The Debate

Flipping through some of my movie collection, I see a lot of sci-fi films. I started picking through some of my favourites, and noticed there was a definite blend in terms of stylistic approaches.

So what is better? CGI or animatronics?

There are definatly some childhood favorites such as The Neverending Story or Little Shop of Horrors hold a sense of charm in our hearts. However, with the developement of more and more technology, does puppetry and animatronics/traditional special affects have a place in modern movies?

CGI definatly made a milestone in movies such as Jurassic Park, and most recently Avatar or even Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

CGI definatly brings a type of realism that is harder to create using animatronics, but puppety also evokes a sense of charm and playfulness.

I think that animatronics and puppetry still do have a place in movies today as they are more their own style. Much like trying to say what is better: watercolor or oil? People can have their preference, but in the end they are their own styles and can’t be measured by means of “what is more common.”

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Aerial Silks

Ever since Martha Graham I feel like dance really has been changing and growing. Ballet is a long practiced form of dance with strict and ridgid rules. As beautiful of art it is, it is intresting to see other forms such as hip hop or lyrical able to change and move more freely, creating its own culture.

That being said, I have just recently been getting into Aerial Silks ( also called aerial contortion, aerial ribbons, aerial silks, aerial tissues, fabric, ribbon, or tissu depending on the region) and aerial hoop (also known as the lyra, aerial ring or cerceau/cerceaux). I am unsure exactly if it is a sport or a type of dance and acro, but a baby in terms of dance, it is very fun to see it in action. I know that these forms arn’t exaclty “new,” but most of the creaters are still alive today, and it is still being devloped and making itself known which is different from the other types of dance like the ancient ballet.

It is fun to see preformances because though there are common moves, it is so young that new movs are being created, and you can even see that there are different ways to preform them. I wonder where these forms are taken in the furture.

3D printing

With the birth of 3D printing comes the birth of instricate art pieces being made. What is 3D printing? Well, the technique varies for every printer, but the main jist of how it is done is by melting the material (most commonly plastic) and tiny tubes adding layer by layer until building up a 3D model.

For a more profesional and instresting look at all the things that is being used with 3D printing check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0EJmBoLq-g

The printers starting at hefty prices like 3,000 dollars, it is hard to mass distibute them to more artists. However, for the artists able to buy them, the art that is coming out of them is very intricate and hard to do by hand. They create pieces with small curves and lines, and 3D printing art is becoming more distinguishable and something of it’s own kind. It is too early in the game to tell, but I can see this being used to branch out and create so many more, new art forms

Modern Art

As I love seeing art grow and change, I do have to admit that there are some pieces that are considered art, questionable. Don’t get me wrong; I love seening people get inspired, and the art community being more accepting but……(sigh)  http://www.artsumo.com/blog/post/4/They_Paid_What_Top_10_Absurd_Paintings_that_Sold_for_Millions/

Really?

Looking at some modern art, it is amazing to see all these different mediums being created and the mentality of people who create things such as political art but….some don’t cut it. I get it, there are some art pieces that look just like a bunch of scribbles, but that artist could have taken a while to plan out each color used, the length and shape of the scribbles ect ect, but some can classify has children’s art.

Painting a blue line across the canvas isn’t art.

It is hard to say, but art is something that everyone can enjoy either doing or seeing or even both. However, there is no denying the fact that no matter how many classes that you take, some people just are not meant to be artists. Same as some people are more inclined to math or science, there are some who struggle with the subjects. To me, some pieces that are able to make it to The Museum of Modern Art almost devalues some artists who really do have talent

technology doesn’t equal art

As the times go by, the technology increases, and new art forms take place. Of course with these budding new forms, weeds come and try to suffocate them. “That is isn’t real art because they didn’t actually make it”

This might come as a surprise to some people, but just because someone doesn’t use traditional art forms, doesn’t mean it isn’t “real.” There are some people who say that working with applications such as photoshop, cameras, or paint apps is easier because they have different tools, and they aren’t actually using them. I’m not sure what people think actual artists use, but the softwares that they work with are for professional use and not just ms paint. These softwares are created for skilled people to create images in high definition.

