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Pages: 1 | 2 | (show all) cildarith Carpal Tunnel Reged: 08/26/04 Posts: 2339 Loc: San Diego, CA Sketching M-27 Step-by-Step       #1124316 - 08/31/06 10:37 AM Attachment (178 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Last weekend I spent much of the evening sketching Messier 27, the Dumbbell Nebula in Vulpecula and associated objects. In this thread I'll demonstrate the composition of my M-27 sketch in fifteen steps. Materials used include a mechanical pencil with #2 lead (5mm), black ink, and three blending stumps. -------------------- Eric 6" f/6 Parks Newtonian 10x50 Bushnell Binocs CN Sketch Gallery||MinDat Mineral Gallery Post Extras:       cildarith Carpal Tunnel Reged: 08/26/04 Posts: 2339 Loc: San Diego, CA Re: Sketching M-27 Step-by-Step [Re: cildarith]       #1124318 - 08/31/06 10:38 AM Attachment (154 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Step One: Anchor the sketch with bright field stars. Positions are plotted from Millennium Star Atlas data. -------------------- Eric 6" f/6 Parks Newtonian 10x50 Bushnell Binocs CN Sketch Gallery||MinDat Mineral Gallery Post Extras:       cildarith Carpal Tunnel Reged: 08/26/04 Posts: 2339 Loc: San Diego, CA Re: Sketching M-27 Step-by-Step [Re: cildarith]       #1124320 - 08/31/06 10:38 AM Attachment (152 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Step Two: Place nebula. This was done with my finger-tip rubbed in a blot of graphite. This glow will be the foundation of my sketch of M-27. -------------------- Eric 6" f/6 Parks Newtonian 10x50 Bushnell Binocs CN Sketch Gallery||MinDat Mineral Gallery Post Extras:       cildarith Carpal Tunnel Reged: 08/26/04 Posts: 2339 Loc: San Diego, CA Re: Sketching M-27 Step-by-Step [Re: cildarith]       #1124321 - 08/31/06 10:39 AM Attachment (152 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Step Three: After scrutinizing the planetary nebula in the eyepiece for 15-20 minutes, the basic hourglass shape is rendered with a moderately sized blending stump (8946B). This step roughs in the large-scale structure of the nebula. -------------------- Eric 6" f/6 Parks Newtonian 10x50 Bushnell Binocs CN Sketch Gallery||MinDat Mineral Gallery Post Extras:       cildarith Carpal Tunnel Reged: 08/26/04 Posts: 2339 Loc: San Diego, CA Re: Sketching M-27 Step-by-Step [Re: cildarith]       #1124323 - 08/31/06 10:40 AM Attachment (143 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Step Four: A smaller blending stump (8943B) is used to add smaller details. It is also used to deepen the shade of brighter areas. -------------------- Eric 6" f/6 Parks Newtonian 10x50 Bushnell Binocs CN Sketch Gallery||MinDat Mineral Gallery Post Extras:       cildarith Carpal Tunnel Reged: 08/26/04 Posts: 2339 Loc: San Diego, CA Re: Sketching M-27 Step-by-Step [Re: cildarith]       #1124324 - 08/31/06 10:40 AM Attachment (128 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Step Five: A very small blending stump (8941B) is used to add delicate filamentary details. Enhancement of bright areas continues as well. -------------------- Eric 6" f/6 Parks Newtonian 10x50 Bushnell Binocs CN Sketch Gallery||MinDat Mineral Gallery Post Extras:       cildarith Carpal Tunnel Reged: 08/26/04 Posts: 2339 Loc: San Diego, CA Re: Sketching M-27 Step-by-Step [Re: cildarith]       #1124326 - 08/31/06 10:41 AM Attachment (125 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Step Six: Fine details are subtly blended into the overall structure of the hourglass. Additional details incorporated after another long look in the eyepiece. -------------------- Eric 6" f/6 Parks Newtonian 10x50 Bushnell Binocs CN Sketch Gallery||MinDat Mineral Gallery Post Extras:       cildarith Carpal Tunnel Reged: 08/26/04 Posts: 2339 Loc: San Diego, CA Re: Sketching M-27 Step-by-Step [Re: cildarith]       #1124328 - 08/31/06 10:42 AM Attachment (117 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Step Seven: Additional field stars are added, including the central star and a fairly bright star embedded in the SW edge. -------------------- Eric 6" f/6 Parks Newtonian 10x50 Bushnell Binocs CN Sketch Gallery||MinDat Mineral Gallery Post Extras:       cildarith Carpal Tunnel Reged: 08/26/04 Posts: 2339 Loc: San Diego, CA Re: Sketching M-27 Step-by-Step [Re: cildarith]       #1124331 - 08/31/06 10:44 AM Attachment (117 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Step Eight: Additional faint field stars (including a few additional stars involved with the nebulosity) are added to complete the sketch. -------------------- Eric 6" f/6 Parks Newtonian 10x50 Bushnell Binocs CN Sketch Gallery||MinDat Mineral Gallery Post Extras:       cildarith Carpal Tunnel Reged: 08/26/04 Posts: 2339 Loc: San Diego, CA Re: Sketching M-27 Step-by-Step [Re: cildarith]       #1124334 - 08/31/06 10:44 AM Attachment (123 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Step Nine: After scanning, the image is brightened slightly to eliminate scanning artifacts. A delicate balance must be observed here; it may be noted that I did not eliminate all of the stray specks and streaks, but I observed that further brightening began to