"To the 5 Buroughs" Cover question.

[rold_gold]

Hi there. Is this drawing of the manhattan skyline handdrawn? or done on the computer? If it is possible, does anyone know how to manipulate this type of hatching effect?

 

[MsOz]

Looks to be a combination of the two. Possibly a skyline photo to start with, with some judicious Illustrator work to make it look "hand drawn."
The windows are definitely brushes, and the building outlines, for the most part are definitely CG.

 

[sPECtre]

It looks like it would be faster to do this freehand rather than with a computer.

 

[theKeeper]

I'd agree with MsOz.

This can be done with PS a number of ways; like the tracing/outline filters. But to get it that 'clean' looking work take some cleanup.

 

[JoeD]

I looked at it for a minute and I can only conclude that this was completely done by hand and most likely done with a pencil on a piece of paper; the good ol' way. (scanned at a later stage).

 

[MsOz]

Joe, then you didn't look at it close enough for long enough. Once you've studied enough digital creations, the "telltale" signs of digital creation become obvious enough, as The Keeper will agree. Spectre's stand isn't as clear, as he was discussing speed, and CG can be time consuming...But, The Keeper too, came to the conclusion that this is probably more digital than hand done.

I still think it's more Illy than Photoshop, though, just because the lines are so clean, but I think a photo was the base for this image, with some tweaking here and there for effect.

The "good old way," isn't. CG art drawings can be just as detailed, if not more, nowadays. Especially those works used in Album Covers.

 

[Welles]

No substitute for a little research...

Start...
http://www.beastieboys.com/

Which led to...
http://www.matteopericoli.com/newyork/eastside.htm

Which led to this description from Amazon.com

"Pericoli is an Italian-born and -trained architect who now lives in New York City--and obviously adores his adopted hometown. His architectural illustrations have appeared in the New Yorker and the New York Times , and his book Manhattan Unfurled, which appeared not long after September 11, was a stunning tour de force--a set of two 22-foot-long black-and-white drawings, which opened out accordion-style, of the East and West Sides of Manhattan. Now he presents another 22-foot-long drawing, this one in color, which also unfurls accordion-style, giving an astonishing 360-degree view of the Manhattan skyline as viewed from inside Central Park. With the drawing comes a small but quite moving journal that Pericoli kept during his creation of this stunning piece of art. His prose, as it turns out, is as evocative as his art. Besides pondering the technical issues of rendering the piece as he conceived it, he also reflects on Central Park's place in Manhattan life and how to understand the city's power over even the briefest visitor."

The Beastie Boys cover is an 'excerpt' of "Manhattan Unfurled." That is an amazing piece of work. Thanks to rold_gold for bringing this to our attention.

 

[JoeD]

Joe, then you didn't look at it close enough for long enough.

If you say so... :\

But before we make this an ongoing discussion, I now decided to do some research; I found the artist who made it (Matteo Pericoli).

This is the story behind the drawing;

"Manhattan Unfurled" and "Manhattan Within." Matteo Pericoli began working on "Manhattan Unfurled" in 1998 after taking a Circle Line boat tour around the island of Manhattan which enabled him to see the city in its entirety --and all if its diversity-- for the first time. Two and a half years and 890 inches later, the two black and white, ink on paper, drawings of the West and East sides were completed. In October 2001, the accordion-format book, titled "Manhattan Unfurled," was published by Random House with an essay by Paul Goldberger. From October 9 through January 6, 2002, the two original 37-foot-long drawings, together with additional works of his, were exhibited at the New York Historical Society's exhibition titled "Manhattan Unfurled." After completing the East and West Side drawings, Matteo began working on a color, 32-foot-long, single drawing of the city as seen from Central Park, looking out. This new work was published in an accordion-format book by Random House, with the title ?Manhattan Within,? in the fall of 2003. This project completes his original idea of depicting the island of Manhattan as seen from both its surrounding rivers and its inner opening, Central Park. The book includes a journal in which Matteo relates his observations while undertaking this project. The original 32-foot-long color drawing, together with the hundreds of photographs that Matteo used to complete the drawing, was on exhibit at the Municipal Art Society in Manhattan through January 27, 2004. In November and December, 2003, the drawing and other works were exhibited at the Galleria Il Gabbiano in Rome, Italy. In august, "See the City," the adaptation of "Manhattan Unfurled" for young readers, will be published by Knopf."

( http://www.matteopericoli.com/info.htm )

More here: http://www.matteopericoli.com/newyork/eastside.htm



EDIT:

The "good old way," isn't. CG art drawings can be just as detailed, if not more, nowadays. Especially those works used in Album Covers.

I wasn't refering to the details when I wrote "the good old way".

To understand what I meant, read what Mateo wrote in an E-mail I received hours later, quote:

"I have absolutely nothing against technology or computers, but I do love the fear of drawing a real line on a piece of paper, the fear of making a mistake, the smell of colors and paper, and getting my fingers dirty."

 

[JoeD]

Welles!! I knew you were going to look for it too!

Should have used the back button.

 

[Welles]

Welles!! I knew you were going to look for it too!

Couldn't help myself. First, I was born in NYC. Second, I felt sure it was a hand drawn picture because a good friend of mine did that sort of work until he died a few years ago. He would have used a photo for reference and then drawn the image shown in less than a day with pencils. Third, I've been wrong about a couple of my presumptions lately and wasn't going to chime in without solid info, for a change.

 

[JoeD]

I do have to admit that I made the assumption that some higher contrast settings were used which made the background look plain white and moved some of the grays towards pure black after the drawing was scanned.

 

[Welles]

I do have to admit that I made the assumption that some higher contrast settings were used which made the background look plain white and moved some of the grays towards pure black after the drawing was scanned.

I agree. That's a perfectly reasonable assumption of almost certain likelihood. I'm half tempted to buy the book/drawing. It's sort of a coffee table item and I'd do it for sure if I had a coffee table...

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375508686/ref=pd_sxp_elt_l1/103-7718094-7815810

 

[JoeD]

Welles, also check his other stuff; quite interesting things he made. I also have the impression that he was slightly influenced by Esher in a few of his drawings.

 

[rold_gold]

Thanks welles, and everyone else. I was just really getting bugged by this after seeing at Bestbuy last week. :\

Anyway, thanks for telling me the book's title!

 

[MsOz]

...I now decided to do some research; I found the artist who made it (Matteo Pericoli)...

Congratulations! You've just learned a really valuable tool. Research. You found out so much more than what you originally asked in your Original Post, and were able to not only learn, but ended up sharing what you found.

May all your inquiries in Life be so well answered with a little effort on the 'Web... 8))

 

[JoeD]

...I now decided to do some research; I found the artist who made it (Matteo Pericoli)...

Congratulations! You've just learned a really valuable tool. Research. You found out so much more than what you originally asked in your Original Post, and were able to not only learn, but ended up sharing what you found.

May all your inquiries in Life be so well answered with a little effort on the 'Web... 8))

Dear MsOz, you're confusing things; the thread was started by rold_gold, not me.

 

[MsOz]

Early Alzheimers, what can I say...

Is it time for my medication yet??? [saywhat]

 

[JoeD]