Michael L. Brown

Some random colors.

bradthomasbitenc asked: Hi Michael,
This might seem a little out of the ordinary but I'm a Year 12 student from Australia. I'm currently in my last year of High Schooling and it's now time for me to choose a career path for the future. So I study Technical Drawing at school and I really enjoy it. I also, every Wednesday, do some work experience for a Building Certifier's company, so I have some knowledge in what building the Australian and my State's building regulations are. Is any of this similar at all to the type of work you yourself do as a Draftsperson?
Thanks,
Brad Bitenc

Yo Brad Bitenc!

It’s no problem you contacting me at all.  I’m big on knowledge.  Asking questions is the only way to get it & asking a stranger is no less.

A Draftsman could be a position in many types of fields and there is actually a HUGE market for them in the world actually.  The architect create the pretty buildings designs and the Draftsman actually does the dirty work to make it work.  A Draftsman has rules, an architect doesn’t.  That’s my experience.  I worked as a 2D Draftsman, drawing BLUEPRINTS for items to be fabricated out of steel using AutoCADD (which is the industry standard in most cases - at least in the US).  I’m experienced in drawing layouts for beams to construct buildings, from laying out every single bolt location and hole size, to being responsible for elevations.  I also construct drawings for simple items such as fences and gates.  Yes, you do need to know building regulations and codes, but that and learning the trade comes hand in hand.  This is just one application and one type of Draftsman.  You can also be a 3D draftsman creating designs for fabrication for items from moving parts for a watch—to a Stealth Fighter.  I hope this answer your questions and thoughts on being a technical draftsman. If you have any more, you’re more than welcome to ask more!  

Work that I did for an editorial of one of my favorite & best hip hop groups - De La Soul.  Always let me know what you think!

+Saul Williams for Manifest Magazine. Thanks to @LaRossa!

+This work comes from a project I did with the famous New Orleans record label Basin Street Records.  These pieces were used for promotion, posters and CD covers.

This particular photo set is of a new floating steel stair frame, along with a steel guard rail that I designed for and installed in my Baltimore home.  The steel was painted black and the treads, which were actually 1-1/2” thick wood beams, were stained mahogany.

This photo set is of the NEW COLOMBIERE JESUIT COMMUNITY RESIDENCE Project. These particular pictures are of the interior stairs, along with their railings, ship’s & hatch ladders. 

Yes, I am a Draftsman!  This set is from the VA MEDICAL CENTER, the last project that I worked on at Wilson Point Steel, Inc. in Baltimore, MD.  This portion are exterior guard railings for the handicap entrance.

I also enjoy doing representational work just as much. The RZA piece is an example.

Here are some finished illustrations from the project I mentioned earlier that I did in collaboration with film maker Hilton Carter. The “gramps taking pics” illustration is broken up because the work was used in an animation bringing the different parts together.