Beach Bungalow

Beach Bungalow

Coastal & Traditional Architecture becomes Art

from sddrawings.com

The word Architecture is so closely tied to Art, one can imagine how many multitudes of young Architecture students grasp at using the term in some entry level class assignment.  I've used the term and words fairly recently myself. What I enjoy about the "Art" in "Architecture", is less about what is left after the house is drawn, and more of the process to get there.

Let's Imagine the process in my little Beach Bungalow (pictured).  There is a couple whom need help designing a home. We will meet to designed on a style that works in the neighborhood, the path of the sun, and fitting it on the lot.  I will have to verify lot coverage through-out the process of design and during this time, begin to work with Engineering & interviewing Builders. Once Design is completed, the Owners will need someone available to help should any construction issues arise.  Between the process of meeting with the "To Be Homeowners" and working closely to select a builder; we begin to design the house, usually using resources the clients have already found and brought in.

The process of review boards, budget meetings, and re-design are all part of a beautiful process it takes to get a custom home off the ground.  That is the "Art" in "Architecture" in my eyes.

Construction: Bosco Co., Atlantic Beach
Engineering: Alexander Grace, Jacksonville Beach

Interior Design Studies

Interior Design Studies

How Small changes make a big difference

from sddrawings.com

In this next part of Renderings & drawings, Sherrod Drawings continues to find fast and accurate renderings to be an integral part of architecture. Today, I am going to look continue to look at the Great House interiors.  In my previous post, we look at exterior renderings for the same building.

The life like renderings below should capture the design and true feel of the built structure. Some of the aspects we are going for when rendering is to capture the scale of the building. In the first "photograph", I wanted to show how large the opening to the dining hall was.  To do this, using people (in this case, a very beautiful client in a blue dress has come for dinner; possibly meeting a date?)  She is obviously flanked by the columns giving the viewer a feel for the height in the structure.

Studio Sky Design, Sherrod Artistry

I did very much the same thing in this second photograph.  Using people as our scale (we all have a very good sense for how large something is when we put a person next to it).  Let's check out another pretty lady in front of the screen door on the left.  She is obviously not three foot tall, so we immediately get the feeling that this door is very tall.  The couple at the bar also show just how high the beams are above their heads.    SO people as scale is a fantastic way to show the size of something and give the "feel" of what we're looking for.

Studio Sky Design, Sherrod Artistry

The 2 Great House renderings above represented about 30 hours of work.  It is 100% digitally composed in a combination of Sketchup with finishing touches in Photoshop. I've drawn upon 30+ years of real life watercolor and painting experience to help with all of these renderings.  What's different when trying to render a scene completely realistic versus an abstract water color (as can be viewed in my last post) is that we have to remember a lot of different invisible variables. Because the two mediums require different expertise.  If you want to learn, you have to do. Pickup a paint brush or download Sketchup's free version and just draw.

Thinking about the different variables between a realistic drawing and a watercolor, using today's example, if we draw the scene too perfect, it will obviously be seen as a fake by our mind's eye, because it is trying to be realistic.  To compensate, I've worked on a few different aspects. Check out the vase in the foreground in the second photograph.  It's slightly off center, giving a feeling of "real life happens".  People come in, move things and someone else has to come back up and put it back, or we get to see a vase that is not perfectly centered.  I also really liked how some of the people in the right hand side of the photo were cut off behind the column.  That's real life. You can't see everything at all times. People move and talk and turn their back to you.  I really wish the lady on the left would face us though, she's absolutely striking, reminding me of a dear old friend back in a tiny little town back in Alabama.

Some of the items I'd like to explore in future renderings: If we look back at the vase, I actually created a vase inside of a vase (using a free Sketchup object as a base).  The outer vase is clear glass while the inner glass, I applied an opaque colored finish.  I'd like to play with the mirrors in the same way.  If you look at your bathroom mirror, you can see the depth of the glass before the light hits the reflective material behind it.  I wonder if that would make a difference, however slight in these renderings.

Some of the other fun items I've played with was colored lighting at the bar. In several instances, the colored lighting from the bar bounces back and shows some reflection in the slightly reflective wood surfaces through out the photos.  I do not think the intensity of the lighting is very realistic on a door or the coffee table.  So I believe another change would be to modify this to a much more defused reflected color, though what do I know compared to rendering engines.  This may actually help the mind to see that there's something else going on, things are not perfect and will help to tie the scene together as being more realistic because it is imperfect; as well as using the same color thought the photo.  So I'll leave it for now.  In my mind's eye, I also expect to see more reflection in the floor from exterior lighting though the french doors. So all of that being said, I could continue to pick this piece apart and never truly be done with it.  So at the end of the day and when "Pencil's up" is called, I think it's good enough.

