user error: ##untitled

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!

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. ;)



-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

 From the depths of the internet comes a boy! A guitar prodigy that makes your boyfriend's band look like a bunch of sissypants hacks! He's been playing all his life, and shows no sign of stopping. Hell, I already want to give him a job. Sungha Jung from South Korea is a true life guitar hero, and for your viewing pleasure I've arranged a short video and a long video. Start with the short one while you still think you're too busy to listen to the long one, then realize you might have more time than you think.

 

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

• An Interview With Blu
  
• Blu Homepage

Dan Brown's Project Description Form

Project Name:

The Stinky Cheese Dan, and other fairly stupid tales.

Project Description:

I've always loved cartoons. I consider them to have a great deal to do with shaping what a child will become in their adolescent years. There is power in cartoons. They were perfect little worlds with no real pain and suffering. Friends remained friends for years and did not change. Life-changing problems were solved in 30 minutes of adventure. Even death was temporary.

When I was little there was nothing I yearned for more than to become part of the on screen action. I knew well and good that this was impossible, but all the same it's what I wanted. Now, using technology this is finally possible, to a degree.

I intend to composite myself into a number of different animated settings. Timeless classics and modern marvels alike. I will attempt to mimic the appearance of the denizens of the world in which I will be a guest. Most importantly, I will show the impact of a “real” human being upon these virgin worlds. I will be out of place, unwelcome, and a blight on their world; bringing with me only crime, pain, sadness, and death.

Conceptual Concerns:

The folly of Man is my project's central idea. From the Bible to the Matrix, everyone knows that Man is as capable and adept at destruction as we are at creation. I'll be juxtaposing these capabilities by destroying something that was previously created.

Technical Skills Covered

My first action will be to scour the net and my own dvds for source material. Once I have my scenes, I'll begin photographing myself in a studio environment. Then the boring part's over!

Thankfully I have the power of Photoshop to aid my endeavors in this project. If I didn't have it in my toolset my project would be a silly cut and paste exercise. It still will be, mind you, but I'll be doing all sorts of liquefaction, blur, lighting and color matching, and image reconstruction on top of cutting and pasting myself into these scenes.

Formal Guidelines:

Describe the basic form of the project in terms of medium, size, quantity, presentation form. This is also where you will set a due date. *Note: due date flexibility will be discussed in class.

I'll present my prints matted with a 2in border. The prints themselves will be 16inx12in, using the same 4:3 aspect ratio found on older televisions. You could also call it “full screen.” The size will be the same as a television marketed at 20in (diagonally). I want to do 6 images, and should have them all completed and ready to present on the 29^th of October, 2009.

Artistic References

Of course, visionary cartoonists like Chuck Jones, John Kricfalusi, and Shirow Masamune were inspiration for this project. But in deciding to take it into the direction of the macabre, I looked to one of my favorite children's books. Lane Smith, the illustrator of The Stinky Cheese Man, and concept designer for movies like James and the Giant Peach and Monsters Inc. gave me some ideas of where I want to take my own character as far as distortion and darkly humorous imagery are concerned.

Readings Watchings

• Roadrunner & Coyote shorts
  
• Sylvester & Tweety
  
• Ren & Stimpy
  
• Ghost in the Shell
  
• Transformers
  
• Voltron
  
• Pokemon
  
• Spongebob Squarepants
  
• South Park
  
• Rocky & Bullwinkle
  
• The Flintstones
  
• Batman
  
• GI Joe
  
• The Simpsons
  
• Powerpuff Girls
  
• Kim Possible
  
• Angry Beavers
  

Grade

I'll consider my project a success if I can add a darkly cynical bent to these toons by including myself bearing the vices of humanity. As always, the quality of image will be of utmost concern to me.

Goals List

• Scour the net for quality cartoon stills in the highest resolution I can find.
  
• If the resolution is terrible, enhance image by hand.
  
• Photograph myself, mimicking lighting and shadow of scene where applicable.
  
• Composite myself into scenes.
  
• Distort myself into a monster, bearing in mind that cartoon's specific art style.
  
• Print images.
  
• Matte images.
  
• ???????
  
• Profit.
  

Upcoming Project

I've got an idea for my big project. Pic related. Brainstorming ideas now.
Here's the movie if you've never seen it before. Some parts gave me nightmares when I was little. I miss those kinds of cartoons.

Movies You Watch vol I

Still trying to find a reason. Who cares, this school is just one big circle jerk.

So I saw Spirited Away, this little 7 year old animated film by Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki.
I'm blown away. It's like one big modern take on Alice in Wonderland, with lots of references to classic Japanese mythology and central themes of love, understanding, and forgiveness. It's a beautiful and complex film and more than merits my mentioning it here as "art." Why did no one tell me about this sooner?

Don't take my word for it. Take their word for it.

I've Lost the Will to Care

CSULB is full of pompous assholes that could care less about helping their fellow "49ers." The ideals of community this place alleges to base itself on are as transparent as the kindness of those that create them. There is no room for true creative growth when every person here has to worry about the next deadline. NEXT DEADLINE NEXT DEADLINE NEXT DEADLINE NEXT DEADLINE NEXT DEADLINE
You know who I'm talking about. Fuck them. I'm going to keep trying, but this place has soured on me.

Whatever. Art. Here's 10 reasons I love Andy Goldsworthy.

Vectorman

Killing time is the name, and vexels are the game!

This is actually old shit; my first attempt at vectrographic imagery in fact, but I like this one. The subject is a favorite musician of mine, indie-style!

Show some love.

or

See the original.

or

Do one yourself!

Anyways, I made this thing basically as practice for illustrator after taking my first steps into it. There was much rage to be had when I couldn't understand the fucking pen tool, but my other vectors are better! I swear.

Zooey Deschanel by ~pinkcoma on deviantART

My Brain on the Intarweb?

That's right. It's the technologie age and you're now inside my thoughts. Stick around a while; I'm really not that bad once you get to know me. If you don't care and want to turn around right now then here's some safe havens.

For laughs: Cyanide and Happiness webcomic

Where you: were 2 minutes ago

I made this recently.