Jim Leggitt / Drawing Shortcuts

Visualizing an Urban Master Plan with SketchUp

This very exciting master planning project really challenged my creative visualization skills by incorporating plan graphics, SketchUp modeling, traditional imagination drawing, hybrid composite drawing, overlay and trace, plus digital editing. You might say I “ threw the book at this one”! 

The project was a competition in which my firm studioINSITE was trying to win the commission for the master plan of a large multi-block neighborhood in Denver. Knowing it was a competition with a lot of pro bono time investment, I did my best to work efficiently and create drawings with just enough detail to understand our design intent, but not design detail. Here are three different drawing tasks I accomplished in one week’s worth of effort.

Master Plan Graphic. The site was framed by two large arterial streets and a major highway and light rail corridor. I subdivided the property into developable mixed use blocks and generated this hand drawn plan graphic with just enough detail to construct a SketchUp massing model.

SketchUp Massing Model. I scanned the plan graphic and imported it into SketchUp and built this basic block “massing model” showing the different building shapes. Notice all of the simple flat buildings and lack of architectural detail. I populated the model with 2D trees to give it an additional sense of scale. The model was dropped onto a site base imported from AutoCAD into SketchUp. This simple massing model probably took a full day to create and populate with trees. I used the model to select view options and to create the aerial perspective.

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Aerial Perspective (composite scan drawing)

Preferred Aerial Perspective View. I exported several different perspective views of the SketchUp model and selected this scene to develop my hybrid rendering. I normally use a 55mm focal length for most of my SketchUp views to replicate natural viewing characteristic of the human eye. I then lightened the image in Photoshop and printed it on Epson matte finish coated bond paper. The final image size was approximately 17”x17”.

Hand Drawing Directly on the Print. Using a standard fine point black roller ball pen, I drew very sketchy outlines around all of buildings and trees - directly onto the print. I call this method of illustration “composite drawing” and by sketching right onto the SketchUp model print, I disguise the model and make it appear more like a hand drawing than a computer rendering!  Once the linework was completed, I colored much of the drawing with very light Chartpak AD markers and finished highlighting the trees and grassy areas with a green colored pencil.

Completed Aerial Perspective.

Drawing Detail.

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Central Park Perspective (overlay and trace drawing)

SketchUp Model View. Without adding anymore detail to the original SketchUp massing model, I selected this low angle aerial perspective scene in order to create a quick sketch of the feature park in the heart of the development.

Overlay and Trace Drawing. I printed the SketchUp view 8 1/2” x11” and taped a sheet of tracing paper over the print. I then created a simple ink line hand drawing traced from the model. I added some colored marker but no colored pencil to the sketch. The image above shows the sketch as a “stand alone” image with no background.

Overlay and Trace Composite Scan. As an alternative approach to the simple overlay and trace drawing, I scanned BOTH the hand drawing and the SketchUp model view together. Notice how the gray shadows of the SketchUp model are ghosted through the tracing paper. Which of the two options do you like better? I personally am a fan of this composite scan alternative. I love experimenting with hybrid visuals and this is a great example of merging traditional hand drawing technique with computer modeling.

Photoshop Alteration. I was unhappy with my delineation of the large grassy area within the park so I simply brought the jpg into Photoshop and erased the linework. Don’t ever hesitate to make last minute modifications to drawings in Photoshop if you think there is room for improvement!

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Imagination Character Sketches

These two sketches were added to the presentation at the last minute to represent some eye level close up views of the central commercial district and the more bohemian arts district. Both were sized 6”x9” and sketched with a Pilot Fineliner Pen and colored with Charpak AD markers.

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

Workshop Announcement!  I am offering a two-day Drawing Workshop August 5-6, 2016 in Denver. If you are interested in having an action packed two days fine tuning your drawing skills and learning new hybrid drawing techniques please visit my web page describing the workshop. This will be the only workshop I am offering in 2016. Click here for information.

Quick Streetscape Sketch from a Photograph

I’m often asked to create a conceptual “what if” sketch that could be added to a presentation or a proposal for a new project. My office recently submitted a proposal for streetscape improvements in a Denver industrial neighborhood and for the document, I created a quick “before and after” sketch of a typical block in order to help inspire the client and select our firm for the project. Here is an explanation of my process:

Digital Photograph. I drove around several streets in this warehouse district and found a late afternoon sunlit building that would be ideal for repurposing into a craft brewery. Notice the complete lack of street curbs, designated bicycle lanes, sidewalks and landscaping. My task was to take this barren setting and visualize what it could be with streetscape and architectural improvements.

Overlay and Trace Sketch - Scan Option 1.  I printed the iPhone photo on letter size paper and taped a sheet of tracing paper on the print. Using a red Col-erase pencil, I lightly sketched all of the new elements onto the tracing paper and drew right over the red pencil lines with a Pentel Sign Pen. Once the pen and ink illustration was completed (30 minutes) I erased the light pencil linework and then colored the drawing with Chartpak AD markers. I scanned the artwork at 300 dpi and saved the JPEG that you see above.

Composite Scan Sketch - Scan Option 2. As an alternative to the stand alone scanned drawing (option 1), I scanned both the hand drawing and the photograph together. Notice in the lower left of the drawing that the street has a gray tone to it. This is because the dark street from the photograph is showing through the tracing paper. Which option do you think looks better? Now that I compare them side-by-side, I think Option 1 is more successful as it is much brighter and not so muddy.

Workshop Announcement!  I am offering a two-day Drawing Workshop August 5-6, 2016 in Denver. If you are interested in having an action packed two days fine tuning your drawing skills and learning new hybrid drawing techniques please visit my web page describing the workshop. This will be the only workshop I am offering in 2016. Click here for information.

