Art Blog: ColorSketches by Edward Sine

Painting Attention Grabbing Detail

Ed — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:11:49 +0000

Creating the desired motion in a painting is not always the easiest thing to do, especially when the work has to illustrate certain features in a design. One method is to paint colorful, attention grabbing details; red is always a good candidate for the eye catching color.

The use of bright red umbrellas positioned in this courtyard immediately grab the viewer’s eye, and move them through the space. Because the red is a complementary of the green landscaping, they also provide a lot of contrast within their surroundings.

As you can see in the full view of this design of a resort spa, the bold accents provide tension and movement, in an otherwise earth tone color palette.

The Art of Technical Illustration

Ed — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:18:07 +0000

When working in conceptual art, a project sometimes requires the design to be represented as a nice piece of artwork. Sometimes, however, the message needs to be communicated in a more detailed, technical illustration. A technical illustration can still be a lot of fun, and it can also be an attractive graphic.

This particular illustration represents the design of a littoral shelf, which is the intersection of a man made body of water and the land. The area is landscaped with a variety of plant species, each serving a particular purpose in the sustainability of the shoreline.

Painting Architectural Details

Ed — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:26:54 +0000

When creating architectural illustration, it is important to set a mood and create atmosphere. The use of lighting is a fabulous way to do this. Porch lights shining at the door, and warm lights shining through an open window both create a welcome mood.

The use of historic details will bring something familiar and traditional to a new architectural design. The iron latticework, arched windows, and period lighting create interesting detail and takes this visitor on a journey into the past.

Subtle texture to stucco and stone details will add depth to an otherwise uninteresting surface. A little roughness, grain, and grit will turn a plain lifeless wall face into one with character.

The warm textures of weathered wood add age and show the finishes have endured storms, sun, and wind. There is something in a weathered face that is comforting and familiar.

Rough paint and varied colors will add richness and age to the details. Fresh paint might make things look like new in real life, but in an architectural illustration, variations in the paint along with some scuffs and peeling paint can add tremendous life.

Painting for Distance

Ed — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:50:22 +0000

Recently I painted a piece of artwork detailing a new community park which features a proposed fountain as a focal point. Not only did the fountain need to reflect the actual design, but so did the landscaping. This was not particularly difficult, but creating the background presented a challenge. I had to hint at the existing geography of the surrounding area, without making it prominent in the scene. I also needed to create some depth in the work, as some of the background features fade into the distance.

To focus the foreground and make the background appear farther away, I used lighter, less saturated colors on the background objects, while maintaining minimal detail and contrast. This forced the darker, highly detailed objects into the foreground, thus providing a visual separation between the two. The foreground objects were painted even darker, and with the details still sharp, were painted in a very impressionistic style. This moved the depth of focus to the fountain midway between the foreground and background.

Many of the details are lost in the reduced version you see here on the web, but the final painting was printed over four feet wide revealing sharp detail in all three planes of the work.

Glowing Lights in Photoshop

Ed — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:53:52 +0000

There are always complex ways to do things, but I tend to favor simple, effective techniques. What if you are doing a dusk or night rendering in Photoshop, and you want to add some lights, shining in the darkness? Select a simple feathered brush, sample the color of the light, and make one quick dab at the location of the light bulb. That is it!

In this architectural illustration, I added a string of festive lighting by tapping the brush at even intervals at the eave line. The color is a very pale yellow, which gives the appearance of clear bulbs, but it could just as easily have been brightly colored lights. The same technique will work on a more complex light fixture such as a carriage light. Paint the carriage light, then tap in the glowing bulb. Place the glow on it’s own layer in case you want to turn the light on and off!

Illustration with Linework in Photoshop

Ed — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:07:49 +0000

If you are scanning in linework and you want to create a color illustration from it, it is easy to do in Photoshop, here’s how. Make sure your linework is on it’s own layer. Set that layer’s blending mode to multiply. Create layers underneath that layer and begin adding color. The lines will still show, but you will see the color underneath. If you want the lines to disappear, move your color layers above the line layer. Here is an example of an illustration I created using this technique.

