Digital Clay: Deriving Digital Models from Freehand Sketches

During the initial stages of design, it is not uncommon to find an architect scribbling furiously with a thick pencil. Later in the design process, however, one might not be surprised to encounter the same individual in front of a computer monitor, manipulating three dimensional models in a series of activities that seem completely divorced from their previous efforts. Armed with evidence that sketching is an effective design method for creative individuals, we also recognize that modeling and rendering applications are invaluable design development and presentation tools, and we naturally seek a connection between these methodologies. We therefore present Digital Clay, a working prototype of a sketch recognition program that interprets gestural and abstracted projection drawings and constructs appropriate three dimensional digital models.