The Techniques of Syd Mead (Vol 1-4)

THE TECHNIQUES OF SYD MEAD 1

THUMBNAIL SKETCHING AND LINE DRAWING

Syd’s first title introduces the student to the principles of creating thumbnail sketches and subsequent line drawings in the process of creating a successful composition. Topics illustrated include establishing value using only shades of black, and then using those shades to identify levels of detail in the composition, including vehicles, architecture, people and foliage. He guides the viewer through the process of choosing appropriate camera angles, and determining the geometry of the image. Syd goes through the process of defining proportion, the horizon line, the vanishing point, perspective and the ground plane, resulting in a series of sketches ready for further development.

THE TECHNIQUES OF SYD MEAD 2

VALUE SKETCHING

The second title in the Syd Mead series, this lesson introduces the viewer to the process of creating the Value Preliminary. Using a series of grey to black markers, Syd shows you how to illustrate your image once you’ve determined the picture composition and sketch views. He guides the artist through a step-by-step process of choosing the best view and, using only a series of nine grey markers, he shows how to create a value system for your illustration, explaining that the more you establish your value range at this stage, the more you ensure the visual sense of your final picture. Using felt tip markers of varying values, Syd guides the user through the process of creating detail, blocking shadows, indicating highlights and defining the detail on the Value Preliminary.

THE TECHNIQUES OF SYD MEAD 3

CREATING THE COLOR PRELIMINARY

Using the value study prepared during the previous title, the Syd is ready to create a color version of the Value Preliminary. Using a prepared line drawing, Syd guides the artist through the physical creation of a gouache miniature color preliminary of the scene. He details how this part of the process helps the artist experiment, determine his color needs and show the client a good representation of the final product before producing the larger illustration. Syd shows the viewer how to prepare cold press finish board, mix paint samples and create a custom color palette in preparation for completing the final rendering.

THE TECHNIQUES OF SYD MEAD 4

FINAL GOUACHE RENDERING

In the conclusion to this series on the techniques of Syd Mead, starting with a piece of blank cold press illlustration board, Syd takes the viewer through the process of creating the final gouache rendering of his initial composition. He talks about how to create and prepare a transfer sheet in order to trace down and block in the original line drawing. Once the illustration is transferred, Syd uses the color preliminary as a guide and demonstrates how to use the pre-mixed custom color palette to add detail to the illustration one area at a time. Using this method, he adds detail from background to foreground, retracing at each stage, re-establishing detail areas and completing the illustration.