3 Ways To Use Your Drawing Templates

Feb 4, 2020

I’ve put lots of time and effort into hand drawing a huge collection of tables and chairs to save you valuable time and give you an artistic, custom and high-end feel to your concept illustrations. 

Here are three ways to prepare your drawing templates before you begin adding in the details.

1 | Print & Draw

  • Pick a template from the shop with the right combination of table shape, table covering and chair style.  There is a huge collection of templates to choose from that include Chiavari chairs, King Louis chairs, ghost chairs, and cross back chairs as well as rectangle or round tables and tables with linen and without.
  • Print out the templates.  For a professional look use bleed-proof marker paper or high-quality print paper.
  • Start drawing your table decor and floral installations straight onto the template. 

This is great for design consultations and creating visions of your concepts with your vendors.

TIP: Print multiple templates and create a selection of design options, then once you have a final concept, trace over it and create a neat final version for your presentation.

2 | Trace Outlines

If your table concept involves items that overlap some of the outlines of the template then trace over the areas you do need before adding in your decor elements.

Sometimes items such as floral centerpieces, candles, and chair decor need to be drawn before tracing over the table outlines.

TIP: Trace over the template very lightly before adding your decor elements, then finish the illustration by going over only the lines you need in a darker pencil or pen.  

3 | Upload To Digital Illustration Software

The quickest (and my favourite) way to create a tablescape illustration is to use digital software.  I am a big fan of Procreate but you can also use Photoshop and many other apps on your desktop and tablet.

Using digital software is beneficial as it allows you to create quick sketches as well as detailed fully rendered images.  You can utilize the layers to create copies of your decor elements, such as place settings, so you only have to draw them once.

Once you have downloaded the drawing template of your choice, simply upload it to your app and start drawing straight on top of the outlines or if you are creating a final neat illustration then you can trace the outline within the app.

TIP: Use layers within Procreate to draw each element to your design so you can show and hide each of your design options live with your couples.