Beer on tap - with a different story

I continue to fiddle with the iPad and the drawing apps. Today I tried out a pen stylus - much easier to use than a finger alone. I decided to work on the beer tap concept to hone my skills. The drawing is still a quicky, but has more detail than the ones I did yesterday.

As always the concept and ideas developed as I scribbled away. Elsewhere in the pub the fox and all sorts of other animals are hiding from the hounds.  Here I thought I would add a twist... and in a small knothole a small owl is hiding - from the fox!

Next we'll see if the pub owner likes this idea... 

-grampa dan

iPad fun... er TOOL!

A few days before I went to Wisconsin to paint the mural I bought an iPad. I had been wanting one since the first ones came out well over a year ago. The primary purpose was to use it as a digital portfolio. It proved to be a fabulous tool for that as evidenced at the mural meet as I showed my friends around our past and current projects. The images were crisp and brilliant and showed in a professional manner. I know a few more sign folks now have this nifty device on their wish list.

The iPad also proved handy as I traveled. With the WIFI hookup offered in most airports I could use face time to video conference with Janis back home - much preferable to just a phone call... and free too! I could access my email effortlessly and do a little surfing too as I waited between planes. The iPad was worth the investment in my mind already.

In the future I will use it for my presentations at my workshops using a program called Keynote. That will leave my laptop for doing onscreen demonstrations using the drawing and routing programs.

But I wanted more from my iPad. I had watched videos of people drawing on the tablets, both with their fingers and using a stylus. I decided to give it a whirl last night. I downloaded two drawing apps in a few minutes from the Apple store. They both cost around ten bucks. One was called Procreate, and the other was Sketchbook Pro. I wanted to compare the programs before I invested a whole bunch of time getting proficient with them. I had used a stylus noodling around on a friend's iPad a while back, but since I didn't yet have one I would just go with my finger this time.

Both programs offered layers, changeable brush styles and sizes as well as opacity. To get started I simply started scribbling. The drawing is rough and very quick - not a portfolio piece by any means. I just wanted to find out what this thing was capable of. I built up the colors. layer upon layer - six in all. Using gestures I intuitively figured out I could zoom in and do fairly good detail - down to one pixel line width. The iPad draws the line by using the center of your finger, meaning I sort of had to guess where my line was going to go. Even so I got the hang of it in a few minutes, about half way through the drawing process. The portrait was done using Procreate - and I liked the controls a lot. I didn't spend more than ten minutes on the piece. I found it could be saved, layers and all and easily emailed to myself. This way I could open it and refine it later on my big computer.

The second drawing was done using Sketchbook Pro. Although different the controls were also intuitive and easy to use. The drawing was of a twisted tree - a possible idea for the bar tap holder for the Fox & Hounds Pub project. It too was done in six layers using nothing more than my finger as a drawing tool. I was relatively happy with the result... and eager to start anew with what I had learned. This program too allowed me to save my drawing and export it via email in a touch on the screen.

Both programs are capable of so much more. I'll be investing in a Wacom stylus to enable me to achieve much more detail in a fashion I am more familiar with. The iPad is perfect for my needs - a multifaceted tool to add to my arsenal. It will not replace my sketchbook, nor my laptop and desk computers.

-grampa dan 

Entry fabrication almost complete!

Only three days were spent at the work site this week. Monday was spent in the shop. Tomorrow, Friday, July 1, is Canada Day - a national holiday. But we made great progress and continue to push the carpenters, insulators and dry wallers. The ladies do much of the support work in preparation for the carved concrete to follow. Here Becky staples wire to a beam.

The carved concrete work is done in three stages. I first trowel it on in one thick coat. This is allowed to set for up to three hours. Then I do the preliminary carving. The ladies of my crew follow, adding final texture and brushing the surface thoroughly to ensure paint adhesion and prepare the surface for the glazes to follow later. In this shot Sarah and Sabrina work hard to stay ahead of the rapidly curing concrete.

By the end of the day most of the beams and brickwork in the entry are complete We are moving into the transition areas of the bar and kitchen now as well as the restaurant area.

On the other side of the hallway the base paintwork has begun making things suddenly in color.

The feeling through the entry is now pure magic. By the time the final paint, endless details and flooring are all in place it will be like nothing seen before. I can hardly wait!

-grampa dan