The lesson I am sharing is that not everything in life is as we "see" them.  Consider a palm tree (if you're lucky enough to live in a tropical climate).  My palms outside are not made of brown trunks with a green canopy.  The trunks are actually grey.  If you look closely at what we THINK something looks like and what something ACTUALLY looks like, you'll finally be find your artist's eye.  I didn't officially go to school for any of this (rendering computer generated scenes like this wasn't even a possibility back in high school, the best we had was Doom). So, keep your eyes open, actually see what is in front of you, can you really see the tree, or are you making it all up as to what you see? i.e... a brown trunk and green leaves.

The end product of any CAD system and drawing mechanisms (which ever you choose to use) should be a beautiful useful end product.  I'm pretty happy with this one.  Pencils up.

-Michael Sherrod

Water Color Renderings

Watercolor in Architecture

Reviewing an old style in a new way

from sddrawings.com

In this next part of Renderings & drawings, Sherrod Drawings continues to find fast and accurate renderings to be an integral part of architecture. Today, I am going to look at the Great House water color recently completed.

Watercolor renderings give a wonderfully romantic and beautiful view of Architectural design.  It allows the viewer to imagine the scene with a light hearted view, as opposed to a strict and harsh judgmental eye. Take a quick look at my past post with a night scene & dusk rendering. Where the building itself is fairly well composed, I can find several key elements that really stir my ire... for instance; the trees in the back and foreground leave much to be desired.  This is from fast drawing and limited resources of hi-quality digital photographs).

Since the digital rendering is so much more life like, it's easier to judge the picture and find faults, it's the minds natural way of working. "Hey", says the brain, "this is close... but I don't want you to be fooled, you know this isn't real and here's why... (dot dot dot)".  So we can appreciate the time put into a drawing, unless it's absolutely perfect, our brains are going to find a way to show us how it is not a real scene. A watercolor rendering (and this one is digital) gives the viewer permission to use their own imagination and "feel" the house as opposed to critiquing it; because the picture is so abstract (not abstract enough that you can not tell what something is) though abstract enough to not trigger the brain into complaining.  Then we are allowed to appreciate and find other emotions associated with the drawing.

Studio Sky Design, Milan Velimirovic Technical, Sherrod Artistry

The Great House rendering above represented about 8 hours of off the clock experimentation in this new style.  It is 100% digitally composed in a combination of Sketchup and Photoshop. I've drawn upon 30+ years of real life watercolor and painting experience.  One of the big things I had to think about, was how do objects actually look and what colors do they give off.  Purple hues on the shadows and blue greens in the distance.  I wanted the clouds to just barely be viewable so as not to be a focal point, though composed in a way, that they work with all the other elements to direct the viewers eye and point to the Great House.

Other elements I've taken from water coloring for years, is the bead around the palms and tree line. In this instance, the bead is prob. a little heavy, though that was on purpose.  I could actually watercolor this scene and have a real one, though time is a huge factor.  From drawing the actual house to sketching in the foliage, it's 8 hours versus 40+.  The question is, is a digital watercolor "good enough"?

The end product of any CAD system and drawing mechanisms (which ever you choose to use) should be a beautiful useful end product.

-Michael Sherrod

More renderings

Renderings & Drawings

New direction for Arch design

from sddrawings.com

In this next part of Renderings & drawings, Sherrod Drawings has found fast and accurate renderings to be an integral part of architecture.  Before the pen hits the paper (or in our brave new world, the first ray is drawn on a blank digital canvas), we have to have an idea of the best way to go about drawing in 3D.  The entire process is far more complicated than just making a pretty picture or straight up 2D drawing.

I basically begin with the foundation in a group and draw up from there.  The model itself is always the base point, keeping as many pieces as possible as components for easy modification during and after client meetings.  There have DEF. been client meetings where we are designing on the fly and completely changing the direction the design is going to head on screen, during the meeting.  This is a far cry from the typical "This is what I came up with and this is what you are going to get" mentality.  A lot has to do with the climate of business in a busy beach town.

