Drawing The Sea Ranch with Procreate
The Sea Ranch
The Sea Ranch is a coastal community in Sonoma County, California, about 100 miles north of San Francisco. It is a picturesque destination with stunning natural beauty, a rugged coastline, and its unique approach to architecture design, land planning, and a light-touch approach to the natural environment.
A group of diverse professions-[for me most notably landscape architects and architects] was led by a developer who shared his vision for a place where architecture and the landscape were influenced by nature and the environment.
The Lodge
One of the earliest structures built following this ethos was the Lodge. Phoebe, my wife, and I married at the Sea Ranch Lodge in 2016, and it will always hold a significant meaning in our lives. Our appreciation and connection for this place began long before that day. Phoebe [from Berkeley] grew up spending time in the Sea Ranch with her family. It started with her parents spending their honeymoon there many years ago. We are both landscape architects [who met in Boston], giving us another perspective and a way to enjoy.
Drawing
During the height of the pandemic, I made the "The Sea Ranch & Lodge Birdseye" drawing while looking for a creative outlet and as a gift for Phoebe.
Stats
Procreate App - a digital program primarily on the Ipad that takes full advantage of the pencil feature.
15"x15" canvas
Brush: Studio pen
Some notes on the drawing process
To build the birdseye drawing, I referenced photographs of the Lodge gathered from the internet, books we own, photos during our visits, and Google Maps.
This was the first significant drawing I attempted with the Ipad, apple pencil, and Procreate. There were a few learning opportunities throughout; some of the first were:
- Getting used to the glass surface is a huge transition from paper. After doing some research, I applied Paperlike to the Ipad surface. I made the experience of drawing digitally way more pleasurable.
- Overwhelming choices in brushes, colors, commands/tools, etc. However, I chose Procreate over other programs because I find it more straightforward and intuitive than other, more powerful programs. In the beginning [first year or so], I chose to use 1 brush [studio pen], get to know it, and get proficient with it before trying other brushes.
- and obviously, the natural frustration curve of learning a new program.
