Orion Nebula sketch

[astro_south]

Hi all

been spending time in the "Solar system photography" section so I thought I would come back home to balance out my universe and clense my visual soul :D Searching my hard drive I found this sketch I did pre-empting a MOC that never quite eventuated - hence I never got to share.

I don't remember all the details about the sketch, but I do know it was done over two nights (the first being the 30th of Dec last year, and the second some days later). The second day had better conditions (particulaly transperency) and it allowed me to touch up some of the fainter areas.

As is spelled out on the sketch, it was made in my suburban Brisbane backyard with a 12.5" f6 dob and a 19mm Panoptic (~100x). I didn't attempt this from a darker site as it would be twice the effort to get all the detail visible.

Anyway, I hope it inspires others to give sketching a go, particularly some of the many new 'newbies' around the forum that are looking to improve their observing skills (even if the results don't get posted here - of course if they do, it would be great), and anyway - there has been a sketch drought on this forum in the last few months.

[davidpretorius]

b.....y hell, thats brilliant.

reminds me of the awesome sketches ken has done in the past

[janoskiss]

Very nice, Andrew.
Now do 9 more and feed them through Registax. ;)

[Dennis]

Hi Andrew

What a beautiful representation of M42! Your sketch has a quality that is not present in images. It is great to see the use of different media to record these wonderful sights.

Well done and thanks for posting.

Dennis

[vespine]

Is that chalk on card? Most sketches I've seen on the net have just been pencil on paper and then scanned and made "negative" in a imaging program. This sketch is really nice, good work!

I'm not quite over my honeymoon phase yet, every time I get the scope out I'm still too busy trying not to drool into the eye piece to be thinking about drawing yet, but I'll definitely have a go once that subsides a little ;) I'm completely rubbish but I've always really liked drawing and painting. If we ever get some clear skies around here!

[iceman]

Great job Andrew, great to see some more sketches - it has been a while.

Very reminiscant of what I see, well done.

[astro_south]

Thanks for the comments guys

Vespine - the sketch is just lead pencil onto a white sketch pad. I then take a photo of it (in natural light) with my digi camera. Then I invert it in Irfanview. It probably gets the 'chalk' look through it being a photo of the skecth, rather than a scan. If I have a scanner I would use that, but instead I improvise :thumbsup:

[Striker]

Thats funny Steve....lol

Andrew....thats is absolutely brilliant....I really admire how you guys sketch but this is far superior to anything I have seen posted..well done mate.

[Robby]

Wicked! That's one of the best sketches I've seen. Well done.
A true art-piece. Not a pixel in sight, no noise, no dark subtraction, no post processing. Pure.
Used to see a lot more sketches but with the digital revolution it seems to be a dying art. Keep it up.
Cheers

[dhumpie]

Great one Andrew...was this the one that was "in progress" when I last visited your humble backyard observatory :)

Darren

p/s: how has the lil one been...have been meaning to visit.

[ving]

good stuff :)
wish i could sketch... me = talentless git :P

[astro_south]

Yep, that is the one Darren. I updated it after the improved transperancy we had that first night with your 10" dob - realised I had missed a few things on the original night.

Matt is going well - still sleeping between feeds....we are waiting for that wheel to fall off :whistle: He will be 1 month on Monday - time flies :D

Vingster - you don't need too much talent (I prove that :thumbsup: ) - just need to break the view down into points (stars) and shapes (gas and dust - light and dark areas). Don't try and draw the whole view / object at once - work around the object thinking about shapes and dots. It's not like a landscape - just a representation of the view you see. The gain is from having a go and forcing yourself to notice more detail about the object - if the pic turns out resembling the object then that is a bonus :D . Start off with some planetary nebula or something with very little detail.

[dhumpie]

Wow time sure does fly. Steven and Claire must be having heaps of fun with the new bub in the house. Have you been able to get out at all under the stars????

Darren

[astro_south]

Darren - they are loving the little brother concept. I have been getting out in the backyard and been imaging Jove with my digital camera - check out the beginner imaging comp in the solar system section for my results.

Have you warn out the bearings on your dob yet - or are they covered in cobwebs?

[dhumpie]

Sounds like you are still having a ball (and the kids too...now Steven will have a lil brother to impart his skills to :) How do you hold your camera to the ep? Do you have an adaptor???? And yes I have been out every clear night on weekends. Its harder to motivate myself on weekdays with the dobbie :) The dobbie also had a brief stint in the garage before moving back into its prime position next to our new couch...

Darren

[pluck]

This is a beautiful example of what is becoming a dying art. Please keep it up, and show us more as you produce them (or do you have a web site ?).

Paul

[astro_south]

Paul

Thanks for the comments. I don't have a website, but there are some more of my sketches floating around this site:

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showpost.php?p=55662&postcount=24
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showpost.php?p=66224&postcount=3
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showpost.php?p=55657&postcount=6
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showpost.php?p=44581&postcount=8
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showpost.php?p=41310&postcount=40
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showpost.php?p=44575&postcount=2

[jjjnettie]

Excellent work Andrew. Good on you for putting in the time and effort.