Do you sketch out your houses first?

[creationodyssey]

Do you sit down and sketch out your houses first or do you just go for it and figure it out as you go? This is my first 1/12 scale dollhouse build and with my diy dollhouses when I kit bashed them I went in with a general idea but just kind of let things happen as I was building. Something tells me I should sketch out any changes I want to do before I actually start applying glue though…. 

Edited August 3, 2021 by creationodyssey
Wanted to follow….

[Kells]

It depends on the changes you're planning to make. I use Photoshop to try out different finishes and components. How does this look with brick instead of clapboarding, what if I used these windows instead of those, and how does "iron" railing look instead of standard porch railing? That sort of thing. Saves me from buying a lot of stuff just to see how it looks, which I may then not even use!

Something I used to do was make multiple photocopies of pictures of a house, like an online photo from a manufacturer's website. Then I could try out different paint schemes using colored pencils, or sketch on additions, dormers, porches, etc.

Others have often given the best advice, which is to use painter's tape to do a temporary build of your house. They are correct, that is so helpful! If you're changing rooms around or adding things, you can then just slip in posterboard/cardboard mock-ups to see how things work.

Edited August 3, 2021 by Kells

[Muriel]

Before I get a house or am able to open the box I sometimes use a picture of the house and then use Microsoft Paint to edit it and change colour schemes, trying different things out. I am 'bashing' a Franklin dollhouse quite a lot, so again have used various computer programs to see how I can adjust walls etc before I start trying out, but I've done that in conjunction with a dry fit. 

If I am able to buy a kit as soon as I decide I want it (very rare occurrence!) I jump straight in to dry fit and then decide on colours etc when I can see it built. - In other words if I have to wait impatiently to build something then I start designing on the computer cause I can't wait to get started

If a kit doesn't come with windows I might again find a picture of different windows and superimpose them on to a picture of the house to see what I like best. 

Whatever you do, definitely dry fit!

[havanaholly]

My early builds were large Dura-Craft houses (the San Franciscan and the Cambridge), which I built pretty much "as is" and several Buttercups and Sugarplums, which are tiny Greenleaf kits.  I didn't realize until I built the Glencroft that what I thought were obvious ideas for building a particular kit a particular way were the kit telling me what it wanted to become; the Glencroft did NOT want to become the English cottage for Miss Marple I was trying to build; it wanted to become a pub, and once I understood that was the only way it wanted to be built it went together properly.

[LeeB]

I'd like to echo what the posts above have said - and add my own ideas: 

on one house, when I was considering adding a bay window, I made one out of cardboard and taped it in place, before ordering a professionally made wooden one, to see if I liked the effect. I didn't try building the real one myself because the angles were so different and I didn't have the tools to handle that.

And I sometimes draw a full-size floorplan of a house or certain rooms, with doors, windows, fireplace, stairs and other architectural details in place so that I can plot out where to place furnishings. When I have the actual pieces, I can place them on the plan and move them around to see if they fit. If I don't yet have them, I can cut approximate sized pieces out of paper so that I can envision the arrangement. That way, if I have not bought or made the furniture, I can avoid getting things that will not work. I have prevented some mistakes in construction and in spending that way.

Actually, I spend a LOT of time doing research online relating to the architectural style and period decor and furnishings before making decisions. I enjoy that and it often inspires custom details that I would not have thought of otherwise. 

Edited August 4, 2021 by LeeB

[Island-Shack]

Personally, I can't just "wing it". I have to sketch it out first.

I have a large spiral notebook I've been sketching in for years. I sketch out floor plans, designs, color schemes, ideas, etc and also keep a log of color codes, brands, favorite websites, vendors, eBay sellers etc.  I make all kinds of notes, sketch out furniture designs I can make myself, log measurements for frequently used items, and I keep a log of the actual measurements for every house I've built. I also keep a separate folder/binder with all the original Assembly Instructions and Schematics for every kit I have. (I have them all scanned too in PDF format in case anyone ever needs them)

When I'm getting ready to do a house I use a photo of the front and convert it to a "coloring book" style photo, print it out and then use colored pencils to try different color schemes. I suppose I could do that on my computer but I prefer the colored pencils LOL. They're just a guide though, I mix all my own colors then sample them on wood.

I don't know how anybody else does it - but I have to have the entire house planned and designed before I even start building. I do all my wallpaper/paint for every floor, wall and ceiling - interior and exterior - prior to assembly.

[jaxenro]

I have drawn hundreds of houses, floor plans, furniture, etc. Some I keep, some are detailed some mere sketches. Most won't get built but I have them in stacks here and there and some are kicking around

[havanaholly]

Ooo, what a cool use for cake columns!

[jaxenro]

I had envisioned the dome as a lithophane with 12 panels for the 12 Olympian gods. Imagine lit from within how it would look at night, or inside with the sun shining on it

the body of the building is round a modified Parthenon style was thinking white plaster on blue stucco like a Wedgwood jar.

It is a garden “folly” or pavilion 

 

[steiconi]

A lithophane dome would be cool.  How would you make it?

I could 3D print a flat one, there must be a way to curve it...

 

 

I do a lot of research and sketching before starting a project.  Sometimes I build a mockup in posterboard or foamcore.  

 

Then I figure it out as I go.😊

Edited August 20, 2021 by steiconi

[jaxenro]

Not being a 3D expert but i think you could design each panel and there is something out there to help make a 3D print lithophane model from it. Then it would jut be to curve it, print each panel, maybe mold and cast in a suitable material, and assemble all panels into a dome

Now if i really had money to burn i would make it full size. Could you imagine being inside a domes room with the sun shining and the gods appearing from the some, or outside with the inside lights on it at night and it glowing

 

[creationodyssey]

On 8/7/2021 at 5:22 AM, Island-Shack said:

Personally, I can't just "wing it". I have to sketch it out first.

I have a large spiral notebook I've been sketching in for years. I sketch out floor plans, designs, color schemes, ideas, etc and also keep a log of color codes, brands, favorite websites, vendors, eBay sellers etc.  I make all kinds of notes, sketch out furniture designs I can make myself, log measurements for frequently used items, and I keep a log of the actual measurements for every house I've built. I also keep a separate folder/binder with all the original Assembly Instructions and Schematics for every kit I have. (I have them all scanned too in PDF format in case anyone ever needs them)

When I'm getting ready to do a house I use a photo of the front and convert it to a "coloring book" style photo, print it out and then use colored pencils to try different color schemes. I suppose I could do that on my computer but I prefer the colored pencils LOL. They're just a guide though, I mix all my own colors then sample them on wood.

I don't know how anybody else does it - but I have to have the entire house planned and designed before I even start building. I do all my wallpaper/paint for every floor, wall and ceiling - interior and exterior - prior to assembly.

WOW!! You’re the level of organized I aspire to be! My friend was telling me to have everything planned before hand too!! I’ve cut out paper for the sizing to figure out how I’m going to be placing things. Thanks so much for your input!