Jim Leggitt / Drawing Shortcuts

Turning SketchUp into a Digital Watercolor!

I discovered an amazing hybrid technique for creating a digital watercolor that integrated Google SketchUp, Shaderlight (SketchUp plugin), hand coloring with Chartpak AD markers and Photoshop filters. The digital effect was as close to traditional watercolor as I’ve ever accomplished and I wanted to lay out my production steps for you to try for yourself!

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Step 1: SketchUp Model

 

Starting with a simple Google SketchUp model of an imaginary waterfront scene that I use for teaching (these images are cropped versions of the larger scene), I exported a high resolution jpeg of just the edges, setting the image width at 5000 pixels. I resized the jpeg in Photoshop to 300dpi x 18 inches for producing the final digital image. I did not export the SketchUp model view, but rendered it using Shaderlight software.

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Step 2: Photorealistic Rendering

Shaderlight is an interactive rendering plugin for Google SketchUp and allowed me to establish reflections in the water and glass. It also created a natural quality of illumination in the shadows. Once the rendering process was completed, I saved the image and resized it to 300dpi x 18 inches to match the linework jpeg I saved from the 3D model. I then combined the rendered image with the linework in Photoshop. I lightened the linework layer with a 50% transparency as the original lines were too dominant in the composite image.

 

After lightening the water (the dark gray was too unrealistic), I created the “rippled” reflections on the surface using the smudge tool in Adobe Photoshop. The smudging altered the mirrored appearance of the photorealistic rendering. My next step was very important to the success of the digital watercolor - which was to lighten the entire image. I gave the jpeg a 75% transparency to reduce the color and contrast so I could later add back color with markers. 

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Step 3: Colored Markers

 

I printed the lightened image onto 13”x19” matte finish coated Epson paper using my Epson Workforce 1100 printer and then colored the water, buildings, surfaces and people with light Chartpak AD markers. Joining me with the experiment was the talented Arkansas architect Tim Cooper (pictured above). It is important that the colored markers you use on the coated bond paper are the lightest colors you can find. Dark markers were only used on the clothing. For this project, I used light lime, pale indigo, buff, naples yellow, pale flesh, suntan, willow green and pale cherry for the primary areas of color.

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Step 4: Photoshop Filter

 

I scanned the colored marker print at 300dpi and slightly lightened the image prior to applying the Photoshop watercolor filter. Adjusting the filter settings to achieve the lightest watercolor effect, the resulting filtered image was very exciting to study up close. The colored markers that bled beyond the lines gave the image a natural painted appearance. The lines from the SketchUp model were barely visible as if they were lightly sketched with pencil.

The overall grain created by the filter produced the desired character of this wonderful digital watercolor experiment. I’m sure to continue exploring this technique with future projects and hope to find even more success with merging traditional hand drawing techniques with digital imaging.

 

 

Look for other interesting articles on my blog, visit my website www.drawingshortcuts.com and read my new book Drawing Shortcuts Second Edition. 

 

 

 

NEW! - The 2010 Blog Collection , a 116-page catalog of my best blog posts from 2010 is now available on Blurb!  http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1963744

Digital Painting in Layers With A Wacom Cintiq

I’m learning how to digitally color drawings using a Wacom Cintiq interactive monitor. This project began with an ink line drawing as the base image and was colored in Photoshop using separate layers for various subjects in the drawing. Being a learning process, I took the drawing to its natural conclusion and then continue to add more layers to a point in which I believe the drawing became “overworked”. 

I’ve shown the basic steps in which I developed the color and even included the overworked version for you to evaluate. Digital coloring is exciting and challenging to learn - but is worth having in your set of drawing skills!

 

Step 1: Line Drawing. I drew the 9”x14” street scene with a Staedtler Lumocolor pen on tracing paper. Minor imperfections were touched up with standard white correction fluid that you can purchase at any office supply store. I scanned the image in color at 300dpi and opened it in Adobe Photoshop.

 

Step 2: Base Colors. I created two new layers in Photoshop, one for the pavement and the other for the sky and building. I added the colors using the gradient tool in order to create the illusion of depth. I even added a sponge filter to the pavement to give it a texture. Tree leaves were painted into the scene with the paintbrush tool. I used the eraser tool to remove color from the clouds, people and plants.

 

Step 3: People Colors. On a new layer, I painted digital color to the figures in the scene. Instead of single colors for clothing and faces, I added darker colors to create a more three-dimensional appearance to the subjects. As a rule, when coloring people, add a variety of skin tones to reflect a diverse population!

 

Wacom Cintiq. I used a ten year old Wacom Cintiq interactive 15 inch monitor that enabled me to illustrate directly onto the screen using a digital pen. I selected my colors from a chart created with Chartpak AD markers that I had opened in a separate window. Many illustrators use a Wacom tablet for their digital painting but I prefer the direct pen point-to-drawing characteristics of the Wacom Cintiq.

