Comics

Marko Djurdjevic has been a concept artist for Marvel for many years. I recently discovered this man’s work by browsing the web for anything relating to comics. Boy, I was not disappointed! The moment I saw his paintings, I was inspired by the energy his characters convey. His figures are designed in such a way that they are not standing still, just like Frazetta’s illustrations. The strength of his characters lie in the fluidity in form, as well as the force in which they move. Even though his works are static, they give the illusion of movement, as if they were animated.

Even his sketches are exemplary, containing the same energy as the finished work. The only difference is that the initial sketches are raw.

Alex Ross

Alex Ross has been an artist I have admired for quite some time, but since I am heavily studying art, I have discovered new aspects in his work. If you are unfamiliar with Ross, he is one of the top illustrators for Marvel, producing polished works that are so vivid. He mostly uses watercolor, adding additional polish with airbrush layers toward the end of each work.

The strength of Ross’s work is the realism they contain. Each character that he creates retains a personal element to them, as if they were real people. His illustrations are believable, almost diving into hyperrealism, in the sense that they aspire to something higher than photorealism into a lucid fantasy.

There is a notable disadvantage to Ross’s work that is a direct consequence of the advantages. The biggest knock against Ross is that his work is sometimes static. His sense of acute realism can sometimes stifle any sense of movement in his pictures. Below is a link to his website.

Infinite canvas

A friend of mine introduced me to the work of Scott McCloud, for which I am immensely grateful. I re-watched a lecture of his many times, and it can be found through this link.

The part of his presentation that struck me most was his talk of unconventional narratives. He mentions circular narratives and parallel narratives rather than the standard left to right comic layout. This blew my mind because I never really appreciated the possibilities that can be taken with this. What if there was a comic that had a layout like a spider-web? The sky’s the limit in this respect.

What I would mainly be concerned about when designing such layouts for comics is practicality. Would readers like experiencing such unorthodox comic layouts? The danger of breaking the mold too much would be that it would be too distracting and focus too much attention away from the story, which is the most important part of comics.

Slinkachu

If you stop by any Barnes and Noble, you should check out the Arts section. There was a book I came across that featured the work of Slinkachu. The book is called Little People in the City and offers a glimpse into the world of this particular artist. I didn't read the book very extensively, but I did get a lot out of it.

Slinkachu's work is fascinating because he creates miniatures that are smaller than a fly. The miniatures are generally people, living their day-to-day lives in a much bigger universe. As I flipped through the pages, I imagined what it would be like to be that small. Would I get eaten by spiders or other small predators? There was actually a picture of a small human with a rifle, killing a fly. The fly was shown dead on its back with the miniature human aiming the rifle.

I don't think you have to necessarily have to be interested in art in order to appreciate this work. Some people already feel small in the universe, why not observe from an even smaller scale?

Drawingboards

In my N240 class, we had to do an exercise in teams, where we all took the same set of storyboard drawings and rearranged them to tell different story ideas. I found this to be a great way of brainstorming different possibilities within constraints. Upon first doing the activity, I was under the impression that there was a very limited number of possible storylines that can be derived from the drawings. It turns out that the mind can come up with truly crazy ideas from very ordinary looking storyboards. For example, a car driving on a road can actually be a car driving upside down through a futuristic highway. Of course, the number of different story ideas can be dictated by a person's imagination as well as the number of drawings present.

Logos

Creating an effective logo is more difficult than most people imagine. When some people see the Nike symbol or Adidas, they say that they can easily do the same thing. Some equate being able to easily replicate the logo as being competent enough to coming up with effective logos. Ironically, creating such logos can be the hardest thing to do. Trying to conceive a design so minimalistic and memorable to the public is more a mental process than a technical process. The artist must take into account the psychological aspects of design, and consider different avenues to take that would best sell a brand and represent a company’s values.

Beatles Rock Band animation

The animation for Beatles Rock Band is stunning. Every movement takes you back to the time of Beatlemania, whether it be the mop-tops shaking their heads, or the screaming fans at Shea Stadium. I loved the transition between the Fabs' concert era and their more "experimental era" of music. They show the Beatles going up an elevator, with their dress changing to more colorful Sgt. Pepper uniforms. Once "I am the Walrus" plays, more CG elements are added in, which really give a different dimension to the piece.

The 2D animation at the beginning of the short is great and I think a lot of that has to do with the appeal of the character designs. The Fab Four look like themselves, but are slightly caricatured to give them a fresh look. All the characters are stylized, and the result is very appealing.

