I saw three ships come sailing in

[dk_art]

Ok ... I recently made three ship "paintings". One was done with the program RealDraw Pro (the demo version www.mediachance.com ), one with one of my favorite programs PhotoImpact6 ( www.ulead.com ), and one made with XaraX. Each program has it's own unique features. I found XaraX to have the best vector abilities, RealDraw to have some really neat lightings and effects, and PhotoImpact to have the best pixel-based tools (ie ... paint and retouch) with good vector abilities and some great lightings and effects. Anyway , I found this interesting that every program seems to allow one to make images in certain unique styles. Take a look


RealDraw ship

http://www.dkingdesign.com/stuff/rea...ater_small.jpg

PhotoImpact ship

http://www.dkingdesign.com/stuff/pho...t_on_water.jpg

XaraX ship

http://www.dkingdesign.com/stuff/xar..._on_water1.jpg


On the XaraX ship ...all the shadings on the sails and mountains and sea was done in a certain way I discovered (at least for myself).

So for example;

Take a sail shape with a texture fill applied. It's on layer sails. Make a new layer (sails_shading1). Pick the sail shape on layer sails and duplicate it (ctrl-d). Move it to layer "sails_shading1". Go into "Utilities / bitmap effects and plugins / bitmap effects" and pick brightness and contrast. Make the sail shape on "sail_shadings1" darker. Apply a radial transparency with the edges transparent and the middle opaque. Move and adjust the transparency until it's the way you want (like for shadows in the valleys of crumples in the sail). Duplicate this sail shape and move and adjust it's transparency. Repeat for other shaded areas on that sail area

You can build up layers of shadows but they have the same texture as the sail. They will not fill in the sail detail with plain color like a colored fill would.

I used this on the mountains and sea and the ship hull (also made a glowing area on the ship hull by just making the texture on that copy brighter and then applying the radial tyransparency.

Anyway , I hope you like them all and I'm kindof pleased at how the Xarax fully vector one compares to the PhotoImpact one which I did using vectors and paint and retouch tools.

For the general darkening around the image's edges in the XaraX one, I exported a bitmap, and imported it onto my drawing. I darkened it and gave it an elliptical transparency so the middle was transparent and the edges were more opaque. I zoomed in real close on a detail of the ship and then moved the bitmap so it lined up perfectly on top of the same features on the vector drawing.

(sorry if this technique is old news and was thought of for months but I just discovered this and I like the results)

David K
www.dkingdesign.com

[dk_art]

Ok ... I recently made three ship "paintings". One was done with the program RealDraw Pro (the demo version www.mediachance.com ), one with one of my favorite programs PhotoImpact6 ( www.ulead.com ), and one made with XaraX. Each program has it's own unique features. I found XaraX to have the best vector abilities, RealDraw to have some really neat lightings and effects, and PhotoImpact to have the best pixel-based tools (ie ... paint and retouch) with good vector abilities and some great lightings and effects. Anyway , I found this interesting that every program seems to allow one to make images in certain unique styles. Take a look


RealDraw ship

http://www.dkingdesign.com/stuff/rea...ater_small.jpg

PhotoImpact ship

http://www.dkingdesign.com/stuff/pho...t_on_water.jpg

XaraX ship

http://www.dkingdesign.com/stuff/xar..._on_water1.jpg


On the XaraX ship ...all the shadings on the sails and mountains and sea was done in a certain way I discovered (at least for myself).

So for example;

Take a sail shape with a texture fill applied. It's on layer sails. Make a new layer (sails_shading1). Pick the sail shape on layer sails and duplicate it (ctrl-d). Move it to layer "sails_shading1". Go into "Utilities / bitmap effects and plugins / bitmap effects" and pick brightness and contrast. Make the sail shape on "sail_shadings1" darker. Apply a radial transparency with the edges transparent and the middle opaque. Move and adjust the transparency until it's the way you want (like for shadows in the valleys of crumples in the sail). Duplicate this sail shape and move and adjust it's transparency. Repeat for other shaded areas on that sail area

You can build up layers of shadows but they have the same texture as the sail. They will not fill in the sail detail with plain color like a colored fill would.

I used this on the mountains and sea and the ship hull (also made a glowing area on the ship hull by just making the texture on that copy brighter and then applying the radial tyransparency.

Anyway , I hope you like them all and I'm kindof pleased at how the Xarax fully vector one compares to the PhotoImpact one which I did using vectors and paint and retouch tools.

For the general darkening around the image's edges in the XaraX one, I exported a bitmap, and imported it onto my drawing. I darkened it and gave it an elliptical transparency so the middle was transparent and the edges were more opaque. I zoomed in real close on a detail of the ship and then moved the bitmap so it lined up perfectly on top of the same features on the vector drawing.

(sorry if this technique is old news and was thought of for months but I just discovered this and I like the results)

David K
www.dkingdesign.com

[Ross Macintosh]

David - The tip is new to me, or at least the practical application of it is. All three ships are appealing. It is great to have three versions to compare.

You should check out Egg's mini-tutorial on transparent bitmap overlays. I suspect you'll find it interesting. Thomas has put it in the new Tips Forum. You can find it here. (Check out the original thread for more info).

