recently. The concepts play on the vernacular of circuit diagrams, information graphics and transit maps using symbols of alternative energy and transportation.

Despite the final above not being used, it’s always great to work on positive projects with forward thinking people.

Way back in 2005, Mister Jalopy proposed an Owner’s Bill of Rights, a maker’s memorandum requesting repairability for the products around us. It became a manifesto for the maker community, a modus operandi for open sourcers and forward-thinking manufacturers.

I’m not the most capable maker – maybe only a tinkerer. But if something breaks I jump at the chance to take it apart, see how it works and try my best to repair it (what’s the worst that can happen?). If the repair is a success, I’ve saved the world from having to produce another widget.

Repairability equals sustainability. That’s what I like about this manifesto. And that’s why I’ve illustrated it.

Update: The illustrated Maker’s Bill of Rights appears in volume 20, the current issue of Make: Magazine. In stores now!

I’ve been receiving questions from a number of people curious about technical illustration. For the benefit of anyone else who’s interested, here’s some of the questions and answers:

What does a technical illustrator do? What is technical illustration?
“Technical illustrators create highly accurate renderings of machinery, instruments, scientific subjects…technology, cartography, or virtually any subject that requires precision interpretation.”
– Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines, 11th Edition. pp. 196-197.

My goal is information & aesthetics: conveying information in a clear, concise, accurate and visually appealing way.

Tell me about yourself. How did you get into technical illustration?
Technical illustration feeds my innate curiosity about how things are made and how they work, my enthusiasm for computers and technology, and my urge to make images. In high school I took art, computer sciences and AutoCAD classes as well as dabbling with Photoshop, Illustrator and Flash in my free time, but didn’t really connect the dots until Drawing Systems in my first year of college.

Four years later, I earned a BA in Illustration, Technical and Scientific from Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning.

As a freelancer this isn’t necessary (but it helps), it all comes down to the quality of the work in your portfolio. However, some certifications and knowledge of specialized software may be required as an in-house technical illustrator.

Who do you work with? How do you find each other?
I work with art directors, creative directors, architects, engineers, scientists, entrepreneurs-anyone who needs information communicated visually.

My website is my primary means of advertising what I do. It includes my illustration portfolio, motion graphics portfolio, information about the service I provide and of course contact information. It is the hub of my online presence, and built so people can find me via search engines. I keep it constantly updated with fresh work and relevant news, in a blog format so people can subscribe if they want to stay updated.

I use a number of social networking sites, such as Twitter, Flickr and LinkedIn. I also have portfolios and listings at various illustration-related sites such as IllustrationMundo and Behance. These let me connect with friends, colleagues, clients and prospects.

What is your process? How do you do what you do?
A brief explanation can be found here. I haven’t done any tutorials at this time.

What software do you use?
Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop & Flash, currently learning Cinema 4D – never stop learning!

What was the most challenging project that you completed?
Every project is a unique problem to solve, but the most challenging projects are the ones where references and resources are limited. I really need to understand what I’m illustrating before I can start, and then have enough information to accurately depict it.

Do clients occasionally request illustrations that are technically impossible or too difficult?
If something is technically impossible, like showing both the top and bottom of something in one drawing for example, I explain the problem to the client and we work out a compromise – like splitting it into two illustrations. If something is too difficult to draw, it’s usually because I don’t have enough reference material to really understand what I’m drawing, so I request more information from the client. It’s never been a problem.

Are you able to support yourself solely with illustration? Has the economy affected you?
Yes, I am a full-time freelance technical illustrator.

One of my instructors at Sheridan, the ever-fervent Larry Read, called technical illustration a “bullet proof career” for the diversity of subjects it covers. In periods of high growth one could illustrate consumer products, cars and houses. In periods of low growth, educational & training materials, health & medical products and entertainment & video games.

Being a solo freelancer helps too: low overhead, tax savings, constantly reinvesting in yourself and the business.

Hope that helps answer some of your questions! Thanks to Andy, Chris & Chad for the questions!