I saw this building yesterday in Campobello, SC and realy liked the old weather-beaten lettering.
How does one model that type of lettering?
I wrote a post about it on one of my blogs and thought I would share it here.
Hope you find it helpful…
Tim Warris
Click on the picture for a larger version…
Image Copyright (c) 2006 Tim Warris
The (blue) sign on the side of this building is a bit of an illusion. It looks like a painted on, faded sign, but it is neither painted on, nor faded.
Click on the picture for a larger version…
Image Copyright (c) 2006 Tim Warris
This sign was made by scanning the fully painted and weathered wall, drawing the sign in CorelDraw, combining the two images and then adding a fading effect to the sign allowing the brickwork to show through the sign.
The sign is then printed out, cut from the paper, and glued back onto the wall in exactly the same location as it was drawn in the software.
What you are seeing is not a faded sign, but a picture of a faded sign on the same wall.
I will outline how this process works with this post.
This building looks like a good candidate for a new old sign.
Click on the picture for a larger version…
[;)] Perhaps you could you be a little more specific?
P.S.: Nice Presentation!
I use home-made decals. I scan or download the art work, and then print it on clear decal paper using an inkjet printer. Your normal computer printer assumes you’re printing on white paper, which naturally leaves a semi-transparent decal.
For this one, I painted a white rectangle on the building with acrylic craft paint. I wanted a white background to match the original artwork, and printers don’t do white, so this technique not only provides the background but also color-corrects the rest of the image. Like Tim, I add a border. This helps define the image better, and (in my case) covers up the fact that I can’t paint a straight line with acrylic craft paint.
You don’t have to feel constrained to brick walls. I put these signs on a wood plank fence I built using coffee stirrers “liberated” from work.
The rough surfaces that the decal goes on helps create the “weathered” effect. Brick walls and rough wood work well for this. Normally, you want a smooth, even finish for decal application, but this is one case where a rough finish is actually better. The brick walls had already received a layer of Dul-Coat, and another layer was applied to seal the decal in place and flatten down the finish. I also used Micro-Sol to settle the decals into the mortar grooves.
LOL yeah Tim be more clear and complete – as if that was possible.
One effect you see here on some old brick buildings in Milwaukee is that different generations of painted signs are visible on top of each other so to speak. That would be a challenging effect to capture.
What is interesting is that even today when old buildings get torn down, often a painted sign on an adjacent building wall is surprisingly clear and distinct, at least for a while. And I can recall in the 1960s seeing a very clear and distinct sign on a local tavern in my home down that was clearly more than 30 years old yet seemed clear as a bell. How did I know how old it was? Because it said “Schlitz – The Drink that Made Milwaukee Famous.” During prohibition Schlitz made no beer but rather a non alcohol malt beverage, so during Prohibition they changed their slogan from The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous to The Drink That Made Milwaukee Famous.
A few years ago a self styled local historian pointed out a number of old advertising signs on some Milwaukee structures – such as one for Sen Sen, a product I actually remember – and suggested that they needed to be preserved because some clearly involved products before World War One. Then an even better local historian recollected that actually all those signs were painted in 1968 when a film called Gaily Gaily was made here in Milwaukee, and the Third Ward was used as a stand in for circa 1910 Chicago where the famous Ben Hecht was a reporter.
Dave Nelson
Here is a link to my sign tread. You can make decals or print on paper to sand down and apply to brick walls.
You can also get ready made decals that look like old signs from this eBay seller:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/thorn14141/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686
(I’m not associated with them in any way.)
What a great article, truly adds a great bit of realism to old buildings, well done and thanks for the thread on those old signs.