Drawing a Repurposed Gas Station from Sketchup
I gave a talk on visualization at a regional planning conference and just for fun developed a couple of drawing examples showing how to communicate design ideas using SketchUp modeling and hand drawing methods. I chose an abandoned gas station in Buena Vista, Colorado and proceeded to imagine what it might look like repurposed into a local cafe. I presented two drawing options: 1) overlay and trace method and 2) digital watercolor hybrid method. Both are explained below.
OPTION 1 - Overlay and Trace Method
Step 1. Build a SketchUp Model. I located the existing gas station on Google Earth and saved jpg’s of the site plan view and Google Street View. I then built a simple SketchUp “massing model” with minimal detail (plain windows and hardly any architectural information). I made sure to add people, cars, landscaping and furniture to the model in order to give the scene human scale and show activity.
Step 2. Save an Eye Level Perspective View. I rotated the model to establish an ideal street level view, turned off all color in the scene style and saved a high resolution jpg of the composition revealing only model linework and shadows.
Step 3. Overlay and Trace Line Drawing. I printed the exported model view on 11”x17” paper, taped a sheet of lightweight tracing paper over the print and illustrated the scene using a water based Paper Mate Flair pen by simply tracing all of the basic model information and adding more drawing detail such as signage, tree leaves, flower beds and storefront elements.
Step 4. Final Colored Artwork. Using no more than a dozen colors of Chartpak AD markers, I completed the drawing and scanned the artwork in color as a 300dpi jpg. Note the second layer of colored marker lines on the building walls to represent brick construction.
Option 2 - Digital Watercolor Hybrid Method
Step 1. Detailed SketchUp Model. This visualization technique was entirely different than the previous overlay and trace method and produced a more sophisticated rendering that had the appearance of being painted with watercolors. Unlike the previous massing model, this new model incorporated much greater detail in the architecture, signage, window mullions and landscaping. The cars were more refined model components and people were 3D components rather than the previous 2D people.
Step 2. Digital Watercolor. My method of turning a SketchUp model into a digital watercolor had numerous intermediate steps (not shown) but involved first rendering the SketchUp model with a photorealistic rendering program with the goal of eventually printing the image on 11”x17” coated paper. Additional linework was lightly added with a very hard pencil and the artwork finally scanned at 300dpi. My final step in the process was to apply a watercolor filter in Photoshop to the image. The resulting visual had a granular character and the appearance of a painted watercolor.
