Meet Your CAD Designer, Inae
Inae, the Director of our CAD department, shares her favorite Green Lake ring designs and renderings from her years in the studio. We love seeing each design take form with Inae’s skill and artistry!
What was the most challenging piece you’ve modeled?
The mermaid ring, it was the first piece I worked on in Z-brush. Figuring out the best way to build the base model then applying texture was difficult but it was also fun learning new techniques.
How did you become a CAD designer?
I studied jewelry and metalsmithing in art school and always enjoyed making small objects and wearable art pieces. At first, many of my art pieces were organic and nature inspired then 3rd year in school, my professor introduced the CAD program in class and I really enjoyed it. I begin to make geometric objects in CAD and print out patterns to make paper models before making pieces in metal. And naturally, I was introduced to different types of proto-typing machines and it really opened my path to become a jewelry CAD modeler.
I’ve been working as a jewelry CAD modeler for over 10 years and I still enjoy building models everyday. There is always a new challenge for me, whether it is technique, form or time. I’m still learning & excited me everyday. 🙂
Where do you find inspiration for your designs?
Most inspiration comes from the client and if a client comes to me and asks for something unique and special for them, then I ask questions like what do they like to do, favorite colors, shapes..etc to get a sense of the client’s style.
If I’m designing a one-of-a-kind piece for me, then I would probably get inspiration from nature, flow, lines to come up with simple and balanced pieces.
What styles of rings do you like to work on the most?
I like flowy designs and also designs with tons of stones that lay out perfectly to create an eye-catching sparkle. Flowy pieces are really fun to build. Rings with many stones are like solving a math problem, when everything fits exactly based on the size, width, etc, then success! And it really gives a satisfying feeling and definitely will show that extra sparkle in the ring once completed.
You’re so talented at working in 3D, how do you help clients visualize the design as it transitions from concept to tangible jewelry?
I think the most important thing is to understand what is possible by the jewelers and really try to push the CAD detailing to be as close as possible so the client can visualize and understand. There’s great finesse & hand detailing that each jeweler adds. Although each CAD modelers’ details are different, CAD renderings can not show that extra fine detailing that is done by hand.
