Graphite..
I like drawing. A lot.

Funny thing is, I never actually realised how much until April earlier this year.

The wife bought me a drawing board for my birthday, after seeing me straining for hours over an A3 pad on the dining room table, as I was trying to put together a picture to fill a large bare gap on the living room wall.

I used to be a trainee graphic designer many years ago, during my teens for my local ad agency, and, although learning the basics of my trade at art college, I had arrived at my new employers just as the whole desktop publishing age had literally burst into the studios.

Within weeks, the art of cutting, pasting, planning layouts with non-reproducable blue pencils and trying not to smudge your scribblings with the T-Square had gone right out of the window, only to be to be replaced by Mac II's, the early Quadras, Very basic versions of Photoshop, Freehand, Pagemaker (before Quark..) and Multi-Ad.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, fast-forward 18 years, and I am, as the saying goes 'back to the old drawing board' during my spare time.

The artistic process is a lot longer than it's digital counterpart, there's no undo button, I find it totally peaceful when I'm using it, and what's more, everytime I go back to it, and lift the protective sheet from my latest creation, there's a constant sense of pride because my work is 'hand-made' so to speak.

Even incomplete work looks kinda cool, cause the guidelines give the artwork that 'sketchy' look, something which no-longer exists in the clinical world of digital illustration.

I often use my laptop, just to view reference pictures for my work that I take with my camera, rather than resorting to Photoshop all the time:



What's even better, is that my 6-year old son loves watching me, and is now developing a keen interest in drawing too.

Length? - Ooh, roughly a couple of millimetres wider than an A2 sheet of paper..
(danniekavanagh did nothing constructive on, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 12:10, 32 replies)

*click*
Blinking flip, that's amazingly good, and worthy of a large amount of clickage.
(Wibblist Last said "Wibble" on, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 12:33, closed)

You are Edmund/ JohnTheDane/ Ed's Meds/ Craig Colclough AICMFP
This guy in fact

www.arrse.co.uk/wiki/Craig_Colclough
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 12:50, closed)

well linked there.
"the truth will out"
( blaireau69 , the Cumbrian Travis Bickle., Sat 6 Nov 2010, 13:53, closed)

^ I don't understand, enlighten me please..

(danniekavanagh did nothing constructive on, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 14:03, closed)

Craig Colclough is a serial fantasist and bigamist. If you check the link or google him, you'll get the picture.
He used to post on B3ta as Edmund- he acted very strangely to lady B3tans, eventually gazzing them pictures of his cock, and was booted as a result. He's notorious for it.

He subsequently came back, posting as Ed's Meds, then JohnTheDane. Probably some more as well. His latest incarnation is Melchett.
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 14:07, closed)

Oh, now I see.
*penny drops..*
(danniekavanagh did nothing constructive on, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 14:13, closed)

And he seems to like you.
Await a cockgaz.
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 14:29, closed)

I'm suddenly feeling an eerie chill creeping down my spine..
Thanks for the warning.

'Ignore' well and truly clicked..
(danniekavanagh did nothing constructive on, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 14:30, closed)

And Medical Male was another one of his names

( Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 16:16, closed)

Craig Colclough
Who is? I assume you mean "Melchett".
( Awk Industries is actually a helic- NO, STAY BACK SHARK!, Sun 7 Nov 2010, 0:09, closed)

Cheers!
That particular piece (a panoramic of Halifax town centre) is in three parts, it's 3 A3 sheets wide.

There's a new picture I'm working on at the moment (Shibden Hall, also in Halifax), that I have as an album on Facebook as I'm showing my friends how I put it all together, and in the first photo of the series, you can see the completed panoramic on the wall, just above the drawing board.


(danniekavanagh did nothing constructive on, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 12:52, closed)

these are lovely
and very a flattering look for halifax!!!
( rachelswipe with a fork, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 18:09, closed)

click
awesome artwork!
(Dorothy "Frey Effect" Birga was feeded on Bremelanotide powders, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 21:26, closed)

Fuck off Craig

I'm sure you'll delete this thread as well.
Just fuck off, go and find your next 'bride' on a board where they don't all know you.
It's fucking pathetic.

(I'm also well jealous that you merely inviteed me to the opera and didn't gaz me your wonky cock.)
( Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 16:20, closed)

Has this guy done something to you?

( Ring Of Fire A petty, drooling belming butthurt retard., Sun 7 Nov 2010, 10:37, closed)

clicks furiously
I'm digging my board and t-square out. Not done any tech drawing in years.

*rummages in loft
( sandettie light vessel automatic New Twitter - @bollocksreally, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 13:06, closed)

have a click
for traditionalism. Both my brothers are draftsmen,and I grew up in a house that had 2 full size AO drawing boards in it and all the paraphernalia associated with that job.Sadly these days they both do all their work on autocad .
( bane, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 13:18, closed)

My old man
was a draughtsman. I used to go to his office sometimes to see the awesome hand drawn multi elevation drawings he produced of massive turbines and induction motors.The detail and accuracy was spell binding. I still enjoy getting the kit out now and again for a bit of design work but i will never be a patch on him. Clicks :)
(boarders You won't catch me with my trousers, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 13:40, closed)

^ Agreed.
At the agency, we were often sent these huge hard-backed catalogues, containing various portfolios of many different artists - kind of like a commission agency for potential blue-chip clients.

