Sunday, November 13, 2016

Maggie Taylor

Maggie Taylor is a contemporary artist who creates photo based digital collages. Her work is whimsical and occasionally bizarre. When I show my students her work when presenting a digital collage project, many students are intrigued by her work and her working methodology. So, I have compiled a list of relevant links and resources.
First, you can visit her website at MaggieTaylor.com to see a large selection of her work. You can download a really great PDF detailing her thought process and technique in creating an image from Creative Pro. That article is based on an excerpt from her book Maggie Taylor's Landscape of Dreams. It is this is a great source of inspiration. It walks you through her process of making images. It was written in 2005, so there are some newer tools/techniques that aren't addressed in the book, but the real value of the book is her insight into her creative process. The book is available to read online in its entirety via UT's online library. Here is a link to Adobe Photoshop Master Class: Maggie Taylor's Landscape of Dreams at the library. If you are off campus, you will have to log into the library using your name and R#. If you are on campus, you don't have to log in.
I would like you read pages 64-100 (don't worry, most of it is pictures).
Nice PDF from Adobe about Maggie Taylor's working methodology and use of scanners.
Here is a link to little story about her for an art show.
Short little write up on her work.
An interview with Maggie Taylor about her working methods.
Tip on creating texture.

Digital Graphics Tablets

Many people find it preferable to use a pressure sensitive digital graphics tablet such as those made by Wacom and others. Here is a nice little write up on 10 good graphics tablets. If you have never used one, then you should really try them. There are a number of different settings that you can link to the pressure of the stylus, but most people have it set up such that the harder you press the stylus onto the tablet, the larger brush and the more paint that gets applied. If you think you would like to buy one, I suggest that you buy a cheap one to start out with. Somewhere in the $60 or less range. Then, if you really like it, you can always get a bigger one. There is a bit of a learning curve when first getting used to get, but once you get the hang of it they are really great and intuitive.

Digital Painting Assignment and Resources

You are to have a poem to present to me by April 13/14.

Sketch or painting in process by April 18/19.

Due : Final critique will be held during our final exam session. If you fail to attend that class, you will receive a zero for this Assignment.

M/W section: 12:30-2:30, Thursday May 5

T/R section: 5:00-7:00, Tuesday May 3

Why digital painting? Digital painting allows you to create works in the same expressive way that painting does. I am not suggesting they are the same; however, I would encourage you to give it a try whether you are new to painting or are very proficient in the medium. One of the advantage of digital painting is the low (often free) price of entry. As long as you have a computer, you can use one of many free painting applications. In my experience, digital painting has encouraged many people to explore traditional painting.
There has also been a recent explosion of digital painting using handheld devices such as iPhones/iPod Touches and Nintendo DS gaming systems. Recently The New Yorker magazine has featured several illustrations painted using an iPhone on its cover. I have numerous links to this below.

For your final project, you will create a digital painting inspired by a poem. Begin by selecting a poem. Song lyrics do not count. It can be poem that you wrote. You will have to read the poem to the class during the critique of your image. I want you to select a poem for which there are no existing visuals. I want you to create fresh visuals inspired by the poem.

The resulting image should be approximately 16x 20" at 300ppi. You can use any program that you want to. Below is lots of information on the many digital painting applications which are available. I will demonstrate some of them in class. Feel free to you any of the applications which I have listed. I do not want you to use Photoshop for this assignment. While there are many people who do use PS for digital painting, I want you try something new.

Corel Painter is the granddaddy of digital painting applications. It is by far the most powerful and feature rich. It is a true natural media application which is to say that it mimics how the media actually work. You can think of it as a painting simulator is you want. The software mimics the physics of each medium differently. Painting with watercolors is much different from painting with oil paints or acrylics. Plus, the colors of the paints blend in the same manner that real paint does. This in not true of Photoshop. Photoshop is often used for digital painting, but it is not a natural media application. Colors don't blend as real paints do nor do the colors have any of the qualities of natural media.
Painter is available for only $99 to students and faculty. Otherwise it is $399.

