Survey (blog 5)

My final project helped me to bring together some of the skills I have learned over the quarter, as well as, research some new techniques. My most significant accomplishment would have to be completing a drawing from start to finish for the first time in about five years. Through using Photoshop I have found a connection once again to art that I have not had in years. I feel the urge to draw again knowing I do not have to learn how to paint with actual oils, acrylics, or any other form; Instead I can develop those skill in a more clean and productive manner through digital art. I had to use the mouse for painting so I incorporated the pen tool to keep me on track by making selections of areas I wanted to work in.

Shading realistically is a challenge creating something in 3ds max and shading is easily because it is handle by algorithms. Creating a shadow that is similar to real life in a drawing is not so easy when done on screen in Photoshop. First I had to figure out the best way to put on a shadow which is still a work in progress, I first used the burn tool, then blacks on a soft light layer which look good but don't shade whites, finally I now use darker colors relating to the area I was shading. 

My midterm project was not so easy to complete and convey meaning beyond flat images, whereas, with my final I was able to go into many layers and develop a more meaningful image. The image for my final is more refined and not so elusive as to what I was thinking when creating it. I could not determine how best to get my message across with the midterm I tried to use a smoke effect but to no avail. For the final I was able to create a cohesive drawing with a good depth.

Lost in the Technique (Blog 4)

           

            My big idea is exploration, more so exploration of myself and my abilities as an artist. I am attempting to bring meaning to my art through developing the skills necessary to create what I consider quality digital art. I choose a more original form, the creation of art from sketches done by hand the turned into line art in Photoshop. I would have sketched directly to a Photoshop canvas but I lack the tools to do so at this time. I would like to be able to express myself through digital art as I have gained an appreciation for how closely it relates to my interests in technology. Old fashioned paper is good but the ability to create art, at least for me,  through more advanced means is more appealing.

I choose to do a manga style image of my brother I thought it would be a good Idea to start with someone other than myself so that I did not get to enveloped in perfection. I think the image portrays my meaning very well. My brother is a self proclaimed rapper. He has built his own studio with some close friends and invest a great deal of time and effort into making quality music. A process which he has no formal training in, just as I have little to no formal training in creating art. The image conveys the message that the individual being portrayed is into music and singing given some of the elements included.

I have spoke with my brother and this will be an ongoing project where It will eventually end up as the artwork on his albums. I hope this comes to fruition as it will allow me to develop my skills and provide a cost effective means of acquiring album art for my brother.

I used a lot of hip-hop styles in my image to get my message across. I did some research into the creation of graffiti which I have come to appreciate through my experience on this project, here is some graffiti that I found inspirational as I feel like I draw at the images level regarding. I also looked up a lot of manga style art, most notably was the American cartoon The Boondocks. The manga-like style used was inspirational for my drawing. 

I used makeup techniques and painting techniques to get a more realistic looking character. I wanted more depth than your average manga, so I added more layers of colors to get a more realistic looking skin tone. A link to the makeup tutorial is here, and for painting I checked out this tutorial

 

Inspiring Artist

An artist I look to for inspiration is Stephen Wiltshire. I first discovered Stephens work while browsing YouTube for inspiration. He was drawing Rome from memory on a 10-meter long canvas. I can safely say I will not be doing work like that any time soon, however, his impressive attention to detail drives me. I would like to translate that attention to detail into my work. I have a hard time finishing a sketch because it is never good enough, so a lot of the time my pictures get scrapped. I haven’t drawn in quite some time, but I have recently been inspired to try again. Now that I can combine my passion for computer technology with my artwork I believe that I can achieve the desired effect in my work.

I found a digital artist after some exploring whose art is in line with my ideas, highly detailed and architectural. He uses a mixture of programs from 3ds max to Photoshop to create his art. While I have limited experience in 3ds I still find it to be a useful tool for creating 3d images with high detail.  Wabbit art has a mechanical, steam punk, and fantasy like appearance. I am inspired by his ability to create, render, and post touch images to make them appear that much better.  I wonder how these images a created, how is it that someone can achieve such high detail. Is it a good understanding of the software, talent, or both? I would like to try rendering an image from 3ds, however, I will have to do that on my own time. For my final project I feel inspired to do something involving Appleseed, whether direct or indirect. I would like to create a piece of artwork from scratch. I will use the artistic anime styling, high detail and futuristic mech look. The use of multiple programs my help me to achieve my final goal.

