Tag Archives: 3D perspective

Quantum Graphics Aerial Perspective Cutaway

Leave a reply

Randal was commissioned by Rich Nickel Design to create an aerial perspective cutaway illustration of a client printing facility. The client was Quantum Graphics, located in suburban Chicago, Illinois.  Randal first worked from architectural blueprint drawings to construct a 3D perspective wireframe of the building and the interior components that were to be revealed in the cutaway. Here is the final 3D wireframe aerial perspective model.

Quantum Graphics 3D Wireframe

Quantum Graphics 3D Wireframe

Once this view was approved by Quantum and Rich Nickel Design, Randal converted the 3D model to 2D line art and began rendering it using a combination of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop software tools.

Quantum Graphics - Aerial Perspective Cutaway

Quantum Graphics - Aerial Perspective Cutaway

The final digital file was supplied to the designer, and used as a 4-color fold out spread in a Quantum Graphics company capabilities brochure. The designer also created a translucent overlay that contained leader lines and captions describing the different areas of this printing plant facility.

Loft Lobby Interior

Leave a reply

Randal was commission by a real estate development company in Chicago called Loft, to illustrate the lobby of an industrial building being converted to residential “loft” condos in the 1980′s. There was no way to take reference photos of the site, so Randal worked from architectural blueprints to construct a 3D wireframe model of the interior space. The 3D model can then be rotated and manipulated in 3 dimensions until a final view was determined. Here is the final approved viewpoint the final illustration was based upon.

Loft Lobby 3D Wireframe

Loft Lobby 3D Wireframe

Once the viewpoint is established, Randal transfers the line work to a 2D rendering software such as Painter or Photoshop, and completes the illustration as a flat 2D digital file. Any style of art is possible, this one being a combination of watercolor, line and pencil techniques.

Loft Lobby Interior

Loft Lobby Interior

Walsh-Higgins Office Building

Leave a reply
Wlash-Higgins Office Building

Walsh-Higgins Office Building

Randal was retained by a real estate development company in Chicago called Walsh-Higgins, to render a proposed office building to be located next to the Walgreens headquarters in the northern suburbs of Chicago. The architectural design blueprint drawings were provided. Randal first created a 3D wirefame model of the building on his Mac using a 3D modeling software. The final perspective view was transferred to watercolor board and then inked by hand using sepia ink in Rapidograph pens. The final step was to add Windsor & Newton watercolor washes to the bring out color, forms, tone and texture. The finished art was 20 x 30 inches, and was drum scanned for 4-color offset printing plates and reproduction.

Cutaway House

Leave a reply

Randal illustrated a typical house shown partially cutaway to reveal how Dale Industries/Incor steel framing products can be used in residential construction. The base line work was done in a 3D wireframe software, then transferred to Adobe Illustrator in a 2D format for adding color fills, line weights, captions and border framing.

House Cutaway

Skyscraper Perspective Wireframe

Leave a reply

This is another example of a 3D perspective wireframe done by Randal for fellow architectural perspectivist, Rael Slutsky. It is a view of a commercial office skyscraper design by architect Helmut Jahn. Randal and Rael collaborated and served together as members in an organization called the American Society of Architectural Perspectivists (ASAP) in the 1980′s.

Fountain Square Skyscraper - Helmut Jahn architect

Fountain Square Skyscraper - Helmut Jahn architect

The wireframe was printed and transferred to drawing paper, then used as the foundation for a finished architectural illustration.

3D Perspective Wireframe

Leave a reply

Randal purchased his first Macintosh computer in 1996 after seeing a simple 3D wireframe software running on one at a trade show. He realized how much time could be saved by building his 3D perspectives on a computer, rather than by the painstaking and time-consuming hand method.

In subsequent years, he developed a expert skill in using this software and often did 3D perspective wireframe diagrams like this one for his fellow architectural perspectivist, Rael Slutsky.

1520 N. Lake Shore Drive - 3D perspective wireframe

1520 N. Lake Shore Drive - 3D perspective wireframe

Randal would work from scale architectural plans and input the dimensions of the proposed building or space. Often, the building would be shown in context to other nearby buildings, which would also be built using scale drawings, maps and photos.

This final 3D perspective wireframe would be printed and then used as the foundation for a hand drawn and painted custom piece of art, usually provided to the architect, builder or developer client.