Regards, Ross

<a href=http://www.designstop.com/>DesignStop.Com</a>

[dk_art]

Thanks ... I guess i was just kindof pleased with how I did the shading on the sails without using some sortof retouch tools (like dodge and burn) and following a bitmap kindof route. Doing this in a vector way does have the advantage that I can still move and adjust the shaded areas where, if I'd done them in a bitmap program with the burn tool, they would be an actual part of the sails.

David K
www.dkingdesign.com

[gwpriester]

Of the three ships, the Xara image is the most evolved, but then I guess I am a bit predudiced.

Cool tips and techniques too.

There is no reason why you could not draw from the strengths of each application.

For example, most of Gary Bouton's splendid images (Featured Artist Gallery) were done first in a 3D application and then Gary brought the images into Xara and added his own brand of magic.

Gary

Gary Priester

Moderator Person

Be It Even So Humble...

[pduggan]

Hi David

I've been thinking very carefully about whether or not to reply to this thread, and I hope you'll appreciate why when you see what I've written.

First can I say that I like the appealing, almost child-like quality of the pictures, and see some resemblence to Joshua Slocum's famous Spray (first solo round the world voyage) in the hull form and cabin of the Xara and PhotoImpact versions.

Now for the sailing stuff, and here's where I have a bit of a problem:

<ul>[*]Although the shading effects are nice, sails simply don't set with 'valleys of crumples' unless they're flogging uselessly and not filling.
[*]The flag in the RealDraw image shows a head wind, the flags in the others show a following wind, but all three boats are effectively shown close-hauled (despite those billowing headsails).
[*]Mainsails are almost always attached to the mast along the luff (leading edge), but yours are all set free like flying jibs.
[*]The rigging shown in the Xara version is very strange. You couldn't tack the headsails through those forestays, and you couldn't sheet the mainsail and topsail with those lines leading forward of the mast.[/list]

Like I say, I've been wrestling with my conscience over whether to post this reply. I know it's art and stylised, and that's partly what gives it its appeal, but the technical details still bother me. Please forgive me if I'm teaching my granny to suck eggs, you knew everything I've just told you and it was artistic licence, but I know my sailboats and I'm trying to be constructive. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]



Peter</p>



Peat Stack or Pete's Tack?</p>

[Ross Macintosh]

Peter - When you visit Nova Scotia I'll take you to the small town where Joshua Slocum was from. It is near the town of Annapolis Royal of which I've posted pics and to which both David and I have family connections.

With regards to the flapping sails - doesn't it have more of a "story" that way? About to flounder on the rocks perhaps? (Likely cuz she ain't rigged properly [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img] ).

Regards, Rossy

<a href=http://www.designstop.com/>DesignStop.Com</a>

[dk_art]

Just be glad she's got rigging ... the other two don't have a foot of rope betweenst them [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]. I had to use duct tape on them just to keep the sails in place (where would I be without Red Green).

Anyway, the one ship with the flag going backward (like it was trailing behind do to the speed of the boat) is kindof a childish way to draw it. In a way though it just looks better since it gives the impression that the ship is moving in the opposite direction. Most kids drawings would probably follow this way.

The rigging on the Xara ship was just drawn in to look right purely within the drawing itself. Basically drawn in where they felt right to balance other lines of direction and such. I didn't even think about what was correct for a real boat.

Anyway , I appreciate that you might be bothered a bit by the technical inaccuracies. Of course these are not meant to be technical drawings by any means and if I were to do a technical drawing I guess I'd have to learn how the various ropes all work together. If however a technical drawing had been made which showed obviously wrong rigging layout , I would agree with you and consider it a poor drawing.

Speaking of ships, last summer we had the tallships here in Halifax and I got a bunch of pics. I do recall looking at the rigging for a short time following the various lines to find out how they work or what they caused to happen. Kindof like a puzzle on some of those large ships.

Here's the site I made last year showing most of them (the pics were with my bad old digital camera so the detail isn't that great [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif[/img] ).

http://members.tripod.com/dk_art/tallships/


David K
www.dkingdesign.com

[dk_art]

"Mainsails are almost always attached to the mast along the luff (leading edge), but yours are all set free like flying jibs."

Oh I think i know what you mean. I just remembered noticing from the ships last year seeing wooden rings along the height of the main mast attaching the sail you mentioned to the mast along that edge (am I right or remembering this wrong). This would disallow such a huge gap as I had drawn. I suppose with more knowldge of the ships I would definately draw them differently.

David K
www.dkingdesign.com

[pduggan]

Hi folks

You might think I'm having another sleepness night, but I've already been asleep for several hours since I got home from work!

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Peter - When you visit Nova Scotia I'll take you to the small town where Joshua Slocum was from.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'll look forward to that, Ross...

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>I just remembered noticing from the ships last year seeing wooden rings along the height of the main mast attaching the sail you mentioned to the mast along that edge (am I right or remembering this wrong).<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Absolutely right, David!

I'm attaching some tips for drawing sail shapes I've just knocked up for anyone who's interested. Have to deal with rigging another time, but I'm always happy to answer questions...

Peter</p>

Peat Stack or Pete's Tack?</p>

PS Text of attachment modified slightly at edit time shown.

[This message was edited by Peter Duggan on April 25, 2001 at 09:53 PM.]