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Some rendering possibilities for sign for a business I have done some work for in the past
So this is one idea above and then I thought about drawing another idea, this one mostly for myself.
Looking at this as I am writing . . . doesn’t that look like a wishing well? Sorta, it’s funny that I had never seen this rendering in that light until this very moment. I would say that means something. something about me or the drawing . . . I don’t know.
Well at least the top rendering looks like some sort of planter(stone walls), where the idea is to put some sort of roof over the sign to create opportunity to show off some construction skills and promote a upscale environment.
The above photo was taking cropped from this page of my sketchbook. Some other interesting doodling on the page. I was definitely drawing away!
After the previous post on Eyvind Earle I caught myself thinking about his marvelous use of putting colors together to create really magical scenes, and the next thing I know is I’m attempting(attempting) to do the same thing while watching the Cav’s game tonight.
This is in a Windsor~Newton all-purpose sketchbook using Copic markers.
Added bonus
The other day I was working with Faber-Castell, PITT artist pens. I like the color these brush pens create and I like the flexibility of the brush. Creating strokes, marks, swaths of color, or filling in and blending colors. Even on the all-purpose sketch pad paper, from the same above sketchbook.
It’s not Earle, but then again it was not intended to be. For starters a completely different paper is needed, and a LOT MORE talent.
I like the way the Copic’s blending inside their own color works. They do not blend well when combined, so in landscape renderings they are great for showing contrast, strong powerful contrast.
The PITT’s, I like a lot. I love the versatility and I really like how they make me want to go fast and loose. Fast, loose, conceptual . . . that’s what landscape renderings should be about. it’s not the time for details, it’s the time for ideas.
In DP(08) I thought I was finished talking about color, or I thought I was finished sending you to sites that discuss all the great things concerning color.
Well; as usual, I was wrong.
Not that any of you are surprised that I was wrong. Heck you guys probably always think I am wrong about something. 
More Sites
By accident I have found a few other places I’d like to send you to when it gets to color.
The 1st is a Hewlett-Packard site called the On-line Color Thesaurus where you enter a color and the thesaurus gives you other options that work with the entered color . . . it’s kinda fun. One of those great tools to use if there is a color you’re wishing to use but somehow it’s not quite the one. Boom here comes some other options that will achieve your solution-hopefully.
Shockingly enough . . . Wikipedia! has a page on Crayola colors(133) and another list on the Crayola colors in historical context, if you’re a fan of Crayola this is a good link to keep.
120 Crayon Names + Color Codes
Another great page from the COLOURlovers site about Crayola and a lot of fun facts, images, inspiration, pallets, etc.
This is a awesome chart, and really well done, take a look at Aaron’s site for a lot of solid information and work, examples, and a discussion board. Below chart is from the COLOURlovers site:
In several previous post I went through the very elemental beginnings of my take on Landscape Design Principles. The last was how I looked at design when considering motion, and the two parts of motion; static and dynamic.
Now let me turn my attention to the most discussed of all landscape design principles . . . color. More has been written about color than I could ever hope to even read, heck if I started reading now . . . I’d still be reading after I was dead.
A reminder of my chart on these 10 building blocks.
The list:
Ten Building Blocks to Design-Design at it’s Most Primitive
7 physical and 3 Sensory Elements=The 10 Basics of Design
Physical Elements:
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Point: where everything starts.
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Line: the connection of two points.
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Plane: connection of several lines—2 dimensional.
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Form: connection of several planes—3 dimensional.
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Motion: movement/experience, planes/form.
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Color: an added bonus to 3 dimensional space—courtesy of light.
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Texture: as in manipulation of plane, form, and color.
Sensory:
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Sound: Most powerful, out of sight, or irregular rhythm.
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Touch/Tactile: human nature, drawn to . . .
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Smell: kicks in memory, most powerful.
Color
So how does a guy like me write about(blog about) color? What do I have to offer that hasn’t been written before? Well, probably nothing, that’s what. Not a damn thing.
I do have something to say anyway . . . shocker. here we go with my 1st biggie
Color is overrated, that’s right . . . I said it, er, wrote it.
Color, especially when discussing flower color is overrated.