Having spent my share of money on these softwares, I can asure you that they are not for “fun” and meant for people using their talents in different feilds. Anyone who says that using these products are easier than pencil and paper is commical. Yes, in some areas (such as background colors, and the advantage of zoom), it is easier to get cleaner lines with softwares. However, with pencil and paper it is much easier to shade, blur, ect instead of having to fiddle around with different tools

Also, obviously if they can draw on a touch screen or computer, they have to be able to draw by themselves aswell. Someone doesn’t just knock out a master piece simply because they are using an Ipad.

I feel as though people forget that things evolve and change. Art in general, is an old practice, but it does not mean it can not change with our technology. People need to get it out of their heads that these new advances should be praised and not questioned

Art Prices

Young artists: one thing that I highly recommend is to never get persuaded to buy over priced materials. Let me remind you that just because something is priced higher, doesn’t necessarily mean that is rises far above regular iteams.

I was at an art supply store looking for some more oil paints. Nothing truly special, just the primary colors and a whole tub of white as usual. Walking past the oil paints I see regular student brands compared to brands such as Bob Ross and looking at the $20 price differences. I walk further down the isle, and there were even small tubes of oil paint behind a glass case that sold for $13 a pop.

I say this for any young artist or anyone trying new mediums: You do not have to break the bank on art supplies. Art is what you make from what you have/afford and not a fancy brand name

Nevermind the whole “The pigment is the expensive part of a paint because of the color intensity and less fillers and the rarer or less easily mined minerals”

You can create art using anything you can find. If you even wanted, you can mash berries or make mud instead of going out and buying paint or clay. Getting expensive art supplies is a luxury not a necessity such as a ferrari is a luxury but not a necessity. You can go spend your money of fancy micron pens or get regular paper mate ones. Yea, one has a bit of a nicer feel but there is no need to stop drawing or doing a project just because you can’t afford nice pens or paint. Create art with your passion and not just fancy material

dancing fairies

Through my long and somehow entertaining scrolls through art blogs, I came across an artist that creates 3D sculptures out of wire. Robin Wright has created life like figures of fairies dancing in the wind with dandelions, dancing, and holding onto trees all measuring to be around 3ft and 6in.

See more at http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2014/07/dramatic-stainless-steel-wire-fairies-by-robin-wight/ here you can also see an interview with the artist and indepth descriptions

The steps announced by Wright himself goes like:

1. Design. He must find the correct tree and and location so he can plan according to the surrounding environment. He sketches how he wants them to look and makes miniture 2D models.

2. He begins to create the skeleton in large scale that starts with the mounting a bracket (a solid steel rode that can hold around 22 pounds of art)

3. Interestingly, Robin’s trademark has become something he describes as “a heart of stone.” He chooses a larger pebble shaped in a heart, engraves his name and the owner/s name with any other small message, and burries it deep inside the wires

4. For the flesh of the fairy he uses three different wires: 3mm for the skeleton and main muscle bulk, 2.5mm for the muscles, 2mm for the skin (detail).

5. For the hands and feet he uses 2.5mm wire and wrapped with 2mm wire. To make the process easier, he has made his own template using drilled holes in the bench and bending the wire around nails pushed in to the holes

6. Robin then untagles some of the flesh to wrap around the hands and feet he made to attach them

7. This step is the step that takes the longest, and that is fleshing out. He uses three different wires to make the body fuller while still keeping the proportions even

8. The detail is a key component to draw the attention of on lookers to comb every piece of the art. Robin says some of the details are, “The tendons from the skull to the collarbone, which allow the eye to follow the neck and show which way the figure is facing. The bellybutton, which creates a focal point in the middle of a large panel of otherwise flat tangled wire.”

