Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Drawing and rendering are the
primary visual-communication
methods used by theatrical
designers
It is also important that you learn
how to draw and render on a
computer
Both methods are important, but
it is absolutely essential that you
be able to draw and paint well by
hand
Theatrical Design and Production
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Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Materials
Designers use a wide variety of
materials to create their sketches
These materials can be divided
into two categories:
The material being applied:
pencils, inks, paints, pastels,
or markers
Paper
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.
Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Materials
Pencils
Almost any pencil can be used for sketching, but
different pencils have different characteristics
Hard-lead drafting pencils make crisp, sharp-edged
lines
Soft-lead drawing pencils make wider, darker, and
softer-edged lines
Colored pencils also come in hard and soft varieties
Theatrical Design and Production
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Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Materials
Inks
Some designers use inks for making preliminary and
thumbnail sketches and outlining detail on renderings
Theatrical Design and Production
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Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Materials
Paint
Costume and scenic sketches and renderings
have traditionally been painted with transparent
watercolor paints
Watercolor
Designer’s Gouache
Acrylic
Brushes
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.
Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Materials
Watercolor
Watercolor paint is a pigment mixed with water to
create a transparent paint
It is the traditional medium for theatrical renderings
because it produces a luminescent quality
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.
Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Materials
Watercolor
Watercolor pigments are available
in three types:
Tube—emulsified pigments the
consistency of sour cream
Cake—hard blocks of watercolor
pigment
Liquid—packaged in small
bottles of highly saturated hues
Tube and cake watercolors
provide same high-quality
pigment, so the choice is a
matter of personal
preference. Liquid paints
mix easily and always
remain transparent
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.
Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Materials
Designer’s Gouache
Designer’s gouache is an opaque watercolor
Available in tubed form in a wide range of hues,
gouache closely resembles the “matte”
reflective properties and colors of scene paint
Matte—Dull,
non-reflective
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.
Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Materials
Acrylic
Acrylic paint is very versatile
It can be thinned with water to be the
consistency of watercolor
When used as a watercolor, the only difference
is that acrylic leaves a slightly “glossy” surface,
rather than a matte surface
Glossy—highly
reflective,
mirrorlike
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.
Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Materials
Brushes
You should buy the best brushes that you can possibly
afford
Most artists believe the best watercolor brushes are
made from red sable or a synthetic sable
The brushes carry pigment easily, have a good “spine”,
and cling together when wet
You will need at least two sizes of brushes to
begin—the higher the number, the bigger the brush
Pick a smaller one for detail and a larger one for
laying in washes
Spine—the
relative
stiffness of
bristles
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.
Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Materials
Brushes
You should buy the best brushes that you can possibly afford
Most artists believe the best watercolor brushes are made from
red sable or a synthetic sable
The brushes carry pigment easily, have a good “spine”, and cling
together when wet
You will need at least two sizes of brushes to begin
—the higher the number, the bigger the brush
Pick a smaller one for detail and a larger one for
laying in washes
Spine—the
relative
stiffness of
bristles
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.
Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Materials
Pastels
There are two primary types of pastel
Chalk
Oil
Theatrical Design and Production
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Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Materials
Chalk Pastels
Chalk pastels are formed into square or
round sticks that have approximately the
same consistency as blackboard chalk
The square sticks are generally more
useful for theatrical sketching because
you can draw relatively sharp lines with
the edges as well as a smooth wash
with the flat surfaces
Chalk pastels are available in soft,
medium, and hard
The brilliance of the
color is linked to its
hardness—the harder
the stick, the less
brilliant the color!
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.
Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Materials
Oil or Wax Pastels
Oil or wax pastels have a slightly
greasy feeling
They are manufactured with a soft
wax binder
The wax makes these types of
pastels very easy to blend
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.
Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Materials
Markers
There are a number of different markers and
marking pens available
The principal differences are
in the shape and material of
the tip and the nature and
characteristics of the paint or
ink contained in the marker
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.
Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Materials
Paper
Most final scenic and costume sketches
are drawn or painted on some type of
watercolor paper or “illustration board”
Other types of paper, such as charcoal
and velvet can be used with pastels,
pencils, and markers, but they don’t
work well with paint
Illustration board—
watercolor paper
mounted on a
pressboard backing
to prevent wrinkling
or bending
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.
Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Materials
Paper
There are three primary surface finishes for
watercolor paper and illustration board
Hot-press finish—a slick, smooth texture achieved by
pressing paper between hot rollers
Cold-press finish—a slight surface texture achieved by
pressing paper between cold rollers
Rough finish—a pebble-grained texture achieved by
cold-pressing paper with a textured roller
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.
Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Computer Drawing
There are a variety of drawing programs, and they
contain a number of features
Generally they can be divided into two generic types
Painting programs
Drawing programs
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.
Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Computer Drawing
Painting Programs
Programs such as Adobe
Photoshop and Fractal
Painter are generally used for
nontechnical drawings such
as renderings and sketches
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.
Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Computer Drawing
Drawing Programs
Objects created with drawing
programs such as Strata Studio Pro
and/or 3D Studio are objectoriented or vector images
Vector programs can be used to
create sketches and renderings, but
their most used to create drawings
containing multiple objects that may
need to be manipulated
independently
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.
Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Computer Drawing
Drawing Programs
The actual drawing can be done with a
mouse or with a “digitizing tablet”
Most of the current drawing programs include
color palettes ranging from a minimum of 256
hues to over 1.6 million colors
These programs also allow you to select
specific surface textures
The majority of the programs also allow you
to design the lighting for your drawings
Digitizing tablet—an
electromechanical
device that converts
the pressure of a
stylus on a flat plane
into binary
information that can
be understood by a
computer
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.
Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Computer Drawing
Drawing Programs
Drawing programs can be used in several ways
Original sketches can be created with a program, such
as POSER
Hand-drawn sketches or research illustrations can be
scanned into the computer and manipulated
Scanner figure
Theatrical Design and Production
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Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Drawing and Rendering Techniques
The following suggestions will familiarize you
with some of the basic techniques that are used
with the various media
Sketching
Figure drawing
Graphite transfers
Watercolor
Pastels
Pencils and Markers
Combined media
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.
Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Drawing and Rendering Techniques
Sketching
Scenic, costume, and property designers need to be able to make
quick, clear sketches
Thumbnail drawings and preliminary sketches are presented and
modified during production meetings
Three principles:
Lines must reflect the qualities of the materials they represent
You must be intimately familiar with the physical characteristics
of the materials you are drawing
You must know what you’re drawing before you draw it
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.
Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Drawing and Rendering Techniques
Sketching
Sketching creates a simplified view that
shows the basic appearance and spirit or
character of the object
A major stumbling block is that people try
to draw what they think they see rather
than what they actually see
All sketches are based on three principal
elements: thematic lines, line angles and
intersections, and proportion
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.
Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Drawing and Rendering
Techniques
Figure Drawing
It is imperative that designers,
especially costume designers, be
able to sketch the human figure
easily
Some designers believe it is
important that a figure have a
readily identifiable face—others
do not
The quick figure sketch is used to
capture the flavor and personality
of the character
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.
Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Drawing and Rendering
Techniques
Figure Drawing
Proportion is the single most
important element of figure
drawing
Designers should become
familiar with the skeletal structure
of the body and how the various
muscle groups work to animate it
Practice, practice, practice! Take
life drawing classes and draw
during idle time.
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.
Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Drawing and Rendering
Techniques
Graphite transfers
Watercolor and pastel renderings and
sketches usually begin with a pencil
drawing
It is standard practice to draw the design
on tracing vellum
After the sketch is complete, the vellum
is turned over and covered with graphite
The drawing is taped face up onto
watercolor or illustration board and
traced, thus transferring the design
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.
Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Drawing and Rendering Techniques
Watercolor
A wash is the covering of relatively large
area with a smooth layering of paint
A wash can be laid down wet or dry
Since watercolor is a transparent medium,
you’ll need to remember that the whites and
light colors are achieved by letting the paper
show through
It is normal procedure to build up a
watercolor rendering from light to dark
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.
Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Drawing and Rendering Techniques
Pastels
Oil or wax pastels are easy to blend and
give a smooth, opaque finish
Chalk pastels give a chalkier, luminescent
finish
Most designers prefer to use chalk pastels
because they, unlike the oil pastels, can
be used with watercolor
Once the pastel has been applied, it can
be blended using blending sticks, tissue,
or your fingers
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.
Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Drawing and Rendering Techniques
Pencils and Markers
Colored pencils and pens, as well as watercolor or oil
markers, can be used to good effect for both scenic and
costume renderings
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.
Chapter 22: Drawing and Rendering
Drawing and Rendering
Techniques
Combined Media
To be able to select the appropriate
visual expression for a design
concept, a designer should feel
free to use and combine a wide
variety of rendering materials,
styles, and techniques
Theatrical Design and Production
© 2006 McGraw-Hill. All right reserved.