john September 10th, 2006 . . .

How to Illustrate a Theme Park Resort and Remain Calm

Bird's Eye

I created these pieces to augment initial design discussions for a major multi-$Mill theme park resort in an East-European city, the name withheld for obvious clearances.

Theme Park Entry
Each was sketched first in Photoshop using basic out-of-the-box Photoshop brushes, painted on layers. I then ported it into Corel’s Painter 8 (which maintains .psd layers) for some lighting effects work, and then back into Photoshop for final touches. From one drawing to the next I’m always experimenting with Painter/Photoshop brushes to see which I like best, but for the way I work it’s pretty much sixes either way. I like to work each phase to a level that if I had to show the client at anytime what I’ve got so far, it would still be a presentable piece. My workflow is this:

  1. The Junk Pass. This is just a very fast scribble to get an idea of basic perspective and composition. I’m pretty undisciplined in this early phase, and the drawing can easily get out of hand in terms of necessary detail as I become more interested in an area of the drawing. I have to remind myself to keep loose and fast (my nicknames in high school).
  2. The ‘OK, Pick One’ Pass. This is where, with a darker or thicker line, I actually have to redraw the entire illustration, settling in on the right lines from among the mass of scribbles from the last pass. If I have drawn the Junk Pass on paper rather than in Photoshop (which I often do, my trusty 5B pencils at my side), this pass means to scan the image into Photoshop and adjust Levels to get a nice black line out of the gray pencil sketch. I then will draw in PS additional lines to enhance clarity, etc. Either way I am essentially bringing the idea into focus with a better, more consitent line quality.
  3. Comic Book Color Pass. Using Photoshop layers, I will add a layer for basic color — either a solid color to establish a mood or a gradation between colors that fill the entire layer. Setting Layer Transparency to Multiply enables me to see my original drawing. As the title of this phase suggests, here I basically just paint inside my linework, establishing quick impressions of global atmospheric and local color in the illustration, sun direction, mood, etc. I usually work exclusively in Multiply at this time, building the shadows and working up color harmonies. The end of this phase is determined really by whether I’ve just got everything blocked in, no holes.
  4. The Scary Painting Pass. Here I switch to Normal Transparency and paint opaquely. I am freaked out by this stage, because I can easily ruin a lot of good work if I get it wrong. Aside from the Undo keyboard shortcut, nothing is more useful to me at this stage than the concept of Layers. I will work on a separate layer until I am certain that each little bit (no matter how small) is complete to my satisfaction. I will then flatten it down and start working on another layer, ad infinitum. I get bored easily with detail, so that’s one reason why my painting style is apparently rough. The other reason, more importantly, is because I’m not very good at it:)
  5. The Lighting Candy Pass. Often, I like to try to make these sorts of illustrations moody or at least evoke a specific, romantic time of day — early morning, evening, night or something that can capture a feeling of presence. Photoshop’s filters are fine globally, but I’ve found that Painter excels in this regard by allowing you to target such effects as torches, sunglow and atmospheric effects by painting precisely where you want such effects to go. So I will import my Layered Photoshop image right into Painter and work away. It’s fun, in the way putting a white highlight on everything is fun, and so this stage can easily get away from you. Discretion.
  6. The Cleanup. Brought back into Photoshop from Painter, images often mysteriously change appearance. I’m sure it’s some setting I’ve got, but I haven’t got time to figure it out. For some reason, Photoshop makes my re-imported image appear darker. Here, global Levels are adjusted to bring it back into ’snap’. I repaint small areas which need help basically do a once over. That’s it — done.

Take a look at these illustrations and you will see remnants of each stage. The Scribble Pass, for instance, is still evident in the Indoor Waterpark image (look at the ceiling). The images, remember, are only meant to evoke a feeling about the place, not to be a final representation of the actual, physical construction of the structures, etc. I hope you like.

Indoor Waterpark and Hotel

Rocketship Ride

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

Comments

  1. I thought that was intersting, learning about how it is done. A generous thing to do, sharing that.


    charles
    September 12th, 2006

  2. Im a Inglewood Ca, native and I have a few idealistic master pieces I would like to share with the world, let alone see built in my life time. Where do i truly start??

    michael harris


    MicMagellan
    April 6th, 2007

  3. Where to start? Hmm. Well, you need a way to shop the concept around, a “concept proposal”. You need land, money and a good concept. Never are those elements wrapped up in the same person, so networking is the key. Then, you need the patience of Job and a will stronger than Demascus steel. If you are easily disappointed, then perhaps the Real Estate Development Business is not for you. But then, who knows — maybe your idea is the Next Big Thing!
    Good luck regardless and keep moving forward!


    john
    April 6th, 2007

Previous Post
Next Post
RSSSubscribe to my feed now.