Tools I use when I do my homework for university.

 Hello everyone, I hope you are well 😊. Today I'm going to talk about the tools I use when I do my homework for university.

I study architecture, and in this career we can work in different ways, exploring different materials and tools, both manually and digitally.

If I work manually, I most often use pencil and paper. Among the ones I use the most are graphite pencils and drawing pencils, I also use coloured markers a lot in my work, the ones I like the most are the prismacolor markers with a bevelled tip. Sometimes I explore other techniques as well, such as coloured pencils, watercolour, Indian ink or collage with different types of paper.

When we have to make models the most common thing is to use cardboard, so we work a lot on our manual skills using the cutter and glue. You have to be very precise if you want it to look good, so taking the right measurements with a ruler is essential. I have also had to work with other materials, such as: plaster, wood, wire, clay, fabric and even earth. It's a lot of fun, each material requires different techniques and tools to work with it, you can make really cool things.

In the digital realm there is a world of options, there are really cool programs to make architecture. Nowadays, digital tools are the most used, as they allow a wide exploitation without spending a lot of resources. I use Autodad, Photoshop, Illustrator and scketchup, they are basic tools, but if you learn to use them well you don't need more.

Autocad is essential, with this software you can do all the planimetry and technical drawing of the projects. It is quite easy to use, the most difficult thing is to learn how to transfer the work to other formats for printing so that everything looks as you want it to, but with practice you can do it.

Photoshop and Illustrator are mainly used to make diagrams, edit photos and put together the presentations on the sheets. 

In Scketchup you can quickly model in 3D, this helps a lot to show the projects and their spatiality. With this tool we can obtain axonometric and fugitive cuts, among other things, there are people who do spectacular things, but I'm still learning.

There are also tools like websites, where you can get references, information, planimetries or autocad or scketchup blocks. The first website I am going to talk about is ¨Plataforma Arquitectura¨ (https://www.plataformaarquitectura.cl/cl), this is a Chilean website that contains a large database related to architecture. It is a very popular website among architecture students, as it is one of the most complete in this field and it is constantly updated. 

The other website I am going to talk about is ¨Bibliocad¨ (https://www.bibliocad.com/), a virtual library of CAD and BIM files, one of the largest in the Spanish-speaking world. It is a database that serves as a great support in the professional field, as it allows us to download and exchange AutoCAD blocks and 2D and 3D BIM objects applicable in the design and construction industry. I use this website mainly when I need urban plans or furniture blocks, in general it is one of the first places I consult when I need this kind of documents. 

My favourite tool is Photoshop, it is very easy to use and it is compatible with many file formats. It is very versatile and I like it a lot to work with the digital collage technique to present my projects.