Concept Art Techniques - Google SketchUp Workshop: Modeling, Visualizing, and Illustrating - page 243

points, which could sometimes be meters outside the canvas, and no need
for endless thumbnails to plan the composition. I can look at my scene
through a realistic camera, and even choose the focal length of the virtual
lens I am using.
I can also use SketchUp to experiment with different light directions, seeing
where the shadows fall, and plan how to use light to enhance my scene or the
composition of the painting. I do not really use that many plug-ins, since all I
am interested in is laying down rough forms as quickly as possible. It does not
matter if a curved surface is rather jagged and low poly. I can just smooth it
out when I come to paint over it. In some respects, I am producing a massing
study rather than a polished model and do not really need many advanced
tools to do this.
New Approaches
I used the Film and Stage plug-in to help position my camera. It is really useful
to have a physical object to drag around the scene, rather than just judging
the position using viewport. The script is getting a bit old now (it was created
before Google bought @last), but it still seems to work reasonably well with
SketchUp 6.
I made use of 3D warehouse while creating the 3D model, picking and choos-
ing elements that might be useful in my design. I never use models exactly as
they are downloaded; using parts of prebuilt models can save a lot of valuable
time without compromising on the creative vision of a scene.
Step 1: Rough Sketch
Goal : To create a rough sketch that contains all the elements that will be
in the final image, as well as an idea of the atmosphere and colors that will
be used.
Inputs : I have chosen as my source material the epic from Greek mythology
The Odyssey - the story of Odysseus' troubled journey back from Troy at the
end of the Trojan War. I am going to specifically choose the scene in the story
where Odysseus' ship passes through a narrow strait between high cliffs. On
one side of the strait lies the whirlpool “Charybdis,” and high up in the cliffs
opposite lives the six-headed sea monster “Scylla.” Avoiding one hazard will
cause the ship to pass close to the other. Odysseus chooses to pass close to
the sea monster (and lose six men) rather than the whirlpool (and risk losing
the entire ship).
Tool : Painter.
This image is created very quickly (in an hour or so), straight from my imagina-
tion, without requiring any reference materials. Although the composition,
perspective, and detailing of the image, therefore, leaves a lot to be desired