Here is a list of links to commercial (cost involved) and free natural media/painting programs that I have compiled over the years. Also included are a number of links to tutorials and related materials. I will try to sort them better as time allows. Have fun!

Commercial NATURAL MEDIA/PAINT applications
Corel Painter 11- THE NATURAL MEDIA/PAINT APPLICATION

AutoDesk Sketch Book Pro

AutoDesk Sketch Book Mobile-for iPod touch and iPhone

Studio Artist 3.5 - Mac only -has some crazy autographing features

Corel Painter Essentials 4 - simplified/limited version of Painter

Free NATURAL MEDIA/PAINT applications

My Paint- available for Linux and PC

Artweaver- Windows only- supports graphic tablets. Seems very similar to Painter

Art Rage 2.5 Starter Edition - very intuitive. A more featured version is available for a reasonable cost. Most students have completed this assignment using this free version of Art Rage. It is installed on all the computers in the lab. There are two big drawbacks to the free version. One is that layers aren't supported. Everything is painted on the same layer. Also, you can't modify the size of the canvas once you start painting. Thus, it is very important to create a 16x 20 inch (or there about) canvas at 300ppi.

Pixarra Twisted Brush- Windows only - Free and

Krita-simple paint program available for Linux, Mac, and PC

Smooth Draw - very simple drawing program for Windows only

Online painting applications

SumoPaint - I just came across this but it seems to be pretty good and you can make images up to 4094 x 4094 pixels which is very good for an online imaging application. It offers layers and multiple different paintbrushes.

Painting applications for handheld devices and related articles
Here is a short article comparing three of the more popular AutoDesk SketchBook, ArtStudio, and Brushes. You should also consider Colors.

Jorge Colombo - he painted the cover illustration for the June 1, 2009 New Yorker on his iPhone

New Yorker article about Jorge's cover illustration featuring a video showing the process of the painting

LA Times photo essay on Ed Velandria who uses ArtRage and a tablet PC to paint quick portraits while riding the subway. LA Times also wrote an article about him and others who sketch while on the subway.

**BEST APP FOR DROID DEVICES** AutoDesk SketchBook Mobile is the best drawing/painting app for Droid devices; it is also one of the best for iOS devices. You can find links to download it for the Droid and the iPhone from that site. Here is an article on it with some good links. One of the coolest features about it is that you can export layered PSD files that you can continue to work with in Photoshop and other image editing applications. The resolution of the final images isn't great, maxing out at around 1400 x 600 pixels, but you can still easily make a really nice 8x10 from it and can push it even larger if necessary/desired. Plus, it is only $0.99!

Software tailored for Manga and Anime-can't vouch for it, don't know much about it

Deleter Software Comic Works

http://www.deleter.jp/eng/cw_english/

http://deleter-mangashop.com/goods.php?lang_id=en&goods_id=45&tsuka_conv=USD

http://my.smithmicro.com/win/graphics.html
http://my.smithmicro.com/mac/anime/index.html
http://my.smithmicro.com/mac/manga/index.html

Some of the artists here use this software
http://www.tokyopop.com/

Imagine FX is amagazine that I think many of you would like. They have a nice collections of resources on their website. Be sure to check out their tutorials.

Figure drawing techniques for digital artists.

Collection of 15 of the best ImagineFX tutorials on digital painting.

Portfolio with some interesting digital paintings
http://ciaee-art.com/

3D people, Google Sketchup is a newer 3D program with a free and a commercial version. It is designed to be more intuitive than other 3D modeling programs. I have used it a bit. I like it enough that I have a project that I will be using Sketchup to complete.

