Leonardo Da Vincis Influence towards Engineering - Essay Example

Name Course Tutor Date Introduction The number of skills that describe Leonardo Da Vinci are numerous for the ancient ages of the 15th Century during which he existed. Being the definition of Renaissance man, Da Vinci’s creativity lied in the fields of artistic arts, architect, invention and engineering. Some of his most famous arts are exhibited across the world although this article squarely looks into highlighting the old engineering tales based on this inventor with respect to drawing. Among his prolific inventions are also mentioned while describing the individual contributions that he made towards engineering through his hand drawing creativity. Great Inventions Figure 1: An artistic presentation of Leonardo Da Vinci’s helicopter (Ancient Code). The evolution of the helicopter is traced back to Leonardo Da Vinci whose sketches and notes from the 15th Century gave a resemblance of how the modern helicopter is actually operated. It is intimated by Anderson (2006); Laurenza (2006) that the helicopter was given the name of a helical air screw which was designed to manoeuvre through air compression. The screw shapes and designs were also suggested by Da Vinci whose invention measured close 15 feet and manufactured from linen, reed and wire. Although the technology of that time lacked model execution, it is believed that the helicopter could not have taken off due to weight restrictions. Away from flying machines Da Vinci was able to identify problems in war machines thereby coming up with a 33-barreled organ, an armoured car, a giant cross bow and triple barrel canon. All these happened under his watch although some of the ideas were finally executed in the 19th Century. The 33-barreled organ is featured by Davinci Inventions (2008) as one of the most innovative war machines ever invented. The 33 small-calibre guns are actually based on this invention whose 33 arrow compartments were grouped into 3 while connecting to a single platform that would revolve. During time of firing, this organ would rotate in order to load the next arrow just the way that the current guns work. Among other inventions include flying machines, hydraulics pumps, war machines, bicycle, armoured war car and the bicycle. Importance of Hand Drawing Skills The theory behind artistic thinking majorly points out that hand drawing skills are very important in order to successfully invent. The fact that technology has become overly impressive does not replace hand drawing skills which have been noted in the instance of Da Vinci. The though process is said to combine eyes, hands and minds in order to conceptualise end products while and inventor is trying to make sense of ideas. Original drawings more especially hand drawn are coveted in all the exhibitions around the world citing the example of Mona Lisa which has been preserved from the 15th century. The hand sketches usually serve as referential items which give a preparatory study to the inventor in order to come up with definitive drawings. While the referential sketch is meant to serve as the visual diary that leads to a discovery, the reality becomes clearer as the inventor engages in vigorous thought seeking in order to refine the parameters through a fragmentary analysis. The connection between the mind and the invention becomes clearer when the hand drawing skills are put into place. This cannot be replicated in the case of a computer generated drawing whose parameters cannot connect with the human emotions. Computer designs may be complex and far much interesting than hand drawn drawings but in the actual sense they lack the emotional content attached to hand drawn sketches (Graves). ‘Napkin Sketched Invention’ The greatest invention ever sketched on a napkin could emerge as a renaissance robot whose research was influenced by the human proportions invented by Leonardo Da Vinci in the 15th Century. The inner workings of a robot were actually worked out on preliminary sketches done of bar napkins with an estimated 1400 missing drawings. Despite the initial work being lost, the napkins displayed the original robot sketch consisting of central pulley drives that were looped through cable to the arms in order to impart motion and maintain traction throughout the robot’s major parts. A remarkable fact indeed is that more than 400 years later, the napkin sketches of this important discovery could be mapped in and generated into computer models in order to execute the pending works of Da Vinci. It is also notable that the cable technology contained in the famous napkin sketches were finally executed based on the ideas of Da Vinci (Herman). How Da Vinci Used Artistic Talent to Sell Ideas Da Vinci was a creative thinker whose artistic talent was random by nature leading to his ability to produce a great variation in thinking patterns. The fact that he would draw random objects which could make sense among scholars by the end of the day got him more inspired to be more image oriented. He basically created ideas that people would make connections with without straining to imagine what such items would do to their lives. His willingness to use imaginations got his ideas selling since he would get his audience drawn into what could be unpredictable. The originality that Da Vinci’s artistic capability bestowed on items he marketed was also another propelling force towards the realization of his goals. Da Vinci’s Contributions to Engineering through His Hand Drawings Through his hand drawing genius, Da Vinci was able to contribute in various ways towards the growth of engineering as a profession. He was able to envision the major utilities in life such as the flying machines, hydraulics pumps, war machines, bicycle, armoured war car, helicopter and the bicycle. Although his works were not recognised during his times, the availability of his hand drawings inspired proper engineering education coupled by innovation and invention. The accuracy of his drawings encouraged the invention of 2 and 3 dimensional drawings in order to ensure that whatever was being discovered at this age in terms of engineering applications would be of benefit to the future generations too. Can CAD Drawings Replace Hand Drawings of Novel Ideas? The fact that the art of hand sketching is based on the connection between the arms, mind and eyes gets the inventor sketching in his or her mind prior to presenting the ideas. The ability to create physical models is not basically based on the CAD drawings and modifications thereof would depend on the inventor’s ability to carry out hand sketching. In-as-much-as the CAD can be seen as replacing the hand sketching, it is still important to note that more and more schools have gone back to the old art of hand sketching in order to impart proper skills to the scholars. While it is evident that the artistic sketches cannot be replaced by CAD, it is still a valid argument to say that failure to depict the exactness of the brain’s imaginations may lead to varying ideas hence variations. The iterative process of hand sketching will never be replaced by CAD even though it makes the first drawing look perfect leading to inability by inventors to sense flaws. Imaginations are therefore best to work with in iterative instances which allow speculation for the technological advancement of the initial inventions’ scopes. How Da Vinci’s Drawings Documented His Imagination and Creativity The creativity behind Da Vinci’s drawings is evident due to the complexity that they posed to the laymen of his time. The imagination behind his drawings is further brought out when today’s inventors have used the same drawings (putting themselves in Da Vinci’s imaginations) in order to draw worthy conclusions. The essence of imagination and creativity is therefore brought by the validity of his thoughts which he put down on record. A good example is the robot whose invention was executed based ideas that were present in imaginations presented by Da Vinci more than 400 years back. It is therefore true to say that Da Vinci’s drawings presented his imaginations and creativity through real innovations that were solution oriented. Conclusion Leonardo Da Vinci’s influence towards engineering is profound based on the inventions that he came up with during his life. The fact that he did this using hand drawings brings mixed reaction on whether the hand drawing technique is indispensable. CAD may be the widely used application in the engineering fraternity but the possibility of it phasing out the hand drawings when it comes to novel ideas is a fad. Works Cited Ancient Code. Leonardo da Vinci, the truth. 16 December 2012. Web. 01 October 2014. Anderson, Maxine. Amazing Leonardo Da Vinci Inventions You Can Build Yourself. Nomad Press, 2006. Book. Davinci Inventions. 33-Barreled Organ. 2008. Web. 01 October 2014. Graves, Michael. Architecture and the Lost Art of Drawing. 2 September 2012. Website. 1 October 2014. Herman, David. A rennaisance Robot. February 1998. Web. 01 October 2014. Laurenza, Domenico. Leonardo's Machines: Da Vinci's Inventions Revealed. Florence-Milan: David & Charles, 2006. Book. Read More