 

Step 4: Final Color. On a new layer, I completed the coloring of tables, books, umbrellas and furniture. I added gray shadows to an additional layer and gave the layer a slight transparency to adjust the shadow intensity. Knowing that this was an acceptable level of completion for the digital coloring effort, I chose to take it one step further and see if I could improve the image. 

Step 5: Overworked Color. This additional coloring experiment involved a new layer in which I applied a 35% transparent gray tone over the entire image. I erased the gray color to the foreground flowers, books, people, umbrellas and clouds to highlight those elements and let the rest of the image recede. One extra layer was created for brush strokes of gray linework to add texture to the pavement. My overall assessment of this effort was that it considerably darkened the image and distracted the overall character of the drawing. With digital layers, the drawing was not ruined as I could delete those extra layers or turn them off from view. I encourage you to try digital painting on your next project and send me an image for feedback!

 

Look for other interesting articles on my blog, visit my website www.drawingshortcuts.com and read my new book Drawing Shortcuts Second Edition. 

 

 

 

NEW! - The 2010 Blog Collection , a 116-page catalog of my best blog posts from 2010 is now available on Blurb!  http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1963744

Details of Design: Hot Grilles, Flames, and Chrome!

There is nothing more inspiring to start the summer season than a classic auto show. I recently spent a day at the Loveland, Colorado fairgrounds taking photographs of an amazing collection of american automobile designs - non of which were newer than 1972. With well over 2,000 vehicles on display, I began to really appreciate the incredible design effort put into front grilles, tail fins, lights, trim and iconic hood ornamentation. 

Here I am in front of my personal “best in show” - a beautifully restored 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air two-door hard top. I love the twin hood ornaments, the sharp rear fins, front end design and especially the seamless integration of the windows and body design. The red and black stock interior fabrics were a perfect fit with the simple black, white and chrome exterior.  Fully restored models like this one are valued at $100,000!

  

When I slowed down and started looking closely at the cars, I discovered some really interesting hood ornaments, fender designs and graphics.

 

Celebration of lights! Designers really put a lot of effort into integrating lights with the car body. The license plate is a tribute to the 1963 hit "Da Do Run Run" by the Crystals. In that year, I was 13 years old and more into hot looking girls than cool cars! Click here to see a YouTube video of the Crystals!

 

Restorations before and after. There were many cars and trucks in the auto show in various stages of being restored. It was thrilling to learn that many cars begin as a rusted pile of steel and through a whole lot of hard effort, evolve into a work of perfection!

Varieties of front grilles. My favorite was the GMC teeth! Some of the designs reminded me of faces, braces, sharks and monsters!

Bright paint colors and flames! Some cars were truly works of art. Watch this YouTube video about how flames are painted onto cars. It is really informative. 

Neon signs for purchase. An amazing light show for future car buffs!

Look for other interesting articles on my blog, visit my website www.drawingshortcuts.com and read my new book Drawing Shortcuts Second Edition. 

 

 

 

NEW! - The 2010 Blog Collection , a 116-page catalog of my best blog posts from 2010 is now available on Blurb!  http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1963744

 

Drawing a Sports Concept Store Interior

Imagine having to illustrate the interior space of a huge warehouse converted into an interior skate board park and sporting goods store! My client was exploring the possibilities of this themed concept store and asked me to produce a series of perspectives to show investors. 

Working with very rough floor plan for the three-level space connected with bridges and ramps, I built a 3D AutoCAD model of the basic layout, columns and roof truss. I generated wireframe perspective views and illustrated the series of drawings shown below. This project was especially challenging as it involved drawing a great number of people participating in various shopping and sports activities.

 

Indoor Skate Board Park Drawings

Step 1: 3D Computer Model. I worked closely with an architect friend to build a 3D massing model of the warehouse space. The basic levels, ramps and structure were blocked out in a simple shapes and geometry.

Step 2: Red Pencil Mockup. I printed the model view 10”x16” on bond paper and generated an overlay sketch using a red Sanford col-erase pencil. I roughed in all of the interior detail such as skateboard ramps, retail displays, signage, interior lighting, and people. I reviewed this early sketch with my client for feedback and approval to continue completing the drawing.

Step 3: Ink Line Drawing. Using a Staedtler Lumocolor F pen on vellum, I illustrated the entire perspective adding necessary detail that was not developed in the red pencil mockup. Because of the complexity of the detail, this step of the process consumed most of my time and took about 4 hours to complete.

Step 4: Color. The two drawings shown above were from the series of six perspectives developed to show different themed areas of the skate board park/retail store. I copied the line drawings onto heavy weight bond paper using a digital scanner/copier. The base tones were added with light Chartpak AD marker colors and the texture on the flooring and ceiling was created with Prismacolor pencils. I used yellow pencil to emphasize the accent lighting and signage.

