Shipbucket

Will this help the cause?


Credit for the ship:
Type 45 Destroyer (HMS Daring D32 by camokid11).
https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model. ... b6b75d9865

Quick and dirty, (ship stolen from the 3D Warehouse, sun and angle sketched in, turned into a .png, minimally cleaned. Boom, done, bill them.
CraigH

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In active progress
More Ships with Sails
Early Torpedo Boats in SB and FD Scales
Some railroad stuff
More random stuff that strikes me!

Yes but I would just add a sun to a simple SB ship rather than 3D.

IMO would pick some nice easy ship (something small with few features) and use that as a tutorial for how to make a ship in SB (hope that makes sense).

1) So step one scale it size wise.
2) do the black outlining
3) shade with fake 'sun'
4) add parts
5) ......
etc) credits (say for the hull etc)

I think Eswube's comments, particularly in regards to railing examples, rigging and porthole sizes etc., should be added.
Maybe also another tutorial picture that explains overhang shading. This seems to be overlooked sometimes.

Generally I just use boot topping now. That makes the blackline superfluous and given the hyper-accurate colour scheme renderings these days, it would seem odd to add a black line that doesn't exist in real-life. Also, above-water hull drawings are fairly rare these days and I'm sure we can all work out where the waterline is ourselves.

Underwater shading is still a grey area in my view and differs according to skill level and what hull shape sources you have. I think the basic standard should be illustrated so at least everyone can do that ok, and only attempting 45 degree rule when they have the expertise to make it work.

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Hood's Worklist
English Electric Canberra FD
Interwar RN Capital Ships
Super-Darings
Never-Were British Aircraft

@JSB: That drawing was simply to show light source position and it doesn't matter if the drawing is SB compliant. Why create extra work that adds little usable content to the image. It took maybe 10 minutes from start to upload here. Messing with an SB ship would have taken far longer to get the same message across.

The ship 3D illustrates that more efficiently than 2D. 2D would require a minimum of two drawings to erase any question as to positioning AKA: Is there a port or starboard "sun" shifting element? In 3D the answer is obviously NO.

Shadowing has been dealt with nicely by Golly's drawing (and the older tutorial which should be attached to the new document). Question: Why shade the sun?!?! Would you shade a powered light bulb?

The drawing I did was credited to the Sketchup creator.

Hood's comments are great. What caught my eye was using Examples: "Overhang shadowing".

For hull shading I like the 2 options: The Basic Method or the Advanced 45 degree Method. Inclusion of both will be powerful tools for everyone.

CraigH

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In active progress
More Ships with Sails
Early Torpedo Boats in SB and FD Scales
Some railroad stuff
More random stuff that strikes me!

Allrigth, bezo has send me a corrected text version, and Ill post it soon as I get my e-mail open.

Of the things said re: railings and so on, perhaps yes, i can add the description of their method and the portholes.

Also, about boottopping, Im no longer using the black line myself, but I don't see it nesserically bad to have it, especially if you are drawing in more traditional SB way. My idea is to have all these little stylistic nyances available for older artists that have learned "that one and only true way" back in the days and those with more capacity to adapt; to go exist together.

Of more guideline pics, tutorials and the underwaterhulls, I can admit that Im not that good of making clear tutorial visualisations, so all help in this field is naturally appreciated
Yea it means opposite, so I need to check that one out from the corrected version

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Shipbucket mainsite, aka "The Archive"
New AU project "Aravala"

Golly, if you want me to, I can have another go with editing it, once you put it together the way you think is best. You appear to give me enough freedom of action to get everything straight, so I don't mind redoing it, once every input/idea/suggestion has been hashed out, by you and whatever 'brain-trust' you have supporting you!

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My Avatar:Петр Алексеевич Безобразов (Petr Alekseevich Bezobrazov), Вице-адмирал , царская ВМФ России(1845-1906) - I sign my drawings as Ari Saarinen

Yea, no props you can futher edit it, specially if like Eswube said, some part about the colors was really enigmatic. I think all the corrections that Eswube, Hood and Acelancelot pointed out are all quite legimate suggestions and don't alter my idea of the rules

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Shipbucket mainsite, aka "The Archive"
New AU project "Aravala"

Ok, I'll take what you say is that I can freely edit it, as long as the overall context is not lost, in order to incorporate the submitted suggestions? - Yes! I can do that!

