Therein Lies Peace

Nearing the halfway point on animation

2009-04-13T20:23:00.000-07:00

I'm almost half finished with my animation and so far things are going well. I am really enjoying the process for the most part and making steady progress. I am slightly concerned with the length of my project, specifically if it will be the required length. Of course, I can always add more scenes and elaborate on existing ones to make the animation longer if needed. At this point in the animation, I am also excited to add my other main character and my supporting character. Though neither of these will be as developed as the existing woman, they will play a major part in the overall story. Making their roles larger than I first anticipated will be a great way to add length as well.
I also feel that I have learned several valuable skills recently that will help me animate the remainder of the video more quickly. Being able to make progress at an increased rate will also help me to meet the length requirement. Overall, I am still rather assured in my ability to finish the work on time and meet the length requirement.

Blog for April 7th - 9th

2009-04-08T21:39:00.000-07:00

So far, the project is going pretty well, even though it seems to be taking a very long time to create.
I often wonder if I've tried to achieve more than I can with my limited skills, but I also feel that if I work long enough and hard enough I will be able to finish. After learning about sound today, I am also very excited to start adding should to my animation. I don't want to include any kind of dialogue, but some ambient noise to make the setting more believable will be really helpful. I also feel like i have a good idea of what I want to do for the rest of the animation and at least some idea as to how to accomplish it. I'm sure there will be many challenges ahead though, as there is always something new to learn about the process of making animations. I hope that production of the animation will become quicker and easier now since I have amassed so many symbols. This will help me meet the time limit and allow me to do less work than i have previously had to do. I am overall very hopeful about completing the animation in total by the due date including sound.

Animation Blog (no subject provided)

2009-04-02T10:41:00.000-07:00

Since no subject was provided for this weeks blog, I will explain a bit about my animation and the story behind it. The animation will now be done using mostly vector shapes that have been heavily manipulated to represent various objects. Originally, I wanted to use mostly hand drawing, but the process seems overwhelming and even more time consuming than using all computer animation. The topic of the animation is rather mysterious. The video opens with a view of a rundown apartment or tenement building and quickly shifts to a woman locking her door in said apt building and leaving the building. During her travels, she notices that she is being followed and seeks shelter in an alley. Little does she know, another mysterious character, a man this time, is protecting her. he creates a diversion so that she might escape the pursuer and continue her journey. In the last portion of the video, it is discovered that the person she was going to meet was actually the man who saved her from her pursuers. Neither character's identity is revealed and they never exchange words, only a small piece of red paper. The story behind the animation is much longer and a project I have been considering for some time. The animation I am creating is just the very first part of the story. I do not plan on animating the entire thing, only this portion. I feel that the mysterious circumstances and exciting subject are appropriate for a short animation and will be interesting to viewers.

Animation

2009-03-25T16:34:00.000-07:00

One of my overall favorite pieces of animation is the movie Howl's Moving Castle. The film was made by Studio Ghibli and based on a book by Diana Jones also called Howl's Moving Castle. The film contains both hand drawn and computer generated animation to create a world of rich colors and images. The appearance of the film is like many other films made by Studio Ghibli; it is an anime that includes both standard elements of anime as well as sweeping landscapes and beautifully detailed interiors. The amount of detial in Howl's castle and the hat shop is absolutely astonishing, as is the smoothness and grace of the scene transitions and the story framing. There are also many interesting points of views and perspectives in the film, as characters are always moving to new and interesting places, including flying, traveling through a fantasy world, and exploring an enchanted garden.
The story follows much the same format discussed in class, despite the fact that it contains many complex emotions and strong character development, a characteristic that some of the in class examples did not have. The plot follows a generally upward trend as the characters interact and face increasing opposition, which peaks as Sophie (the main female character) must save Howl (the main male character) from outside enimies as well as himself. As is characteristic of a traditional narritive story line, the plot wraps up with the two main characters reuniting and living happily together. As I mentioned, even though the plot is fairly straight forward, the characters are developed in such a way to make them much deeper than most characters in simple plots. Because of this and the visual interest of the film, it can be enjoyed by people of a wide age range, not only children or only adults.

This clip contains one of the most beautiful and expansive landscapes in the film, an enchanted garden Howl makes for Sophie as a gift.

