The visionary impact of a solid, well executed rendering is not to be understated. A good render is what gives life to an otherwise lifeless, motionless line-drawings. It’s what sets apart the great from the mediocre; the aspiring artists from the production-lined illustrators and the heartened designers from the lacklustre doodlers. I believe in bringing that life to my images, my drawings, my Photoshop sketches or any other kind of line-work I do. And I like to believe I’m good at it (but lets not dwell on my brilliance).
Scratchboard Technique
From a young age I’ve been privy to artwork and decent decals on paintings. When travelling abroad, (think: Irish family, two kids. Where else, but sunny Spain?) my brother and I used to get these paintings done for us. Just on the side of a busy street or in a park these artists lined up along the way to craft images from spray-paint cans, canvases, knives and their own skill and ingenuity. I’m not one hundred percent sure but I think it’s called ‘scratchboard’. Anyway they were always incredible. They made these vast landscapes of trees and animals, intergalactic oddities and well-worked imaginations of the solar system and its planets. They were truly beautiful and often done only in one colour (along with black). This, at my young age, was where I learned of the brilliance of a good render.
But as time goes on and people like these artists begin to push themselves, the ideas just got bigger and better. There are great examples of sidewalk renderings spread throughout the world. They encapsulate imagination, vision, style, colour, vibrancy and life all in one. The drawings are done on the ground in chalk. Slowly, layer by layer, the colour is built up until the pathway is covered in a sublime achievement in artwork rendering. The ones below from New Orleans and Madrid, respectively are single-view renders. The idea is that they only look perfect from one angle and distorted at any other angle. Some are beautiful and quaint, some are loud and obnoxious while others are interesting and topical. They one thing that they are not is lifeless.
Waterfall Wonderland - New Orleans
Reebok 3D Street Art
And so the natural progression from here is physical graffiti. No, not the super awesome Led Zeppelin kind, the kind you find sprayed on walls and tattooed on your idiot friend’s shoulder blades. It is an often beautiful artwork form that lends much of its influences from rendering. The importance of relaying a message, the need to vibrancy and the need to be seen (or heard) are key characteristics that the two share. However, and sadly, graffiti is much too often blamed for violence, degradation of societies and general lawlessness. It is an absolute crying shame that the incredible pieces around Limerick City (namely the Dock Road ‘wastelands’) are painted over and destroyed with a common shade of peach. Banksy on the other hand tries his (or her?) hardest to keep the fire going.
Banksy
Sums It Up Beautifully
And to finish, here is our render. Not quite in the stylistic brilliance of Banksy or the excellence of the street artists, but it is a collaborative effort and yielded an incredible amount of fun.
Now Accepting All Awards and Accolades
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