I want to stress that accuracy is of the utmost importance in my craft and my work. Something I will always continue to excel in, any problems in field always stem from changes made in field; except one instance a few years ago (2013) where extenuating circumstances caused a slight hiccup during construction, and I'll say the house still came out absolutely beautifully.  (For the record, 4 separate professionals should have all caught the computer error, my faux-pas for being so trusting).

Irregardless.... the end product of any CAD system and drawing mechanisms (which ever you choose to use) should be a beautiful useful end product.  Then comes the next fun part: renderings.  Renderings are life like visualizations of your product (in my case, architectural design).  Below, you will see two times of day, the first is a night scene with the house illuminated, probably for a dinner where the host is having a dinner party.  The next, is where the guests have obviously left all the lights on in the early morning hours.

Starr Sanford Architecture, Sherrod Drawings Technical & Artistry

Starr Sanford Architecture, Sherrod Drawings Technical & Artistry

I personally love the twilight scenes, getting to see the houses during those magical moments of the day when the light is just amazing.

All photographers know there are 2 hours a day... those magic hours when the sun is rising or setting, and the lighting is most dramatic and casts the best shadows.  SO in these renderings, what I can point out is my flaws.  Less flaws and more time constraints.  If you look at the trees on the left had side of the screen (background foliage), they are cut off and look irregular.  The palm trees are not high enough quality and the lighting is a little blown out in both renderings.  It's a trial process, using different plants, creating new ones in photoshop type software and importing into the 3D world. I also think the clouds in the dawn photo are flat and do not give off enough depth.

So to get these 2 renderings probably represent about 12 hours of time rendering, processing, rendering again, fixing mistakes, rendering and processing again.... It's a vicious cycle, though if you love it, the process and the end product, then it's nothing to keep at it.  Thanks Starr Sanford for using my services to help create another beautiful residence!

More Completed Construction

Completed Construction

From 2D to Real D

from sddrawings.com

Today's submittal is a very well designed and built Carriage House in Florida. Working with Starr Sanford Design out of Jax Beach, FL; we accomplished an absolutely beautiful structure.  This 2 Bed, 2 Bath Carriage House features a Full Kitchen and Living room upstairs, while the 3 Bay garage downstairs holds all your toys and leads out to the covered porch on the House's Side entry, creating a fantastic Courtyard effect.

Take the jump to see more about this plan and others !

Please Touch

Please Touch

Bricks & Lighting

from sddrawings.com

Natural elements in a home are such great materials. Whether it's a brick wall, clay mugs, real wood floors and true cedar siding. We all love "truth" in materials, where the items we surround ourselves with not only look and feel real, though truly are.  It has to do with our longing to be closer to the land, closer to the natural environment. 

It doesn't take long to compare the differences in houses:

1: A house wrapped in vinyl and simulated wood siding

2: A home with true wood or brick

Truth in materials give us the feeling that our houses are real. That they will be there to stand up to the elements, keeping us warm and safe. Plus, when we see that brick chimney, we know we can touch it and it feels good, like it isn't going to fall over. 

But this post is really a study about light and what your Architect or Building Designer can help you obtain using it. 

It wasn't long ago that the electric light was created, allowing us to stay up way past sundown. Continuing our lives as if nothing ever changed in the outdoor environment. So we also would design our homes and streestscapes to take advantage of the sun's path across the sky.

One aspect of designing for light was creating homes "one room wide". This allows natural light to infiltrate both sides of a room, taking advantage of the morning sun light and the evening sun light.

Case study in pictures:

The scene is completely the same in both rooms.  Though I blew out the lighting in the second picture (over exaggerated with too much light), it's easy to see which room feels less like a cave, and which one also feels more open and livable.  Creating rooms we love.

On the left hand side of this Kitchen, you can see the brick wall; feel free to touch.  So let us as Designer's help you to understand these types of ideas.

from sddrawings.com

Cabin 2

Cabin 2 Updated

Another Update for our line of Cabin Designs

From yesterday's Post, Working towards a very interesting mix of 3D rendering from Sketchup & trying out new rendering software.

See this Cabin House Plans and Floor Plans here

(This Render didn't go as planned)

  

sddrawings.com

Late Night Design

Working through difficult problems,

Why rush something good?

