Digitally Remastered Drawings Explainer

Here is a breakdown of the working process, B/W drawing, colour drawing, depth map, colour shader added to the depth plus virtual glass

and if you have any red/cyan glasses, try this view

Here is a sequence showing the virtual glass block

230402_A_to_D

 230402_A to D: 

First drawings for April in the a series of landscape drawings made in the Chilterns and North Wessex Downs AONBs, mainly based around the river Thames. I make two drawings, a black and white depth map, and a colour version with less tonal information, the two are combined and rendered to give more depth and texture to the finished image. I am planning to keep a number of my favourite ones together as a changing group to see them as a set, search for jonathanspencer on saatchiart.com or click here https://www.saatchiart.com/jonathanspencer

230305_A to D

This Sunday it was back up to the 'four fields' which I think of as the 'four chairs', due to some discarded but serviceable green garden furniture, good to sit on whilst drawing. I used some wax resist (a candle) for the colour versions this time which was great fun as I didn't know quite where the marks were or what their effect on the colour would be, the second one down shows just how far this can mess it up. I will do this again.

A Rolling Unlimited Edition

I have enough work to start a page on Saachi Art, my plan is to always have 18 prints available through the year, as I create new ones that I am happy with I will replace the older ones or ones that I feel have been superseded. This way I can follow the progress of the year and my own development. The relationship with the landscape shifts with the seasons and I hope the works will represent that incremental change.   

The prints will be printed on good quality artist paper and fixed with acid free tape to mounting board, with a LP plastic sleeve and a sticker that links to this very blog. I am aiming for that box fresh excitement of new vinyl from the record store, obviously without the music. Whilst this is not an edition the shelf life of the artworks is limited. 

230128_A & 230129_A

230128_A 

230129_A

Two new drawings from the weekend both local. The first from Cow Hill looking south across the Thames towards Rottondown Hill Plantation late in the day and the second  at lunchtime from Wroxhills Wood looking west across the railway and river to the downs beyond. Green with winter wheat and grey skies, the landscape is looking tired.

Animation and refraction

 

I have been looking at the ways virtual glass refracts and reflects these drawings and have had a look at creating animations from the sequences. Whilst interesting my focus has remained on making the initial drawings. The idea of ridged structures reflecting the hand drawn images was (and is) appealing but is not working correctly as yet. I will post up more of the less failed 'no experiment is failure' failures as and when. The 100% fails are learned from and binned.

Processing the image

I draw a black and white version of the view on location as well as a colour version, the drawings are then photographed and the levels adjusted to maximise legibility. The resulting monochrome image becomes a depth map analogous to the bite on an etching plate. This is a rendered example of just the depth map.