9. Another key point is the making of the hat. The frame of the hat is a single coil of wire looped six times and tied at one end and covered in chicken mesh

10. He then makes the wings which is made of a single piece of 3mm wire and chicken mesh

11. Attaching the wings means tapping a hole through the chest with a screwdriver or wedge and threading them into the flesh

12. And finally the last step is to install the fairy in the correct position that flows with the already established structure

Titles

I swear one of these days in the year 3000 a scene like this will probably take place:

A young student raises her hand and asks, “But Mr. History Teacher, why did the Battle of the Titles even take place?” The teacher responds with, “Well student, see the different art forms were unable to actually speek to each other in a civilized manner so they talked to one another with improper grammar and harsh unnecessary insults. To make this story shorter, one person said to a cheerleader (shudder) that cheer… (shaky breath) isn’t a real sport and that’s when everything hit the fan” (the whole class gasps in fear) 

What do I mean by titles? I mean caring so much of whether or not something is a sport or an art style, if something is manga or anime, if the dancer did an a la seconde or a fouette, or if the band is rock or pop. My philosophy is if you truly love what you are doing, it shouldn’t matter to you what someone descides to classify it. You could be a cheerleader and think it is a sport, but if someone believes it is an art form (which by the way they can be techinically true. If you think about it logically, cheerleading is a mix between dance-an art form-and gymnastics-a sport- so depending on how the person sees it, cheerleading can be considered both or one of them making either answer techinically correct) that shouldn’t matter to you. If you truly love the sport that you do, if someone thinks otherwise, their opinion shouldn’t shake yours.

For example: You truly love american cheese. You put that cheese on every sandwich and cracker because you just can’t get enough of american cheese. One of your best friends comes over and takes one look at your ham and american cheese sandwich and curls her lip with a small disgusted “Ew I hate american cheese.” You get up from the table you are sitting at and flip it onto the floor and start yelling in her face about how terrible she is and how american cheese is the best cheese in the world. You two break up, and you stop eating american cheese completely because you are ashamed that people can consider you “ew.”

See how ridiculous that sounds. That is exactly what it is like to hear people fight over simple things like whether something is anime or chibi. It doesn’t matter. You just do you and ignore anyone else because if you really do like something, one person’s opinion shouldn’t change yours. 

stop animation

I have recently been watching behind the scenes of slow motion animations, and I feel as though these animations don’t get enough recognition for the amount of work that gets put into them. I believe everyone over the age of nine at least understands the process of filming a stop animation (a series of photos in order to create some kind of “flip book” movie). However, it is just how slow the process truly is. On a general average, a four minute movie takes about 1-2 weeks to make. Granted, the variables are all fiickle. The time all depends on the content being shown, how many things are moving at once, the work ethic of the producer/director, and the quality being given. Nonetheless, for a simple four minute movie, it is easy to say that a lot of hard work gets put into the stop motion animation.

This got brought up due to the fact that a friend and I was watching some films that got produced by a young film maker and her responce to the films such as, “This doesn’t seem like a lot of work. Why does he get so much praise?” After showing her the behind the scenes of his films she agreed with me and said that his stop motions really do take a lot of work, and for a young student, his stop motions are above his league.

I guess what I am trying to sum up in this long ramble is that I feel as though people don’t give eough credit toward stop animation because they don’t truly understand the amount of work goes into each film. It is sad that, to the general public, stop animations don’t usually get charted next to box office hits such as “The Hunger Games” or “Harry Potter” when the directors/producers truly put so much time and energy in to create them.

Tech Savvy Shoes

Whether it was our choce or not, most little girls had some phase where they took some ballet classes. At first, everything is great and fun, and then the realization that ballet is an art form that can only be perfected by years of dedication by both student and teacher with an eye for detail sets in. Some people stay to perfect their moves, and others-most-quit.

However, a new tech savvy pointe shoe can maybe change the old and prestigious ballet schools. These shoes are the Arduino-fitted pointe shoes are called Electric Traces made by Lesia Trubat, a designer fascinated by the machanics of dance. Sensors in the shoes act a personal teacher who watches every tiny detail. They send information back to an electronic device, such as a smart phone or computer, so the dancer can look at graphs and pictures of the problem. They’re then able to see where they’re off balance or where the problem occured. These shoes can help where a teacher can sometimes faulter, or even help a self-taught dancer.

Maybe this device can help teachers to teach and guide their students even better