A work-in-progress graphic for the "Green Product Design Network" contest.
Revisions to come... possibly.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Abstract Self-Portrait: A Retrospective Collage... of Sorts
A retrospective collage as it relates to home and ideas of home and what home means to me. Collages are usually photographic in nature and while I used the visual realm to express it, what I was going after was a more subconscious collage: memories. Injected upon the unquestionable visual element are the others remembered elements which lay just as valid in some part of my mind.
I tried to capture the memories that came to mind when I looked at this picture, a photograph I took of a walk path near my California home. It's interesting, but after I created this, I felt that it was more honest and felt more like home and more my own than the original photo.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Blender Basics: Composite
First attempt at compositing an image with a render within Blender. There are some angle and lighting issues, but for the most part it feels pretty good to me. I'd like to mess around with this more to get a more seamless combination of the two elements.
Sculpting Projects
First model using the sculpting mode. It's wonky but keeps the feeling I'm looking for. Creepy!
Elvin alien... thing.... Um, yeah.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Collage
I really dislike making collages. I'm going to have to rework this. I know emotionally and aesthetically what I want to go for, but for some reason I can't get this to visually manifest. I'll explain more on this when I get more... "there".
Monday, October 18, 2010
Blender Basics: Mantis
Oh god, don't get me started on the mantis. Extrude you are my new best frienemy. I learned a few valuable lessons:
1) pay attention to overlapping meshes
2) mirror is your friend
3) don't apply a mirror if your'e not done dammit!
4) learn more lighting for cricket's sake!
Again, a challenging undertaking, but I'm pretty pleased with the results.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Blender Basics: Arrays
The Array project was a test in patience... and the integrity of my poor video card. I had no clue how intensive adding arrays could get, but I somehow managed to bogg down my PC enough while creating and rendering that I ALMOST wasn't able to render the last two of these.
For this one I went simple to get the feel of how arrays work.
I created a somehow organic feel with rather inorganic shapes. I still feel this is indicative of some kind of scaled, boned and clawed reptilian creature like a dragon.
Added a plane and tweaked with lighting. I still have a lot to learn in the lighting department.
For this one I went simple to get the feel of how arrays work.
I created a somehow organic feel with rather inorganic shapes. I still feel this is indicative of some kind of scaled, boned and clawed reptilian creature like a dragon.
Added a plane and tweaked with lighting. I still have a lot to learn in the lighting department.Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
A Drawing A Day - Sketchbook Dump 10/7
I missed the very first day for drawing... maybe the second day as well, but I did start the drawing a day sketchbook assignment.
I kind of think of this as shaking the dust off. It's been a long time since I've put anything in a sketchbook.
Again, shaking some dust off, but this time in relation to drawing a landscape, and seeing a landscape, each of its parts. This was almost a preparation for the first landscape project. I stopped at the park on my way home and enjoyed the composition of the scene and tried to capture it quickly in pen. Getting myself to have an idea, translate it and express it in line and to do it quickly, quickly, quickly.
An interesting thought on my way home. I love the look of cobblestone and river stone mortar structures. This was a well someone had in their front yard which was growing over with weeds, grass and little flowers. I wanted again to take a snapshot of this in my sketchbook, but quickly. I did it as I walked, sketchbook right in front of my nose.
I drew these each individually but in order from the top first to the bottom last and in one hour long shot. I love figure drawing, gesture drawing and continuous line drawings. I often try a combination of the parts when I allow myself to draw for the pure, selfish and intimate joy of drawing.
I did not intend for these to be shown in a grouping like this, but for some reason I enjoyed seeing it that way. It has a strange narative quality to it. Perhaps I see it as revealing some sort of internal dialoage or observation I was subconsciously having or making as I progressed from one sketch to the other. I can almost see an intelligent deduction and what information I found most interesting and my decision on where and how to communicate that information. I enjoy these.
No big story here. There's a strange seed/nut/fruit thing that in my ignorance of nature I have never seen (or perhaps more truthfully never paid attention to) before. I picked it up one day and carried it around with the hopes of drawing it, but never got around to it until the other day when I thought about it for some strange reason. I drew it simply because I was thinking about it. So, a little fun drawing and I have to admit, a little experimenting. I am just now breaking into art journals and the concept of art books, but the use of words/text is an element I have a lot of trouble with. It's uncomfortable (for some reason) for me to include text into my drawings. I'm a bit clumsy with it at this point, but I think with time I might settle into it and learn to utilize text as a creative drawn element.
For now I have to admit I'm pumping out a lot of crap. It's like mental warm ups or a re-introduction to a long forgotten friend.
Hello pen, it's been a while. I forgot how it felt to hold you. I forgot what lines flow from your tips as my hands manipulate you across surfaces. I forgot the zen-like state I can so easily fall into, leaving the rest of the static of the world behind me.
It feels good to draw again, but I find myself at a strange impasse where I no longer feel like I draw for myself. Everything is a task, is a directive, is a weighted job that requires critique and scrutnization. Without that familiar context I seem to find it very difficult to engage the creative process. Very little art is/was done for the self, my self, over the past few years and that has left me feeling a bit disconnected, disjointed and disheartened about the entire process.
