Sunday, April 1, 2012

City street in Stillman&Birn.

First sketch in Stillman&Birn Beta series sketchbook. For some reason scanner made drawing more pale than in reality. I am pretty impressed with thick and textured paper, I love square format, it is 7"x7".  For some reason most sketchbooks anything but square, meanwhile square gives enough space for sky and you can choose composition freely.
 It said Extra Heavy Weight paper and paper took my ink washes easily, would be really good for watercolor.
I like that holes are squarish, attractive. If using pencil I would spray with clear matte finish to protect from smudges, especially if carrying in my bag.
Because it is opens so comfortably I am thinking I could use both sides of the page, than it makes it 50!
I barely hold myself from dragging layer of venetian plaster over the sketch, paper will take it, not sure how sketch will feel. I will hold on to this idea for something more bold.

10 comments:

Autumn Leaves said...

Simply gorgeous, Nikira! Love the colors accenting the sepia tones.

J. R. Stremikis said...

Wonderful, wonderful sketch.
It's a pity, about your scanner.
Maybe it is still possible to adjust settings of scanner to reality?
What is the brand name of scanner?
If you are using a Macintosh, it's possible I can help
you with the set up.
What do you think?

jsicignano2.blogspot.com said...

Great work, oh, now I want a Stillman & Birn sketch book.

Nikira said...

Thank you very much CrimsonLeaves, this paper feels seriously thick and strong, just pleasure how pen and Kuretake and ink glides on it.:-)

Nikira said...

Hi John, thank you very much! My scanner is Epson Perfection Photo, I think, Mac, pretty old. But the good thing it is accommodating thick sketchbook. The other one, newer, doesn't take thick, just a paper. Usually scanner makes it pretty close to reality, skipping blues a bit.
Please, give me advice if you think it may help with adjustment. Thank you again.

Nikira said...

Thank you Joan! I think This paper from Beta series book would be perfect for your beautiful watercolors. It is thick, wash friendly and charmingly portable.

J. R. Stremikis said...

Hi again, Nikira -
Some suggestions, if you are interested to try. I am not sure what version of Epson Perfection you have - perhaps it's V500. I am also not sure what version of Mac OS you are using.
But anyway, first things, first.
(1) if you have not yet done this, I would suggest to update the drivers for your scanner. you can do it at the Epson Technical Support site - just download and install for your Mac.
here is link:
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/support/supDetail.jsp?oid=88368&infoType=Downloads
-
Scanner Driver and EPSON Scan Utility v3.74A is there for you. (if you will need it.)
and next,
ICC Profiles - Adobe Profiles v1.3.1 is there for you (if you will need it.)
-
Some of my colleagues are happy with the EPSON scanner software, and have used Adobe Profiles to solve such problems as weak blue hues and tones.
-
Other colleagues have been much, much happier with peppier software called SilverFast - it costs some money, but is quite good for design professionals. This software often is better or much better than original software which comes with scanner.
-
My own preference is the built-in "Image Capture" software. It's an App (a utility) that comes with your Mac. "Image Capture" works with all of my scanners - for example, I don't use the Epson or Canon software for scanning. "Image Capture" will need the drivers from the Epson Technical Support site above.
This Apple software is most natural and most powerful - "Image Capture" is in my Dock, and
always ready.
I would expect that you get better results - maybe even a faster scan - and most probably blue is going to show up in a better way.
-
If you want to try, I am happy to answer questions and to offer suggestions for success.
//john

J. R. Stremikis said...

Hi again, Nikira -
Some suggestions, if you are interested to try. I am not sure what version of Epson Perfection you have - perhaps it's V500. I am also not sure what version of Mac OS you are using.
But anyway, first things, first.
(1) if you have not yet done this, I would suggest to update the drivers for your scanner. you can do it at the Epson Technical Support site - just download and install for your Mac.
here is link:
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/support/supDetail.jsp?oid=88368&infoType=Downloads
-
(A) Scanner Driver and EPSON Scan Utility v3.74A is there for you. (if you will need it.)
and next,
(B) ICC Profiles - Adobe Profiles v1.3.1 is there for you (if you will need it.)
-
Some of my colleagues are happy with the EPSON scanner software, and have used Adobe Profiles to solve such problems as weak blue hues and tones.
-
Other colleagues have been much, much happier with peppier software called SilverFast - it costs some money, but is quite good for design professionals. This software often is better or much better than original software which comes with scanner.
-
My own preference is the built-in "Image Capture" software. It's an App (a utility) that comes with your Mac. "Image Capture" works with all of my scanners - for example, I don't use the Epson or Canon software for scanning. "Image Capture" will need the drivers from the Epson Technical Support site above.
This Apple software is most natural and most powerful - "Image Capture" is in my Dock, and
always ready.
I would expect that you get better results - maybe even a faster scan - and most probably blue is going to show up in a better way.
-
If you want to try, I am happy to answer questions and to offer suggestions for success. If you prefer, we can move the discussion to email or into Skype.
//john

Nikira said...

Hi John, thank you for help. I found Image capture but in Devices it shows only one scanner, HP, which I am not using much because it doesn't accept thick sketchbook. Do you know how to introduce new device?

J. R. Stremikis said...

Nikira - Yes, I do know how to do it.
As you know, Epson has a great reputation. So, it's natural for us to expect really high-quality software. But, the sad part is, Epson software is fragile and finicky, and can be a real disappointment with colors on the newer Macs and OS X 10.4, or 10.5 or 10.6.
.
But, no need to be upset or worried. You can try a few things:
.
First is the Scanner Driver -- this driver for your Epson is already in Snow Leopard - you only need to connect Epson scanner with USB cord, and your Mac will recognize immediately.
.
If you have Snow Leopard, you maybe need to run "Software Update" to get latest software version.
.
And, if you don't have Snow Leopard, but earlier versions of Mac OS X like 10.5 or 10.4, then...
.
I think you have already installed the newest scanner drivers from the Epson web site (in Step (1), above).
I think that after you did that, your Epson scanner is not showing in Image Capture.
.... so....
.
You are connecting by FireWire connection? or, are you connecting Epson scanner with USB connector?
For sure, you want USB connection, and not FireWire with Epson Scanner.
Please, tell me the model of Epson you have - it is V500?
And, your Mac OS X version is 10.5? or is it 10.6?

and, final question is, have you run the "Software Update
//john