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My Avatar:Петр Алексеевич Безобразов (Petr Alekseevich Bezobrazov), Вице-адмирал , царская ВМФ России(1845-1906) - I sign my drawings as Ari Saarinen

My humble take on the matter and some clarifications, using a few examples from our more skilled artists for reference:

* There would be some cases where adding another color shade to a shade angle would be necessary, only if the design of the superstructure, etc. contain overlapping rounded/angled corners, such as this Krivak for example (on the bridge):


* A standard on the coloring of propellers/screws (I use Colo's version, i.e. below drawing for example, outlined in #666666 grey and colored in #e2a21b gold-yellow, plus #ce920e yellow shading), unless it is made from different materials, painted, galvanized in a new color, etc.


* A uniformed sizing rule for clarity for missiles and other ordnance placed above the ship (1.5x SB scale, i.e. 3px = 1ft perhaps?)

* The black lines separating the above- and underwater hull paints and boot toppings would be at the artist's discretion and preference, so no objection to that.

While the amended styling rules draft do still need a little more tweaking, some parts of it are already quite well defined IMHO.

cheers ~ wb21

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>"Wow, if I wasn't a hardened killing machine, that mightta hurt..." —SSgt. John Lugo (1st SFOD-D), Spec Ops: The Line

Allrigth, here is the corrected version that Bezobrasov, Ari Saarinen has constructed:

SHIPBUCKET STYLE

1. Scale
All shipbucket drawings are set at 2 pixels to 1 foot scale. This means that 1 pixel compares to 0.1524 meters (15.24 cm). When you start drawing, scale your reference images to this scale at once. Be precise. When using reference images, make sure you know the difference between overall length, length between perpendiculars and waterline length. Be precise when you measure the length, but always remember not to be grading in millimeters.

Missiles and gun barrels can be a bit out of scale in order to emphasize their smaller characteristics, but they should always be in a consistent scale.
A rough scale for the barrel thickness is 1 pixel = everything under 3 inch (75mm) caliber, 2 pixels = 3-4 inch (75mm-105mm) NOTE: this is the only occasion when you can draw two overlapping black pixel lines together, 3 pixels 4.5-6 inch (115-152mm) ... and so on. When you get past to the heavy artillery, the scale should allow you to use actual thickness.
When drawing Missiles, the rule of the thumb is to make the missile recognizable.

2. Lines

Shipbucket drawings are made of different lines which make up the silhouette of a ship. All lines should be one (1) pixel thick regardless of color. Remember the One Pixel Corners rule:


Overall the One pixel rule applies everywhere. As mentioned previously the 75-105 mm gun barrels are the only exceptions to this rule. Another exceptions are minor instances when you are drawing really small vessels and your equipment over lapses such major lines as hull edges.

Usually everything should be outlined in Black color. This includes the hull lines, superstructures, objects, equipment outlines and so on. Only when you are drawing something that is smaller than 1/2 foot or 15 cm, you need to reconsider using grey color of different shades. Narrow objects like railing, rigging, lines, and antennas and so on can be drawn in grey color or in the relevant color (-s) without black contouring, as required per Era or ship-type. Also, it’s customary to outline such non-standard surfaces like canvases and curtains with darker variations of their base color, rather than with black. These types of surfaces are usually temporary and non-solid and doesn’t assume any accurate shapes or forms when erected. Other, often flexibly shaped objects may be represented with its natural or relevant color, with or without black contouring added. With regards to railings, it is the preference to use the Standard-type railing (six pix. tall, with two pix. spacing in between the railings). However, it is acknowledged that there are multiple, various types of relevant railing types; for instance for very small crafts, where the Standard-type would look out-of-place, and where lower railings with narrower gaps between the horizontal railings are desirable, and most pre-1860 vessels, that may have had wooden railings or bulwarks. The artist is cautioned to use his/her best judgment, and, if in doubt, refer the matter to the Administrator with a comprehensive explanation for the implementation of the variation to the rule. Portholes should, in a majority of cases be the standard type. However, depending on actual type of vessel/craft, sizes may vary, and it is desirable to use the most suitable, without deviating from the overall SB-rules in force. Again, use proper judgment and seek advice if in doubt!

3. Details - "The three pixel rule and the art of over exaggeration"

To further enlighten the issue of using lines, the term "three pixel rule" is often mentioned. It basically means that you should try to draw everything that has a substantial size over 15 cm with three pixels. Now in cases of small objects this usually means gross over-exaggeration of their actual size. Usual applications of this rule are overhang platforms and their supporting structures such as bridge wings, stanchions, masts, fixed stairways and so on, in spite of the surface's actual size in the side elevation. This allows such features and structures to stand out from the outlines (especially in cases where they are on the same level as the next deck or platform top which would already be covered by one black pixel outline). Usually we consider that if a person can walk upon something, that object needs to be drawn in three pixels (there is usually a grey or otherwise relevant colored line between two black ones.)