These flower colors last from a day to several months with most color range(s) in the 2-3 week range. With a time frame like that it would seem that the overall form, shape, texture, and foliage-especially foliage color is much more important in terms of landscape design.
Heck, I’ll take it even further living here in zone 5/6 . . . it’s the winter landscape that needs more attention, a lot more attention.
There are a lot of designers who would vehemently disagree with me, well fire away. Both barrels . . . I can take it.
I will not back down that the overall effect of the designed space is more critical to the success of the landscape than any color scheme involved in that very space. So, do I ignore color completely? Heck no.
Color Philosophy:
- I am always going to ask clients what color they do not like as opposed to color(s) they do like. Most often this is orange.
- I do pay attention to color palette in regards to planting backdrop. No sense having red flowers in front of a red brick house.
- I do like to stay with pastels together, and not have that mix with one or more hot colors.
- If a client wants it hot, stay hot. No need to drift off into something cool, or some of those nice pastels.
- Green is a color, a great color. You can get really creative with shades of green and create a awesome foliage planting, with year round interest.
- Some plants flower color looks great for two weeks, and like crap for the other 50(most Azaleas, Quince, Mock Orange, older Lilacs, etc . . . oops Forsythia!) plan for that. Plats that flower for two weeks are support plants . . . not focal plants!
- Thinking
- Still thinkin’ . . . more will come. I just know it. You all know how this works, as soon as I click off of this . . . boom! Another example of me and color.
Color lowdown
Here are several links to some real discussion/images/charts on everything you would ever want to know about all there is to know about color.
This list has it all. It’s in pictures so you have to be feeling a bit adventurous and take a chance when you click a pic!
Here are a couple more:
Even more
Still more, told you there were lots of possibilities to go look at:
The last two image both originate from a site called Colorlouvers. A very nice website where you can learn a lot about palettes and creating palettes. If you draw, paint, use color in any way(interior work?), anything.
You could spend a lot of time here, a lot.
Color, that’s it. That’s all I got.
Texture . . . you’re on deck!
Let’s move a little further along my list of what I consider The 10 Basic Principles of Design.
Remember this list?
Ten Building Blocks to Design-Design at it’s Most Primitive
7 physical and 3 Sensory Elements=The 10 Basics of Design
Physical Elements:
- Point: where everything starts.
- Line: the connection of two points.
- Plane: connection of several lines—2 dimensional.
- Form: connection of several planes—3 dimensional.
- Motion: movement/experience, planes/form.
- Color: an added bonus to 3 dimensional space—courtesy of light.
- Texture: as in manipulation of plane, form, and color.
Sensory:
- Sound: Most powerful, out of sight, or irregular rhythm.
- Touch/Tactile: human nature, drawn to . . .
- Smell: kicks in memory, most powerful.
Motion
After discussing the 1st 4 in Design Principles(04), let me take a few minutes in discussing the idea of how I see the 5th of the first 7 physical elements which is motion.
Motion; a design principle, I’m sure most folks have a very preconceived notion of what motion is. As usual I see things a little differently let us now look at how we see, act, and live with motion in the garden.
Two Types
Static, let's sit still for awhile
- Static: Where the observer looks at the landscape from one particular point of view. The landscape may be in motion but the observer is at rest. Best example of this is one of those cool Japanese Gardens where the garden is very minimal and the observer as a great vantage point to view all before him.
- Dynamic: Here we are going through the garden and just having a great old time. We need ways to travel and most times it helps to have some sort of destination to look forward to or see off in the distance.
Movement through the designed landscape
Know the rule, break the rule.
So is it only Japanese style gardens for static design? No, of course not. I would like you to consider the idea of the kitchen window, the den window, a 2nd story deck, the upper terrace, and the quickly fading fast-front porch.
Plus as many other ideas for those anchored spots that you can think of. That one singular spot where the observer spends a lot of time-that view . . . is the money view.
Static motion and observation in the designed landscape
It really helps if there is some great focal point for the observer to focus on. Any focal should have a very dominating effect and the surrounding landscape should be very subordinate.
What else?
Now look at this for a moment. This focal can have motion, it can be dynamic(think waterfall), or something that may move with the wind, changes with the weather, etc.