Unsure of the Blog topic

2009-03-03T09:49:00.000-08:00

Since I am unsure of the blog topic for this week, I'm basically going to talk about my project idea and what I'm finding difficult, etc. My idea for the web art project is fairly simple, the index of the site is a tree in the form of an animated gif with blowing leaves. The look is very soft in general to mimic the appearance of water colors and more specifically a foggy winter day. So far, I have found it very difficult to manipulate images in dreamweaver and am constantly switching out images for slightly updated versions that I make in photoshop. It seems really time consuming and I find it very frustrating that there is virtually no room for image manipulation in dreamweaver. Anyway, each of the blowing leaves on the tree links to a page with another animated gif (the leaf blowing) layered on top of which is a short poem. The poems, which I wrote, are hardly best poetry ever; I would have used poems from people that could write if I had known if the project allowed for it. Each poem can function as a separate unit, or they can be put together to form one longer work, it is really up to the viewer to interpret. The general theme is connecting the appearance of a lone, mostly bare tree to death (really original, I know). I like being able to make something so interactive, but I overall do not like dreamweaver. This is probably due to the fact that I know nothing about web design and I find it all very cumbersome and confusing.

2009-02-21T13:18:00.000-08:00

Web Art

http://www.atomless.com/projects/

The above link is the web art that I found most interesting of the ones I found trough exploring various links. Even from the home page of the site, it is very interesting and interactive. I especially like the crumpling and un-crumpling pieces of paper. It is a very interesting animation and interactive, as each sheet will remain in the stage it occupies when the cursor moves over it. I think that this is a good animation to choose to illustrate the thought process of the artist while creating his/her works. Of the actual works featured on the site, my favorite is "Sketch Pad." This piece of web art changes direction, shape, and density based on the viewers manipulation of the cursor in the designated area. I particularly enjoy that the viewer has so much control over the art that he/she is viewing. As far as the actual art, I like that the swirling shapes often resemble letters, as if they form a word that is only just illegible. Upon using the back function, a gallery of "Sketch Pad" works are revealed, all of which remind me of gesture drawings. Another particularly interesting feature of the site is the "The Source" which begins as a scattering of black pixels on a white field and gradually comes to form a word through stages of reorganization. I found this concept to be particularly interesting, despite the fact that it did not allow for viewer interaction.

Self Portrait

2009-02-12T09:58:00.001-08:00

For my self portrait project, I decided to make an image that represents all the beauty and elegance of the 1920's by using costume clothing and some of the great old theatres around Bloomington. To create a 20's feel, I transformed the images to black and white then selectively added color to imitate the look of hand colored photographs. The entire image has been to made to look smooth and luminous to mimic the glamour of the time it represents. I also decided to remove many of the suggestions of a modern city scene by using the clone tool to cover modern cars and restaurant signs. Though I'm sure my image doesn't really represent what Bloomington looked like in the 1920's, it still gives the feeling characteristic of the era.

I wanted to create the appearance of a hand colored photo like these vintage prints:

2009-02-08T19:07:00.000-08:00

I just thought it might be a good idea to upload some of the projects I've completed! More to come soon :]

Abstract Artwork

2009-02-05T10:10:00.000-08:00

The above painting is entitled Drachen 6 by Irena Vezin. The work is an abstract nonobjective piece that uses both color and shape to convey a specific mood. The dark shape in the rough middle of the piece is in sharp contrast with the vibrant yellow/yellow-orange background field. Also, the smooth gradient background is very different from the sharply defined edges of the positive shape. The defined edge of the shape gives it a feeling of hardness, strength, and weight. Its coloration, mostly dark purple-blue with interspersed saturated red splatter, gives it a frightening appearance, as do the sharp protrusions around its perimeter. I addition to the coloration, the general shape resembles a mouth or a grasping hand, furthering the feeling of fright or anger/rage. Overall, the shape seems very forceful and aggressive. The background, though mostly smooth and evenly colored, also has some aspects of the main shape's aggression. The warm, saturated colors and splattered red lend themselves to aggressive tendencies and anger. The title of the work does not offer much insight, as it is a German word and I do not speak German.

Art and Politics

2009-01-28T17:43:00.000-08:00

The first images I am going to discuss aren't really "art" per se, but they do offer a view of the possibilities of photoshop in a global setting. The first image is the original photo of a Saudi Arabian missile launch:

This image is the same launch after some careful photoshopping indicated by the red indicators:

Without proper investigation or analysis, this image could easily be taken to be a real and accurate portrayal of the missile capabilities of Saudi Arabia.

Of course, after the image was discovered as false, people took some liberties to create a more amusing image:

The second digital artist I would like to discuss is the founder and artist behind digitalblasphemy.com. His work isn't necessarily digital composite, but he does use photoshop to create amazing images such as these:

These images are beautiful and masterfully created with the use of several different programs, including Photoshop. The man who created these images was entirely self taught and offers most of them on his website as wallpapers for no charge.

