Jim Leggitt / Drawing Shortcuts

Visual Scribing: A New Twist on Hand Drawing!

I am always on the lookout for new techniques that visualize ideas quickly and discovered a very effective method of communication called “visual scribing” - the act of sketching on paper what is being verbally described by others. As I mentioned in my book Drawing Shortcuts, this type of hand drawing is 100% from imagination and does not rely on any tracing over photographs or 3D models. 

The project shown below was for a visioning session my company studioINSITE had with City Council members from Brighton, Colorado. As individuals expressed their opinions about topics such as ‘why I moved to Brighton’ or ‘what makes Brighton a great place to live’, I translated their concepts into thumbnail sketches cartooning each concept. By the time the meeting concluded, two of us had generated over 65 sketches!

Listen Carefully and Draw Small. Here I am sketching on blank sheets of letter sized paper. Each free hand ink drawing was small enough to fit on 1/4 of the sheet in order to then enlarge it by 200% and tape the print to the wall of the council room.

Capture a Single Idea on Paper. As members spoke about topics such as creating a cultural website, music events, retail diversity, housing and bike trails, I tried to imagine what simple visual “icon” might represent that idea. For the ‘bike friendly’ sketch, I illustrated six bike riders on a curved path. Simple and with minimal detail!

It Takes Teamwork to Organize a Visual Scribing Session.  As we generated the sketches, we handed them to our assistant who enlarged them 200% using a basic scanner-printer machine that we set up in the room. Other planners on our team wrote down ideas in traditional text format. Between the numerous pages of notes and our 65+ sketches, we really documented the visioning session with material that was constantly referenced for the following two months by staff and city departments.

Doubling Up the Visual Scribing Effort. I teamed with another planner from my firm studioINSITE to keep up with the fast pace of the council visioning session. As I completed one drawing, Eric was starting on another. We constantly shared ideas about how to visualize certain concepts during the session. His very minimal sketch of the tractor (below) on a field successfully captured the ‘rural roots’ comment by one of the council members.

Many Diverse Ideas on Paper. Look at the many different sketch techniques used in this edited collection of drawings. There are simple cartoons, perspectives, elevations, and even a section technique used to illustrate the skate board park. We did not worry about perfect proportions or accurate detail, as much as getting the idea drawn quickly with minimal amount of effort. Notice that the people illustrated in the ‘more jobs’ sketch have iconic hats and clothing to emphasize diversity in their jobs. 

Wall Sized Presentation. Each sketch was enlarged 200%, which fit perfectly onto 8.5”x11” paper. As the drawings were created, they were taped to the wall and reviewed by council members during breaks and following the meeting. I visited the room two months later and the material was still taped to the walls!

Next time you have a community meeting or design workshop, try sketching some of the ideas and ‘visually scribing’ the concepts. It may be scary at first but completely rewarding and appreciated by very happy clients. A typical client comment about this process is: “we spoke, the team of consultants listened and captured exactly what we said on paper. They are amazing”!

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

Quick Sketches for a Park Improvement Project

A friend asked me if I could sketch several proposed improvements to an existing public park. Additions to the open spaces included a new xeric garden in front of a picnic pavilion, new bike paths on the park perimeter and a pedestrian bridge crossing a drainage creek connecting to a residential neighborhood. My first step was to visit the park and photograph the specific areas planned for improvement. I downloaded my iPhone images and then created three “overlay and trace” drawings of the proposed improvements. My step-by-step explanation shows how easy the visualization process was!

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New Xeric Garden

Step 1 - iPhone Digital Photo. I held the camera high above my head to capture more of the ground area. After downloading the image, I printed it in color on 8.5”x11” paper for tracing.

Step 2 - Red Pencil Mockup.  I taped tracing paper over the photograph and blocked out the xeric garden, interpretive signage and pathways using a red Col-Erase pencil. My scanned JPEG of the mockup was approved by my friend before continuing onto the final drawings.

Step 3 - Ink Line Drawing. I taped a new sheet of tracing paper over the mockup and drew the final illustration using a Pilot Fineliner (fine point) pen. Knowing that I was going to color directly onto the original artwork, I make a record scan of the line drawing. Why? I could easily print the line drawing and color a duplicate if the original marker coloring got ruined or changed!

Step 4 - Final Marker Color. I used Chartpak AD markers and colored directly onto the original line drawing. The thinness of the tracing paper allowed me to color both on the front and back side of the paper. 

Step 5 - High Resolution Scan. I finally scanned the colored drawing at 300dpi and saved a jpeg. The image was emailed to my friend and incorporated into a presentation. Always make high resolution record scans of your completed drawings for archival purposes and as reference for future projects.

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New Perimeter Bike Path

The sequence of images below represent the identical step-by-step illustrative process I used for the Xeric Garden. This composition focused on the activities generated by a soccer field and the new bicycle pathway. I drew additional shade trees and landscaping to improve the open space character.

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New Pedestrian Bridge

I composed the photograph to include the housing on the left and the bike path in the distance. I drew new shade trees to block most of the housing and illustrated the change in plant materials between mowed grass and natural grasses lining the waterway. Notice the new dog park on the right side 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. 

 

 

 

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

Learning to Draw with Confidence!

Pablo Picasso once said “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” This couldn’t be more true today as designers spend most of their creative thinking time in front of computer screens and further away from traditional drawing surfaces. 

Many architects are now admitting that they miss the drawing process that first inspired them to join the profession. Others lament that they never were offered drawing courses in design school. Lack of drawing confidence is now a universal condition in the design profession - which can be easily reversed with a few simple steps:

Step 1 - Encourage Children to Draw! I recently was asked to teach a drawing lesson as part of a week long program about architecture at a local pre-school. Children were eager to express their creativity on paper and talk about their ideas in front of others. They drew their “dream house” and presented ideas in front of class mates with enthusiasm and lots of laughter. Speaking into a fake microphone added an entertainment value to the presentations.

Step 2 - Add Drawing Classes back into Design School Curriculums.  Twenty years ago, colleges began replacing traditional drawing classes with computer courses. This trend continues today and most design students are graduating with a high level of drawing illiteracy. Adding basic courses in plan graphics, perspective, traditional graphic materials can give students a much needed "hands on" experience in design communication without the reliance on software and electronics.

Step 3 - Take a Professional Drawing Workshop. There are many individuals offering drawing workshops for professionals. These workshops focus on traditional drawing tools such as pens, pencils, colored markers and tracing paper. In addition to teaching the fundamentals of quick visualization with hand graphics, these workshops include how to integrate 3D SketchUp models into the drawing process with exciting new hybrid techniques that merge traditional hand drawing with digital media. 

Step 4 - Discover your own Drawing Style. There are so many different methods of drawing that range from traditional overlay and trace techniques to exciting hybrid methods that incorporate hand drawing, digital media and reprographics. Some drawings can be simply generated for fun and others for developing design concepts or creating formal presentations. Wherever you are in the design process, find ways to express your unique creative style through drawing. Like those pre school children designing their dream houses, don’t be afraid - just jump in and draw!

We often proclaim to others “I can’t draw” or “I don’t know how to sketch people”. Heard that before? It’s OK to have that fear of drawing, just as many elderly folks have a fear of computers. Take a hard look at how others are developing their design ideas and communicating them to their professors or clients. 

I am a true advocate of having a pocket full of design visualization tools and knowing which ones to use for specific purposes. Traditional drawing is absolutely one of those options and we all should have a fundamental knowledge of how to draw and willingness to visualize a scene on tracing paper, color it with markers and show it to others with enthusiasm, humor and confidence!

 

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

 

 

 

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