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If there is an existing place or space in your area that you think should change, you might want to produce a picture of your idea so that other people can understand it. A good picture might get other people interested, and before you know it, your idea might become a proposal, and eventually reality.
The process shown here was inspired by the proposed closure of our local public leisure center, which (according to our city council) is not very well used. The area is pretty rough and there is not much to do for kids, some of whom turn to bad ways through sheer boredom. The challenge then is to keep the center open, but change its image to appeal to younger people. My idea is to take one of the halls (which was formed by covering up a swimming pool) and scoop out the former pool to form a skate park.
I want to produce a picture, but not to take a long time over it; It is just an idea and people might hate it, not because my picture sucks but because they think the idea does. In any case, I don't want my picture to look too finished because then people might think I've put a lot of thought in to the idea (and want to see a business plan) or (worse) that my proposal has already happened.
What I need is a quick and dirty way to show how the space (and just as importantly life in it) might change if my idea was to happen.
The process shown here was inspired by the proposed closure of our local public leisure center, which (according to our city council) is not very well used. The area is pretty rough and there is not much to do for kids, some of whom turn to bad ways through sheer boredom. The challenge then is to keep the center open, but change its image to appeal to younger people. My idea is to take one of the halls (which was formed by covering up a swimming pool) and scoop out the former pool to form a skate park.
I want to produce a picture, but not to take a long time over it; It is just an idea and people might hate it, not because my picture sucks but because they think the idea does. In any case, I don't want my picture to look too finished because then people might think I've put a lot of thought in to the idea (and want to see a business plan) or (worse) that my proposal has already happened.
What I need is a quick and dirty way to show how the space (and just as importantly life in it) might change if my idea was to happen.
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Signing UpStep 1What you need
You will need:
1. A photo of the existing space or place (your street, a public square, whatever...)
2. A photo that shows the kind of activities and objects that you imagine going in to the space, including people.
3. A computer with an image editing software such as photoshop or pixelmator... something that can make layers. I will assume a very basic familiarity with this software.
4. A scanner
5. A printer if your photos are digital
6. Some black pens- felt tips with a variety of nib widths would be good. I used a fat marker pen, a pen for writing CD labels and a thin gel pen. More expensive alternatives are available.
7. Some tracing paper or 'greaseproof' paper (the stuff on a roll that you use for cooking). At least enough to cover both your printed photos.
1. A photo of the existing space or place (your street, a public square, whatever...)
2. A photo that shows the kind of activities and objects that you imagine going in to the space, including people.
3. A computer with an image editing software such as photoshop or pixelmator... something that can make layers. I will assume a very basic familiarity with this software.
4. A scanner
5. A printer if your photos are digital
6. Some black pens- felt tips with a variety of nib widths would be good. I used a fat marker pen, a pen for writing CD labels and a thin gel pen. More expensive alternatives are available.
7. Some tracing paper or 'greaseproof' paper (the stuff on a roll that you use for cooking). At least enough to cover both your printed photos.
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These were a lot more complex that the original instructable, which was about doing something quick and dirty. They each took me about 3 hours, most of the time going into the inventing of stuff that wasn't already in the base photo. They printed at A1 size, so I had to work at quite a high level of detail too.
I'd recommend a graphics tablet and stylus to bypass the tracing and scanning side of things if you are doing a lot of this- they are cheap now (I have a basic Wacom Bamboo which does the job). Also check out Skitch (mac only)- I am using it a lot for sketching and drawing over base photos (example below). It's simple and currently a free beta download.
Hope this helps.