Jim Leggitt / Drawing Shortcuts

Evolution of a Hybrid Drawing

This recent illustration was very exciting for me to produce as it incorporated photography, hand drawing using a digital drawing pen, traditional coloring with markers and pencils, plus digital layering in Adobe Photoshop. My challenge was to illustrate several steps in the process of collecting, processing, storing and managing artifacts within a natural history museum. Here are the step-by-steps of my amazing visualization process!

 

Step 1 -Digital Photograph.  I took the digital photo as scientists were actively working on a new collection of fossil bones wrapped in plaster. They were carefully chipping away the plaster cast and vacuuming the dust.

Step 2 - Photo Editing. I trimmed away areas of the original digital photograph in Photoshop to reveal only the information I deemed vital to the illustration.

Step 3 - Digital Linework. Using a Wacom Cintiq interactive monitor, I traced over the photograph in Adobe Photoshop and created all of the linework for the illustration. I created the string grid on a separate layer to avoid interfering with the base drawing in the event my linework conflicted with the base drawing.

Step 4 - Photoshop Composite. I combined the digital linework with the original photographed and lightened the image in Photoshop prior to printing it on matte finish paper.

Step 5 - Hand Coloring. I printed the image 13”x19” on Epson matte finish paper and colored the illustration with Chartpak AD markers and Prismacolor pencils. Much of the photograph was visible in the final image and provided the much needed tonal characteristics of the plaster cast beneath the fossils.

 

Step 6 - Final Image Collage. This image along with four others composed the overall collage of illustrations representing the process of the collections wing of a major museum of natural history.

 

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

Traditional Watercolor from a SketchUp Model

I have recently written about a new digital watercolor technique that I’ve been exploring with Google SketchUp and wanted to feature this traditional watercolor process that the talented illustrator Michael Abbott used for a proposed golf course development. I built the original SketchUp model for Michael and he illustrated this beautiful traditional painting using the following steps. (I have included enlargements with the original images for you to see more detail)

 

Step 1. Conceptual Master Plan. Our planning team designed the golf course and club house adjacent to mid-rise residential buildings. The visual presentation material for this development included several watercolor paintings of the golf course and other amenities.

 

Step 2. SketchUp Massing Model. I built a simple SketchUp block model of the golf clubhouse complex. Knowing that the buildings were only going to be seen from the aerial perspective, I made the effort to insert just enough model detail for Michael to illustrate and not waste time with too many windows and roof details that would never be delineated in the watercolor painting. 

Step 3. Ink LIne Drawing. Michael enlarged the aerial view to 17”x24” and first created an overlay pencil sketch of the scene for team review and comment. He then illustrated the scene on 1000H vellum with a .25mm fine point Rapidograph technical pen. His line drawing was scanned at 300dpi, lightened in Photoshop and printed onto watercolor paper with waterproof inks using an Epson wide format printer.

Step 4. Traditional Watercolor Painting. Michael had the print of his line drawing mounted on heavy foam board and proceeded to paint directly onto the paper with traditional watercolors. Some of the white highlights were painted with opaque paint. Note: many watercolor artists are integrating digital reprographic techniques into their visualization process. Once their watercolor paintings are completed, they often scan the image and continue improving the contrast and color in Photoshop!

 

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

 

Hand Drawn Perspectives from a Computer Model

Perspective renderings generated from computer models have become the new norm for designers and professional illustrators. There are many modeling programs available and strategies for developing 3D perspectives that range from simple massing to sophisticated photorealistic models. 

 

I created this series of three renderings from a simple AutoCAD massing model that only represented basic shapes and no facade detail whatsoever. I selected three classic views (aerial, rooftop and eye level) to communicate a village mixed-use development. Each view was drawn over a print of the 3D model view using an “overlay and trace” method of drawing. My step-by-step explanation is as follows;

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Aerial Perspective

 

Step 1 - Computer Model                   Step 2 - Sketch Overlay

Step 3 - Final Perspective. This project was a team effort with my talented architect friend Ron Schafer who selected the view and produced a quick pencil overlay that delineated the ground plane, building facades and overall character. I printed his sketch 12”x18” and completed the overall drawing on vellum using a Pilot Fineliner pen. I colored a digital copy with Chartpak AD markers and Prismacolor pencils.

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Roof Level Perspective

 

Step 1 - Computer Model                   Step 2 - Sketch Overlay

Step 3 - Final Perspective. This village retail scene was composed to give the viewer a more close up look at the mix of ground level retail and upper level residential units. I replicated the same technique as the aerial perspective and focused on developing more detail in the storefronts, paving patterns, landscaping, building facades, graphics, and people. Note: when illustrating street scenes, add cars to your 3D model as it can be quite a challenge drawing cars from imagination. Let the computer do the hard work so you can have fun drawing!

