I was recently commissioned by a client to draw the 3 Sheffield pubs which her father frequented. These are 1. Doctors Orders, 2. The Lescar and 3. The Greystones. The final prints are shown above.

I took photos of each pub on the same sunny day in October, and some of the reflections proved quite challenging when it came to some of the finer details. To illustrate this and to demonstrate a method I used to overcome this, please continue reading. (Note: I use photoshop, and draw directly onto the computer or tablet screen).

Here is the original photo of The Doctor’s Orders…

You will notice that the pub sign on the signpost it barely readable due to the bright reflection.

Fortunately I noticed the same signage on a shaded area on the pub wall, so I photographed it……

I completed the artwork but left the signpost blank. Then using the photo as a reference I created a sketch of the signage…….

Step 1 – Create a new layer in photoshop and sketch out the sign….

Step 2 – Reduce the opacity, then create a new layer to add the finer detail…..

Step 3 – Complete the finer detail ……..

Step 4 – Turn off the sketch layer leaving only the detail layer visible, then add the colour…..

Step 5 – Add the finishing touches…..

Step 6 – Copy this layer and paste it on to the original pub drawing. You can see it at the top right hand corner of the picture below……

Step 7 – We now need to position this over the blank signpost. This is performed in photoshop by selecting the sign layer and the using “Edit” followed by “Transform” and then “Distort”. You can then distort the image and place it in the correct position on the signpost. To make this process easier to follow I have included a short video below…..

You can see the final print below…

You can check out all my digital artwork here