Often clients want and need something right away.  I have been going around the block several times to formulate a plan that will meet a client's needs in a floor plan, of course it has a deadline.   I'm sure every designer has the same problem.  What client's can do (and I think I have the best in the world) is to give us a little room to work the design over. Sometimes you just need to let an idea "stew" for a bit.  Usually we know you're due a drawing and when that hour is.  We feel the pressure to get the job done and keep you happy.  After all, you're paying our graphite bill.

Sometimes you just need  

to let an idea "stew" for a bit

Letting us work through a design is good for you and us.  The final product can be something we both can be proud of.  Let alone the devastation to a neighborhood should something ugly be built.  You're neighbors may never ask you over to the cook out, maybe that's a good thing.  Sometimes we just need to find inspiration, often from an unknown source.  In the case of my latest triumph over a design, it was a good long jog.  Getting out of the office and away from the computer / drafting board is healthy for any of us that wear the desk jockey hat.

I actually JUST had this conversation with my partner today.  We discussed how easy it is to over work ourselves in production mode, and not take care of the other aspects that make us a well rounded and balanced person.  I imagine any profession can be that way.  Designers, especially the great ones, are usually more introverted.  They express themselves through their ideas that are seen in a finished product.  This is not bad, it is a sign of high intelligence.  What it does though, is to create a shell, where the person is more comfortable at work and "plugging" away than interacting with the world at large.  Those brilliant minds I've seen who have unchained themselves.. are some of the happiest, most productive professionals.  Their designs and abilities have expanded ten-fold, certainly someone to admire.

So in essence, if you want an amazing product, give you guy/gal some room to do their thing.  You hired them for a reason, you knew they had the skills to bring you an amazing product.  And let us go for that jog, we'll work better and harder when we get back in.

sddrawings.com

The Little House, Cabin 4 (in a series)

The Little House or Cabin #4,

I'm hooked on small smart design...

2d plans | 3d plans

At JUST over 1,000 sq ft total, This Cabin features:

• 2 bed / 1 bath
• Lots of Storage
• Wide open First Floor "Public" Living Areas
• Full Kitchen with Serving Bar
• Dining Room
• Sweet Little Porches
• Smart Shelving

sddrawings.com

Haunted "Gingerbread" house (plans)

Just in time for Trick or Treat,

Just a little design fun in October...

Needed a break from Cabin designs, so here's an old style re-drawn from sddrawings.com

I can not imagine anyone building a turn-of the century design like this anymore.  Normally this house would have multiple coal fireplaces, probably one in each room; and usually those fireplaces would split rooms, say between the Dining and Family Rooms.  The fireplaces would then share a flue. I opted out of drawing those.  Also, I added amenities such as indoor plumbing and closets. A closet was uncommon as everyone used wardrobes.  I still prefer a wardrobe and dresser over a closet.

• 5 bed / 3.5 bath
• Walk-in Pantry w/mop sink & broom hanging rack
• Serving bar between Kitchen & Dining
• Haunted Library where books fly off the shelves
• Spooky Den
• Scariest thing, 2 study areas upstairs for kids to put homework desks

This little Cabin Packs a Punch with lots of amenities

The little Cabin that could,

This Cabin Packs a Punch with lots of amenities...

2d plans | 3d plans

At 612 sq ft on the First Floor, a little less upstairs. This Cabin features:

• 3 bed / 2 bath
• An integrated Booth @ the Kitchen Island, open Pantry shelves so your foods don't get lost in the back (look for a blog rant about that here soon)
• Ample room in the open Den featuring a fireplace and vaulted ceiling that looks up to a sleeping loft.
• Master Bedroom shares a full bath with guests downstairs
• 2 Bedrooms and full bath upstairs with more room in a common sleeping loft for bunk beds or to be used as a play room
• Wide front porch for enjoying this beautiful Fall weather in October

sddrawings.com

Lake House / Hunting Cabin

Lake House / Hunt Camp,

A sweet little design...

See a newer Cabin Plan here

• 2 bed / 2 bath
• Sleeping Loft / Play Area
• Loft over looks Great Room Below
• Master Bedroom has full bath, shower, tub & walk-in closet
• Full Kitchen open to Dining Room

2d version here

3d version here

sddrawings.com

 

Sketchup

Really enjoying Google Sketchup

Sneak Preview & Playing with Shading on a not completed elevation

Don't ask where the door is... this is a work in progress & a Sneak Preview of Playing with Shading on a not completed elevation.

check out sddrawings.com for more