Keeping a Sketchpad Handy

I often find myself thinking up great ideas when I’m bored. For example, if I’m in math class, I come up with random story ideas or character concepts that I wouldn’t have thought of otherwise. Most of this happens when I’m not too conscious of creating anything relevant to art. Perhaps this is because we often think too much about creating and that rarely yields any good results. Whether you are a graphic designer, painter, or musician, forced work seldom leads to your greatest ideas. One should actively seek out things that inspire them but there's a difference between actively looking and trying too hard.

Where does inspiration come from?

I find it curious when people say that you should let inspiration happen naturally. I understand what they mean, but the sentiment behind it seems rather passive. One can always seek inspiration, simply by visiting museums or walking in the park. Hanging out with family and friends will suffice as well. The thing about any endeavor in the arts is that life is the main facilitator of creativity. Our experiences, who we meet, what we ate-all of these feed into our library of inspiration. The negative aspect of letting inspiration occur naturally is that people don’t actively seek out different experiences in life. They believe that a light bulb will occur when they sit down in front of a sketchpad.

Purpose of Found Objects

Is a spoon a work of art? How about a telephone? I used to think these were ridiculous questions, but if you think about it, they're worth asking. Taking a telephone and sticking it on a wall, with the intention of the phone being "art", makes it art because it takes it out of its context. The purpose for that phone is no longer to call someone or receive calls. As an art piece, the phone becomes an object of observation and close scrutiny. The meaning changed. You can say the same thing about traditional artwork. A painting is no longer a work of art if you strip it of its purpose. For example, if a painting is no longer considered "art" by society, its "meaning" changes as well. The painting can be used to get someone's attention by throwing it at a person's head. This act would make the painting a medium of violence and communication. Of course, I wouldn't recommend doing this since you might end up with a bloody nose.

Avatar

I really want to see this movie. Some of my friends say it's going to be mediocre at best, but in my opinion, they're approaching it from a plot point of view. Looking at the trailer, it looks like any blockbuster action movie, with the exception that there is significant innovation in terms of CG in this film. Critics of the film point out how predictable it looks based on one viewing of the trailer, which is understandable. I won't reveal exactly how predictable it is, since you can check out the trailer through this link.

I've come to accept that some movies are meant to be more "serious" in nature, in a sense that the filmmakers spent a lot of time creating a compelling story. Other movies are just for pure entertainment sake, an example being the Transformer series. People shouldn't necessarily go in with the attitude that every movie should be fine art. Knowing what kind of movie you're going to watch will make the experience more enjoyable.

Design Skills

I am used to hearing that drawing exactly what you see builds a foundation for an artist. "Traditional" drawing skills require an accurate rendering of what's in front of you. A common mentality is that one should have a good understanding of the mechanics of drawing before they move into abstraction. You know how the saying goes, "Don't break the rules until you learn them". Is realism really the foundation though? I find that an artist having solid ground from which to take liberties with future work is basic design sensibilities. If you take any image and break it down into abstract forms of line, color and form, you can essentially see the "structure" of the picture without the detail. The essence of any composition is the design. Once a person can understand basic design principles, he or she is that much closer to progressing as an artist rather than simply drawing what they see.

IMA

I went to the Indianapolis Museum of Art recently and noticed a blank canvas on the wall in the Contemporary Art exhibit. I considered the piece at first, but the piece left me cold. I don't have a problem with found objects being art, since I can appreciate the difference between its former meaning and current one, as well as looking at the object in a new light. However, when I'm confronted with a blank canvas, which is meant to actually be a painting, I become skeptical. I guess this is because I already have a set criteria for paintings such as design and composition. Once I read the description, I can appreciate the work better. I guess with paintings, I expect to feel moved, rather than forced to read a description about what the artwork means. This goes for any work of art though.

Design in Nature?

This topic is not about religion, since I don't associate with any form of organized religion. That being said, I can still appreciate the make-up of everything around us. I am still amazed when I look at the wings of butterflies, noting the symmetry of the design. Every detail is mirrored on the other wing, as if a craftsman painstakingly applied work to it. You can see the same thing generally in human faces, with a sense of symmetry. Of course, there are slight distortions in which one eye may be lower than the other as a result of genetics. All of this design is the result of information, or DNA, which to me seems like the unspoken artist of the universe.

Character Art

It's great seeing characters in animated films and video games fully expressed and realized, but how do they get to that point? Concept artists initially conceive ideas about how such characters should look and what their personalities are like.

From experience, I found that there are several effective ways to creating characters for animated films or video game art. One method is to observe animals and anthropomorphize the bodily features. Giving "animalistic" characters human features gives the intended audience a chance to connect with them better. Of course, you should realize that you do not always have to do this. Just remember that when creating concepts, you should keep in mind what kind of creature your making as well as how the personality is recognizable to an audience. If you look at any animated film or video game, you will see how the characters have human-like qualities. While giving the characters human features, an artist should also play with shape and form, experimenting with different aspects that would best convey that creature's characteristics.

