After a strong suggestion from a cool guy at AnimeBoston, I decided to cave and finally buy a nonphoto blue pencil.
Its fun~ I'm really enjoying using them, and the whole 'doesn't scan or photocopy' thing is really cool. :3
Go check 'em out.
Col-Erase Non-Photo Blue Pencil
(this works too -> Col-Erase Light Blue Pencil)
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Senior Art Presentation
The Senior Art Presentation in the Forman Gallery was absolutely amazing. All of the artists had beautiful work, and pushed the idea of art and how art is presented. It was truly a visual treat to walk through the gallery and see what the seniors had decided to present for everyone. My personal favorites were Gilian Barr’s work, Nicole Totaro’s work, and Emily Gilbert’s work (I apologize for any spelling mistakes, my notes got smudged).
Gilian Barr’s work was what initially drew me into the gallery. I became mystified by her projection project. I was drawn to the swirling colors, images broken up by the reflection on the mirrors. The idea of the work was to take color, and display it in such a way that the actual colors physically affected the viewer’s mood. Instead of these colorful animations being projected directly onto the white surface, they were projected onto a set of small mirrors board, which reflected the animation onto the white surface. This broke up the projected image, no longer a series of moving lines but now an experience of the color and motion. What was the most fun about this particular presentation was the interactivity of it. I spent quite a while just staring at the changing colors, slow blues and greens to the fast paced reds and yellows, only to change the mirrors and start the observation over again. I felt the physical affects watching the colors. It was amazing. Gilian’s presentation really submerged the viewer in the experience, making one consider just how much color impacts our life.
Nicole Totaro’s work was also incredibly interesting. There was an experience, walking into her walled off section of the gallery. It felt like walking into a space that was meant to be sacred, and private. Though the actual images the space was built around weren’t terribly impactful for me, the space itself was. I was mystified by the replication of altar space. Everything from the candles, to the bread, to the glass that was the same red tint as the glass found in churches. The pew was the most interesting for me, personally. For a moment, I couldn’t get myself to believe it was an actual pew. I spent quite a few minutes just staring at the pew, trying to wrap my brain around how the heck she got it there. Nicole’s concept was also very interesting, combining the vices and the virtues into the same being. Parallels drawn were thought provoking, such as Wrath and Faith especially since the two have been so entwined with each other in recent times. I enjoyed the touch of the prayer cards and the floor map, though I felt the inclusion of the ‘vices’ cloaks in the room was a bit much.
The last, and certainly not least, was Emily Gilbert’s work. I absolutely loved her work. Each photograph was impressive alone, with excellent compositions and just beautifully handled, but to see them arranged in the space was wonderful. I absolutely adored each character’s outfit, and appreciated the effort to give each character a unique yet fitting costume. Each detail from the chair, the pocket watches, the hat pins, and the tea sitting out and becoming stale and moldy was just perfect. I happened to be visiting the gallery with a friend who had been there earlier in the week, and she exclaimed “Ugh, it wasn’t that disgusting before”. Hearing first-hand the reaction to the time-based aspect of Emily’s work was a treat. Being a fan of the books Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll I enjoyed the set up and the constant references to the books, specifically the first one. The entire environment encouraged the viewer to look at each picture both individually, and as a whole piece, while guiding the viewer through the room. I absolutely love the false door. It makes us wonder what is on the other side, even though we know we cannot pass through. It makes us yearn to open it and walk through, to return to Wonderland. Truly, Emily’s presentation was inspiring.
Overall, the gallery was wonderful and quite fun to walk through. Being a freshman, this was the first review I was able to go to, and gave me a better idea at what a final project for art is. I am defiantly looking forward to next year’s presentations.
Gilian Barr’s work was what initially drew me into the gallery. I became mystified by her projection project. I was drawn to the swirling colors, images broken up by the reflection on the mirrors. The idea of the work was to take color, and display it in such a way that the actual colors physically affected the viewer’s mood. Instead of these colorful animations being projected directly onto the white surface, they were projected onto a set of small mirrors board, which reflected the animation onto the white surface. This broke up the projected image, no longer a series of moving lines but now an experience of the color and motion. What was the most fun about this particular presentation was the interactivity of it. I spent quite a while just staring at the changing colors, slow blues and greens to the fast paced reds and yellows, only to change the mirrors and start the observation over again. I felt the physical affects watching the colors. It was amazing. Gilian’s presentation really submerged the viewer in the experience, making one consider just how much color impacts our life.
