Design Translation · 2007

Light Bulb

Our bodies aren't made for straight movements. No body part forms a straight line. So drawing one without a ruler is a real challenge.

Subject
A light bulb
Drawn
By hand, no ruler
Painted with
Black and white Plaka
Print
11 x 14" paper
Year
2007
A light bulb drawn in black ink on white, its threaded base in the lower left, with OSRAM set along the base and 120W 40W 16 SA set along the glass
The final print, with a line of text set on it

Drawing

Six pencil drawings, from a plane to a light bulb

A pencil drawing of a plane in perspective with a circle inside it, built on a grid of helplines
Plane
A pencil drawing of a cube in perspective with circles on its top and bottom faces
Cube
A pencil drawing of an upright cylinder, with helplines running through its ellipses
Standing cylinder
A pencil drawing of a cylinder lying on its side, with helplines running through its ellipses
Sleeping cylinder
A pencil drawing of a sphere made of three crossing ellipses, with a smaller sphere study below it
Sphere
A pencil drawing of a light bulb in perspective, built from a sphere and rings on a dense grid of helplines, with small studies of the bulb above it
Light bulb

Tracing

Scanned and traced in Illustrator

I scanned the drawings and traced them in Illustrator. Solid lines for existing forms, dotted lines for helplines.

A sphere traced as three crossing ellipses, in thin lines
A sphere traced as three crossing ellipses, with a few short marks on its edge
A sphere traced as three crossing ellipses, with a stray curve at the top and right edge
A sphere traced as three crossing ellipses, with a small loop mark at its center
A sphere traced as three crossing ellipses, with a diagonal helpline through it
A cube drawn as a loose grid of helplines
A cube drawn as a loose grid of helplines, with heavier horizontal strokes
A cube drawn as an even grid of helplines
A cube drawn as a grid of helplines with short horizontal strokes
A cube grid with the edges of the front box darkened
A cube grid divided into smaller boxes by helplines
A small box drawn inside the large cube grid
A small box inside the cube grid with a circle drawn on one face
Two circles drawn on boxes inside the cube grid, one with a small circle at its center
Two circles drawn on boxes inside the cube grid, in a slightly different position
Stacked rings of the bulb base drawn inside the grid
Heavier rings of the bulb base, with the first arc of the glass bulb
The whole light bulb in outline: the glass bulb, the threaded base and the grid behind them
The whole light bulb in outline, with the base rings drawn darker

Nineteen scanned drawings, from the sphere to the whole bulb

The light bulb traced in Illustrator: thin solid lines for the bulb and base, dotted lines for the helplines
The traced light bulb

Painting

Light and shadow in black and white Plaka

Using an 11 x 17" Illustrator print as a guide, I painted in black and white Plaka to translate the light and shadow. One variation on white, one on black. Then refine, redraw in Illustrator, and print on 11 x 14" paper.

A black threaded bulb base with a loose white ring of the glass, painted on white paper
A black threaded bulb base with a loose white ring of the glass, painted on white paper
A black threaded bulb base with a few dark arcs for the glass
A black threaded bulb base with arcs and a thin outline of the glass
A black threaded bulb base with sparse dark arcs for the glass
A black threaded bulb base with arcs and traces of white paint around the glass
A black threaded bulb base with sparse arcs and a few handwritten notes beside it
A black threaded bulb base with sparse arcs for the glass
A black threaded bulb base with sparse arcs for the glass
A black threaded bulb base with sparse arcs for the glass
A black threaded bulb base with sparse arcs for the glass
A black threaded bulb base with sparse arcs for the glass, the closest to the final

The variation on white

A bulb painted in white on a gray-black ground, with the glass drawn as crossing bands
A bulb painted in white on a gray-black ground, with the glass drawn as bands and patches
A glowing threaded bulb base on a gray ground, with a dark patch over the glass
A threaded bulb base in white on gray, with a thin white arc for the glass
A threaded bulb base in white on a dark painted ground, with a thin arc for the glass
A threaded bulb base in white on dark, with a white curl and an arc for the glass
A threaded bulb base in white on near-black, with a white curl and an arc for the glass
A threaded bulb base in white on near-black, with a white curl and an arc for the glass

The variation on black

The light bulb redrawn in Illustrator as black and white shapes on white: a black threaded base and thin arcs for the glass
The white variation, redrawn
The light bulb redrawn in Illustrator as white shapes on black: a glowing threaded base, a small stem and a thin arc for the glass
The black variation, redrawn

Typography

A line of text, cut and placed by hand

I set a line of text in various sizes and typefaces, printed on a LaserWriter. Cut the text lines and placed them by hand on five finished prints. Chose one and composed it in Illustrator.

A cut-out line of text, OSRAM along the base and 120W 40W 16 SA along the glass, placed on a print
A cut-out block reading OSRAM and 120W 40W 16 SA, placed in the middle of a print
A cut-out stack of lines reading OSRAM, 120W, 40W, 16 SA, placed at the lower right of a print

Three of the placements, the first the one used in the final print

Closing

Observation trains precision.

2007/05/06

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