Digital concept sketch demo

Hi all!  Sorry for the long hiatus; it's been a crazy few months! I'll spare you the details, because I want to kick off the summer posts with a demonstration series I've done live before audiences at a few conferences this Spring.  It's done on a Motion LE1600 pen-interactive computer using Sketchbook Pro software.  This is the methodology introduced to me by Robert Chipman, ASLA, and demonstrated in Ch. 8 of my book "Freehand Drawing and Discovery."  It's a VERY user-friendly setup that very closely mimics the use of pen (or pencil or marker, etc.) on paper.  I love it; it can become addictive once you start doodling with it.  The idea is to quickly sketch an urban design idea over a digital photo in order to generate feedback from a client, design team, or public meeting attendees.  I think it's a marvelous way to work.  Here's an example:

Here's a digital photo taken on the project site.  For this particular intersection, I want to create a sense of arrival into the shopping village, calm traffic speeds, provide better pedestrian crossings, and help build a sense of place.  The digital concept sketch will explore all these ideas very quickly.

First, I'll use the "eye dropper" tool to sample the color of the background sky, then use that color with a digital brush to "erase" the background trees (don't worry, I'll put them back later) and the overhead utilities, and to remove the arching traffic signal arm (my safety consultant tells me the lower signal is sufficient in this instance).

Now I've used the simple slider in the "layers" toolbox to reduce the base photo's opacity from 100% to 45%.  This digitally mimics the effect of laying tracing paper over a hard copy photograph, allowing you to more clearly see what you'll draw.

I've created a new layer to draw on, so that I can sketch and erase without affecting the base image.  Using the ballpoint pen tool, I start to doodle design ideas with a stylus right on the screen.  Here's an idea for a sculpture column to act as a  vertical landmark (what Walt Disney called "the wienie at the end of the street"--think of Cinderella's castle at the end of Disneyland's Main Street USA) to create attention and visual drama, drawing visitors into the space.

Here enhanced street crossings are created with special paving and intersection "bulb-outs," and canopy trees are added to heighten a sense of arrival.

People and some details are added, still using the ballpoint pen tool.

The digital airbrush tool is used to add some nice, transparent layers of color to the sketch.

Now I switch to the Pencil tool, and use colors very similar to my "analog" Prismacolor pencil collection.

Here I've used the ballpoint pen tool (for black lines) and the airbrush tool to add a foreground shadow in the street to enhance the illusion of depth.  The color of the shadow is a little too reddish, but you get the idea.  The opacity of the base photo is still set at 45%.

If I slide the opacity bar for the base photo layer to 0%, the photo disappears entirely, and you can see that I've actually done very little drawing to convey my ideas.

But when you slide the opacity bar to 75%, the base photo re-emerges, and the scene convincingly communicates the urban design ideas in their real context.  The fun freehand drawing style clearly conveys the difference between the designer's proposals and their real-life context, and does so in a loose, informal way that invites feedback and subsequent refinements, while capturing the exuberance of this exciting part of the creative process.

This is a fast, fun way to work that merges some of the best qualities of fast freehand concept sketching with the advantages of digital technology.  Hope you enjoyed it!  -Jim

Gabi Campanario reviews Jim's book!

Gabi Campanario, the award-winning journalist for the Seattle Times and founder of Urban Sketchers, posted a review of my book Freehand Drawing and Discovery in his blog.  It's a fun read, and includes the short promo video from the book's Amazon site.  I hope you enjoy it!  Here's the link:

http://gabicampanario.blogspot.com/2013/03/urban-sketching-as-creative-fuel.html

A Week in a Monastery

Many of you know that I spend the first or second week of every year in silent retreat at The Abbey of Gethsemani, a Trappist monastery in rural Kentucky. It's an amazing week every time I experience it; I always leave feeling grounded, with new perspective and insights.  This year marked my 12th retreat.  The monastery welcomed me back with snowfalls and temperatures in the 20s all week, so much of my sketching was done indoors. I hope you enjoy this glimpse into a way of life few people see, and which is virtually unchanged since the 11th century.

The entrance to the monastery passes through a beautiful cemetery, with graves dating to the mid-nineteenth century.

The monks' entry procession to celebrate the Eucharist.

A monk and a young novice as sketched from the balcony.

Retreatants dine in silence in front of large windows which look out onto the idyllic rolling countryside.

Temperatures in the retreat house often require dressing in layers.

Father Christian, the Retreat Master, reads during a discussion with retreatants.

I was a little self-concious about sketching during services, so I sat in the back of the balcony and captured these retreatants chanting the psalms as the monks chanted below.

Father Christian, Retreat Master

A view of the monastery church and the monk's cemetery, sketched during last year's retreat.

The Book Has Arrived!

The book is finally available!  Thanks to all of you who sent me photos of your copy arriving in the mail.  Here's a link to the Amazon page; if you scroll down a bit you'll see a sample video compiled from the seven demonstration videos that accompany the book:
Freehand Drawing and Discovery

It's not a movie, it's Fort Worth!

Looks like a set from a Frank Capra film, but it's downtown Fort Worth, all alive with happy crowds, Christmas carolers, decorations,  Santa on Main Street and lots of open doors for gifts, dinner, music, chocolate, or a creamy gelato.  I made this sketch from a sidewalk table at Razoo's, while Patti and I shared some red beans and rice.  The red balls in the Cedar Elm trees have made their appearance in years past, and I'm disappointed that they're not on this block of Main Street this year.  I've added them here to try to shame the powers-that-be into bringing them back.  Are you listening, elves??

A Line on Machu Picchu

I'm dipping back in to my South America summer sketchbook, to post and share some images that haven't found their way here yet.  This one brings back powerful memories of arduous travel, breathtaking scenery, altitude sickness, lovely locals and a seemingly never-ending stream of pilgrims seeking out this stunning site in the remote Peruvian Andes.  The journey and the site itself were really a transformational experience; I recommend it for any serious traveler's bucket list.  We arrived at the site very early morning, and were led by our guide for about 4 hours to see and understand some of the hidden sights and mysteries of this incredible place.  After a quick lunch, my sketching buddy Brian Goad and I climbed back up the mountainside to this vantage point, and sketched the killer view while perched on cliffside boulders off the main trail.  A park ranger eventually came along and stood over us, watching for some time.  Finally I asked, "We're not supposed to be here, are we?"  He smiled and shook his head, but said nothing.  Brian and I took that as a tacit "okay" to continue our line sketches, which we completed in about half an hour.  I added watercolor later in the studio.

College GameDay!

I love great college campuses.  The artful arrangement of great architecture, sculpted open spaces and mature vegetation within a context of learning and tradition creates a very special sense of place.  Patti and I traveled to the Louisiana State campus for the LSU v. Alabama game this weekend, where ESPN College GameDay had set up for live broadcast on the campus's huge parade ground.  I moved to the rear of the field to get an overall vista of the action.  The venerable Law School building at far right acted as a nice counterpoint to all the temporary tents, canopies, and the ESPN tour bus (center).  Amazing energy and revelry for early on a Saturday morning!