Bonjour mon ami!
"French curves" are templates that artists use to create all sorts of curving-lines.
My assistant Chuck uses these curves expertly. I hope his work "floats your boat!"
The "CAPERNAUM"
I used French curves drawing the vessel
in pencil... then again in ink!
VIP INVITATION
My client sends these out inviting his clients for "a cruise on Lake Erie."
VOILA!
The finished pen & ink illustration is
matted, framed & includes a plaque!
"NEXT PAIGE"
I use India ink-washes to model the water and sky.
"TAKE FIVE"
4-Color Digital-art graces a "custom boat business-card."
"ON TIME"
Last summer, I displayed nautical artwork (dockside) on the back
of my client's boat... a 38 Chris Craft Commander!
French Curves aka the "Burmester Set" was invented by Ludwig Burmester (a German mathematician in the 19th century). French curves were in use long before, but it was Ludwig who formalized them by defining equations with a set of 28 useful curves. Generally they are sold as a set of 3: one for hyperbolas, ellipses and parabolas.
The predecessor to the curves were "Splines." Splines are thin pieces of bendable wood that were used to build curved-hulls of wooden ships. After the spline, several curve templates were introduced over the years, including sets from Denmark, England, Germany... and a set from fashion-designers in France called "French curves."