April: Inspirations & Observations

Welcome to the April issue of Inspirations & Observations. This is my monthly reflection on the 5 things this month that inspired me, and 5 things that were cheesy, ineffective or just plain boring.

Inspirations

1. The illustration and collage work of Eric Carle
   
   
   
2. Veerle's Blog: http://veerle.duoh.com/. She has some amazing and beautiful tutorials.
   
   
   
3. Mystwood self-contained accommodations. It's called Mystwood for a reason, look at this magical morning fog...We spent 4 days there with the quiet stillness of Nature. It was one of the most inspiring experiences.
   
   
   
4. Alice movie by Jan Svankmajer. I've blogged it earlier this month in the collection of animation techniques, but it's just really really amazing work.
   
   
   
   
5. The gloss!!! I am talking here about the Web 2.0 craze that makes graphics on screen look shiny. I know it's overused, but it's fun and sometimes it does have place. There are many tutorials and way to do it. Here is the tutorial I used referred to by Good Tutorials site:
   
   
   

Observations

It seems that this month few visual bothers jumped at my sight. My eyes must have been wide-open with awe and inspiration, and it's been more of the soul-searching work. Hence, I'll list personal internal challenges that came this month:

1. Confidence, or lack of it, sometimes cripples my creative flow...although an event recently occurred that made me decide that I will always believe in myself from now on. I got High Distinction on my recent assignment, and I remember having many doubts about it before.
   
2. City noise has been especially prominent this month. Perhaps my time at Mystwood has created a standard to compare with, and I am craving the peace and quiet.
   
3. Feeling that I don't have enough technical skills with CS4 suite, while everyone else is a whiz. I know it's an illusion, and I just need to keep working at it until proficiency is reached.
   
4. Time. How do I get all the assignments done, and still have time to relax and enjoy!?
   
5. And finally, I found one visual disturbance on a Pizza box from my beloved Reggio Pizzeria. Look at that kerning between P and i!
   
   
   

Previous months

• March: Observations & Inspirations
  
• February: Observations & Inspirations
• January: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Wolf - texture & line

The Brief
Working from a B&W photo with high contrast, we were to re-create the image and mainly the texture of the animal using technical pens. I used a set of four Staedtler pigment liners sized 0.1 mm, 0.3 mm, 0.5 mm and 0.7 mm respectively.

Rendering Outcome
After about 8 hours over a period of 2 days, I produced this drawing.


I am happy with the way it came out, and most importantly I enjoyed the process. A lot.

After about 10-15 mins you go into a zone where only lines and marks exist. It's like a form of meditation, when the mind is quiet and only shapes matter.

Semester 2: Form and Object Studio with Gail Rogers Perazzo

Perspective Wash

The Brief
The goal of this assignment was to learn the rules of perspective using two vanishing points, as well as observe the effects of light at different times of the day. We were to paint a night scene and either a rainy day or a sunrise/sunset.

The base of the drawing was done at location, after which I refined the lines and composition at home. I returned to that street a couple times more to photograph it in the evening. For the sunrise, I just used my imagination, lol.

Painting Outcome
Both paintings were done on Arches Watercolor Medium 185 GSM paper. Great to do wash on! It holds water for a long time, and it's pretty forgiving with re-wetting if I decide to change my mind on the color. Best part, this weight of paper can be put in the printer for a quick transfer of the image lines.

Here is the early night with some lights in the windows. They bring comfort and interest to the night.


And here is the early morning, when lines and colors are soft and the sky is just starting to light up with warm pink.


Semester 2: Form and Object Studio with Gail Rogers Perazzo

Animation techniques collection

This is a collection of various animated clips that employ creative and imaginative animation techniques. This post is used for reference, and to be visited often when looking for animation techniques and ideas. It's a living list that is updated as new bits are discovered.

Christopher Walken Tooth Fairy
Observe the gestures...



Fonejacker
Only the mouth is moving, and the main idea is the play on words. Using words and quick imagery to illustrate the word, while it doesn't even necessarily fit the context.





Terry Gilliams
Obscene and surreal collaging, unexpected and clever dialog aided with animation that is basic and crude, but that's the beauty of it.







Alice by Jan Svankmajer
Incredibly effective and wicked mix of mediums and techniques. Live footage, stop motion and tricky photography.







Legos
The White Stripes music video