Tracing images with Photoshop

[singlecoil]

I would love to be able to draw but I just don't have the eye for it, so I've been experimenting with tracing, using a graphics tablet and tracing in black on a new layer over the original picture. I am trying to decide whether this is something worth pursuing and would appreciate comments. I know I can do better than the example shown, my wife who is a painter has pointed out various areas that need improvement, and I am experimenting with shading techniques.

On the shading aspect, I tried lowering the opacity of the shading layers and just the brush, but that produces grey and it looks to be out of context with the rest of the image which is stark black and white. I expect I will end up using the parallel line technique one sees in engravings etc but it's tricky to get degrees of shading that way.

Here's the first effort

Amur tiger by Elliott and Nolan, on Flickr

[DibblyDobbler]

I like it - definitely worth the effort to hone your technique

[singlecoil]

I've been doing a bit more-

Holy Cross Church Hoggeston progress 3 by Elliott and Nolan, on Flickr

[C&C]

That's really good - I like it.

Looks like an awful lot of work - how many hours do you think it took roughly?

[singlecoil]

I took the picture two weeks ago, and have spent most of my spare time on it since then. Fortunately I enjoy doing it so that's not a problem. I'm also developing a lot of short cuts, for instance most of the shading was copied and pasted, transformed into the new position and then the edges erased as required.

The roof tiles were done on a separate document which was built up by drawing a couple of hundred of them and then copying and pasting as above. Transform is a very useful tool

[C&C]

singlecoil said:

The roof tiles were done on a separate document which was built up by drawing a couple of hundred of them and then copying and pasting as above. Transform is a very useful tool

That's interesting - it was particularly the roof tiles that I thought would have taken such a long time (and would be quite tedious) as there are so many of them.

[Heres Johnny]

It may well be the tracing is where you’re getting your pleasure, but I remember seeing this tutorial on getting shading effects but a very different approach to the one you’re taking.

https://youtu.be/C3a6mfFOLhs

I think the other approach is cross hatching, first level of shade is lines all going in one direction and evenly spaced, a darker tone overlay the first with more lines but at 45 degrees, darker still add a further set of lines 45 deg again (90 deg to the first). Close up it’s obvious they’re lines, but stand back and the tone appears.

[singlecoil]

Heres Johnny said:

It may well be the tracing is where you’re getting your pleasure, but I remember seeing this tutorial on getting shading effects but a very different approach to the one you’re taking.

https://youtu.be/C3a6mfFOLhs

I think the other approach is cross hatching, first level of shade is lines all going in one direction and evenly spaced, a darker tone overlay the first with more lines but at 45 degrees, darker still add a further set of lines 45 deg again (90 deg to the first). Close up it’s obvious they’re lines, but stand back and the tone appears.

There's some useful info in that video thanks, though his result is clearly derived from a photo. I can see me using some of the pattern info he provided.

My shading is done with hatching, though it's not easy to see at this scale (the drawing is designed to be printed at 300 dpi on A2 paper), the only crosshatching is the door at the back of the porch.