Outeniqua steam engine

 This is my second steam engine, I originally planned to render it on A3 format paper, but during the preparation process I decided that what I had prepared would work better in A4.

This image represents a departure in my process from working with a hard copy (Photograph or print), to working off a computer screen.

I scanned the original photograph (a 35mm colour slide) and then loaded the digital image into MS PowerPoint. I created a grid of squares in the PowerPoint package and overlaid these on the steam train image. Finally I saved that slide as a jpg picture which I could display on an old laptop screen and refer to as I started drawing.

Original photograph with grid lines superimposed

I initially drew the scaled up grid out on 60gsm A3 paper and then drew the salient features of the steam engine using the grid for guidance. Once I had a simple line drawing my intent was to use a light box to transfer the lines, without the grid, onto the final art support. When I looked at my line drawing I realized that the scale I had drawn the engine to fitted better in an A4 format and the rest of the image was not adding anything to the drawing.

With the above considerations in mind, I traced the outline of the train onto 200gsm paper and then worked it up using Staedtler Mars Lumograph pencils. I found the paper a little too rough in texture for my liking. I was not able to get lines as fine as I wished, and dark areas persist in having bright aspects. 

A4 drawing of steam engine in Garden Route lakes area

There are a few perspective errors in the drawing, so more care next time! As I worked on the drawing I discovered that the boiler and the various lines along and around it are more complex that they first appear, in fact what look like lines or joins at first glance turn out to be part of a sophisticated set of pipe work!

The original photograph was taken in the mid 1990s in the wetland area between Knysna and George on the S. Coast of South Africa. This train is moving timber from the forests around Knysna. A landslide blocked the line and this traffic is now fulfilled by road transport. The loss is a pity as this was a tourist attraction.