Nicole Totaro’s work was also incredibly interesting. There was an experience, walking into her walled off section of the gallery. It felt like walking into a space that was meant to be sacred, and private. Though the actual images the space was built around weren’t terribly impactful for me, the space itself was. I was mystified by the replication of altar space. Everything from the candles, to the bread, to the glass that was the same red tint as the glass found in churches. The pew was the most interesting for me, personally. For a moment, I couldn’t get myself to believe it was an actual pew. I spent quite a few minutes just staring at the pew, trying to wrap my brain around how the heck she got it there. Nicole’s concept was also very interesting, combining the vices and the virtues into the same being. Parallels drawn were thought provoking, such as Wrath and Faith especially since the two have been so entwined with each other in recent times. I enjoyed the touch of the prayer cards and the floor map, though I felt the inclusion of the ‘vices’ cloaks in the room was a bit much.
The last, and certainly not least, was Emily Gilbert’s work. I absolutely loved her work. Each photograph was impressive alone, with excellent compositions and just beautifully handled, but to see them arranged in the space was wonderful. I absolutely adored each character’s outfit, and appreciated the effort to give each character a unique yet fitting costume. Each detail from the chair, the pocket watches, the hat pins, and the tea sitting out and becoming stale and moldy was just perfect. I happened to be visiting the gallery with a friend who had been there earlier in the week, and she exclaimed “Ugh, it wasn’t that disgusting before”. Hearing first-hand the reaction to the time-based aspect of Emily’s work was a treat. Being a fan of the books Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll I enjoyed the set up and the constant references to the books, specifically the first one. The entire environment encouraged the viewer to look at each picture both individually, and as a whole piece, while guiding the viewer through the room. I absolutely love the false door. It makes us wonder what is on the other side, even though we know we cannot pass through. It makes us yearn to open it and walk through, to return to Wonderland. Truly, Emily’s presentation was inspiring.
Overall, the gallery was wonderful and quite fun to walk through. Being a freshman, this was the first review I was able to go to, and gave me a better idea at what a final project for art is. I am defiantly looking forward to next year’s presentations.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
To Pose or Not to Pose...
As you've probably noticed, I've been putting a lot of artist's resources onto this blog. It makes sense since I myself am an artist, and I'm sharing the fruits of my laborious searches.
Today's site to share: Pose Maniacs
Now, it doesn't initially seem like that big a deal, but trust me, it is. This site is an English translation to a well established Japanese site of a similar name. The premise? A site full of anatomically accurate 3-D rendered models in different positions, at different angles, for free. The site has 12 pages worth of common poses that can be viewed at just about every angle with an adjustable camera angle. What else could you want? The site even has faces and hands now.
Do you feel the worth of this site yet? No? What if I told you it even has drawing exercises like the 30-second Pose Challenge?
Still no? How about having it on your iPhone?
Seriously, check it out.
Today's site to share: Pose Maniacs
Now, it doesn't initially seem like that big a deal, but trust me, it is. This site is an English translation to a well established Japanese site of a similar name. The premise? A site full of anatomically accurate 3-D rendered models in different positions, at different angles, for free. The site has 12 pages worth of common poses that can be viewed at just about every angle with an adjustable camera angle. What else could you want? The site even has faces and hands now.
Do you feel the worth of this site yet? No? What if I told you it even has drawing exercises like the 30-second Pose Challenge?
Still no? How about having it on your iPhone?
Seriously, check it out.
Scrap House
Recently, I attended a movie at my college called Scrap House. It was a documentary by Anna Fich created in 2005, detailing the creation of a house made completely from, well scrap. The house was made in honor of World Environment Day hosted in San Francisco around the same time.
The rules of Scrap House were simple:
1) Must be completed in 4 weeks.
2) No new material can be bought to build the house. Everything must be salvaged, with the exception of nails and screws.
3) The finished house must not only look great, but also comply to San Francisco's building codes which are some of the strictest in the States.
The head of the project was Building Inspector Laurence Kornfield, the main architect was John Peterson, the Scrap Guru was Flash, the Structural Engineer Han Bruskuvich, and last but not least John Pollard was the Contractor.
Scrap House itself was an insane idea to begin with. The plans were to build a modern two story house with 21 foot ceilings, a project that the team would of been lucky to finish in a year. They had a month. Not to mention they had to rely on the junk yards of San Francisco to fully build and furnish a house.
In the end, the result was a beautiful house. It was modern, gorgeous, and inspiring. Every part of the house was thrown away by someone else, yet all the pieces were beautiful and far from broken. It really makes one reconsider how we think of our trash. The amount of material that the US alone wastes in a year is astronomical. Did you know every building project buys 5% more windows than it needs? This alone results in thousands of dollars worth of unused, perfectly good double-paned glass that ends up in a landfill somewhere. Not to mention the amount of building material that is tossed when we tear down houses to build new ones. This team built an absolutely huge house, for next to nothing just by calling around and actually reusing what so many throw away.
Movies like this really make you think. Are we truly trying to recycle? Are we really taking every opportunity to actually use the raw material that we spend so much money trying to attain? Building projects of this caliber are far from impossible for the average person to imitate. Scrap House isn't the only project of its kind either. You'd be amazed at the amount of alternative housing options that are out there, that not only cost thousands less but are better for the environment.