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Eye Level Perspective

Step 1 - Computer Model                   Step 2 - Sketch Overlay

Step 3 - Final Perspective. The eye-level perspective view gave the series of drawings a “you are there” character and a more personal up close look at the architectural design. Ron and I selected a street view at a curved portion of the village street in order to capture some of the distant storefronts. I framed the overhead portion of the drawing with the tree canopy and wood structure. I added a few cars and people to establish scale to the streetscape. Note: this drawing would have been much better with additional bollards, street lighting, more store signage and perhaps a couple of foreground people waking on the sidewalk in the lower right portion of the 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

Strategies for Drawing Groups of People

 

I always insert groups of people in my drawings to give the scenes scale, action, create a story and context. Not all people need to be drawn at the same level of detail - a strategy that is often overlooked in the drawing process. Whenever I begin a project, I make strategic decisions on how much time I should spend drawing detail, what are my client’s expectations and at what stage in the process am I creating a design visualization. 

Here are four basic approaches for drawing groups of people that range from minimal detailed sketches to highly illustrative representations. I hope these simple tips can help you in your own drawing process!

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Sketch Technique: Low Detail

Sketching people with minimal detail involves creating simple shapes, hardly any commitment to gender or age, and no delineation of faces. The two drawings below have dozens of people drawn into them with a low level of detail. Only a few individuals in the foreground (musicians and the projected images) were illustrated. This technique is very effective in concept development of projects when many quick sketches are being generated.

 

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Sketch Technique: Moderate Detail

The amount of detail has increased with these concept design sketches. Although people still don’t have faces delineated, I’ve inserted a moderate amount of detail into their clothing, body shapes, action and deliberate placement within the scene. Notice how some people are sitting at dining tables, grouped together, and even waving to each other. More time was invested into drawing these scenes as the images were used for more of concept presentation format.

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Illustrative Techinque: Moderate Detail

As project designs become more refined, so do the illustrations representing them. The two presentation drawings below each show a much higher level of delineation of the people groups. The upper illustration by J.F. Mahoney  clearly defines gender, faces, clothing variety, hand activity and much more of a commitment to detail. My lower drawing of an exhibit is carefully illustrated to show specific actions of each individual in the group. Notice that the larger you draw people in your scenes, the more illustrative detail you much invest into delineating them!

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Illustrative Technique: High Detail

Both of the drawings below are from Kirk Fromm, who has illustrated his groups of people with a highly refined level of detail. Each individual has a unique character, action, facial definition and clothing style. The upper drawing used a photographic method for generating people. Kirk took his own digital photographs of people and inserted them into the image, manipulating each with a technique of overdrawing, filtering and digital painting. The lower casino drawing did not incorporate photography and was generated by carefully illustrating each individual from preliminary sketches and a series of drawing refinements. Great work Kirk!

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 Watercolor of a New Museum

I have been experimenting with combining 3D SketchUp models, traditional hand coloring and Photoshop filtering to create the digital effect of a watercolor painting. I call this the “Digital Watercolor Method” and it is worth trying on your next project!

The process involves building a detailed Google SketchUp model, exporting the scene in different pieces, creating a photorealistic rendering of the model using Shaderlight, recombining all of the separate pieces in Adobe Photoshop, printing, hand coloring with markers, and finally applying a watercolor filter to a scanned image. The success comes from the hand coloring step, which gives the image the hand-crafted character that no one has yet been able to successfully achieve strictly using a computer. Here is a quick overview of my process:

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SketchUp Model

Step 1 Google SketchUp Model. I began the visualization project by importing the architect’s AutoCAD model into SketchUp and adding entourage to the scene with plants and 2D people. I photographed views from the site and created the realistic background trees as a backdrop in the model.

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Model Export Varitations

Step 2 Export Faces                          Step 3 Export Edges

Step 4 Shaderlight Rendering           Step 5 Composite Image

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Hand Coloring with Markers

Step 6 Hand Coloring with Markers. I printed the composite image on 11”x17” matte finish coated bond paper and colored the entire scene with very light colored Charpak AD markers. The marker created an informal wash of color, overlapping “blobs” of marker strokes and additional color in windows, reflections and landscaping.

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Watercolor Filter

Step 7 Watercolor Filter. I scanned the hand colored print at 300dpi and imported the image into Adobe Photoshop. I applied a watercolor filter to the view and adjusted the contrast levels to my desired effect. The resulting digital watercolor accentuated the marker strokes and created an overall painted appearance to the building, people and landscaping.

I will continue exploring this digital watercolor method and encourage you to try out the process and send me examples of your own success with this interesting visualization technique!

 

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