Sketching Hats

Plein-air painters must choose the right brushes and paint, but they must also choose the right hat.

From left: Peder Krøyer, Carl von Marr, Theodore Robinson, Unidentified, Aldro Hibbard, and Ivan Shishkin.

Here are a few contemporary hat choices: Armand Cabrera, me, David Starrett, Jeanette G., Tom Kegler, and Jacob Collins.

Prometheus VFX Breakdown

(Direct link to video) Creating the environment for the science fiction movie Prometheus involved many layers of 3D digital data, some of which came from Google Earth. Visual Effects Supervisor Richard Stammers explains how he used digital scans of a desolate location called Wadi Rum in Jordan as a starting point for constructing the alien planet. "Google Earth became an important tool for any of our previs and shoot planning," he says. From CG Wires

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This Saturday, I'll be speaking at MICA in Baltimore in connection with the annual meeting of ASAI, the American Society of Architectural Illustrators. Everyone is welcome, but there's an admission charge. If you'd like to look into attending, here's more info.  

Line Direction

A blog reader named Whiskey asked a question about line direction:

If we're drawing so that shading lines describe the contour and volume of an object, how should it be done? Should the lines go in the direction of the light source? Or along a perspective line?

I've attached a little jpg to illustrate my question because I'm not sure if I've made any sense. Which way is best for the lines to go?

Answer:
It's a good question. Actually there are no rules. Both ways you've suggested can describe the form well.

The one marked A is often called "shading along the form" or "along the axis." B is sometimes called "bracelet shading" which I mentioned on another post. In that case, the lines (or brushstrokes, if you're painting) are going around the axis of the form.

On a larger compositional level, your choices often depend on the feeling you want to create.


For example, in this fantastic world drawn by Franklin Booth, the lines on the far mountains are vertical, which reinforces the feeling of soaring majesty.



In this detail of a drawing by Polish artist Stanislaw Bohusz-Siestrzencewicz (1869-1927), the lines on the horse's neck wrap around the cross section of the form, but he's also connecting diagonal movements from the horse to the man to suggest action.


In this drawing by the same artist, the lines spiral diagonally around the form to suggest the relaxed, informal posture of the woman.

So I'd say: experiment with both kinds of shading: along and across the axis. Also, try shading diagonally if you want to suggest atmosphere or action. Once you're comfortable with the choices, it will become automatic, and you can mix them up in the same drawing.
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Thanks, Paul Mendonca for the Siestrzencewicz files.
More samples of Stanislaw Bohusz-Siestrzencewicz
Andrew Loomis talks about a similar topic, stroke direction in painting, in his excellent book Creative Illustration, which has just been republished.

Sheep Shearing

Last Friday, we helped out at a friend's sheep farm on shearing day.



(Direct link to video) Here's a one-minute video. We started by bringing in the sheep from their pastures. After they were shorn, we did the "skirting." Skirting a fleece means removing the short, dirty, or matted fibers.

I drew a couple of portraits of the Icelandic sheep using watercolor, watercolor pencils, and gouache in a watercolor notebook.

Then we went into the farmhouse for a feast of chicken soup, homemade bread, potato salad, sandwiches, and peach/berry cobbler.


I kept thinking of the 1880 painting called "Shearing the Rams" by Tom Roberts of Australia.
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For information about purchasing sheep, fiber, or pasture-raised lamb, visit the website for the Dancing Lamb Farm in Earlton, New York.

Check out my other videos or subscribe to the James Gurney YouTube channel.
Music on the video is by Kevin MacLeod.
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Sheep shearing on Wikipedia

Skirting a fleece
Previously on GJ: Shearing Day, 2008

Painting in Bright Light

A plein-air painter friend of mine posed the following question: 

"I have noticed that when I paint outside I nearly always return with a less than bright painting. It will look good in the field but then look disappointingly desaturated in the studio. I assume this is because the pupils are so dilated outside and letting in so much light that when I'm back in the studio and my pupils are normal again and the light bouncing off the paint is considerably reduced (thus reducing chroma). I've thought I could make a kind of blinker out of black tubes to restrict the amount of light entering my eyes except in the foveal area. But due to my bifocals I doubt I could get such a gizmo to work. Obviously one could try and overcompensate for this effect by adding high chroma pigment but this seems untrue to the plein air idea. Have you run across any solutions to this problem?" 

—Squinting

Dear Squinting,

I'm glad you raised the point because the same thing happens to me. I also notice a similar effect when I bring a finished painting from the studio outdoors into direct sunlight. The sunlight brings out all sorts of color and detail in the dark areas that I hadn't noticed in the studio. 

In theory, when a person goes outdoors into bright light, the pupils should constrict to the appropriate size, just as a camera adjusts the exposure settings. This can take quite a few minutes, especially as we get older. When I first go outside, my eyes are dilated more than they should be, so it's naturally easier to distinguish those dark colors.  

I asked a vision scientist how the sensitivity of the cones (color receptors in the retina) changes with increasing brightness levels, and I was told that the ability to distinguish colors increases with increasing light levels. In very low light, such as moonlight, the cones are barely functioning, but they get better and better at their job as the light increases—up to a point. In extreme glare conditions, such as bright white snow or sand, the color sensitivity begins to drop off. In that extreme environment, neutral gray sunglasses might help.

The best solution for me under normal conditions is to put a diffusing white umbrella over my work area so that the illumination on the work is close to the same as the illumination on the subject. Bright light in itself usually isn't the problem -- it's different amounts or kinds of illumination on the work and the subject. 

I also try to avoid painting with the canvas or the palette in direct sunlight if I can help it, especially if the light on the painting is higher than the subject.

