5/20/2015 AbstractIllustrations:Part2| VisualizingArchitecture

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Abstract Illustrations: Part 2
by Alex Hogrefe | Jun 17, 2012 | Break Down, Styles / Effects | 8 Comments

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Every once and a while, there comes a time to produce an illustration that is a little more abstract in style.
Such cases in the past included situations where the design wasnt developed to the point that a full blown
rendering could be produced, or where I really needed to grab the viewers attention such as with lecture
series posters or website graphics. I find abstract illustrations to be the most intriguing and fun to work on
because essentially anything goes. I can be more creative with the color pallets and not be so precise with the
Photoshop work. I came across some paintings by Paul Davies that really had a beautiful quality and texture to
them (would love to have one of his works hanging in my apartment). The guy uses amazing color
combinationsand the compositions of his paintings are spot on.I wanted to see if I could achieve a similar
attitude by simply using shadows from a Sketchup model and a little Photoshop wizardry. While Imnot trying
to fake my illustration to look like a painting, I find myself on this quest to experiment with representing the
subtle nuances that paintings like Davies have and that computer renderings will never have. Some sort of Categories
hybrid that is on the fringe of both hand made and computer generated. Break Down (32)

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abstract aerial axon bird's eye

break down clay diagram Diagrams

dusk elevation Exterior fog HDR

inspiration Interior Kerkythea Landscape

Above: Sketchup shadows export. In this case, the shadows were the only thing I needed from the 3d model.
layout Light lighting Model modeling
everything else would be done in Photoshop
Night People perspective photography

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Photoshop Portfolio presentation

Quick Tips Rendering Sections settings

setup Site Plan Sketchup snow

spreads Styles Text texture urban

Water winter xray

The background is the most important part of this illustration. The tree silhouette is comprised of four images
of cypress trees I found in a google search. I adjusted the level of the images as well as used the burn and
dodge tool to get the silhouette look. I then mirrored the trees for the reflection.

Once the overall layout was setup, I experimented different color combos until I found what I was looking for.

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The final step involved adding textures, lots of textures. I let different textures overlap one another and really
played them up in some areas, while not as much in other areas. I also spent some time with the smudge tool
getting rid of perfectly straight lines and roughing up random areas of the image. I could have spent the whole
day on this image. Its one of those things that are never finished. Expect to see more posts on this topic later
on down the road.

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8Comments visualizingarchitecture
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pablofromchile 3yearsago
excelent!!!pleaseavideoforseeyourmoves
yourgreat....
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mehdi 3yearsago
goodjobagainalexandgoodcolorselection.
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Caton 3yearsago
You&#39reaprettygeniusguy.Yourworkisreallyinspirational,evenasweirdasitmaysoundto
you.
Keepupthegreatwork,becauseIcan&#39twaittoseemore.
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Des 3yearsago
Justoutofcuriousity,doyouuseadigitaldrawingpen&padwhenyouworkinpshop?Orjusta
goodol&#39fashionedmouse??
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mehdi 3yearsago
ithinkifyouaddpeopleitsmorebetter
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alanandrestorres 3yearsago
alextheimageisexcellentprecededmethatdiditatouchandalanguageofcolorandunique
textureswouldbelievethatyoucanuploadthisvideotutorial?thanks
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JurgenVanTomme 3yearsago
HiAlexagain:congratulations!cooleffect.Thislooksmoresimplethanyouothertutorials,because
itdon&#39thavetoberealistic(becausethisisabstract).Butitisn&#39tthatsimpletogetthis
resultIguess).IfImaygiveonecomment(alittleone:))...Idon&#39tlikethe&#39water&#39,
inmyopinionthewaterinthefrontdemandsalltheattentioninsteadofthemodernbuilding...but
asisaythisismyopiniondon&#39tworryittomuch:)
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sammy 3yearsago
HiAlexIjustwantedtosaythanksforthistutorial.IteachsketchupandIlovethecreativityyouhave
andIamplanningonintegratingphotoshopfurtherintomylessonsbecauseofyourwork.Your
techniquesaresousefulandimmediate.someofthemarereallymagicalThanks
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ALSOONVISUALIZINGARCHITECTURE WHAT'STHIS?

Private:VRaySettingsOverview Tutorial:QuickSitePlans
18comments3daysago 30comments9monthsago

AvatarDaveMasonHiAlex,Justwonderingifyou AvatarALEXHOGREFEThankseveryone
werelookingintodoinganotherroundof
printingforyourlatestportfolio?

WharfDesign:Spreads CultureCenterSpreads
8comments9monthsago 23comments5monthsago

AvatarRadekHiAlex,Whatfontdidyouuseforthis AvatarAlexHogrefe yes,vraysettingswillbe

project?KindRegards comingsoon!

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