Google Patent Search "Toy Robot"
Looking for some lineart to practice your rendering? Or maybe some plans and elevations to practice a perspective or axonometric drawing system? Check out Google Patent Search, a searchable database of patent applications including the supporting technical drawings.
Quality of the drawings varies, but some digging may save you some drawing if all you really want to do is paint.
[via Boing Boing]
Presentation Techniques by Dick Powell
The second of Marc Gellen‘s book recommendations is Presentation Techniques by Dick Powell, first published in 1985. Whereas Technical Illustration – Techniques and Applications was more of a textbook of tools and techniques, this book is a practical guide to accurately drawing and rendering for the purpose of communicating design ideas. While both books are reminders of how much illustration has changed in 20 years in terms of media and style, I think this book’s techniques are well presented and still relevant today.
Happy Friday [via Adafruit]
Technical Illustration: Techniques and Applications
Marc Gellen was looking for recommendations for books on technical illustration on Twitter, but ended up providing me with the recommendations. Fortunately, all three books he suggested were available from my local library. I thought I’d give them a brief review here for the benefit of anyone whose public (or private) library might be lacking on the subject.
© Harry Campbell
The work of award winning editorial illustrator Harry Campbell is infused with a technical illustration aesthetic. A nod to the highly complex and industrialized world we live in, he makes use of bold structural lineart, axonometric drawing systems, parts explosions, and cutaways to communicate ideas.
For his latest work for The Wall Street Journal, he shares a bit about his process and inspiration:
[…] Just in case anybody is wondering about whether my mechanical objects are traced or taken from other drawings. Generally not, I just start drawing. I do look at reference like vaccum tubes, things like that. During this project I was thinking I need to start gathering a bin of junk to pull from. I do love exploded views of ordinary objects. Here’s one of my favorites.
Harry Campbell's Inspiration
See more of Mr. Campbell’s work on Drawger or his rep, Gerald & Cullen Rapp.
Every week I get an email update from The Little Chimp Society, an illustration news website where members can log on and post tidbits about exciting projects they have been working on.
Typically the work is more editorial/fine arts in style, but today I was inspired by a great magazine cover that delves into the realm of technical illustration.
Guitar Aficionado Cover
MDI Digital has created this cover for Guitar Aficionado magazine. This piece has been selected as a finalist in the American Society of Magazine Editors Best Cover of the Year Awards as well.
Cudos to those over at MDI Digital who worked on this amazing cover! If you want to see more work created by this company, check out MDI Digital‘s website.
Have a good weekend!
“Any subject-matter is no more, or less, complicated than any other if you break it into small enough sections. A big, complex object like a car, plane or ship is just 30 or 40 small illustrations that happen to occupy the same space.”
The career of technical illustrator extraordinaire Kevin Hulsey is nothing short of prolific. His client list reads like a roll call of the world’s major transportation, technology, manufacturing and entertainment companies. His work has been recognized with numerous awards from Belding, Best in the West, Communication Arts Magazine, and the Art Directors Club Of Los Angeles. He began his trade with an airbrush in hand, then traded it in for a Wacom tablet and made the leap to digital media. And his website is an abundant source of inspiration, with illustrations of mind-boggling complexity and accuracy and myriad resources, articles and tutorials.
This all keeps Mr. Hulsey rather busy—unfortunately for us too busy for an interview. However, with his permission, I’ve collected some links to images, resources, and an interview he did with another site:
Pickup Truck Cutaway – Copyright © 2010 Kevin Hulsey Illustration, Inc. All rights reserved.
Motor Illustration – Copyright © 2010 Kevin Hulsey Illustration, Inc. All rights reserved.
“Even after nearly thirty years, and thousands of illustrations, it is still fun to see your work on a billboard or in a magazine, particularly when you aren’t expecting it.”
Big thanks to Mr. Hulsey for sharing his time and work with us, and all the amazing resources on his site!
Update: Wacom case-study on Mr. Hulsey. (now on Internet Archive)
All images copyright © 2010 Kevin Hulsey Illustration, Inc. All rights reserved.
The biggest news story of the past two months is highly technical and happening beneath 5,000 feet of water. These obstacles make technical illustration the obvious medium for telling the story. Collected here are illustrations and graphics from various sources, showing their visual approach to communicating the information. (Mouseover for source, click for larger version)
The New York Times‘ illustrations are well designed and executed in a graphic style typical for newspapers. Black lines delineate the key information, both a visual strategy and a production consideration (black prints well on grainy paper in fast presses, since it’s a single plate). Deep-red lines and arrows call the eye’s attention to important details. Light colour tones provide additional information such as material, dimension/shading, or simply visual separation. A variety of views are used, elevations, isometrics, perspectives, whatever suits the content. Nice stuff here.
Infographic World‘s ambitious graphic attempts to tell the entire story, relying heavily on text, but ends up feeling cluttered, unfocused and disorganized. The individual illustrations feel underdeveloped.
NOLA/Times-Picayune‘s graphics are similar in style to The Times’, but with a much thicker line weight which makes me think they might have appeared smaller in print. The multitude of arrows really get in the way of the information. A bit heavy handed.
The Economist is a weekly news magazine, but the illustration doesn’t have much to show for the extra time (to be fair, there’s no telling what sort of turnaround time the illustrator was given).
BP employs slick [no pun intended] 3D renderings to communicate the company’s repair efforts and give the impression of openness and transparency. I have two problems with this. First, they feel expensive. I imagine BP already had a 3D model library of all their equipment for planning and presentation purposes, so this may very well be the most cost-effective visual solution for them. But the impression these polished 3D renderings give is that they’re spending a lot on visuals, when they should be devoting all their resources to the repair and cleanup process.
Secondly, 3D renderings feel like constructed illusions rather than explanatory depictions of their efforts. Maybe it’s my bias towards illustration since both are just as artifical (ie. not photographs or videos), but I find The Times’ illustrations more trustworthy than BP’s 3D world.
The New York Times. “Methods That Have Been Tried to Stop the Leaking Oil”
Infographic World. “Crude Awakening”
NOLA.com. “Oil Spill Graphics”
The Economist. “Mudslinging”
Unified Command for the BP Oil Spill. “Graphics”
BP. “Gulf of Mexico Response”
Have you seen any additional illustrations of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill? Let us know in the comments!
Sometimes freelancing can be like solitary confinement. Big projects, tight deadlines, (and if you’re in the Pacific Northwest, terrible weather) can all keep you locked up in the home studio. To ward off cabin fever I like to listen to a small selection of podcasts, some illustration-related, some business-related and others general interest to stay current with the rest of the world.
Sadly, I haven’t found a technical illustration podcast, but here’s my playlist:
Escape From Illustration Island: The Podcast
In-depth interviews with illustrators, artists’ representatives and art directors. Companion to Escape From Illustration Island, a resource portal and illustration community.
Big Illustration Party Time
A conversational podcast about the ins and outs of freelance illustration and cartooning.
Hawk and Squirrel
A brand new podcast searching for its voice. As manic and entertaining as its hosts (and friends of mine), Chad Covino, Juan Solon and Nimit Malavia.
Freelance Radio
Official podcast of FreelanceSwitch.com covering work and life issues of freelancers.
The Monocle Weekly
A mix of discussions, interviews and field reports on world events and culture.
Stuff You Should Know
Official podcast of HowStuffWorks.com, explains how everyday things and not-so-everyday things work.
Have any podcasts to recommend, illustration-related or otherwise? Let us know in the comments!