 

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

Repurposed Alley Drawing from a SketchUp Model

I recently created this hybrid drawing for a lecture I presented on “repurposing” urban alleys. We’re all familiar with downtown alleys throughout the country and are now seeing some very successful efforts by cities to clean up their alleys and add small shops and outdoor dining spaces to them. By activating these overlooked downtown corridors, cities are now discovering exciting new uses and popular destinations in their city cores.

For this visualization project, I selected an alley right around the corner from my downtown Omaha office (my Denver based firm has a satellite office located in historic downtown Omaha). The following steps outline the process in which I built a SketchUp model from a photograph and created an overlay and trace drawing from the SketchUp view.

Step One - Base Photograph. I took a digital photograph at eye level of the alley making sure to capture faces of the buildings lining both sides of the alley as well as the building facade facing onto the street.

Step Two - SketchUp Match Photo. If you are familiar with the SketchUp Match Photo tool, it allows you to capture an accurate perspective, match the image to a real dimensional scale and then populate the model with components such as people, furniture, signage, cars and landscaping.

Step Three - Adding SketchUp Components. Models created using Match Photo can only be viewed from the original perspective captured in the digital photograph. As you can see in the two SketchUp model views above, the model consists of a strange series of shapes, distorted photographic images and false storefronts. The model is useless until you view it from the original photographic perspective. I populated the model with signage, people, furniture, railings, cars, trees and lighting to create an active scene with outdoor dining spaces and new storefronts.

Step Four - Export Final Scene. I carefully positioned people, sun shading and foreground trees to compose an exciting scene for the repurposed alley. I added an overhead sign “Harney Lane” to reinforce the sense of place. I exported a 2D image in SketchUp of the scene and printed the image on 11”x17” paper. The actual size of the image was 7”x14”.

Step Five - Overlay and Trace Drawing. I then placed a sheet of tracing paper directly on top of the print and traced all of the elements using a water based fine point felt tip pen. I then colored the scene using Chartpak AD markers and Prismacolor pencils. The image above shows me coloring the red umbrellas with a marker. Notice the print of theSketchUp model showing beneath the tracing paper and how the white colored pencil highlights the top of the building and reflections on the glass windows.

Step Six - Composite Scan. Using my 11”x17” flat bed scanner, I saved a 300dpi JPG of the image and adjusted the contrast and color in Adobe Photoshop. Note that I scanned both the original hand drawing and the SketchUp model print together. I call this hybrid technique a “Composite Scan Drawing”.

Drawing Detail. This enlarged section of the drawing gives you a better understanding of my loose drawing technique and informal use of color. I love this method of drawing that merges a SketchUp model with traditional hand drawing. Very quick, very effective and fun to create!

Workshop Announcement!  I am offering a two-day Drawing Workshop August 5-6, 2016 in Denver. If you are interested in having an action packed two days fine tuning your drawing skills and learning new hybrid drawing techniques please visit my web page describing the workshop. This will be the only workshop I am offering in 2016. Click here for information.

 

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

Detail Strategies for SketchUp Modeling

I recently developed a series of drawings of a lakeside cottage that I used in seminars about design visualization. I photographed a small house on the coast of Oregon and used that building design as inspiration to construct several SketchUp models and numerous drawings that explored different drawing techniques.

This article shows what you can do to visualize a design idea with two entirely different SketchUp models - one built with very minimal detail, and one built with a substantial amount of architectural detail. My “step-by-step” explanation is below.

Inspiration. I photographed this cottage during a vacation on the Oregon coast.

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Option One - Detailed SketchUp Model

Not having any architectural plans, I “eye-balled” building the cottage in SketchUp with detailed windows, wood trim, railings and materials that matched the photograph as closely as possible. This realistic model was then used to create a lakeside scene and eventually the print composite drawing shown below.

Detailed Model Scene. I placed the cottage model onto a sloped site on the edge of a lake, added an exterior wood dock and deck, then populated the model with 2D and 3D trees, plants, boats, furniture and people. This scene (model view) was the basis for my print composite drawing.

Print Composite Drawing. Using a slightly different model view, I produced a hybrid drawing using a technique I call “Print Composite Drawing” in which I first render the SketchUp view using the plugin Shaderlight, then print the image on a matte finish coated bond paper and draw right on the print with pen and ink, colored markers and colored pencils. (I’ll share with you more of a lengthy “step-by-step” explanation of this process in future blog articles). 

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Option Two - Minimal SketchUp Model Detail

Minimal Detail “Massing Model”. Here is a SketchUp model of the same cottage but constructed in a fraction of the time. Notice the basic architectural form without any of the roofing detail, simple gray boxes for the windows and no railings at all. This minimal approach to modeling is a time saving strategy and quite effective when developing simple “overlay and trace” drawings - a technique I show below.

Simple Model Scene. I created a similar lakeside scene focused on investing minimal time and detail in the SketchUp model. I found simple 2D trees, people, “stick” furniture and other site elements to add into the scene. This formed the basis for my “overlay and trace drawing.

Overlay and Trace Drawing. Again, using a slightly different model view, I created this quick sketch of the cottage by first printing the model view on 8 1/2” x 11” paper, then placing a sheet of tracing paper over the print and sketching the scene using pen and ink. I added colored marker directly onto the tracing paper and scanned the final artwork. As you can see, due to the sketchy nature of the drawing, it was not at all necessary to construct a detailed SketchUp model. (I’ll follow up with a future blog article that explains this simple technique). 

Look for other interesting articles on my blog, visit my website www.drawingshortcuts.com and read my book DRAWING SHORTCUTS - Developing Quick Drawing Skills Using Todays Technology.