Another way to conceptualize characters is to caricacture the faces of ordinary people. You can even do this by looking into a mirror and distorting your own face on paper. It's also fun playing with wardrobe, turning a t-shirt into a pirate's costume or some kind of medieval garb.

Analyzing Hokusai

It wasn't until recently that I really began to appreciate the work of Katsushika Hokusai, one of the greatest artists to emerge in Japan during the 19th century. I would go even further and say that he is among the greatest artists in history. Not only was he influential to the development of Japanese art, he also greatly influenced the West, inspiring the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists.

My recent appreciation of Hokusai mainly has to do with the graphic quality of his work. His pictures convey great depth despite the deliberate flatness of forms. What gives his prints such vitality are his elegant lines and bold colors. He wasn't interested in getting too meticulous with detail, but rather focusing on delicate line quality.

The picture at the top is Hokusai's magnum opus, The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, derived from his 36 Views of Mount Fuji.

Fantasia

As a kid, I was enthralled with the Disney movies, to the point of wearing out the tapes. In fact, I watched these films so much, my parents would sometimes "lose" several videos so that they can watch something else on television. Despite my love of Disney films, I never really understood Fantasia. The first time I watched it, I felt a bit detached since there was a lack of dialogue. What drove the whole film was music and pure animation.

As an aspiring animator looking back now, I can now appreciate Fantasia as a masterpiece. Everything about the film is iconic, from the dancing hippo to the army of brooms overwhelming Mickey. The music complemented the visuals immensely, reinforcing how the characters were feeling on screen. If there ever was a perfect artform, this film would be it. Fantasia has everything from painting, acting, animation, and music. In my opinion, the possibilities of art synthesis were explored here and are just the beginning.

Sculpture

What do you like better sculpting or painting? Being a painter, I have a natural bias towards painting, since I've been doing it longer. That being said, I am still in awe of anyone who can create in the 3rd dimension. The biggest disadvantage of painting is that the overall image is flat, unless dramatically raised textures are applied. With sculpture, there is no illusion of space, since the sculpture itself really does encompass an area. Instead of conveying form with color and shade, sculptors do so with mass and volume.

The other advantage sculpture has is that you can feel the work when encouraged, whereas you are generally discouraged to touch the surface of paintings. Having this tactile experience with a work can bring the audience closer to a work of art. I can see how some people feel detached from the paintings they see in the galleries, since they cannot go inside their worlds or feel the textures. With sculpture, when allowed, a person can touch the surface of the work, feeling the same thing the sculptor felt upon completion of the piece. Such an experience can give a person a better glimpse into the mind of the artist.

Fooood!!!

I never really paid too much attention to the way food was cooked or presented. I just ate without thought, regardless of whether or not I cooked the food in the first place. To me, food was just fuel, whose primary destination was my stomach. Recently though I have been admiring the skill it takes to cook really well, including the ability to make any meal as presentable as possible. This art requires design skills that can match a painter's. Not only does a cook have to meticulously bring ingredients together in harmony, he or she also has to compose the meal on a platter so that it entices the hungry customer even more.

Fear

Artistic procrastination is something that I am very familiar with and I think a lot of it has to do with fear. I often find myself coming up with grandiose ideas, but these ideas never manifest themselves. This mostly has to do with perfectionism and the fear of messing up a canvas or whatever surface I'm working on. This is probably true with most artists, not just me. The antidote to perfectionism is the realization that it is human nature to mess up. Making mistakes is what allows us to grow not only as artists but as people.

Motion

Modern society moves at such a quick speed that we rarely get a chance to stop and catch our breath. When we take a moment to pause and observe mundane tasks such as a person sipping a cup of coffee, we get to better appreciate what we're seeing. I often see things through an animator's lens. Everything we see on television is a series of still images spaced and timed so that you are under the illusion that these images move together seamlessly in real time. It's fun to sometimes imagine the world as an infinite canvas on which motion paths are the paint strokes. In other words, try to picture a basketball player in motion. Imagine his or her movement, spaced relative to position and speed. What you would see on the canvas would be a confident stroke of red as an aggressive player makes their way towards the rim. A dejected player on the losing team would be a couple strokes of blue, slowly moving toward the bench.

Immersion

How much immersion do audiences want in our culture? Ever since Morton Heilig conceived the Sensorama , technology has progressed to the point of allowing fantasy to traverse the boundaries of reality. I have observed that many clamor over 3-D because it invites them into the world they see on screen. They see characters pop out of the curved screen, perhaps even reaching towards them. IMAX is a playground for this mentality, engulfing the audience in this fantastic illusion called entertainment. All of this is great, but to what extent will it go. Virtual reality perhaps? I believe that it may reach a point in the future when the audience will be able to walk alongside the movie's characters, and perhaps even decide the outcome of the stories they see. This may seem a bit far-fetched, maybe unrealistic, but is it?

