Sunday, December 10, 2017

Sunday, December 3, 2017

Boot Camp is Almost over!


The PowerPoints are in!


We are almost through boot camp! 



You've survived and now you are artistically stronger for it!

Now each of you will meet with Ferrell to personally review where you need improvement, and what steps you need to take to make that happen. 





Tuesday, November 28, 2017

PowerPoints are due!


Power Points are due December 1st.

In your power point you should have your take on the Commercial Art Boot Camp PowerPoint,

This should include the following slides in your PowerPoint.

  1. The Sphere
  2. The multiple Spheres 
  3. The pear and two Spheres 
  4. the 2 value black and white film screenshot
  5. 4 value picture
  6. Full value image progress.


Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Political Cartoons Due


Cartoons are due Monday November 20th and for classes that meet the next day on the 21st.

Friday, November 10, 2017

Political Cartoons


Click on the link below for information on our extended jumpstart. We are doing political cartoons and the person who does the best job has a chance to be published.


Monday, November 6, 2017

Boot Camp Continued...


We're learning the fundamentals to painting digitally. Once you've completed your spheres, pears, and perspective images you are going to advance to utilizing a master study based upon the movie or tv show of your choice.


Cinematographers are masters of composition and lighting to tell a story. So not only will this be a study of painting, but the context of the story will be effected by the basic art fundamentals we will be analyzing and recreating. We'll approach this project as two values...



4 values 



and then fully colored...


Keep up your sketchbooks!


Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Fear Factor



In order to gain success we have to push through our fears of failure. As an extended jumpstart we are to draw something we are afraid of. The reason is that as artists, we are creators, who are in control. Your fears can't harm you if you are creating a controlled environment for them. You can even make them silly. 

The point is that students are being taught that many of the things we feared when we were small we no longer fear because we learned to gain control of those things in our lives. Such as, if you fear the dark, when you get older you simply turn on the light switch. The light switch we are using in our classes is our minds.

In addition, art is communication. Communication tied to emotion can be more powerful. So we are also exploring how to tie emotion to our images. Please draw your image to be at least 5 by 7 inches.

These are due October 27th.

Thursday, September 21, 2017

Thursday, September 14, 2017

How to Study


First when you go to do a study of anything new... review what you are familiar with. Last year, you drew lots of faces. Now the tricky thing is to draw your own. Yikes! So it is key not to not forget to use guidelines and measurements that you already know.


Beyond the measurements remember how value effects the form and visual planes on face.


Second, remember geometry... your face is made up of visual planes. Squint your eyes and you will see the planes come together like puzzle pieces.


These planes reflect how light hits the face.



SQUINT YOUR EYES AND FIND THE PLANES!


Third, never forget the importance of gesture! It is your greatest storytelling messaging device. Drawing faces is a lot more than geometry especially when you are drawing your own. Messaging is very important. That's why Rembrandt said gesture is...



He knew a thing or two about drawing portraits.


The gesture in the hair offers great framing and contrast to the smooth sculptural quality of the face.


Play with framing and contrast so that you set up the most important elements you are trying to give emphasis to.


Play with lighting! Light gives drama, adds intensity. The true ooohs and ahhhs come from lighting not color, Value makes color sing in tune! Get it right and everything will fall into place.



Remember you should have at least 3 facial studies or more!



Sunday, August 27, 2017

Who we are...


Our personalities are complex. Humans are not simple creatures. We often wear many masks depending on our context with whom we are speaking too. For example, we are different around our principal than we are with our parents or our best friends. Yet, we do have dominate personality traits or likes that help define us that are recognizable to all who meet us. 


We have things in our lives that are very important to us. Symbolically these things may tell a significant part of our personal story. Many of you know I like Star Wars. It's hard to imagine someone knowing me and not knowing that. Even people who don't know me well, know I have an addiction to Starbucks. I like music that has loud guitars, and there isn't a visual dictionary on the planet that doesn't have my face as the definition of sarcasm. 

What about you?

What are symbols or visual cues that help tell your personal story?


What are some personality traits about you that help define who you are? 

Personally, I'd like to think I'm creative, intense, thoughtful, and enjoy laughing as much as a goldfish loves water. 


We are all different. Not everyone is like me. Our personal experiences are the root of our originality. What are your experiences that shaped you? Where do you want to go or what do you want to be? These dreams equally help define who you are. 


There may be a reality you see in yourself that has yet to manifest in the eyes of those around you. 


A self portrait is a safe way to explore the person you are or the person you want to become.


Most important enjoy defining how you want to be seen. You will always be your most important audience.


Sunday, August 20, 2017

Introduction to Self Portraits


Look at this awesome self-portrait by Morgan Penn. It's awesome! Guess who else is awesome? You, and you know why...


We are learning how to do Self-Portraits!

Self-portraits are a tremendous opportunity. Our whole lives we live in categories that often other people try to put us in, or trying to escape them. Terms like gamer, nerd, jock, dramatic, silly, are words that can sometimes latch on to us like a stain that won't go away.



The power of self-portraits is that you get to learn to define yourself! You get to say what you want to about you. 


Rembrandt made self-portraits so important by his study of how his face changed over the years. Every year on his birthday starting from when he was young he would do a self-portrait. His face became a control in a experiment documenting his artistic progress.


This portrait of a young Rembrandt tell us a lot. Notice the limited color palette? Brown... there is lots of brown everywhere. His brush strokes are very precise, he's not taking many chances. His hairstyle would fit in with many of you now. His eyes look almost timid or shy.


I would also note Rembrandt's sense of humor. This is important since most portraits at the time were either royalty, the very rich, or the church. The fact that not only he depicted himself as an everyday person, but having humor while doing it was groundbreaking for the era.


As Rembrandt got older his brush strokes got bolder. Notice how he's using contrast to create drama! Those eyes aren't shy, and look at all those colors. Rembrandt ain't scared. He's transitioned from being timid and shy to bold, an artistic force to be reckoned with. 


Next, lets look at Frida Kahlo.


Frida Kahlo reveals the secret to beauty in this painting. It's confidence. 


Frida was not only a great thinker, but she loved nature. Her images are a striking almost defiant look of who she is and what she loves.


Who knows you better than you? Time to define who you are, but first 
you are going to select a self-portrait that inspires you and doing a 5" by 7" master study. 

Analyze why this particular painting works artistically. What methods and theories are the artists using? Why did you pick this painting. Write what about it appealed to you and how can you use what you enjoyed to help make a statement about yourself.









Monday, August 14, 2017

Vince Low

We are going to look at Malaysian Artist Vince Low for several reasons...




First, Low is a great a capturing likeness and mood. He does this by focusing on the eyes on the face. They don't call them the windows to the soul for nothing. The eyes also can establish a system to measure by.


The Second reason we are going to look at Low is because of gesture. We want to create movement and energy in our work. So we are going to study Low's line work to embrace the energetic power of his drawings.



The third reason also involves gestural lines. Low's wild line work allows for the artist to make discoveries. These discoveries lead one down a visual path to success. When you find what works you darken the lines to emphasize out what is working. This is like singing that amazing note your voice hits a little louder so your audience can really appreciate you got it right.