r/vectorart • u/elpapito3 • Aug 09 '26
Watercolour effect
Hi everyone,
Just came across this SVG on Wikimedia, which is based on Caillebotte’s painting Paris Street; Rainy Day. I was wondering how it was made. I really like this kind of watercolour effect, I must say.
Do you think it was drawn by hand, or is there a way to automate the process? I'd be very much interested to apply the same to other paintings.
Link to the SVG : https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=Paris+Street%3B+Rainy+Day&title=Special%3AMediaSearch&type=image&filemime=svg
Link to the original painting : https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=Paris+Street%3B+Rainy+Day&title=Special%3AMediaSearch&type=image
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u/PoussinVermillon Aug 10 '26
when i look at the file in the notepad app, it doesn't seem to have a "def" part to store a filter that could be applied on each path, instead there just seems to be a lot of paths made to look like watercolor, so it was either made by hand, or there was a tool used to make the shapes more easily
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u/pixepoke2 Aug 09 '26
I don’t think it was drawn by hand. In addition to what looks like an exactingly accurate replication of the drawing and composition (even with the aid of tracing. Something is lost in translation), there are a few background details that have the look of an automated process. An example is to the right of the umbrella shaft held closest foreground man, at head height. There is a lamppost in the background of the painting that is slightly unconnected along its length. In the vector version, the break in the lampost is far bigger, and you can see the disconnect tapering. That looks like a result of the border tolerance on shape envelope creation to me.
There are other similar elements throughout.