My mind is buzzing and afire with thoughts of what someone else will think, desire, see and ultimately experience when then look at what I do. In many ways this has been a benifit to me as I can create on demand and to order, however, I also feel like it's been a hinderance because it's kept me boxed into a very comfortable and specific zone of creativity, or a lack thereof. I seriously digress though. This leaves me at a quandry. Now I need to shake things up. I do want to push myself out of my comfortable little box and into more exciting areas of self-motivation and enjoyment. I'd like to be an artist because I want to be and I enjoy it. Where to go from here and how to re-introduce myself to that long lost friend is my current investigation.
I kind of think of this as shaking the dust off. It's been a long time since I've put anything in a sketchbook.
Again, shaking some dust off, but this time in relation to drawing a landscape, and seeing a landscape, each of its parts. This was almost a preparation for the first landscape project. I stopped at the park on my way home and enjoyed the composition of the scene and tried to capture it quickly in pen. Getting myself to have an idea, translate it and express it in line and to do it quickly, quickly, quickly.
An interesting thought on my way home. I love the look of cobblestone and river stone mortar structures. This was a well someone had in their front yard which was growing over with weeds, grass and little flowers. I wanted again to take a snapshot of this in my sketchbook, but quickly. I did it as I walked, sketchbook right in front of my nose.
I drew these each individually but in order from the top first to the bottom last and in one hour long shot. I love figure drawing, gesture drawing and continuous line drawings. I often try a combination of the parts when I allow myself to draw for the pure, selfish and intimate joy of drawing.
I did not intend for these to be shown in a grouping like this, but for some reason I enjoyed seeing it that way. It has a strange narative quality to it. Perhaps I see it as revealing some sort of internal dialoage or observation I was subconsciously having or making as I progressed from one sketch to the other. I can almost see an intelligent deduction and what information I found most interesting and my decision on where and how to communicate that information. I enjoy these.
No big story here. There's a strange seed/nut/fruit thing that in my ignorance of nature I have never seen (or perhaps more truthfully never paid attention to) before. I picked it up one day and carried it around with the hopes of drawing it, but never got around to it until the other day when I thought about it for some strange reason. I drew it simply because I was thinking about it. So, a little fun drawing and I have to admit, a little experimenting. I am just now breaking into art journals and the concept of art books, but the use of words/text is an element I have a lot of trouble with. It's uncomfortable (for some reason) for me to include text into my drawings. I'm a bit clumsy with it at this point, but I think with time I might settle into it and learn to utilize text as a creative drawn element.For now I have to admit I'm pumping out a lot of crap. It's like mental warm ups or a re-introduction to a long forgotten friend.
Hello pen, it's been a while. I forgot how it felt to hold you. I forgot what lines flow from your tips as my hands manipulate you across surfaces. I forgot the zen-like state I can so easily fall into, leaving the rest of the static of the world behind me.
It feels good to draw again, but I find myself at a strange impasse where I no longer feel like I draw for myself. Everything is a task, is a directive, is a weighted job that requires critique and scrutnization. Without that familiar context I seem to find it very difficult to engage the creative process. Very little art is/was done for the self, my self, over the past few years and that has left me feeling a bit disconnected, disjointed and disheartened about the entire process.
My mind is buzzing and afire with thoughts of what someone else will think, desire, see and ultimately experience when then look at what I do. In many ways this has been a benifit to me as I can create on demand and to order, however, I also feel like it's been a hinderance because it's kept me boxed into a very comfortable and specific zone of creativity, or a lack thereof. I seriously digress though. This leaves me at a quandry. Now I need to shake things up. I do want to push myself out of my comfortable little box and into more exciting areas of self-motivation and enjoyment. I'd like to be an artist because I want to be and I enjoy it. Where to go from here and how to re-introduce myself to that long lost friend is my current investigation.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
A Simple Drawing
The idea was to take the simplified (mostly) shapes of the landscape and try somehow to translate importance and some kind of interesting quality or character into each one.
I immediately found this tremendously challenging from the angle of time and detail alone. The bridge took hours to complete because there were so many elements to it. I did decide to omit certain element I though might be too cluttering and/or distracting like nuts, bolts, marks on the wood and metal, and so forth.
I also found the process of intelligently simplifying the shapes to be a bit challenging as well. I wanted to avoid anything too infantile--which I thought would look like Legos, not a bad idea, but not what I wanted--but I also had to struggle to keep from reverting to my typical desire for highly detailed accuracy.
I also wanted to play with the line width to emphasize distance in space and visual importance/interest.
I feel that the trees are the most successful elements and the bridge, while interesting, is lacking something, but I'm not yet sure what. I'll try to revisit this until I figure it out.
UPDATED:
So, I got some feedback on this. I guess realism creeped up and smacked me on the side of the head. I had wanted to keep this simplified and although I did complicate shapes, I believe this is a more pleasant and readable balance of simple form and readability. Overall it feels less blocky, less immature and more refined and finished. I'm pleased with it.
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