Overview of Free Painting Programs

http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-paint-program.htm

Corel tutorials on the use of Painter
http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Content/1171405215200

Tutorial on painting with Photoshop

http://www.melissaclifton.com/tutorial-freehand.html

Nice set of tutorials on painting with Photoshop

http://www.graphicmania.net/amazing-digital-painting-photoshop-tutorials/

Blending colors in Photoshop

http://www.digitalartform.com/archives/2005/04/painting_with_p.html

Corel Painter X/XI Links

Home page of one of the original Painter authors, numerous tutorials on using Painter
http://homepage.mac.com/pixlart/main.htm

Sign up for Corel Painter e-newsletter
http://apps.corel.com/painterx/us/community_newsletter.html

Overview of Painter, includes nice breakdown of different brushes
http://apps.corel.com/painterx/us/essence_new_features.html

Downloadable Training Movies
http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Content/1170190221936l

Corel tutorials on clone color
http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Content/1171405215200

Use filters to modify brush strokes, Surface Control>Quick Warp
http://www.designertoday.com/Tutorials/Painter/2057/Making.a.Mini.Poster.Corel.Painter.Tutorial.aspx

Numerous Tutorials here at the Designer Today website
http://www.designertoday.com/Tutorials/Painter/4.aspx

Pastel on Black Background
http://www.designertoday.com/Tutorials/Painter/1430/Pastel.on.Black.Background.Freehand.Sketch.Corel.Painter.Tutorial.aspx

Painting a Loose Style Portrait
http://www.designertoday.com/Tutorials/Painter/1826/Painting.a.Loose.Style.Portrait.Corel.Painter.Tutorial.aspx

Creating Abstract Art in Painter
http://www.designertoday.com/Tutorials/Painter/1855/Creating.Abstract.Art.Corel.Painter.Tutorial.aspx

Mixing Paint
http://www.designertoday.com/Tutorials/Painter/1887/Mixing.Colors.Corel.Painter.Tutorial.aspx

Corel Painter e-newsletter
http://apps.corel.com/painterx/us/community_newsletter.html

Watercolor effect
http://apps.corel.com/painterix/training/tutorial_watercolor.html

Impasto effect
http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/painter/ss/impasto.htm

Op Art- possibly use the movement of the image to make flag look moving even when still. Sense of movement symbolic of dynamic nature of humans?
http://www.julianstanczak.net/

Bridge Riley
http://www.webexhibits.org/colorart/riley.html
http://www.mishabittleston.com/artists/bridget_riley/

Digital Painting Links

How to paint an eye - simple tutorial and a simple looking result-nothing fancy
http://www.ehow.com/how_4691734_paint-brown-eyes-photoshop.html

How to paint an eye - involved, but very nice results
http://graphixworld.wordpress.com/2009/06/26/how-to-paint-a-human-eye-tutorial/

Some nice realistic brushes for Photoshop
http://doodle-lee-doo.deviantart.com/art/Real-Brush-Strokes-Set-122699209

How to paint a realistic eye
http://www.artsquared.co.uk/blog/2009/05/how-to-draw-a-realistic-eye/

http://www.cgsociety.org/

http://www.androidblues.com/JealousyStepbystep/jealousystep.html

http://www.3dluvr.com/content/section/9

http://www.henningludvigsen.com/

Pixel Brush - popular site for digital painting

http://www.pixelbrush.net/content/

http://www.3dm3.com/forum/articles.php?action=viewarticle&artid=101

Introduction to painting (fantasy art)

http://dianae.deviantart.com/art/Digital-Painting-Tutorial-74468761

Introductory tutorials

www.pxleyes.com has some good tutorials including this Incredibly detailed tutorial on how to draw a rose in PS

http://www.pxleyes.com/tutorial/photoshop/1467/How-To-Make-A-Digital-Painting-Of-A-Rose-From-Scratch.html

Digital Painting for Beginners PS

http://clepweb.deviantart.com/art/Digital-Painting-for-Beginners-27802774

Nice, long video on Digital Painting for Beginners PS

http://menoob.com/digital-painting/excellent-digital-painting-video-tutorial-for-beginners/

