Technology

Digital Drawing
Illustrative drawing and rendering with Photoshop
By Timothy P. Johnson

The use of computer-aided drafting (cad) programs is almost universally accepted as the most efficient way to produce two-dimensional working drawings. cad allows the direct exchange of digital data with architects and engineers as well as flexible editing and many automated functions. Despite all its strengths, however, cad software is not very well suited for creating conceptual sketches and illustrative drawings. Because of this, most sketches are still done by hand on paper using traditional media. Plans, elevations, and perspectives, even if generated on the computer, are still printed out and rendered with traditional media.

After the introduction of MacPaint in 1984, illustrators and designers began to experiment with the potential of digital media for drawing and illustration. In 1989 Adobe released the first version of Photoshop. It started a digital image revolution, which today is influencing the photographic market all the way down to the consumer level. In addition to Photoshop, many other "painting" or "image processing" programs are on the market. Every one of these programs has been designed using natural media metaphors for tools and techniques-airbrushes, paintbrushes, pencils, erasers, and rubber stamps-to make them easier to understand and use.

Unfortunately, the images created with digital media tools rarely have the quality of their natural counterparts. Illustrations created using natural media are always expressive of the media being used, the techniques being applied, and the "hand" of the person drawing or rendering the illustration. Digital media is typically flat, uniform, and not expressive of technique and individual hand. This problem arises for two main reasons.

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