ANM105 - Drawing Basics For New Media: Week Nine

The term “overlay” in traditional media refers to the use of tracing paper over a series of studies to arrive at an end result. In New Media “overlay” refers to combining different images, textural layers, color layers, blending, etc. to arrive at an end result.
When working with a client, it is good to be able to show all of the different design layers and different versions of your completed work.
You are to create an interior or exterior environment, either from your imagination or from direct observation, utilizing multiple-point perspective—i.e. draw your horizon line and create your environment in 1pt or 2pt perspective, and then have other objects at different angles with different vanishing points.

Step 1: Compositional Studies
Begin with compositional thumbnails in your sketchbook, brainstorming ideas with a strong primary focal point and good use of space.
Potential ideas:

Building or House setting
Stylized Graphic Design Environment
Object from observation in an environment or 3D space
Recreate an Old Masters artwork.

Step 2:  Sketch Study
On Bristol Board, refine your sketch in Blue-Line Pencil, creating contour line detail.
Step 3:  Single Line Blow-up
Tape a piece of Tracing Paper along the top edge of your Bristol Board paper so that it overlays the Bristol Board cleanly and neatly. Next, ink all of the contour line work, crisp and cleanly.
Step 4:  Tone and Shadow
Tape another Tracing Paper layer. Using Marker, build up value scale from lightest to darkest.  Note: You can break the value into even more additional layers of Tracing Papers.
Step 5:  Texture and Materials
Tape another Tracing Paper layer. Use Mark-making to build up additional value and texture to the environment and objects through cross-hatching, stippling, etc.
Note: Steps 3 through 5 are interchangeable in their order to achieve different effects, i.e. Single Line Blow-Up contour line can be put on top of Tone and Shadow andTexture to make the hard lines pop out more and be more crisp and clean; or you can make the design softer by having Tone and Shadow on top of Single Line Blow-Upand Texture.
Step 6:  Final Drawing
Put all of the Study Overlays together in the proper sequence to achieve the completed effect and design.

Study Examples:
Sketch Study & Single Line Blow-up

ANM 105 Overlay001