 

Bicycle Kiosk Drawings

 

This additional series of three illustrations were specifically developed to highlight a national brand. Each drawing began as a rough sketch that I reviewed with my client, then developed as a red pencil mockup. Notice that I traced over photographs of the actual bike equipment produced by the company. Accurate portrayal of the machines was critical for the success of these drawings!

Each of the three drawings I created for this series was sized 10”x14” to delineate the fine detail of the bicycles and exercise equipment. These were challenging perspectives that involved careful illustration of the machines, people in action as well as the signage. I combined eye-level perspectives with an aerial view to best represent the spaces and floor graphics.

 

Look for other interesting articles on my blog, visit my website www.drawingshortcuts.com and read my new book Drawing Shortcuts Second Edition. 

 

 

NEW! - The 2010 Blog Collection , a 116-page catalog of my best blog posts from 2010 is now available on Blurb!  http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1963744

 

When Drawing People: Their Size Really Matters!

 

If you have a great fear of drawing people, you are not alone. I can't identify any other subject that designers have more difficulty drawing. Fact - it is not easy illustrating the human form, especially faces!

Well, that’s not entirely correct….because it all depends on how big or small you draw people. Follow these simple drawing shortcuts and you’ll find the confidence to add people to your next drawing project. Rule #1: draw small people whenever possible, Rule #2: always draw groups of people in action, Rule #3: trace larger people from reference sources. 

The images below represent three basic groupings of people according to how small or large they are illustrated in the drawing. Some drawings have mixed sizes to emphasize the depth of space and perspective. 

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Small Size People

 

Small People Are Easy To Draw! This illustration has thousands of people drawn in it to represent a massive audience attending an outside venue. I drew lots of circles and “blobs” to capture the character of the gathering.

 

Circles and Shapes. These small people in the theater are mostly circular forms sitting on rounded forms that represent bodies. Carefully look at the difference in detail between the majority of figures in the background compared with the more detailed representation of those few individuals in the foreground. I have not drawn a single face!

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Medium Size People

Medium People have body shapes!  Once you start drawing larger people, you will need to commit to illustrating body shapes, gender and action. The drawing above has a crowd of people (bottom of drawing), all drawn with a minimal level of detail but with the intent of showing children, couples, gender and action.

 

People Activate a Space. Imagine this festival drawing without any people in it! I inserted over 100 medium sized people into the scene in order to show activities such as dining, retail sales, couples holding hands and walking. The level of detail is quite minimal and drawn without showing any faces or feet.

 

Moderate Detail in Featured People. This large exhibit space is populated with a mix of medium and small size people. I illustrated clothing, faces, hair, accessories on those individuals in the foreground while those in the distance have little or no detail. The large sports figures were traced from photographs.

 

If in Doubt, Trace From a Photograph. I needed to illustrate some runners to advertise a race and found a photograph I printed from the internet. I traced over the photograph on Mylar with a felt tipped pen and added a minimal amount of detail to the faces and clothing.

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Large Size People

Large People Require Illustrative Detail! Although the people in the background are small and void of detail, the seven large figures in the foreground required careful delineation. I traced the couple on the left from an entourage file, slightly changing the clothing but keeping the identical shapes. The central couple and flower vendor were first sketched in red pencil from imagination, then traced once more in ink on the final drawing.

 

Twenty Challenging People to Draw. Without any reference photographs except for the single individual on the left, I created a mockup drawing in red pencil of the group trying to mix up the genders, seated postures, faces, clothing and hair styles. Equally as difficult was the need to position them correctly into the perspective. This size of drawing and complexity requires great patience and care - especially when drawing faces!

  

Trace and Modify a Photograph. Using a photograph as the base reference, I changed the gender on some of the background figures and inserted objects and graphics specific to the topic of my illustration. Although it is rather easy to trace over a photograph, you must modify certain objects, change the setting and be very conscious of delineating every part of the drawing as you would like it to appear, not just as it exists in the base photograph.

 

MIx Up Your Clothing and Body Types. This cartoon that I illustrated for a party highlights the need to delineate much more detail, clothing styles, body shapes, facial expressions and accessories when drawing larger size people.

 

Tell A Story with Large People. This grouping of large sized people reveals the emotions and activities of ten individuals in the composition. The illustration shows parenting, teaching, discovery, conversation and action in addition to showing a mix of genders and ages. All of these people were sketched first in red pencil, then traced in ink for the final drawing.

Look for other interesting articles on my blog, visit my website www.drawingshortcuts.com and read my new book Drawing Shortcuts Second Edition. 

 

 

NEW! - The 2010 Blog Collection , a 116-page catalog of my best blog posts from 2010 is now available on Blurb!  http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1963744