Calling all masscom and graphic design students!

Have you ever wondered what was it like to work in a time when there were no digital devices on your desk or lap, or in your pocket? Yes, I'm referring to the days before the Mac and PC, when pen and paper ruled. Artists worked at drawing boards with T-squares and set-squares, creating with pencils, markers, paint and ink on paper, cards and boards.

From my Jurassic era days as an advertising creative I have hoarded samples of my work, initially to build a portfolio for career advancement. The collection comprises not only the printed works but also the visuals, aka scamps or initial concepts, hand drawn using traditional media such as pencils, inks, paints and markers, many created well before the computer age. These have become treasured mementos of my days of agony and ecstasy at the drawing board.

While the handcrafted designs might appear crude and sketchy when compared with today’s slick renders using stock photos, clip art and proper typesetting, they have an inherent quality radiating spontaneity and expressiveness lacking in computer generated ones. With a few deft strokes and a dash of colour here and another there, the image presented at a client meeting leaves ample room for interpretation and collaboration in its final execution resulting in shared ownership and pride across the table.

For a new generation who have embraced digital technology in the creative process, to work with pen and paper is so last century. So it has become a vanishing, and soon to be, a lost art, despite the proliferation of software that mimic age-old media with amazing realism. 

In fact creatives with a flair for expressive sketching with the distinctive voice of the fashion designer or automobile stylist are increasingly drawn to stylus and tablet with paint software to capture the subtle and individualised nuances possible only from rendering with traditional media. 

On this blog I hope to pique your interest and inspire you on your own journey to virtuosity in the art of hand drawn visualisation, but with 21st century tools if you so prefer. 

But wait! Now there's AI. That's a topic I'll tackle another time.

FREE DOWNLOAD! Download my body of work with many examples from the Jurassic epoch of pen and paper here.

[ This post is under construction and subject to revisions ]

To shoot photo of vintage studio with drawing board and paraphernalia.