We as a race cannot keep wasting the amount of resources that we do, and expect to be able to continue to live on this planet. Already our resources are running low, and our planet is dying. Its not irreversible, but it will be soon. If we want to continue to be able to breathe, we want to start rethinking how we live.
One man's trash can be another man's house.
The rules of Scrap House were simple:
1) Must be completed in 4 weeks.
2) No new material can be bought to build the house. Everything must be salvaged, with the exception of nails and screws.
3) The finished house must not only look great, but also comply to San Francisco's building codes which are some of the strictest in the States.
The head of the project was Building Inspector Laurence Kornfield, the main architect was John Peterson, the Scrap Guru was Flash, the Structural Engineer Han Bruskuvich, and last but not least John Pollard was the Contractor.
Scrap House itself was an insane idea to begin with. The plans were to build a modern two story house with 21 foot ceilings, a project that the team would of been lucky to finish in a year. They had a month. Not to mention they had to rely on the junk yards of San Francisco to fully build and furnish a house.
In the end, the result was a beautiful house. It was modern, gorgeous, and inspiring. Every part of the house was thrown away by someone else, yet all the pieces were beautiful and far from broken. It really makes one reconsider how we think of our trash. The amount of material that the US alone wastes in a year is astronomical. Did you know every building project buys 5% more windows than it needs? This alone results in thousands of dollars worth of unused, perfectly good double-paned glass that ends up in a landfill somewhere. Not to mention the amount of building material that is tossed when we tear down houses to build new ones. This team built an absolutely huge house, for next to nothing just by calling around and actually reusing what so many throw away.
Movies like this really make you think. Are we truly trying to recycle? Are we really taking every opportunity to actually use the raw material that we spend so much money trying to attain? Building projects of this caliber are far from impossible for the average person to imitate. Scrap House isn't the only project of its kind either. You'd be amazed at the amount of alternative housing options that are out there, that not only cost thousands less but are better for the environment.
We as a race cannot keep wasting the amount of resources that we do, and expect to be able to continue to live on this planet. Already our resources are running low, and our planet is dying. Its not irreversible, but it will be soon. If we want to continue to be able to breathe, we want to start rethinking how we live.
One man's trash can be another man's house.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Artanatomy
As an artist, I'm always looking for new references and new ways to improve my art. After a while though, Google-ing different expressions and emotions become tiresome. Thankfully, a company in the UK created an interactive program that can be manually adjusted.
The program is called Artnatomy. Though the program itself, is a pay to use program, a free version is available online that works just fine. Each part of the face can be individually manipulated to create new expressions. There are also preset expressions that can be adjusted, so if you're looking for a specific emotion its there for you.
Its not a replacement for an actual model, or for that miraculously fount Google image, but its reliable and a great reference.
Check it out~
(free version, just in case you get lost)
The program is called Artnatomy. Though the program itself, is a pay to use program, a free version is available online that works just fine. Each part of the face can be individually manipulated to create new expressions. There are also preset expressions that can be adjusted, so if you're looking for a specific emotion its there for you.
Its not a replacement for an actual model, or for that miraculously fount Google image, but its reliable and a great reference.
Check it out~
(free version, just in case you get lost)
Hotel 626
Do you want horror? Do you want interaction?
In this world of new video games and constantly upgrading technology, it only seems fair that the world of online gaming would follow suit, and up the bar.
And up the bar they did.
Hotel 626 is one of the few corporate sponsored online games that holds its own against the independent internet game creators not only in graphics but also in game play. Usually, when a major company makes an internet game to advertise, they look gorgeous but are almost child-like in gameplay. The reverse is usually true as well, the independent game creators have horrible graphics but amazing gameplay. In Hotel 626 these two aspects are not only happily wed, but new ideas are thrown into the mix.
Its recommended to play this game with a webcam and microphone, but you don't need them. Also, a phone to be contacted on is a good thing to have. You never know when someone important is calling...Oh, and check in begins at 6pm, so you might have to wait a bit.
Turn down the lights, turn up the sound, and be prepared for one awesome ride.
In this world of new video games and constantly upgrading technology, it only seems fair that the world of online gaming would follow suit, and up the bar.
And up the bar they did.
Hotel 626 is one of the few corporate sponsored online games that holds its own against the independent internet game creators not only in graphics but also in game play. Usually, when a major company makes an internet game to advertise, they look gorgeous but are almost child-like in gameplay. The reverse is usually true as well, the independent game creators have horrible graphics but amazing gameplay. In Hotel 626 these two aspects are not only happily wed, but new ideas are thrown into the mix.
Its recommended to play this game with a webcam and microphone, but you don't need them. Also, a phone to be contacted on is a good thing to have. You never know when someone important is calling...Oh, and check in begins at 6pm, so you might have to wait a bit.
Turn down the lights, turn up the sound, and be prepared for one awesome ride.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
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