Railsketch: Road Switcher

This sketch is the start of a new design I've added recently to my online train shirt store. It depicts a four-axle road switcher in roughly the same shape as a GP series locomotive (but not quite as detailed). Working up a new design is a multi-stage project, one that is much easier now that computers and their peripherals have become easier to use. The first step is always the doodle. Then I scan that doodle at 600dpi to make it super big. I print it out on 8 1/2 x 11 paper and go over the lines again with a black pen in a larger form. After that it's back to the scanner for a better detailed image. At this stage I'll usually do some editing of the scan on my PC before filling in the colors and adding text to the final image. Final steps before posting the artwork are done with The GIMP, a wonderful open source art tool.

Drawing is a hobby of mine. I've had a B pencil in my hand since I was in kindergarten, but chose not to pursue it as a career. Instead I've enjoyed it as a hobby as long as I can remember. Old notepads, church bulletins, backsides of old printouts...none of these things are safe from my doodling. In my earlier life I drew airplanes and space ships. In my twenties and early thirties I focused on classic cars. Now I've taken on the challenge of doodling trains (the trucks under the loco are harder to draw than most think). There are so many talented artists out there; it's great to look at their stuff and see how I can improve my own craft (if one could call it that). I appreciate art that has solid simple lines and primary colors. I also have tremendous respect for the highly technical railroad art of H.L. "Scotty" III and have several of his prints.

As with most of my hobbies, they must have a versatile side to be justifiable. I justify my doodling by operating the t-shirt shop - for which 75% of the designs start as doodles. I also put a small doodle of something train related in son David's lunchbox most every morning before school; I don't know why...just seems like the thing to do. He asks me about it when I don't put one in so I scribble something out most every morning. The other night at David's school open house he showed me a drawing he did in the classroom of him and his friends riding bikes. It was incredible! I'm thinking he has the ability to be better at it than me.