Modeling Contemporary Billboards in Photoshop
#16
Gary S Wrote:88, the sign looks good. And thanks for the tip on using photo paper. My previous experiment with regular paper failed after awhile. Would there be any point in overspraying the print with decal bonder or some other spray fixative stuff?

You could, but Ive found that some fixatives(Krylon for one) doesen't mix well with some printer inks. Maybe one thats usded specifically for photos and photo paper would work.

I used the glossy photo paper because it gives that glossy "vinyl" look used in todays billboards.
Torrington, Ct.
NARA Member #87
I went to my Happy Place, but it was closed for renovations.
Reply
#17
eightyeightfan1 Wrote:I used the glossy photo paper because it gives that glossy "vinyl" look used in todays billboards.

I wonder if that would work for lumber loads? The Walthers plastic and paper-wrapped blocks don't capture the texture of the vinyl coverings.
Reply
#18
eightyeightfan1 Wrote:You could, but Ive found that some fixatives(Krylon for one) doesen't mix well with some printer inks. Maybe one thats usded specifically for photos and photo paper would work.

I used the glossy photo paper because it gives that glossy "vinyl" look used in todays billboards.

Thanks 88. I'll definitely being doing billboards and signs at some point, so if you think about, please post photos of your work and some explanations! Thumbsup
Reply
#19
For a true artist's fixative, try the Grumbacher brand ... available at most art supply houses. If you can't find any locally, try Dick Blick, a professional art supply house, or it can also be procurred through Amazon -- Good God! They seem to have EVERYTHING!

Anyway, as I recall, it fixes everything (charcoal, pastels, and pencil work, and is indicated as appropriate for use on paper, photographs and printed materials,) which should include things printed on a printer ... just make sure the ink is set well (totally dry) before hitting it with fixative. And, just as with spraying paint, with fixative several light coats, allowing a few seconds drying/setting time between coats are better than one heavy coat!

For those unsure about it, there's nothing to fear ... but this tutorial should eliminate any worrys about its application.

[Note: You don't need an easel, but just placing your subject on a near-vertical board is good
insurance against the possibility of an large errant drop falling on your work by accident.]
biL

Lehigh Susquehanna & Western 

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." ~~Abraham Lincoln
Reply
#20
Gary S Wrote:I'll definitely being doing billboards and signs at some point,...

Gary, my friend...tell me when you are doing billboards. I will then start a thread and you get the chance to kick me in the (billboard-) butt. Icon_lol Icon_lol
This would be the starting point:    

Sorry, I couldn't resist. 35
Jens
Reply
#21
Whoa! Jens! Do you have a miniaturizing ray gun? That thing is ...

... NICE!
biL

Lehigh Susquehanna & Western 

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." ~~Abraham Lincoln
Reply
#22
Cheers No kidding! I'm especially impressed by the structural elements connecting the sign to the large pole. VERY COOL! Worship Worship Worship
Ralph
Reply
#23
SP1 Wrote:Gary, my friend...tell me when you are doing billboards. I will then start a thread and you get the chance to kick me in the (billboard-) butt.

357 No chance of that! The attention to the details in your models is cRaZy good! At this point I am thinking that you have itty bitty tiny fingers with itty bitty tiny tools to accomplish such delicate and extraordinary work! Wow! Worship

Thumbsup
Reply
#24
Jens,

Nice job on the billboard. I had to save the picture and then increase the size to see what appears to be tulle on the walking platform. I use tulle for fence material.
Reply
#25
fast car Wrote:Jens,

Nice job on the billboard. I had to save the picture and then increase the size to see what appears to be tulle on the walking platform. I use tulle for fence material.

Like you, I am using tulle for fencing. But the walking platform material is aluminium mesh.
Jens
Reply
#26
Holy Crap! Thats excellent!

Using the same idea for the billboard, I made a sign for one of my store fronts.
The Chinese symbols were pulled from the net(One means "Freedom", one means "Happiness"...Don't ask which is which...I forgot). A little "Wayne's World " humor for the name.

This was done using MS Picture It v.10. Printed on scrap paper first, because it takes a lot of resizing to get it right. Then the final size printed on photo paper, glued to .020" Evergreen styrene.