Even if this does happen, I want to go back to question I originally asked. In my opinion, I think audiences will always want to relinquish some control to the entertainers and storytellers. Regardless of the new plateaus technology reaches in terms of immersion, audiences will always want to sit back and relax once and a while.

Power of Story

The design of stories has always fascinated me when I was a kid, even though I rarely contemplated too much about them. I would be so caught up in the characters instead of paying attention to story construction. Anytime I read, I would imagine I was the characters in the books, whether they were pirates or cowboys. After reading A Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler and Hero With a Thousand Faces by John Campbell, I find myself analyzing a bit deeper, scrutinizing plot and theme. These two authors showed me that all stories are universal constructs that mirror human desires. Regardless of such barriers as geography and time, stories tell us something about the human mind and what we strive for when we dream.

When I deconstruct a story, I try to look for subtleties. In my opinion, a good story doesn't stress the theme too much, but instead quietly reinforces it with the characters' actions as well as the consequences of those actions. What I've observed most is that the people reading do not necessarily have to share the same experiences as the characters in the book in order to relate. Readers relate to the characters because of human traits like greed, love, or loneliness. One doesn't have to travel to Mordor in order to feel these things.
Despite the fact that I am not an author, I still study story to become a better animator. The act of storytelling is essential to the craft of animation, even if no words are used. Story is the driving force behind film and animation. Without a compelling story to tell, no amount of animation can save that.

All Mixed Up

Mixed media is art which an artist uses one or more creative mediums. For example, one can use bees wax, acrylic, and newspaper all in the same work. This form of creating can free a person up, allowing them to incorporate different textures and effects into their work. Sometimes, the incompatibility of certain mediums can result in intriguing outcomes on whatever surface the artist uses. Below is a link to mixed media artist Jazz Green. His work deals with textures and color more than refinement.


On the other end of the spectrum are mixed media artists who are more meticulous in their methods. An example of this is Gottfried Helnwein. He deals a lot with controversial topics, attempting to delve into the deep psychological aspects of art. Here is a link to one of his mixed media pieces.

http://www.helnwein.com/kuenstler/exhibitions/artikel_3604.html

Computers=Art?

I had an interesting conversation with a fellow artist a few weeks back and we talked the merits of the computer as an artistic medium. During the discussion, I was intrigued to discover that my friend didn't consider anything made by the computer art. This eventually led me to the realization that there are a good number of creative people who do not consider computer-made art real art. I mean art with a fine capital A. Computer art isn't ART?

Once I heard this opinion, we engaged in a VERY long conversation about it. The rationale of most artists who are against the computer as a medium suggest that it is merely a machine that detaches the creator form the subject. They see the computer as an oppressor of creative freedom, something that takes away the tactile relationship between an artist's hands with the paint and canvas.

I could definitely understand where she was coming from in this respect. As an artist myself, I enjoy using the computer for vector or raster art, but there are times when I do yearn for the traditional tools of paint and brush. I often crave for that intimate contact with the surface of the canvas or the muddiness of the oil paint. Nothing can replace the feeling of applying pigment in thick impasto onto the canvas, smelling the distinct aroma of the different paints.

That being said, the computer is still a legitimate medium. As a matter of fact, I'll go as far as to say that the computer is just as viable a medium as paints. To me the product is the most important thing to me, regardless of the fact that I consider the process to be crucial. In the end, the audience will only see the end-product, not the process. In my opinion any tool you can use to practice craft and ultimately create art is irrelevant.

Sandro Cluezo

http://n201designissuesindigitalmedia.blogspot.com/

Cluezo's character designs are relatively simplistic and the results are stunning. His way with breaking down forms into simple shapes is something to be in awe of, especially how he communicates so much without being too detailed. If you take a minute to look at one of his characters you'll see how rich they are in their conception. Negating detail, color, and shade, the essence of the form is expressed completely.

A great animator once said that superb character design has a recognizable sillhouette. This is true, especially when you see the character in shadow. When you look at Micky Mouse's sillhouette for example, you can clearly recognize who the character is. And by recognizing Micky Mouse, images of his movement and personality illuminate within your mind, perhaps reminding you of your childhood.

As an aspiring animator myself, I often find myself struggling to create a character with great appeal. Most of this has to do with a mental block that says that whatever I'm drawing has to be very detailed. What I've learned is that great character design often involves minimalistic execution, in the sense that anything superfluous is eliminated. Only lines or forms that are necessary for the most impact are included in the composition.