The same principle applies to the details. Ships have lots of equipment that would be outside the 45cm x45cm sq. (or 1.5 feet x 1.5 feet) that the minimum "three pixel" square allows us to interpret. A rule of thumb for detailing should always be the following scenario: Imagine the ship in real life and that you are looking at it from a distance that makes it appear as small as a Shipbucket scale drawing on your computer screen. Now what details can you see? The details you can draw should always equate the ones you can hypothetically see in such scenario.

Now this means that you should not draw riveting, bolt joints etc. in spite that you could recognize them from a hazy pixel mess out of a drawing you've scaled from a sq. meter sized blueprint. Draw only the clearly distinguishable objects, and with them, and especially with the smaller objects, try to present original shape that relays the purpose of the object rather than the actual size of it in the SB scale. This again takes us back to the over exaggeration. Shipbucket is an art of over exaggeration because of the scale and usage of pixels. Do not try to compare with detailed construction drawings to the maximum possible commonality with your drawing, since it’s simply not possible. Shipbucket drawings are computerized pixel art, not technical manuals. Under NO circumstances use SB drawings as manuals to build actual vessels!

4. Colors

Shipbucket drawings should usually contain a pallet of five different shades for each colored surface: the Basic Color, which you fill in the upper superstructure (-s) with, the darker shade of this that you use to color the actual hull of the ship and also to shade the basic color with, creating darker (away-from-light) shade on the superstructure, a lighter shade of the basic color for lighter, contrasting (towards-the-light) shading and then a darker shade of the hull color that you will use to shade the hull with (again, any surface away from the source of light!), and which you use to color railings and other objects described in the part 2 that are allowed to be drawn in "grey" color with. A Shade darker than this last color is reserved for extreme details where such might be needed.

As for underwater hull, the same sort of logic applies, though you can make do with just three shades in most cases. Boot-topping may be represented with or without the actual WL shown, this is left to the individual artist’s discretion. On vessels without a discernable boot topping it is permissible to leave out a dividing strake between the upper hull and the underwater hull (cf. IJN-vessels 1880-1945).

Always use only one palette of these shades for the corresponding colors you are describing. For example, warships are often painted in a uniformly grey color. To represent them in Shipbucket style, you need one palette. Civilian ships, old Victorian era warship liveries and camouflaged ships naturally have multiple colors so you need to make a palette for each color you need to use to achieve as realistic a result as possible.

You should always use the colors that correspond best to the actual colors of the vessel you are portraying, for both under- and above-water parts. Always remember that Shipbucket style is not to make detailed aquarelles of various level of wear and tear of some painted surfaces. In shipbucket, there is just one perfectly painted surface, and all the variations in shade are there to indicate its structural differences. Show respect to the ship and never draw dirt, rust or soil upon it!

The only "standard" colors that applies are the black for outlines, white for the actual sheet you present your drawing on. The obligatory shade of light blue that is used on windows is highly recommended.

5. Shading

Here is a basic tutorial of how to use the color shades described above: There are two acceptable methods: the Basic Method and the 45 Degree Method. Use the one you feel most comfortable with!



Basically the idea is to use either the dark or the lighter shade to cover whether some surface is facing outward or inward from the centerline. In this example, those surfaces facing inward towards the centerline are colored with lighter shade and the ones angled outward from the centerline are colored darker shade. The actual angles of the said surfaces are not relevant for the proper use of colors. Also, in this drawing, there is a darker shade of a single strake presenting the angle itself in order to separate the shading from round objects, which are shaded in similar fashion, but without the darker line. In this example, a perfectly round object is shaded with a single lighter strake in roughly the center of the foremost 1/3 of the object. Another, acceptable way is to apply a dark or lighter thin strake towards the ends to represent the effect of light falling on the object. There might be a few cases where adding an additional shade to a shaded angle will be necessary, but only if the design of the superstructure, etc. contains overlapping rounded/angled corners in addition to the main structural bend.

Beware that this is just an example of how to shade structures in SB, and does not bind you to do it in exactly the same way, but only as a showcase of the principles you need to consider while shading.