seriously degrade the nebulosity. -------------------- Eric 6" f/6 Parks Newtonian 10x50 Bushnell Binocs CN Sketch Gallery||MinDat Mineral Gallery Post Extras:       cildarith Carpal Tunnel Reged: 08/26/04 Posts: 2339 Loc: San Diego, CA Re: Sketching M-27 Step-by-Step [Re: cildarith]       #1124335 - 08/31/06 10:45 AM Attachment (115 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Step Ten: The sketch is darkened slightly (by 10%). This will simulate the skyglow once the image is inverted. -------------------- Eric 6" f/6 Parks Newtonian 10x50 Bushnell Binocs CN Sketch Gallery||MinDat Mineral Gallery Post Extras:       cildarith Carpal Tunnel Reged: 08/26/04 Posts: 2339 Loc: San Diego, CA Re: Sketching M-27 Step-by-Step [Re: cildarith]       #1124340 - 08/31/06 10:46 AM Attachment (129 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Step Eleven: A white mat is applied to the sketch. -------------------- Eric 6" f/6 Parks Newtonian 10x50 Bushnell Binocs CN Sketch Gallery||MinDat Mineral Gallery Post Extras:       cildarith Carpal Tunnel Reged: 08/26/04 Posts: 2339 Loc: San Diego, CA Re: Sketching M-27 Step-by-Step [Re: cildarith]       #1124343 - 08/31/06 10:47 AM Attachment (121 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Step Twelve: The sketch is inverted. -------------------- Eric 6" f/6 Parks Newtonian 10x50 Bushnell Binocs CN Sketch Gallery||MinDat Mineral Gallery Post Extras:       cildarith Carpal Tunnel Reged: 08/26/04 Posts: 2339 Loc: San Diego, CA Re: Sketching M-27 Step-by-Step [Re: cildarith]       #1124347 - 08/31/06 10:48 AM Attachment (122 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Step Thirteen: The nebulosity is smoothed out and slightly brightened with the 'airbrush' set on pale gray at 90% transparency (10% opacity). This restores some of the clipped shadows and provides a smoother texture to the image. -------------------- Eric 6" f/6 Parks Newtonian 10x50 Bushnell Binocs CN Sketch Gallery||MinDat Mineral Gallery Post Extras:       cildarith Carpal Tunnel Reged: 08/26/04 Posts: 2339 Loc: San Diego, CA Re: Sketching M-27 Step-by-Step [Re: cildarith]       #1124350 - 08/31/06 10:49 AM Attachment (110 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Step Fourteen: Star images are cleaned up, reducing their size and eliminating their irregular shapes (mostly). -------------------- Eric 6" f/6 Parks Newtonian 10x50 Bushnell Binocs CN Sketch Gallery||MinDat Mineral Gallery Post Extras:       cildarith Carpal Tunnel Reged: 08/26/04 Posts: 2339 Loc: San Diego, CA Re: Sketching M-27 Step-by-Step [Re: cildarith]       #1124356 - 08/31/06 10:50 AM Attachment (138 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Step Fifteen: A pale greenish tint is added to the nebula, and tints applied to field stars that I noticed color in. The sketch is now finished. -------------------- Eric 6" f/6 Parks Newtonian 10x50 Bushnell Binocs CN Sketch Gallery||MinDat Mineral Gallery Post Extras:       kraterkid Post Laureate Reged: 03/07/05 Posts: 4368 Loc: Jacumba, California Re: Sketching M-27 Step-by-Step [Re: cildarith]       #1124393 - 08/31/06 11:10 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Eric this is a wonderful step by step tutorial you've created! The end result is astonishing and sublime! Thank you for spending the time and effort to put this together for us. -------------------- Rich My CN Gallery Post Extras:       atoptics Pooh-Bah Reged: 08/10/06 Posts: 1481 Loc: UK Re: Sketching M-27 Step-by-Step [Re: kraterkid]       #1124471 - 08/31/06 12:02 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Eric that's an excellent and very useful description. Thanks. Les -------------------- Les Optics Picture of the Day Atmospheric Optics TiltingSun Post Extras:       Jeremy Perez Carpal Tunnel Reged: 08/12/04 Posts: 1903 Loc: Flagstaff, Arizona, USA Re: Sketching M-27 Step-by-Step [Re: kraterkid]       #1124476 - 08/31/06 12:05 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Excellent tutorial! Thanks for putting it together for us. I didn't realize (or maybe I forgot) that you use multiple size blending stumps, working down to finer points as you go. Beautiful rendering of M27 also! -------------------- Orion SVP 6LT (6" f/8 Newt) || Orion XT8 (8" f/5.9 Dob) || 15x70 Oberwerk Binoculars || Coronado PST The Belt Of Venus || Sketch Gallery || Sketching Resources || Astro-Photo Gallery Post Extras:       rodelaet Post Laureate Reged: 04/28/06 Posts: 3061 Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium) Re: Sketching M-27 Step-by-Step [Re: cildarith]       #1124862 - 08/31/06 04:36 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   A mighty sketch, Eric !!! And of course (one would forget) an excellent observation. Thank you for sharing this. I admire your technique. I find your process very understandable, except for step 14. IMO Step 14 is a giant leap forward in quality of the sketch. What is your technique for cleaning up the star images? Clear skies, -------------------- Rony My Astronomical Sketches My Binocular Sketches Callibrate your Monitor with this little strip. Post Extras:       Pages: 1 | 2 | (show all)

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