The issue may also be the kind of light you have indoors. As I'm sure you know, if you're working under incandescent or cool white fluorescent indoors, you're getting a distorted color rendition, so your eyes will have a hard time seeing color accurately whatever the light level. For suggestions on studio lighting, see the post linked below.

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Related posts on GurneyJourney:

Studio lighting

White umbrellas

While waiting for lunch...

I never tire of the classic diner still life. There's always about a 15-20 minute time limit from when the order goes in to when the food is on the table. The time limit focuses the brain better than coffee does.

The humble catsup bottle, sugar shaker, napkin holder, and creamer are an interesting challenge to paint, because they offer a variety of transparent and reflective surfaces: stainless steel, glass, and paper. And there's the catsup creeping up the side of the bottle, backlit and warmed with transmitted light.

What interested me this time were the two colors of light on the subject. From the left was a cool light the window, which mostly looked out to the blue sky. The light inside was from a relatively warm compact fluorescent. So my first move after laying in the subject in pencil was to lay down a  ghost wash to establish the overall cool and warm statement, being careful to paint around the highlights.

I hope all this make sense. I would show you a video, but I was too preoccupied to shoot one.

Technical notes: The painting is done with a half pan watercolor set in a watercolor notebook. I used two flat watercolor brushes: 1 inch and 1/4 inch, with a few dark accents from watercolor pencils.
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Banknote Engraver

Christopher Madden is one of the few people who creates the artwork that appears on U.S. paper money. He works at the Bureau of Printing and Engraving in Washington, DC, one of only three master artists and three apprentices. I visited him last month for a rare tour of his workshop.

It took ten years of apprenticeship for Mr. Madden to get where he is now. One of the milestone projects was to do an engraved portrait of President Obama. 

“Fortunately he was happy with the likeness,” Madden said.


Banknote engraving a painstaking art form, hardly changed in 200 years. All the work is done by hand at the printed size; there are no photographic or computer shortcuts. The lines and dots on a dollar bill are engraved with a burin on a steel plate. Each microscopic line often must be re-entered by the cutting tool several times. 

Artists learn the vocabulary of line: the “mainline,” “crossline,” and “interdot,” which add up to a tonal rendering that can suggest a curve in a cheek, a curl in a lock of hair, or a cluster of leaves in a tree. 

“It’s the most time-consuming and difficult graphic process in the world,” Madden says.

It’s often a tug of war between security and artistry. Currency has to be safe from counterfeiting, of course. Between 60% and 75% of currency that's printed ends up overseas, and a sizeable percentage of U.S. currency overseas is not genuine. 

But the money also has to look good, too. 

Most collectors agree that U.S. banknote engraving reached its highest artistry with the “Educational Series” in 1896. In those days, notable academically trained artists, such as Asher B. Durand, Walter Shirlaw and Kenyon Cox contributed their talents to make the money beautiful. 

"The admiration for artists like Mucha and Durand runs deep among my colleagues," Madden said.  

What traits make a good banknote engraver? Madden replied that they must draw well, they must work in a disciplined fashion, and they must recognize that they don’t have any ownership over their work.

To satisfy his own artistic itch, Madden is a dedicated plein-air painter in his spare time.
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Photo of Madden from CCAD website

Christopher Madden

Educational Series 1896

IMC Goes Live at 3:00

The enrollment for Illustration Master Class goes live today at 3:00. 

The week-long fantasy art workshop will take place June 10th-16th 2013 in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Approximately 80 participants, using both traditional and digital techniques, will choose one of five assigned illustration topics (things like "Joan of Arc," "Ice Giant," "Dragon Horde", etc.). The students proceed from sketch to finish during the week under the guidance of the group faculty. Students range from serious beginners to working pros who want to expand their skills. In addition to fantasy, science fiction, and concept art, there is also a big welcome to people who want to explore a graphic novel or a children's book solution.


This year the faculty includes:  Boris Vallejo, Julie Bell, Rebecca Guay, Donato Giancola, Greg Manchess (above), Dan DosSantos, Scott Fischer, Irene Gallo, Iain McCaig, with special guest Mike Mignola for three days of the week. I'll also join in for two days (two lectures, a demo, and a visit to (hopefully) each and every student's workspace).

Meals and lodging are included with the $2250 tuition. You stay in the posh student dorms of Amherst College. In addition to the hard work, there's always fun stuff going on: lectures, demos, book signings, caricature sketching, mock battles in armor, ice-cream runs, and frisbee games. In other words, bonding and life-altering inspiration.

It fills up fast, so if you're interested, sign up early!
Illustration Master Class
View (and vote on) previous student work at the Muddy Color blog

Sidewalk Saurian

Today's Awesomeness Award goes to Rebecca Pletsch, who did this 12x16-foot chalk drawing based on a Dinotopia dinosaur for a street festival called "Chalk the Block" in Provo, Utah. 

All the proceeds from the festival went to benefit a charitable organization for children with autism.
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If you live near Connecticut, I hope you can come to my lecture and book signing this Saturday, October 13, at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London. They're hosting the exhibition Dinotopia: Art, Science, and Imagination through February 2.

Rebecca Pletsch
The dinosaur appears in Dinotopia: The World Beneath
Chalk the Block Facebook page
Article in the Daily Herald

Do Men and Women See Differently?

Do men and women see differently? According to a recent study reported in National Geographic, they do. 

Women are better at distinguishing colors, particularly in the blue and green range of the spectrum. Men excel at tracking fast-moving objects and discriminating details at a distance. The difference in men's vision apparently comes from how visual neurons develop in a high testosterone environment.

Men and Women Really Do See Differently -- National Geographic

Photo by Rachel Sarai on Flickr

Previously on GJ: Men, Women, and Eyetracking