NEVER EVER use gradient shading that are either the actual color grading tools in advanced drawing programs or by using multiple blocks of shades to portray round objects. The only exceptions when you can use the latter method are when you are actually portraying multi-angular objects (pentagons, hexagons etc.) from the side, and if you are portraying gradient applied camouflage or paint pattern.

This method applies for both upper-works and underwater hulls. Underwater hulls are usually rounded surfaces whose shapes alters in ways that it’s impossible to portray in 2D color drawings. Therefore, if you decide to shade the underwater hull, you need to know the exact form of the object you are shading. When you shade underwater hull parts in the same way, it needs to be consistent with the shading of your upper hull as well.

Shading applies to structures underneath overhangs. You can use a darker shade in 1-3 pixel width blocks underneath to present the shade. In special cases where the vertical surface under the overhang is closer to the centerline than in the adjoining non-overhang covered vertical surfaces, you are allowed to color the entire block with the darker color scheme. Same rule about gradient applies to the shading as well.

5. Background and Templates

The background of all shipbucket drawings is a blank white (#FFFFFF or RGB 255,255,255). Be mindful that you leave no light-gray pixel "haze" when transferring over from reference images, etc. If your drawing is unusable because of pixel errors, we will not upload it.

All shipbucket drawings are posted to the site in "templates". These templates give the name of the ship as well as its author. Please use the dedicated templates for this. All current templates have clear instructions on how to place your ship into the right one, so make sure to follow these directions before you post your images.

6. Crediting, usage of Part sheets and Permissions

All shipbucket images have the artist(s)' name shown in parentheses below the ship's class name. Always place your name on the drawings you post. You can use your real name, or an alias if you so choose... just make sure that the name you're using is not already being used by someone else. As expected, your alias must not be vulgar, racist, or otherwise rude or else we will not upload your drawings.

If you use someone else's drawing as a base for your own, add your name behind the original artist's name. Never remove the original artist's name. If we catch you doing this, your drawings will be deleted and you will be banned permanently from the shipbucket forum.

If you use a considerable amount of "blocks" or sections of someone else's drawings which are not in the "Things that help drawing" chart database, place their name ahead of yours in the credits.

Usage of parts submitted to the part sheets or generally accepted as such does not require crediting the original artists of the said parts. Such parts generally includes
1. Objects that are drawn in the "over exaggerating" methods for clarity, and thus more generic presentations of such things in SB scale.
2. Objects that presents some actual objects that are in general use as mass-produced parts and can be found in multiple ships.
3. Generally all objects that are removable from the ship.
4. Weapons, radars, electrical equipment, boats, cranes and so on.

Things that ARE NOT parts are the ones that are unique for the exact ship and are not designed to be placed aboard other vessels, such as masts, superstructures and hull extensions. If you are kit bashing these parts or sections from other SB drawings, you should credit the original artist.

Failing to comply with the crediting rules is a major offense and warrants for said member to be banned from the Shipbucket's official forum.

The part sheets are maintained according to the activity of the shipbucket community members as a whole. They are not a selection of allowed things that can only be used, but altruistic attempts by the Shipbucket community to help and ease the burden of other artists by providing them with means of achieving uniformity with other Shipbucket drawings. The parts change and differ from period to period, and no one is allowed to forbid anyone to draw their own parts for their own drawings if they so insist. Such newly made parts naturally complies with the rules of crediting described above.

All shipbucket drawings are covered by the fair-use agreement, and each artist and member of the community submits to follow this clause when they choose to post in the Shipbucket Forum and submit their work for uploading. This fair use agreement gives you all the necessary permissions needed to work on Shipbucket and with shipbucket drawings.

Other permissions include the right to submit drawings for uploading that represents a ship or vessel already existing in the archive. In such cases the permission is to be obtained from either the original artist or from the Shipbucket staff who are in charge of the uploading procedure. This applies only to the uploading process itself.

In General, posting Shipbucket drawings on the Shipbucket's official forum might include permissions and selected rules, and they are described in the Shipbucket Forum's code of conduct and set of rules or separately instructed to members by the Forum’s administrators.

7. Image Format and Posting

If you want your drawing uploaded, it must be in the proper format. The allowed formats are .GIF and .PNG.
Do not save in .JPG format, as it causes pixel artifacts that we will not fix for you. .BMP and .TIFF formats are too large for the Main Site to accept and save. This applies to all external images you post in the forum as well.
Acceptable (working) sites from which to upload images are for instance: Photobucket, Majhost, Dropbox. These are the most common, but not by any means the only ones.

_________________
Shipbucket mainsite, aka "The Archive"
New AU project "Aravala"