ALLAN MACDONALD
SIMPLE SKETCH SHADING

In these examples you can see how in a few short steps, introducing some colour to the sketch, you can create a more exciting and punchy image. The original sketch took only a few minutes, and the techniques to colour it should also only take five or six minutes maximum.  Once you have really learned this technique it can almost be as easy as colour by numbers...but with more impressive results! One important tip to remember however is that this technique will not save a bad original sketch...so get those correct first!

 

For this rear view I have started in the same way as I did with the side view on the previous page. I have deliberately chosen a simple flat perspective since in the early stages of the design process this allows me to concentrate purely on the aesthetic and proportions. Generally speaking, in the early stages of the design process your sketches are only for yourself, your nearest colleagues and your boss. These are people who are able to read these simple sketches for what they are....thoughts. It is only later when your drawings should be more descriptive to non design management or customers that you will have to introduce a little less ambiguity into your sketches.

As with the side view I have now scanned my sketch and brought it into Photoshop. After deciding the direction of my light source (somewhere to the front right of the vehicle) I have began to apply colour to all dark areas on my sketch. You will notice that in the window on the rear of the vehicle I have gone a few tones darker on the far side of the centre line. This helps describe the fact that the vehicle has a bit of plan shape to the rear of the vehicle. I have also deepened the colour on the lower half of the side window to help give the feeling of a horizon line. When deepening these area, try to keep the tonal changes subtle, this will help ensure that when you try the eyes half closed test you read the window graphics as a whole, and not as separate areas of reflections.

Again, trying to stick to a minimum of tonal values I have now began applying colour to the bodywork. If you ignore the subtle graduation on the shoulder of the vehicle you will see that in fact there are only two tones. This simplicity keeps your sketch punchy and fast to produce. I also believe it is a technique is good to learn as it will stand you in good stead when it comes to learn full rendering. When learning how to render it is easy to get tied up in trying to produce glossy reflections whilst forgetting to describe the 3 dimensional form in simple light and shade. By learning to describe a 3 dimensional form with this technique, and later adding reflections on top of this you will hopefully achieve renderings that have the strong graphical feeling of a sketch whilst having all the quality and subtlety a good rendering requires.

Until this stage the drawing has lacked a little depth. By now adding a few simple filters as per the side view we can really bring the drawing alive. Here I have used the same technique of filter layers as you saw in the side view example. So begin by adding these to your image. For this drawing however I have also added a filter to wash out the front of the vehicle, giving the impression that it is in the distance. Take a new layer and place it on the top of your picture. To this apply a gradient that goes from white to transparent (white at the front of the vehicle, transparent at the rear). Switch this layer to SCREEN mode and you should see the effect immediately. You can adjust the position of this layer to place the effect exactly where you need it, whilst adjusting the opacity of the layer to get the required amount of the effect. Again, experiment with the mode feature of layers, trying different colours and different modes and you will find a surprising number of effects you can achieve.

The final stage is to add a few simple highlights. As before keep these simple as you want to enhance your drawing, not make the highlights the most important part. Just to finish off you can also quickly spray a bit of bright red on the rear lamps just to turn them on.
Hopefully this tutorial has given a quick introduction to the basics of producing very quick sketches. Ideally you should be able to produce a good couple of pages of these in a few hours. Remember, although they are mainly for yourself to work out your own ideas, it is important that they are lively and exciting with a lot of emotion since they will form the basis of your decision of which design to take to the next level.