June 2013 Video Tutorial: Carved in Stone

[Coltatts]

Hi Frank,

~ i dont think it works because our subconscious doesnt accept text chiselled into metal plate lol

It's also hard to find good "real life" examples to emulate...




HTH, Colin

[Big Frank]

yes, plenty of examples of text engraved into gold, silver, copper, brass etc, but not metal floor plate like ramps for loading bays etc
thats why i dont think my drawing works
that and its probably rubbish, shadows and reflections all wrong
proof that rushing a drawing just doesnt work

if it looks wrong thats probably because it is wrong

fascinating how that guy in the video does that really small engraving
that's a real craftman at work

[Gare]

@Coltatts—

Welcome to TalkGraphics and the little portion I host—The Xara Xone.

Thank you for the link: evidently, if you want to illustrate engraved metal, in addition to shading and a much narrower gutter, you also need to create specular highlights as reflective metals tend to do. Perhaps in the future if I can figure out how to pull it off, I'll feature a tutorial on metal, which includes several optical phenomena going on.

@Stygg—Your component drawing of the character, and your shading of it is great, which brings me to a point in general:

@all—I was trying to be a little subversive in this month's tutorial, to get you to look at lettering, and see how it can be drawn and then filled so that it looks dimensional. Yeah, the Bevel tool can do a good approximation as Big Frank demonstrated, but I wanted you folks to learn to draw this kind of stuff, because if you can draw it, it's another step to visualization skills.

Drawing is the first step that makes the second step—filling the shapes—an exercise in diversity and speedy to accomplish.

I'm attaching this example as a Xara file you can download. My drawing isn't perfect, but you'll be able to see that instead of modifying bitmap fills, I filled the shapes with black and white and then used transparency in Bleach and Stained Glass modes, resulting in a similar effect to the chiseled look this month. But you can also use colors, as I've begin in the bottom example, to make flashy signage, and if you use Named Colors (which are underused and deserve a tutorial of its own), then you can quickly change the colors in your sign to do a dozen variations.

By the way, the light is coming from a 9 o'clock position in this example, a very "hard" treatment of light, just a different example of lighting direction.




We have an American holiday coming up tomorrow and I just got out of one of two surgeries last week so I'm a little tired (okay, I'm a lot tired), but I'll try to check in later today with a complete alphabet of inset shapes so you can work on lighting and the colors you can use with this technique, deal?

My Best,

Gary

[csehz]

Gary thanks but probably you should rather rest, the most important is the health. The community sure would support that.

[stygg2003]

Thanks for comment and the extra text technique to work on Gary but I agree with csehz, you should rest your health and well being is foremost and you have just admitted your a lot tired so listen to yourself and rest.

Best regards
Stygg

[Big Frank]

take it easy gary
the forum will miss you but will survive

[wizard509]

Welcome to TG Coltatts. Cool video, thanks for the link.

@ Gary
OK deal, but first take it easy big guy. Take a nap, we don't want anything to happen to you.

[stygg2003]

Here's my effort with shapes with stained glass and bleach trans. applied to letters. My shape drawing needs some more imagination I think but still a good technique to have and practice. In hindsight I think the letters N & R would have been better with block feet, so to speak. All comments and criticisms welcome on this technique.

Stygg

[Gare]

@Stygg—

Yes, both ends of a "stroke" need to be capped with as triangle, that's observant of you.

When I was in hospital, I borrowed a ball-point pen and some paper and sketched a logo I used to use, extruded out of metal, coming to a centerpoint. It's just a change in where you put the dark and the light pieces.



My Best,

Gary

[stygg2003]

Off topic Gary but xaraxone.com is not connecting, at least from UK anyway.

Stygg