When starting a drawing, the first issue is: how am I going to trace my drawing correctly, easy and fast? Everybody has different methods for doing this: transfer paper, grid from photo/print reference, lightbox, real life trace, Photoshop grid, and so on.
Even in the ancient times, artists had their own methods. Artists such as Van Gogh and Da Vinci used the grid, but we attribute the grid to Albrecht Dürer. His magnificent drawings show such realism and the grid was part of that success.(ref)
Even in the ancient times, artists had their own methods. Artists such as Van Gogh and Da Vinci used the grid, but we attribute the grid to Albrecht Dürer. His magnificent drawings show such realism and the grid was part of that success.(ref)
Did you know the old masters often traced? Leonardo Da Vinci used “Camera Obscura” which is a lens and a mirror set at an angle with parchment over it to trace onto. Michaelangelo used a similar technique. The use of Photography as a mechanical aid to oil paintings and other forms of realistic art came right away. This is not surprising since artists had been tracing from Camera Obscura for thousands of years. (ref)
I just discovered SimmTrace – an optical device which allow anybody to draw like an expert. It is a great idea for starting a draw, which belongs to Roy Simmons. He is a great artist from United Kingdom specialised in watercolour. Bellow you can see Roy’s presentation for the SimmTrace:
Easy, isn’t it? Now I can save a lot of time by tracing my drawings. Before I used transfer paper and it took me a lot of time. Here is a demonstration and some tips of how I used Roy’s idea and of course his software:
Add Jullia to your circles
Cool, very useful. Thk Jullia, great work
Glad you are finding it useful! Have you tried the newer version of the software? Not much difference exept it uses hotkeys to change transparency, and of any window. So you can make the photograph transparent and use any webcam preview software. It doesn’t have the slider option though, which you may see as a dis-advantage.
I really like what you are doing, your work continues to amaze me, and to be a small part of that gives me great pleasure.
Roy.
He is a pretty clever chap, that Roy Simmons and I agree, those landscapes of his are very good.
Hi Roy! indeed it’s a great idea and I find it useful ;) I tried the second version of SimmTrace too. It’s also great, but I don’t know why I got attached by the first one, and the Microsoft LifeCam software does not allow the full screen mode.
Thanks for your appreciation, it means a lot to me :)
How about learning some anatomy and then draw everything without any programs or transfer paper or whatever?
That’s a good idea too, Dianne. But for example I haven’t made anatomy lessons, only what I learned by my own, and many other people who want to make realistic portraits. And it is harder for me to do that. And usually clients want to see themself exactly like in the photo. So, I found this program to match exactly with this issue.
Hi Julia, I have placed this page on my new ning site, under ‘Roys Other Art stuff’ its good to have someone else’s perspective (http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/)
Roy.
great! I’ve just joined there too (; I’m looking for inspiration now, ‘cose I bought some brushes yesterday :D and acrylics
I’d like to try SimmTrace. What webcams work with it? Some are manual focus, some autofocus, some state their focus range, most do not. Any help appreciated.
Any kind of camera. It really doesn’t matter. I have a Microsoft LifeCam HD, with autofocus. But after I establish the focus that I need, I change it on manual focus. The distance between the paper and your camera will always be the same during the sketch. The only important think is to see if you web-cam have a large preview. For example the software of my camera does not allowed me to see in a full screen mode. But for this, you can use for examplePryme, a little free software.
You are a genius! i have been using grids and some times tracing paper for my portraits…..which is too time consuming. But now onwards I will use this method…I just need to buy an external camera now :( as my laptop’s camera won’t be able to focus on the paper and show me the pic on the screen at the same time….but still it will be worth it! THANKS!
welcome! this was Roy’s idea. I just updat it to my portraits. Indeed, you need an external camera web. It is not necessarily a very expensive one.. cause you don’t need to record, but just to visualize. Good luck!
Just want to say, that I’m happy with the fact to know, that I’m not the only one who use tracing methods for her drawings. I’m visually handicapped and for that reason I can’t see the proportions that well.
But like here, people think, you’re cheating, but I think we’re not. It is just a helpful tool!
Your artwork is amazing, Keep going!
Greetings,
Annelies
No, using methods like grid, or tracing is not cheating. Big artists use it too today. As you sow even Van Gogh and Da Vinci used the grid. This is just the start, your ability to make a nice portrait / drawing is after making the grid. Because then you will draw free hand everything.
Hello! I have a question about the Simmtrace method.. How large of a drawing can you create? I usually paint up to 16″ by 20″. Would I be able to use the Simmtrace for that size?
Thanks!
Michelle
Hi Michelle! The largest I did was 11 x 14 inch. I haven’t tried something larger. For sure that you can do larger portraits, only that you will not be able to draw so many details. The larger the paper is the less details you can do. But it depends on what’s your subject about.. if it is not something too detailed, than for sure you can use SimmTrace properly.