As this semester draws to a close I take a moment to sit back and reflect on things. I find that I've grown a great deal as an artist already, but I also know that I've a great deal more to learn. I've learned how important a strong work ethic is when you make art; if you can't spend a little time each day at the very least just thinking about your next project then you've failed. Forward thinking is integral.
I didn't take as much advantage of this blog's capabilities as I could have and for that I feel some regret. But although over the semester my posts may have been few and far between, I like having a running log of my thoughts as I grow and my work's quality matures. I'll definitely keep and maintain this site for as long as it serves this purpose. And one of these days I'll get a fancy flash site like Vik Muniz--then I'll have really made it!
It's been a turbulent year so far; filled with failure, heartbreak, and melancholy. I'm a survivor, and I survived it just as I knew I would. Perhaps I'm a little bit stronger for it. A little bit colder, a little sharper. I'll take what I've learned about myself and about the world, dust myself off, and keep trying. It's just a scrape after all.
While I may fall, and it'll be flat on my face, I've still got some fight in me!
Digital Contact Sheets
Hot off the presses! I just learned this.
So I'm clunking around in PS making a digital contact sheet by hand for Rebecca's class and I think to myself (as I often do), "there's got to be a better way!"
Indeed there is. You can whip up a digital contact sheet in seconds using a highly underrated little program that installs itself along with photoshop: Adobe Bridge.
Bridge is basically amazing; its effectively a file browser built specifically for images. It lets you preview raw files, which is huge since windows doesn't natively support that (not sure about mac). Helps you index and rename large numbers of files and keep your picture folders nice and organized, and lots of other nifty features. But lets talk about contact sheets.
When you open Bridge (CS4) you'll notice four menu options at the top right of the window: Essentials, FIlmstrip, Metadata, and Output. Output is where all the magic happens. give it a click and you'll be treated to a window like the one I have here. There's lots of fancy options you can tweak at your leisure (you'll notice I'm set up to make 5 columns of 4 images each, with a maximum of 20 images per page. See how fun multiplication is!?) When you're done just click Save and viola!
So I'm clunking around in PS making a digital contact sheet by hand for Rebecca's class and I think to myself (as I often do), "there's got to be a better way!"
Indeed there is. You can whip up a digital contact sheet in seconds using a highly underrated little program that installs itself along with photoshop: Adobe Bridge.
Bridge is basically amazing; its effectively a file browser built specifically for images. It lets you preview raw files, which is huge since windows doesn't natively support that (not sure about mac). Helps you index and rename large numbers of files and keep your picture folders nice and organized, and lots of other nifty features. But lets talk about contact sheets.
STALKER II
I make movies. I write a lot of stories and they usually end up being cool enough to adapt into these little short films. STALKER is my big project and its spanned years of production (for realz, not just laziness).
I also do most of the art direction and concept design for the series, so it occurred to me: hey dummy, those would make neat posts! So get ready to follow my progress on the newest installment to the STALKER family. Get ready for STALKER: Affliction. You'll forgive my lack of exposition regarding characters, factions, tech systems, etc but short of uploading the entire script it would take way too long to explain (and I'm not about to do that till its copywrited). So I'm just going to pretend like we both know what I'm talking about. ;)
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The Order Corporation's lead wetwork specialist, Lt. Michelle Jacurro, needs the right tools for the job if she is to be an effective fighter. Xira Wireless (an Order subsidiary) presents the X220 series Mirage™ holotool. Xira's Mirage™ employs the very latest in digital planar holography, using a transparent sheath of nanite optics fitted over the user's hand and forearm. The Mirage™ features encryption standards up to 1Mbit, making it ideal for military applications and sensitive data transfer between the Solaris network and ground interception forces. It is capable of providing the user with simultaneous live feeds of squad vital statistics including weapons, health, and mental condition monitoring along with satellite surveillance options and advanced hostile movement interpolation.
The Mirage™ is the ultimate in helmetless HUDs; see a Xira Wireless dealer for a hassle-free quote today!
I also do most of the art direction and concept design for the series, so it occurred to me: hey dummy, those would make neat posts! So get ready to follow my progress on the newest installment to the STALKER family. Get ready for STALKER: Affliction. You'll forgive my lack of exposition regarding characters, factions, tech systems, etc but short of uploading the entire script it would take way too long to explain (and I'm not about to do that till its copywrited). So I'm just going to pretend like we both know what I'm talking about. ;)
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The Order Corporation's lead wetwork specialist, Lt. Michelle Jacurro, needs the right tools for the job if she is to be an effective fighter. Xira Wireless (an Order subsidiary) presents the X220 series Mirage™ holotool. Xira's Mirage™ employs the very latest in digital planar holography, using a transparent sheath of nanite optics fitted over the user's hand and forearm. The Mirage™ features encryption standards up to 1Mbit, making it ideal for military applications and sensitive data transfer between the Solaris network and ground interception forces. It is capable of providing the user with simultaneous live feeds of squad vital statistics including weapons, health, and mental condition monitoring along with satellite surveillance options and advanced hostile movement interpolation.
The Mirage™ is the ultimate in helmetless HUDs; see a Xira Wireless dealer for a hassle-free quote today!
Midtorm?
As most art projects do, this one began to take on a life of it's own through the course of its life cycle. What was originally intended as an injection of sin into worlds untouched by violence and vice became an exploration of boundaries; what is acceptable to comment on in this cartoon context? One main parameter I had set in the beginning of this project remained intact--the fact that I drove myself to create "darkly humourous" imagery. Upon showing the class my final prints the consensus seemed torn between laughing at them and reporting me to Megan's Law. Ultimately this is the kind of uncomfortable environment I had sought all along, so in that vein I believe the project was a success.
Now that the dust has settled, I am free to share the less dark and more humorous rejects from the project. Enjoy a cheap thrill!
No ship that small has a cloaking device!
Active camouflage or adaptive camouflage, is a group of camouflage technologies which allow an object to blend into its surroundings by use of panels or coatings capable of altering their appearance, color, luminance and reflective properties. Active camouflage has the capacity to provide perfect concealment from visual detection.
In Fine Art
Desiree Palmen's Camouflage
In Cinema
John McTiernan's Predator
In Videogames
Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
In Real Life!
Susumu Tachi's cloaking projection system
In Nature?
Chameleons don't got shit on Octopi
Guitar Hero
This arrangement is just so haunting.
Wait for 5:40, then immediately think the kid is awesome as fuck.
Blu Hoo. Don't cry!
MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.
Blu is a street artist hailing from the far away land of Bologna, Italy. His most notable works are giant surrealistic murals painted over the course of days on the sides of Bolognan buildings and the video composites of him completing these works. The videos are just a delightful trip to watch, as objects and characters spring to life in the walls and crawl all over the ground and ceilings. This gives Blu's murals facets of multidimensionality and a surreal lifelikeness.
A lot of his work is politically motivated and at first Blu did works whilst raging against the machine, but as his skill and scale grew, so did his popularity with "the man." Now he regularly does openly permitted commission pieces and collaborations with other artists.
Link Bay
