I would love to do vessels from the 1860s and 1870s for my AU but the only thing keeping me from doing so is that I have no idea on how to draw sailing masts and all the rigging that comes with them. Is it posible for some one to posibally instuct me on how do draw them properly?
Posts:803 Joined: July 9th, 2011, 2:45 am
Location: Victoria, Australia
Contact:Website, YouTube
The best bet is to look at how the masts were constructed and then understanding the basic rigging required to complement them. Most ships masts (the larger ones anyway) had masts from two or more sections of wood which were then staggered together. These sections were generally also where the fighting tops were in older designs and often the shrouds would extend to just above this platform.
The mast construction also greatly depends on the type of rig the ship is to be equipped with, be it a full ships rig, a brig, sloop, barque, topsail schooner, etc.
Easiest way to understand it is to read into various types that you are interested in drawing, determine what rig they use and then research how that rig was worked to best be able to draw it. Later ships of the time you stated were starting to push for smaller crews yet fly as much canvas as possible to remain competitive with steamships and these would naturally be rigged somewhat different to a Galleon of Fluyt of the 15th-16th Century.
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Posts:1407 Joined: August 31st, 2011, 4:49 pm
Location: Michigan
Go to the local library and check out a book or two on the history of sailing. Wikipedia is also a good point for learning how different rigs work. Remember, as on real ships, a plausible ship, every line has a function, whether it's moving the sails or preventing big spars from impacting the deck at high speed, there are no "Disney set hack-a-rope-and-swing" type lines.
Send me a PM, and I'll reply with the PDN file for one of my sailing vessels. Flip through the layers and it might give you some ideas on how you want to do it.
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