Other images by Wabbits can be found at:

http://fantasyartdesign.com/free-wallpapers/digital-art.php?i_i=1255&u_i=1220&count=1

Devil Eyes Tutorial

For this piece I followed a the Devil Eye tutorial at:
http://effects.worth1000.com/tutorials/161299/161299-devil-s-eye

On this layer I used Color blending option and chose an orange/yellow color to go over the eyes. I painted on an empty layer so that I could easily manipulate my work.

With this layer I added a hue/saturation filter to remove the health color of the skin and drain the color of the surroundings.

I added a Spotlight under filter>render>lighting effects to bring focus to the face on my duplicated background layer. I used an orange/yellow filter and positioned the spotlight above the head.

My last effort was to enhance the image. I went about adding a contrast , brightness , and hue/saturation layer. The contrast I applied to the entire image to bring out the furrowed brow. I used brightness to enhance the eyes. Finally I used hue/saturation to tweak the color of the eye until I reached the desired effect.

This image by Michael Kutsche is intriguing. The creature in the back of the image is large and misshapen. The creature is made of televisions and fabric from what appears to be couch cushions. The body is black with shades of grey appearing beast like with sinew muscles and ribs protruding. Its arms are wrapped in leather, and wires are protruding from the cushions on its back. The small wizened looking creature to the left of the image looks as if he is begging. His cup is held out as if to collect something. The creature looks like a holographic image. The final character to the right looks to be a pig with a man’s body. The body is disproportionate and hunched. The background is bleak telephone poles can be seen in the distance and a trailer can be seen behind the rocks. There are what appear to be lights streaking across the image as if from a large laser pointer. Two lights can be seen in the distance shining the light towards the trailer. The body of the large creature appears to be sickly as if consumed by the media about its head. This makes me think of someone who for to long has been sitting idly consuming media on the couch. It is as if the couch and television decided to try to devour the creature or person eating away the soul until a dried and fetid corpse is all that remains. The digital creature makes me think of a person who lives on the internet, wizened by the truths and half-truths as the beard makes me assume. The elongated nose gives rise to the notion of spreading lies about the internet in the futile attempt to get hits on a website, which is portrayed by the cup in the extended arm. The pig man looks to me like someone who has worked hard and feels unappreciated in the never ending cycle of bringing home the bacon. The hunched posture gives it the look of exhaustion. This particular piece is hard to read an took some time to figure out.

This image can be found at:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTb7HQZXzaPzk4ecU1SCTq0a5q3bc0cI4krtj1oxL3ktaXlbPLZCppqaXOsyraeFkTbg2mJtEdvfi9wwe5DDGtZhJIaJTiajBGrppgMZL8LTxOoruu8vU6nvRIwsAH1-LkxkaCGlQAW5U/s1600/Golem_by_Michael_Kutsche.jpg

This image by Michael Kutsche strikes me at first as a post-apocalyptic world the reality of what mutually assured destruction could create. The background is bleak and relatively low in detail. The ground is covered in what appears to be snow, but also looks like ash. Faceless and blurred people are moving about in the background. The foreground displays a man that is highly detailed. He is dressed in very warm clothes that look military in appearance. His backpack appears to be a large crate containing many bags of varying colors. The detail and coloring of the man and his luggage draw the viewer’s eye. His glasses and halfcocked smirk with a cigarette in the left side of his mouth give him the look of smug amusement. The dark colors portray an image of adversity. However, the large size of the man and his smile give rise to the notion of determination, strength, and adaptation. The contrast between the man in the foreground and the people in the background conveys the message that this man is not just an ordinary man. All of the people in the back are walking close to the walls while the main figure is marching straight down the middle of the roadway, giving further evidence of the difference between him and the others. The image as I stated earlier appears to be after nuclear fallout, possibly the likely aftermath of the cold war had it gone awry. The image makes me think of Russia. The military like garb and heavy clothing, also the look of the city. The city appears to be heavily fortified, and not so well planned. There is little evidence that the architecture work was done by someone with proper knowledge. The image portrays to me what the world could have been like had things happened differently.

The image can be found at:
http://michaelkutsche.com/works/