Catching up on Posts

2009-01-28T17:11:00.001-08:00

Sadly, I wrote last weeks blog without reading the syllabus, so I am dedicating this blog to addressing the topic of materials for Project 1. For my project I am combining pictures taken of campus with several different images of evergreens as well as flowers ot create the background of the image. The foreground is occupied by a photo of David McGrayel who has been altered to appear ghostly and/or luminous. Most of the photos were taken of the paths between the admissions building and Ballentine Hall. The various evergreens were located in various locations around campus. Hopefully, some previously taken pictures of flowers will suffice, as there aren't many blooming outdoor plants in january, let alone in nearly a foot of snow. Many of the photos are rather dark, as I waited until the lamps were lit to take them. Though this seems problematic, I desired a rather dark background so that the figure could appear more luminous and the flowers more dramatic. Contrast with the dark background will be helpful in achieveing this. These are some of the images I collected:

The above picture was eventually chosen as the background for the project because it provided a large middle and background as well as a decent foreground area.

Road Trips and History

2009-01-20T13:01:00.000-08:00

Over the long weekend I went to New Orleans on a spur of the moment decision made over dinner with several of my close friends. After the fourteen hour drive we arrived to a much warmer and fresher city than where we had come from. As far as the relevance to this class, the entire city was full of art and artistic elements. The many small art boutiques contained a myriad of lovely works that were interesting, especially stylistically. One of my favorites was titled "The Morning After," though, sadly I cannot remember the artist's name. The painting was mostly composed of achromatic greys and had a somewhat graphic feel despite the soft coloration. One of the only hues was a vibrant red featured in a woman's dress. The use of such a saturated accent color was an interesting move and something I would like to attempt in the future.

In contrast to that specific painting, most local art was characterized by saturated hues and painterly style. Many works featured natural subjects, though a large number also portrayed the city. The very bright colors would be interesting to experiment with in future work, although this is not customary of my style.

Despite the lovely art, the most spectacular feature of New Orleans was the wonderful architecture in the French Quarter. The ornamental balconies and lovely gardens were striking. Sadly, I was not able to take my camera, meaning that I have no photographs from the entire road trip. However, here are some images of New Orleans that typify what i saw and appreciated.

In the Beginning...

2009-01-12T14:22:00.000-08:00

My name is Sarah Richards, I am writing this blog as an assignment for my Digital Art class at Indiana University. I am a Fine Arts Major interested in graphic design, photography, and digital art. My other educational interests include Psychology, Telecommunications, and Interior Design. I am still actively trying to explore my interests in an attempt to decide what i want to do with the rest of my life. Just because I am an art major now is no real indication of what I will be majoring in by the end of the semester.

I am most inspired by the people around me, nature, music, and the events in my life. I believe that no work of art can ever truly capture the beauty and perfection of nature. I see something amazing and new every day that can never be perfectly replicated my any human method. This is not to say that I disagree with representing nature, only that we will never be quite as good. Knowing that I will never be able to fully realize natures beauty doesn't stop me from trying; I love incorporating natural elements into my work. Contrastingly, I also love structural elements, and try to create dynamic situations including both. I constantly attempt to bring bits of nature to where I am, even in the cramped dull dorm room that I currently inhabit. Concerning art, my favorite pieces are generally considered art nouveau, especially those works of Alfonse Mucha.

I love the bold graphic lines contrasted with the languidly curving figures and the soft, delicate coloration. Also, the dynamic expressions on the faces of the figures, often enigmatic and thought provoking, add a huge amount of personal interest. The influence of Japanese woodblock printing in Mucha's work is also a major source of personal interest, as I also enjoy those works.

Other than art, I am influenced a large deal by music. I love bands like Okkervil River, Say Hi, Modest Mouse, Noah and the Whale, Bloc Party, Belle & Sebastian, Ok Go, Man Man, Taking Back Sunday, The Faint, Holy Fuck, Kimya Dawson, The Moldy Peaches, The Hush Sound, Death Cab for Cutie, Franz Ferdinand, Good Luck, The Future, and many other bands like these. I suppose the common thread among most of them is the use of meaningful lyrics coupled with expressive music. I believe that music doesn't need to be technically difficult to be appreciated, though that is certainly one reason to appreciate it. I am currently trying to learn guitar, which i greatly enjoy. My guitar's name is Rhett, after Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind.

Overall, I love to try to solve things. My interest in art comes mostly from the desire to solve visual problems, as I find them the most direct way to state any idea. Images are the most universal way to convey ideas, I find this unceasingly interesting and hope to pursue it further throughout my education.