Overview of Painting Process

http://tutorials.epilogue.net/digital-art/advanced-digital-painting-techniques

How to Paint Clouds

http://tutorials.epilogue.net/digital-art/perfect-clouds-in-5-easy-steps

Galleries for the guy who wrote the two previous tutorials

http://www.epilogue.net/cgi/database/art/list.pl?gallery=98

http://www.gorblimey.com/

Overview of elaborate painting-be sure to check out the other postings as they are interesting

http://www.rob-sheridan.com/sketchblog/stepbystep/mascots.html

Wacom tablet Tutorials

How to set up Wacom Intuos 4 for painting with PS

http://johnderryonline.com/Images/Intuos4_Mapping_PS.pdf

How to configure Wacom tablet on a Mac

http://guides.macrumors.com/Setting_Up_A_Wacom_Tablet_Tutorial

ArtRage Tutorials

Nice set of video tutorials, demonstrates paint blending

http://cartoonsnap.blogspot.com/search/label/ArtRage

How to Paint Clouds

http://ruthlessmoons.deviantart.com/art/Artrage-Cloud-tutorial-86563306

Hack a Nintendo DS to Make an Awesome Digital Sketchbook

http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Hack_a_Nintendo_DS_to_make_an_awesome_digital_sketchbook

Colors! - free painting program for Nintendo DS, inexpensive version for iPod/iPhone also available

http://colors.collectingsmiles.com

SuperCard is a DS Cart that allows you to run Colors! and other game ROMs on your DS. A student has ran Colors! successfully on his cart.

Conceptart.org - some nice digital paintings here

http://www.conceptart.org/

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Project 2- Vector based Environmental Portrait

Project 2- Vector based Environmental Portrait
Seder Burns

UT Spring 2011

********Final version due Monday, April 18th for M/W section and Tuesday April 19th for T/H section. No extensions will be given. You are to turn in an AI file with the raster elements still intact (for the sake of critique).********

Monday/Tuesday- Presentation of the assignment. Examples of vector portraits and student examples.

Thursday/Friday- Class will begin with critique of map assignment. Work on demo project/edit photo for use/begin project 2. Draw sketch of what you want the final piece to look like. Take a photo/photos to work on next class.

Next Monday/Tuesday- begin working on the project. You should have at least one photo to begin working on.

The following Monday/Tuesday- in process critique. We should be able to see where you are going with the project. Your style should be very evident.
-I want you to have a clear idea as to what you are going to do for this assignment. You should take the photo of the person and environment you want to place him/her in. I want you to bring a sketch of what you anticipate your final image will look like when completed. I expect you to spend at least one hour on this. This is not optional.
Presentation on the Gradient Mesh tool.

Must have your photo that you will use as the foundation of your vector portrait. Time will be allowed for working on the project in class.

TBD-Lecture/Demo for half of class time. Remainder will be work time.

Initial In Process Critique. This is to make sure you are on the right track and gain the benefit from group feedback on your progress.

TBD- Final image due. Critique.

November 23- Print is due. Print should not be smaller than 16x20.

Expanding on your experience with vector tools in the map exercise, you will create an environmental portrait. An environmental portrait is one in which you place the person in an environment which adds to the viewers’ understanding of the person depicted. You can make up the background if you want or use reference materials to create it. You may find it easier to begin with a photo of the person and different photo of a background (or multiple photos for that matter).

We will discuss Pop Art and Neo Pop Art. The biggest thing I want you to get out that discussion is that style is not divorced from content and in fact, style often is the content (or at least significant to the content). I have included many links to pop and neo pop artists. I am not encouraging you to simply chimp their style. I want you to be inspired and to ask yourself how their style contributes to the significance of their work.

I have also included a number of links to stuff about A Scanner Darkly. The one tutorial is especially valuable even if you don't want to create a style anything like that of the film. It also demonstrates the utility of the pencil tool. You should all begin by following that tutorial. It will save you a lot of time and frustration by doing so. Even though goes through how to create this style step by step, I guarantee you will all end up with a very different looking image even if you were trying to create the same look.