If you want to fill areas with color you can do that too. Choose the Paint Bucket Tool, and make sure the “All Layers” option is checked. Go to your color layer and fill. This method will keep the color separate from the line layer. If too much area fills, go to the line layer and close any “leaks” in the linework. Use as many color layers as you need, but I have always found it best to never add color to the linework layer. The reason is that each layer has it’s own mask. By using color layers with a strategy, you automatically create selections that can be used for fine tuning your illustration later on.

Welcome to Social Marketing

Ed — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:50:59 +0000

Lately I have really been putting some effort into social marketing. I have always been a modest kind of guy. Do a great job in your work, maintain a professional courteous attitude, the client is always happy: these have always been the basis of my work ethic. Going to social sites and shouting – look at me, look at me – just did not seem, you know, dignified. After diving in and really figuring out how these things work, I could not have been more wrong.

There is a certain amount of “look at me” but there is really a lot more. I have connected with friends I have not seen in years, I know what relatives are up to, and I have made new friends of people I would otherwise never have met. I have increased my work productivity through new found knowledge, I have found new work and new clients, and I have improved communication with my existing clients.

Does it take some time, yes, but as with anything, a strategy for achieving set goals brings it all into perspective. Is it worth it? I would have to say resoundingly yes. The important thing to keep in mind: shouting me! me! is a small part of the effort. The real goal is to strengthen existing relationships and develop brand new ones.

Having said all of that, let’s talk about me! me! Here are some of my online links!

Hopefully you will enjoy meeting me, and you never know, it might be the start of something – social.

Photoshop Layer Merge

Ed — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 23:46:37 +0000

This Photoshop tip is very short and very simple. To merge any layers together, select them in the layers palette. Then press ctrl-e. They will all merge into one layer. It does not sound like much, but it is one of the biggest time savers, and I use it constantly.

Photoshop Sharpening Technique

Ed — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:59:19 +0000

As you probably know, the standard way of sharpening an image in Adobe Photoshop is to use the Unsharp Mask filter. (I have always loved the fact that you use the unsharp filter to sharpen things.) There is, however, an alternative sharpening method that allows a lot of versatility even after you have run the filter. Here is how it works.

Make a copy of the image by putting it on to a duplicate layer. Set the duplicate layer’s blending mode to overlay, and then run the high pass filter. It can be found under Filter|Other|High Pass. Adjust the slider to control the strength of the effect. Press ok to accept. That is it! But, now you have even more possibilities.

You can decrease the amount of the effect by reducing the opacity of the layer. You can also limit the effect to certain areas by adding a layer mask. Painting the layer mask with white reveals the full effect, painting with black removes the effect, and painting with 50% gray will decrease the effect by 50%. This way you can vary the effect of the filter in different parts of the image.

Mastering Color Schemes in Photoshop

Ed — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:36:45 +0000

Photoshop must be transparent. If you are thinking about how to do something in Photoshop, you cannot possibly concentrate on your work. One of the best ways to conquer the monster is to reduce the number of steps needed to accomplish a goal, and see immediate results on your screen. Here is one quick tip that keeps my creative flow at full speed.

You are working on a design graphic. You want to see a lot of color schemes quickly. Create a layer for each color element. Fill the element with any color, and it is now time to experiment. Instead of refilling with a new color or gradient, create a color or gradient style on the layer. You can now cycle through your swatches or gradient library at lightning speed, and immediately see the color changes in the element.

To try different color combinations, nondestructively, duplicate elements (layers) and flip through your colors again. If you decide you like the original choice better, delete the new layer, the old one is still underneath. If you think a color half way in between might look nice, reduce the opacity of the top layer to mix it with the color below. Still not quite right? Cycle through blending modes, and get even more variations.