Attached Files Image(s)
   
Torrington, Ct.
NARA Member #87
I went to my Happy Place, but it was closed for renovations.
Reply
#27
That's a great billboard, Jens! I too like the detailing where the column meets the board support. What size tubing did you use for the column?
Reply
#28
Paulman Wrote:That's a great billboard, Jens! I too like the detailing where the column meets the board support. What size tubing did you use for the column?

Sry for the late answer. The model was packed away and I had to search my boxes.
I did use a tube with 12mm diameter.
Jens
Reply
#29
Era anchor: This one is pretty darn nailed in terms of time.
• Location anchor: Ditto for the region.
• X-factor: My earliest memories are of the moon landing, and watching the Saturn rockets arc over the skies of Orlando. Saw two Apollo launches live, and many shuttles as well. We were going places, where no man had gone before. We were a young nation, proud and confident in our birthright and our destiny.

Sigh.

[Image: padboard.jpg]

[Image: coolestpadblmascale.jpg]
Reply
#30
Repost to refresh images.

Photoshop is a handy tool in a modeler's bag of tricks. One of the things I've been using it for recently is recreating some billboards I've photographed on FCEN's rails along Route 441. Billboards are great way of anchoring a scene in a specific time and place, so in selecting a billboard to model, I look for three things:
  • • Something that establishes era
    • Something that establishes location
    • The X factor: that extra element makes the design meaningful or fun for you.

Here are two billboards I am modeling for my prototype. For now they exist only as print-ready files, but they’ll eventually become part of actual billboard models.

Space-Coast.Com
   
I took this photo last weekend. Wink
  • • Era anchor: Establishes the scene in the contemporary timeframe. (How much longer we'll have a space coast is anyone's guess.)
    • Location anchor: Once again, there's only one Cocoa Beach (home of the characters from "I Dream of Jeanie")
    • X-factor: Any prototype modelers want to take a stab at this one? Wink

This one posed some minor challenges. The image was usable as-is, but the text along the edges was clipped as it wrapped around the edges of the billboard. I used What the Font? (http://new.myfonts.com/WhatTheFont) to identify the font (Myriad Pro) and layered in the word “Coast”, the web address, and the clipped “h” to match the other text. I also extended the photo a bit on the top and sides and erased the parts of the walkway that intrude.

Here's the result (I see some areas I need to improve upon).
   

Night of Joy
   
  • • Era anchor: Solidly anchors the scene in mid- to late summer and in the contemporary timeframe.
    • Location anchor: There's only one Magic Kingdom, so an ad aimed at local residents puts the scene in Central Florida. So does the radio station. A two-fer.
    • X-factor: I like the juxtaposition of Christian hope and September 11. It's a personal connection, but that's what the X-factor is about.

ClearChannel 06266 is located in Zellwood, FL, approximately a "block' from the point where FCEN's northern branch arcs away from 441 toward Tavares. This billboard is always used by Z88.3 fm, a central Florida contemporary Christian station.

Here's my recreation:
   

When I started this project I stretched it to fit BLMA's billboard. However, soon after, Lance Mindheim devoted a blog post to his own billboard adventures (http://www.lancemindheim.com/2010_blogs.htm, November 20), I decided to go back to prototype size. I used Lance's billboard as a starting place, but added my own ClearChannel logo and board ID.

If you're lucky with your source photos all you have to do in Photoshop is correct the photo for perspective and color, crop, resize, and print. I wasn't that fortunate for this one. I did resize the photo to lock down the size of the images, logos and fonts, but the photo itself was too washed out by lens flare to use. From there it was a matter of internet sleuthing to locate useable design elements. What made this project doable is that Disney had a high-res graphic of the guitar castle squirreled away on its Night of Joy event site. What the Font? turned up the fonts; the font used for the date I approximated rather than used; I didn’t want to buy it right then (I’ll probably do so before printing the final version for the model). There is a very good Disney font out there, but I saved some money by scanning in a logo from a Disney brochure and recoloring it. The radio station logo is pretty low-res, but it worked with a little coaxing. Don't forget the trademark symbols!

I hope this inspires you to try some Photoshop modeling! (Photoshop Elements can do all of this and costs a lot less, BTW.)
Reply


Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)