I spent many a lunch break browsing through these, and a lot of the artists featured were draftsmen, technical illustrators, and as you mention, the detail, and accuracy of the work really was amazing.

I like a lot of the photorealism work too, often created in acrylics (just type in 'photorealism' in Deviantart.com) - but the engineered drawings are in a completely different league.

You don't see many illustrations rendered using markers any more either, I was often fascinated by the techniques used to blend the colours, and give the illusion of transparency too, something which I could never get to grips with.
(danniekavanagh did nothing constructive on, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 13:52, closed)

mine was a binman
so going to work with him wasn't as exciting.

He did wear cor blimey trousers though!
('tin'tintin, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 15:27, closed)

^
*chuckles*
(danniekavanagh did nothing constructive on, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 16:12, closed)

Wow.
You get a hearty click from me.

EDIT: Have you ever thought of selling or doing commissions?
( vix0r was not Matthew on, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 15:53, closed)

I've been approached by a couple of people interested in the panoramic..
But that was the first piece I've worked on properly in years, and it was to fill that unsightly gap in my front room wall.

My more recent piece is this one (still currently unfinished, due to time restrictions at my new job) - this will find itself on EBay at some point in the near future:



This piece is a full size A2 picture, here's a close-up of the left tower:



I've thought of doing commissions, but at the moment, it's more of a hobby, and besides, I get to work on the pictures at my own pace, so the attention to detail does'nt become too mundane.

If I find myself getting too bored, I can just stop for a while, then come back to it later.
(danniekavanagh did nothing constructive on, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 16:09, closed)

Nicely done.
How long does it take for one?

All of my drawings turn out shite. I can't get the image that's in my head on to paper. Any ideas?

By the way, do you just paste images in when posting on this, or is there some special linky-thing I haven't noticed yet?
( Awk Industries is actually a helic- NO, STAY BACK SHARK!, Sun 7 Nov 2010, 0:04, closed)

This particular piece has taken ages, mainly because of the stone work..
Generally, it'll take about a couple of months, if I were to work on the pictures daily.

The trick with large pictures like these, is to break the whole image down into pieces. I'd just work on the tiles on the roof one day, then one part of the wall, then the woodwork etc. Once the main lines are on place, start the shading using a similar method.

I often start with the darker tones first, others do it the other way round, but when working with pencil, I find that doing teh darker sections first, I find it easier to avoid the 'that bit's not dark enough' problem, which results in you over-working areas, resulting in a very dark, and bleak looking picture.

As for the image uploader, I was pointed in the direction of a fellow B3tan's image uploader via the FAQs page here:
www.b3tards.com/uploader.php

As for having problems getting your picture to look right, I have the same issue when it comes to drawing people, I'd find it easier reproducing the Mona Lisa with a packet of wax crayons than recreating a simple portrait - that's why I stick to buildings for the time being!..
(danniekavanagh did nothing constructive on, Sun 7 Nov 2010, 10:31, closed)

Blimey O' Reilly!
This is very good stuff! :)

I feel the same way about drawing; I love to draw, but I prefer the good old pen-and-paper method as opposed to using the computer. It just feels more 'real' somehow, and it's nice to have a tangible result of your efforts.
(Draco Rattus ate all the pies on, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 17:53, closed)

*jealouses*
I used to love drawing but can't seem to get back into it.
( girlinthehole, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 18:14, closed)

Pah
My phone takes panoramic pics these days and that's really life, not dun with a pencil. You haven't even got the coloured felt tips out. Rubbish!
(Wagane, Sun 7 Nov 2010, 0:25, closed)

The panoramic camera is ok..
If you want to keep stuff like traffic in your finished picture (If you look at the very top picture, you can see a Taxi by the Theatre building in the bottom right-hand corner of the reference image, on the laptop - which is'nt in the final image on the wall further down).

Generally, on wide pieces of work like this, especially at this junction, you often get the same car in more than one of the smaller images due to the traffic lights stopping the traffic etc.

Plus, on the panoramic, I've omitted details like the names of the businesses (one of them is a nightclub), so it does'nt date the picture too much.

There was also some random OAP crossing the street on a motability scooter, I did'nt think he'd have been quite suitable for the whole picture when it was complete, although I'm sure some of you guys on here would think differently hahaha.
(danniekavanagh did nothing constructive on, Sun 7 Nov 2010, 10:36, closed)

Was just being silly.
It's really good, and better than that bloke who does all the views from celebrity windows if you ask me, and a lot more interesting. Do you have more you could post somewhere?
(Wagane, Sun 7 Nov 2010, 15:13, closed)

Not at the moment..
Because I've only started working on pictures since April - Well, I have one of an old branch of Lloyds Bank, also in Halifax, which I did way back in 2002.

Apart from that, I have'nt done anything of this size or complexity - but I have a few ideas in the pipeline.

I have been tempted to do a time-lapse showing the creative process of these pictures, similar to those you see on YouTube, but I just never get round to having the patience of setting up the camera every time the creative urge arrives!
(danniekavanagh did nothing constructive on, Sun 7 Nov 2010, 16:28, closed)

very fancy. not trying to upstage you, but here is one of mine:

no pencils and stuff, see

(big clicky btw)
( enoughblueskyforsailorstrousers, Mon 8 Nov 2010, 18:06, closed)