Visual practice
Sketches
A collection of digital sketches exploring form, proportion, material, and visual ideas through quick studies and more developed renderings.
Most of the work was created using Procreate and Adobe Photoshop. Sketches on white backgrounds were primarily drawn in Procreate, while the darker-background studies were created in Photoshop.
These sketches reflect my ongoing interest in drawing as a way to observe, think, and develop ideas visually.
Form & proportion
Structure & visual explanation
Read image description: Orthographic study
Orthographic drawing by Xinxin Li, labelled age range 3–4. The study shows top, front, two side and bottom views of a rounded fabric toy with stitched panels.
The opened view shows a round, flat, soft flap covering a hidden pocket for a separate sound device. An arrow indicates where the device is inserted. The bottom view marks Velcro straps; the original note about their purpose is incomplete. The device is also drawn separately with a circular area and speaker grille.
Read image description: Exploded assembly
Exploded assembly drawing of an orange cylindrical object with a hooked front housing. From left to right, separated parts include the orange front shell, translucent faceted circular pieces, a cream-coloured ring, a circular internal plate, a small green circuit board with a cable and connector, a grey internal unit, the orange rear housing and a flat orange back cover.
Screws and guide lines show assembly positions along the same diagonal axis. Small construction sketches appear at lower right. The board contains no written component labels; this description identifies visible forms without assigning unconfirmed functions.
Read image description: Product-use sequence
The illustrated sequence is titled “How to use a ZeroWater pitcher.” Read left to right across the top row, then left to right across the bottom row.
1. Open the lid. 2. Change the filter. 3. Install a new filter. 4. Put the reservoir back into the pitcher. 5. Turn on the sink tap. 6. Fill the reservoir with tap water. 7. Wait for freshly filtered water. 8. Pour and enjoy the water.
Hands demonstrate lifting the lid and reservoir, changing the cylindrical filter, replacing the reservoir, holding the pitcher under the tap and pouring into a glass. This is a visual communication study of the sequence shown on the board.
Read image description: Penguin concept study
Penguin-shaped coffee-machine concept shown from the front and in cutaway views from both sides. The front silhouette uses a beak, eyes and flippers to suggest a penguin.
The left cutaway labels a coffee/milk piece near the head, a brewing chamber below it, rear water storage, a boiler, pump and pipe. The right cutaway sketches internal circuit boards, a display, connections and the rear reservoir. A separate electronics sketch and small perspective studies appear below. These are proposed internal arrangements rather than a validated engineering assembly.
Light, material & surface
From ideation to rendering