I would love nothing more than if you all create work in a wholly unique style. Just because something is vector art based doesn't mean it has to look a certain way just as all paintings don't look the same. Try to take the work in your own direction. Take the time to consider how the style adds to or detracts from the portrait and what you want to convey.

I don’t want anything that looks like a cartoon. For this reason, nothing is to have an outline. The finished pieces should look much like a fine drawing or painting.

Technical Notes:
The better the photo, the easier it will be to make a vector illustration based on it. Thus, you need a relitively sharp, hight resolution file for this. An image pulled from Facebook will simply not work. You need to take your own photos for this project. The portrait needs to have been taken expressly for this assignment; no exceptions, please don't ask.
The finished image is to be composed solely of vectors. There is to no raster imagery in the final piece. The finished file should be a relatively very small .AI file. While we used Illustrator for the map assignment, as it is the most widely used vector based illustration program at the moment, you can use any vector program to complete this assignment. Everything you learned so far could be applied to other vector programs such as Flash or Inkscape.
Your image should be at least 16x20. As demonstrated in class, I suggest you take the time to set the colorspace to RGB (Adobe RGB to be specific) and the rasterization option to 300ppi when creating your file. This essentially becomes the defaults if you were to rasterize the image. Be sure to embed the linked raster files when you save. You will turn in copy of the file without the raster graphics. Your grade will be based on your print as well as the quality of your finished file.
You are not allowed to use Live Trace. Trust me, I will know if you use it.
You should expect to spend at least 20 hours creating the vectors. That is the very bare minimum. You cannot “fake” or "rush" this assignment. There are no shortcuts. The time required depends largely on the style that you find yourself working in and the complexity of the image envisioned. Many students spend 40+ hours on this project. Needless to say, you will have to work on this project outside of class.

LINKS

A Scanner Darkly links

Trailer for the film-you can movie frame by frame to see details
http://www.apple.com/trailers/warner_independent_pictures/ascannerdarkly/

New York Times review with a link on the left to the audio slideshow I played in class
http://movies.nytimes.com/2006/07/07/movies/07scan.html

Interview with lead animator
http://www.layersmagazine.com/vector-art-goes-hollywood.html

A How to Illustrator Tutorial

http://www.layersmagazine.com/imitating-a-scanner-darkly.html

very similar, even written by the same guy
http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/tutorials/index.cfm?featureid=1595

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.03/steps.html

Another movie made the same way with same vector software

A TV series based on a comic book series made with vector rotoscoping in Flash
http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=search&sval=Delta%20State&article_no=2264#

Opensource options for similar look
http://loraineabaird.gaia.com/blog/2007/11/a_scanner_darkly-_rotoscope

Interesting article about the movie and animation process
http://www.cgw.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=DC4DB2CAA553418EA48BBFD25BEAEF03

Homestar Runner
Popular Internet flash animation series (began 2000, popularity peaked around 2006)
http://www.homestarrunner.com/

Waltz with Bashir links

Interview about the creators of the film about the animation process
http://coldhardflash.com/2009/03/an-interview-with-waltz-with-bashir-animation-director-yoni-goodman.html

Official website
http://waltzwithbashir.com/wwbtrailer.html

More about the process
http://international-animated-films.suite101.com/article.cfm/david_polonsky_on_waltz_with_bashir

More about the process
http://www.studiodaily.com/filmandvideo/technique/how/How-They-Did-It-Waltz-With-Bashir_10305.html

Short video on the making of..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boiUxoOe7bs&feature=related

Alex Katz- a painter, but he paints with a very flat style which could be replicated in Illustrator
http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=9780300114836
http://www.artnet.com/Galleries/Artists_detail.asp?G=&gid=295&which=&aid=9282&ViewArtistBy=online&rta=http://www.artnet.com
www.alexkatz.com

Tutorial on how to create vector art in Photoshop, can be applied to Illustrator
http://www.melissaclifton.com/tutorial-vector.html

Advance tutorial on drawing a woman with cat.