Two other things. The foreground(the ground plane) should not distract from the focal just farther off in the distance. A background that helps the focal element(s) stand out also helps.
Dynamic Thoughts
The idea of moving through the designed space is where almost all American Designers spend their effort, or just take it for granted; as in, movement isn’t given much thought.
Considering most designed landscapes are a collection of mulched beds bound together by grass.
Movement, movement . . . we’ll just walk around the yard or step off the back patio onto the grass . . . then walk around the yard.
The dynamic observer moving through the designed landscape.
Now
Look here, when a designer actually thinks about this design principle great things can-and usually do happen. There are a lot of ways good designers can move folks through their spaces.
Walkways, pathway, stepping stone, boardwalks, narrow strips of lawn, steps, landings, etc. With each of the previous examples the designer can even speed up and slow down the movement of the dynamic observer.
Interest here, a small wonder planted right down there, a piece of art off in the distance, a mysterious sound around the corner, and on , and on, and on.
Low plantings, high plantings, sun, shade, seating, change on the ground plane, elevation change, slight change left/right, texture, color(more to come on this), all sorts of techniques for the designer to use in keeping the dynamic observer interested and moving along.
Really Good
With real design forethought a good designer can even find ways to put static points in a real dynamic landscape. A point in this dynamic landscape that is truly static, and follows the description above . . . is really, really good design.
Good design, where a designer is creating absolutely great spaces.
In my previous post I spent some time talking about berms and such, plus some other fun nonsense. Fun nonsense? . . . and I must say some very practical nonsense on designing berms.
Mounds???
Berms and boulders as part of the Landscape
Notice I do not call these mounds. Why? Well they’re not. They are not mounds . . . as in Indian Burial Mounds.
We are also not at war here in America, specifically the Civil War or as my Southern friends and in-laws say . . .
The War of Northern Aggression
Which means we are also not designing Civil War Breastworks to place cannon behind and create good firing angles, no my friends we are creating landscaped berms.
Mice, where do mice come in?
Leave it to one of the usual suspects(e-mailers) going by his pen name of bushpeddler. Bushpeddler? . . . how’s that for an internet handle for a landscape designer? Actually(and I hate to give credit to him) it’s pretty damn good 
Where was I? Oh yeah mice. So bushpeddler writes to me
Yeah, you’re right, but I tell clients those awful little mounds look like mice under the carpet.
Mice under the carpet, mice under the carpet I am thinking and visualizing to myself and I’ll be damned if that’s not the truth. When you look at some of the awful mound work going on out there it really does look like mice under the carpet . . . just visualize it for yourself next time you are out on a job site you are going to fix.
Mice Under the Carpet
Those do look like something under the carpet.
How does this Happen?
Simple. So simple in fact that it’s what drives me crazy insane. It’s like this. The lawn area is always flat or following along perfectly with the terrain . . . then P O W !!! blammo-mounding. Lawn, lawn, lawn . . . mound, breastwork, mice. Just like that.
With absolutely no connection to the surroundings. No wonder some people call them islands. Sometimes it seems the mound goes straight up defying all laws of gravity.
Then you got:
- Perfect round humps.
- 45 degree sides with a perfect flat top.
- Big slopes with some badly place stones(lots of these).
- Then; of course, we have the dreaded mulch mound. Year after year piling the mulch higher and deeper around the base of shrubs and trees-in an attempt to kill whatever is being buried.
- And all other types of offensive mounds, hills, islands breastworks, and mice.
On the other hand
How about a better way to berm? Something more pleasing to the eye, more fluid, more integration between lawn and berm. A connection that allows for great space(s).
A more Pleasing Roll in the Landscape
It isn’t that Hard.
Why not roll the lawn or whatever the ground plane is, up into the progression of the berm topography? Creating a better connection; or melding, where the lawn and planting area doesn’t have to come across as so harsh and rigid divide.
It’s been said that the lawn is the foreground to the scene, and then the scene appears beyond that foreground. We have no need as Designers to so sharply separate one from the other.
So let the lawn roll up into the berm, or in some instances have the planting area develop down onto the flat topography that would have been all lawn. Create the flow.
The berming can become part of the landscape rather than be something in the landscape.
A quick landscape study for a client.
