This was sign layout method pre-computer

[G-Artist]

I miss those days at times.

 

[American & Proud]

Thats cool looking I saved the pic. I may use it as my desktop pic. Thanks.

 

[SignosaurusRex]

Very Cool!
In those days we had less on the desk top and more on the floor as well as our hands.

 

[Gino]

My fingernails were always different colors and my pants could stand up in the corner by themselves from all the paint on them.

I had people that wanted to buy my paint stirrers, because they thought they looked so artistic. What a bunch of fools back then...... ha, still, too.

 

[Marlene]

I sure don't miss it at all! I love being able to change my mind quickly and not having to re-draw everything. also love that I can try on colors with a click of a button. it was cool to be able to draw it all out by hand, but not something I'd ever want to go back to.

 

[ddarlak]

i remember back in the late 80's a women came into the shop i was working at and said - "I'd buy those pants from you if they'd fit me"

 

[SignManiac]

I sure don't miss it at all! I love being able to change my mind quickly and not having to re-draw everything. also love that I can try on colors with a click of a button. it was cool to be able to draw it all out by hand, but not something I'd ever want to go back to.

+1

 

[thewood]

Someone posted this a couple of years back, and I've used it off and on for my desktop since then.

http://www.signs101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41434&highlight=wallpaper

 

[Arlo Kalon 2.0]

i remember back in the late 80's a women came into the shop i was working at and said - "I'd buy those pants from you if they'd fit me"

I still have a few pairs of those pants - they are a treasure from another time. I used to tell customers to select colors from the pants I was wearing.

 

[Billct2]

I'm with Marlene too. It great to be able to look at different altrernatives without completely redrawing. Of course I'm amazed that with the that capablity many designs are as bad as they are.
On the paint splatters...the first guy I worked for always kept a small masnite board by his bench and would occasionally use it to palette his brushes, he turned these into modernist multicolor nudes as he went. Nice way to pick up some extra cash from an amazed customer who just had to have it.

 

[Arlo Kalon 2.0]

I'm with Marlene too. It great to be able to look at different altrernatives without completely redrawing. Of course I'm amazed that with the that capablity many designs are as bad as they are.
On the paint splatters...the first guy I worked for always kept a small masnite board by his bench and would occasionally use it to palette his brushes, he turned these into modernist multicolor nudes as he went. Nice way to pick up some extra cash from an amazed customer who just had to have it.

I used to work with a signpainter who kept his fitches in a jar of thinner. He would take one out and mop the paint sludge all over a poster board and then take a razor blade and scrape it away to create artwork that was absolutely fantastic and original. I gave my grandma a "painting" of an old country church he did this way. The effect was incredible. Wish I had a pic to post.

 

[Marlene]

this is the front of my shop shirt. I've worn this for all my painting for years and it looks more like bad modern art than a shirt.

 

[SignManiac]

Bringing back memories of paint pallets. When I first started painting signs, I had a 1966 Chevy Impala station wagon, nicknamed the "War Wagon". I used the hood as a pallet and often stood on the roof or hood to install signs or letter bow registration #'s on boats. By the time I got rid of that car it had every 1-shot color on it somewhere and always smelled like gasoline that I used to clean out my brushes.

 

[Patrick46]

I guess I'm too 'old school' for my own good.

I still paint as much as I can, Gad how I HATE vinyl, (I'm still not comfortable using the 'puter to do my work on), I still drive my old 1950 'sign truck', I still wear my shop clothes, and the last 3 major layouts I did were using a paper & pencil.

(WOW...I'm glad my son is in biz with me!!!)

 

[Craig Sjoquist]

I sure am glad I still hand craft the signs and hand letter or paint the picture or graphic by hand

enjoy drawing up the design by hand and redrawing and redrawing even the day at job site
The last major job was a antique store I did the doors then a word or two on 4 other windows.. they handed me the words typed out in the font they wanted, we came up with from the last smaller store I did ... claiming we don't like the looks of vinyl. same for the next two stores I did because of not liking the looks of vinyl

So now I doing another upscale business awnings and main entrance and even there customers are coming up to me asking if I did the antique store and how good it looks

Yes I likes it ... customer just hands you some info and just knows when done it will look good..weeks, months, years later people are still commenting on your hand crafted work with a smile

Sorry but when I see vinyl anything if it's not a a great layout for advertising or killer graphics for art work .. does not see the skill in producing it..except somebody knows a software and has spent alot of cash to do that

I have a cheap cutter now have not done 10 jobs with it yet and mostly my own lol

 

[OldPaint]

i was fortunate to have know PAT KING, king sign Birmingham, al. old PAINTER. and he actually sold new white painter pants/bib overalls..................that he would make look like they was worn by a sign painter. his truck was done in the same way....................had splotches of all different colors on it. he passed away a few years back.

 

[Patrick46]

Yea...this mentality of "hey, you can push a button and knock this stuff out, and stick it on my truck" makes me ill.

my new next door neighbor to my shop is a contractor that just had his box truck completely wrapped by some guy (who doesn't even sign his own work), for $1200...that is layed out SOOOOOOO badly.....................(I'd love to post a pic, but I won't )
all my neighbor can think about is how cheap this job was to him. (idiot!)

sadly, people will probably tell him that they like it...'cause it's got a huge photo of a house being built, with a bunch of stuff stamped all over it.
People have no idea what a quality job is anymore.

and what's worse......is I have people asking ME if I did this truck?????!!!!!!!

 

[Gino]

Yea...this mentality of "hey, you can push a button and knock this stuff out, and stick it on my truck" makes me ill.

my new next door neighbor to my shop is a contractor that just had his box truck completely wrapped by some guy (who doesn't even sign his own work), for $1200...that is layed out SOOOOOOO badly.....................(I'd love to post a pic, but I won't )
all my neighbor can think about is how cheap this job was to him. (idiot!)

sadly, people will probably tell him that they like it...'cause it's got a huge photo of a house being built, with a bunch of stuff stamped all over it.
People have no idea what a quality job is anymore.

and what's worse......is I have people asking ME if I did this truck?????!!!!!!!

That's why you should need a permit to put some of this vulgar stuff out on the street where it can cause others harm.

I'd sue him for deformation of your business with his pitiful picture truck of obscene graphics by a hack.

Call him over and ask him how much it will cost for you to re-letter it and make it look professional. Yeah, that's right.... tell him you are willing to pay him to make it look good. Tell him you're losing business with his truck being parked in the neighborhood. It's a natural thought pattern and you're getting blamed.

 

[petrosgraphics]

times were a little dif. back then.... using graft paper to layout 10', 20' signs, using
charcoal sicks to do quick layouts on paper. projecting images on a wall to make them larger..... the good old days.....

 

[leerees]

We are all young in our sign shop although we do hand painted signs every once in a while as we have 2 customers that insist on it. I remember it taking us weeks to learn how to do it! Lucky we had someone to teach us really or we would have lost both the contracts.

I always enjoy these 2 jobs, hand sign painting is therapeutic and definitely makes a change from all the stress of vinyl and watching the printer head strike a 20 meter banner.

If you've never tried hand painting, learn it! there are still loads of unique ways you can apply this skill in the modern world. We print canvas pictures and hand paint on the shadows, it looks amazing!