Pop Art

Wikipedia summary of Abstract Expressionism to which many feel Pop Art was a response to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abstract_Expressionism

Wikipedia summary of Pop Art
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_Art

Lichtenstein Foundation
http://www.lichtensteinfoundation.org/frames.htm

Tutorial on how to how to create art in the style of Roy Lichtenstein, it is designed for Photoshop, but you could do the same thing in Illustrator
http://www.melissaclifton.com/tutorial-popart.html

Neo-Pop Artists

Good article on Japanese Neo Pop
http://www.artnet.com/Galleries/Exhibitions.asp?gid=166204&cid=101437

Another good article on Japanese Neo Pop
http://www.artnet.com/Magazine/features/drohojowska-philp/drohojowska-philp1-18-01.asp

Takashi Murakami

Good introductory video on Takashi Murakami
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3i2hyHK0_g

High quality videos narrated by the artist himself
http://www.moca.org/murakami/

Takashi Murakami's “art production company”
http://english.kaikaikiki.co.jp/

Wikipedia article on Takashi Murakami
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takashi_Murakami

Yoshito Monara
http://www.blumandpoe.com/yoshitomonara/

Art inspired by Comic Books

A Fine Art Exhibit of work inspired by comics
http://moma.org/exhibitions/2007/comic_abstraction/flash.html

Inka Essenhigh
http://www.inka-essenhigh.com/

Preparation for next project:
Paint/Illustration program for Nintendo DS and iphone/ipod touch
http://colors.collectingsmiles.com/index.php#p7042

Helpful Tutorials

Basics of brushes- explains Fidelity and Smoothness, different brush types, etc.
http://www.biorust.com/tutorials/detail/179/us/

ADDITIONAL SECTION ON USING GRADIENTS AND GRADIENT MESHES IN ILLUSTRATOR

Examples of very realistic Illustrator images
http://basangpanaginip.blogspot.com/2006/07/worlds-most-photorealistic-vector-art.html

Movie poster vector art
http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/disturbingtheuniverse/

Technically talented Illustrators

Kevin Hulsey

Learning to use Illustrator Gradient Mesh tool

How to use Illustrator Gradient Mesh tool

Great tutorial on using the Gradient Mesh tool to create a portrait

Sample portraits created in Illustrator

Importance of Layers

How to create gradients

32 tutorials on using gradients

Tutorial on Gum Ball Machine using Gradient Mesh tool

How to apply gradients to strokes and text

How to set up a Wacom tablet for use with Illustrator

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Do you know........ where your data is?

Do you have all your data backed up? Is it a current backup? Is it a complete backup? Haven't you lost data at some point in your life? I know you have......
At minimum you should have all the data on your computer backed up. This is to say, you should have a complete copy of all the data on your computer that you care about. There are a variety of ways to do this. You can choose to use an external hard drive hooked up via USB, firewire, or eSATA. You can also back up your data over a network. This can be saved over your local network or remotely on a server. Ideally, you should have an offsite copy of your data. This is to say that it is not on premises. This way, if the worst should happen, a fire or a flood, then your data will still be safe. Online backup has a ton of advantages. It is offsite and if you are using a reputable service, then they are keeping multiple copies of the data at multiple locations. The major drawback of online backup services are that the initial backup of your system can take a very long time. A few of the services offer an initial backup via an external hard drive. Then all subsequent backups are performed online. Mozy.com and a number of other online backup services offer a free 2GB service so that you can back up some data and get a feel for how it works.

Local Backup

Simple device to turn any external hard drive into an automatic backup system

http://www.clickfree.com/

Article on backing up automatically using SyncBack on a PC

http://lifehacker.com/147855/geek-to-live--automatically-back-up-your-hard-drive

Apple Time Capsule

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC343/Time-Capsule-1TB?mco=MTMzNzQ4OTg

Drobo

http://www.drobo.com/

Internal Drives, Network Attached Storage, USB hard drives, firewire, eSata

Introduction to RAID for photographers

http://www.earthboundlight.com/phototips/raid-for-photoshop.html