San Francisco Sketches

Above: Coit Tower
I've decided to post a few of the San Francisco sketches that I've been working for "Topaz Diary."  Fred Hoshiyama spent many, many years of his life in the bay area, both before and after his camp experience at "Topaz." I've made a number of mood sketches that try to capture the personality of the city.

Above: Depression era San Francisco, top... the way most people saw it, in contrast with the bottom sketch, which is how Fred described the city. "It was like heaven!" He said... "For a nickel you could get in a street car and ride anywhere you wanted in the city. With the flick of an electric switch you had lights!"

 Above:  Two views of the "Golden Gate Bridge."

I'm still searching for the exact style of this section of the film. But I know that I want it to be light, and playful.  Dreamy and optimistic... saturated, and colorful... attempting to depict the way that many young people see the world. I've planned many of my sketches to be low angles looking up. Or  set from a lofty point of view to capture this optimism.

Above: A re-post of a bridge sketch to show the contrast of Fred's world after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The palette of the film will be more somber, and the angles more grounded. This was one of the low points in Fred's life, and I hope to depict that through the art. Fred's life took on a new direction because of the war. In spite of hardship, Fred always found a way to make the best of things, and because of this, discovered  his true calling.

Bridging the Gap

Above: The iconic "Golden Gate Bridge."

The "Golden Gate Bridge" in a way, has become THE symbol of San Francisco. It is difficult to imagine what the city was like before there were ribbons of concrete and steel connected the city to the rest of the world. "Before the bridge was built, the only practical short route between San Francisco and what is now Marin County was by boat across a section of San Francisco Bay."  The bridge symbolized San Francisco's step  into the modern age.

When Fred Hoshiyama first came to live in San Francisco in 1930, he was 16 years old; the "Golden Gate Bridge" existed only on paper.  By the time construction on the bridge was finished in 1937, Fred had become a man, and was entering college.  I would like to show this parallel of "growth and construction" in the "San Francisco" sequence of  "Topaz Diary."    With Fred working, learning, studying, all the while the bridge being built in the backdrop.

Below:  "The bridge-opening celebration began on May 27, 1937 and lasted for one week. The day before vehicle traffic was allowed, 200,000 people crossed by foot and roller skate."

Fred, and all other Americans of Japanese descent were forced to leave San Francisco for concentration camps such as "Tanforan," and "Topaz" in early 1942. It was a dark time in American history.

Above: A concept sketch of the "Golden Gate," As imagined just before Fred was forced to re-locate to the concentration camps.  After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the "Golden Gate" was heavily guarded, and air ships would fly up and down the bay, looking for submarines, and any other enemy activity. 

The photos in this post are from the wonderful collection at the San Francisco Public Library.