Plan the views before a venue or a street
Walk a place on a map, list the angles, then draw from what you shoot or from what you are allowed to keep.
Caricature nights and location illustrations both fail when you discover the light at the door. A map visit is preparation. It is not the drawing.
Tools
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Google Earth
A way to walk a street or a venue before you pack the sketchbook.
Google Maps
Street View and the practical route to the place.
PureRef
The board where the views you actually need are pinned.
Claude
Turns your notes into a shot list for the visit.
How to do it
- 1
Write what the picture is for
A lobby where you will sit with a board, a corner for a workshop poster, a street for a background. One sentence.
- 2
Walk it in Earth and Street View
Note doors, ceiling height, where the sun is in the afternoon, and where a crowd will block you. Screenshot only what you need for that sentence.
- 3
Turn notes into a list
Give Claude the notes and ask for a short shot list a person can do in ten minutes on site. Delete anything theatrical.
- 4
Replace the map with your photos
On the day, shoot your list if the venue allows photos. Pin those on PureRef. Street View is the plan, not the file you trace into a finished background.