This is part of a much larger conceptual idea I have for frontage in front of 3 office buildings.
These 3 buildings and 2 others form a “campus like setting” that is divided by one public two lane road. 1 building on one side of the street and the others across the way.
Identifier
My idea is to create some consistent “landscape frontage” to tie all the buildings together. Bringing cohesiveness to the site and the campus.
Where you would see this particular type and style of planting you would recognize those buildings as part of X corporation.
Tree ares along with a berm planting
The drawing represents some loosely determined tree plantings with irregular size and shaped berms in between-topography dependent. The berms would only have two types of plantings; a low spreading groundcover and a rambling plant with multi-season interest(we are considering a Sumac sp.).
This rendering shows the concept, I have kind of squeezed things together here-let’s call that artistic license. I also did not get into rendering a berm with a lot of rolling topo. This drawing along with several others is a set of initial drawings to see what kind of interest we capture with the client.
Alternating Rhythm
A note about design principle(s). Showing large groups of deciduous trees, then a bed area with berming, back to another group of trees is definitely a rhythm pattern, some would call it alternating rhythm.
A pattern often used poorly. How so?
Think your local Wal-Mart or cheesy strip mall. What do ya got? Let’s see . . . 1 tree(Bradford Pear?!?) go 30ft . . . 1 burning bush?!? go 30ft . . . 1 tree and so on, and so on . . .you’ve seen the drill.
My hope here is to convey the concept of a collection of irregularly placed trees, with these rolling berm area’s in-between.
Berms not Breastworks
A note on these rolling berms . . . I do not, I repeat . . . I do not-start the rolling berm inside the bed and leave the grass/lawn area flat around said berm . . . I hate that, I repeat . . . I hate that!
The terrain starts rolling in the lawn space and just continues up into the bad areas. These are not Indian Burial Mounds nor are the Civil War Breastworks . . . everyone clear on that? Good.
Whew, I feel better now.
A client asked me to render a redesigned boardwalk area. These are the steps I went through to make that happen.
A Design in Pen and Ink
The above is a simple pen drawingdone fairly quickly, giving the client an opportunity to see what possibilities for the future may hold.
Color Rendering over Image
Above I have kept the color rendering on top of the black and white image so that anyone can see exactly how the proposed layout might look if the conceptual is followed through.
Black&White
Why? Why is that base image in black and white? I believe that contrast of line and the lack of color help my color renderings pop out and fully show themselves.
It’s like the Wizard of Oz, the movie starts in black and white and then . . . POW . . . color, color when it’s time to make an impact . . . when it’s time for a new place, a new beginning . . . a fantasy.
Like my drawings and what possibilities their space holds.
Color Rendering without Labels/Titles
Finally the drawing, scanned alone and with no labels and markers. Without an addition of embellishment-you know little dots, small marks, and slight color bleeds.
If you need something like this let me know.
If you want me to do a workshop let me know.
After all
The rendering tells the story, it offers possibilities, the drawings portend what could be.
- I musta been trying to save paper
The Formal Garden in pencil
While looking for a drawing to do a comparative analysis I found this interesting conceptual design.
What I have is something very loose and “natural” on the right as opposed to something very geometric in design on the left.
The Drawing
Natural on the right, geometric on the left.
The idea was giving the client a chance to look at completely opposite ideas and then decide from there.
What happened was the immediately went to the ‘natural’ look, even though they had indicated to me they were looking for some extra surface for seating.
In the end the only real difference from the drawing on the right and the installation was the water feature aspect. The large pond idea became part of the project.
I thought I’d throw this out there because this is a good example of curvilinear(natural) vs. geometric design in the residential setting.
Just a little fantasy sketch in the notebook
Really having some fun drawing some type of crazy thing.
sitting out back drinking my morning coffee.
My hope is to use this site to spread some info about the art and practice of Landscape Design. It is a very misunderstood profession; I do not cut grass like the next door neighbor's cousin who carries 3 mowers and a blower in the back of his truck.
I will also pass along comments on industry happenings, events, etc., and any maybe a few other adventures going on in my world-after all this is "my" blog. Thanks for stopping by and taking a look. Questions? Drop me an e-mail.
rick (at) whisperingcraneinstitute (dot) com
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