Pictures!
Mood by Gregory Crewdson, some over retouched and some images based off of the chinese guy who does the flying people, but interesting as commercial work.
Yuck
Sick as a dog atm and lots of work to do. Not much blogging going to be going on.
Imagine this was said witty.
Paintings and Illustration
Don't Panic > Magazine > Structure > SAM WEBER
Sam Weber's paintings are rich in colour, and full of emotion. He paints a dark world of vampires and demons, yet sustains an elegant, classical feel to his illustrations. Jessica Allan spoke to him to find out how, when and where these creations came to life.How did you develop such a distinctive painting technique? Did you learn it at art school?
Like with most things, I think it developed over time. Art school was a great first step in getting me set on the right path, but I think I made my most important leaps and discoveries afterwards. It's so important to keep pushing yourself after school. Illustration can be very craft oriented, and it takes time to develop the hand and observation skills necessary to make professional looking work. Working in my sketchbook and on personal projects has been essential in developing my body of work.
A very classic textured painting look to his work with a bit of modern design. I like the image of the female Vampire that was on a Comm Arts cover awhile back.
New Holiday
This April First I declare a new holiday. The "Stay the Fuck off the Internet Day."
Every year, on April first I shall honor it.
actually, it's good.
Podcasts « The Adam Carolla Podcast
Shocking, but true. I actually find this interesting to listen too...
For future thought
It’s probably fair to say that because of CGI, traditional studio photography will begin to fade away in the next couple of years. But to make great ‘photographic’ images, as with retouching, a healthy relationship between the CGI studio and photographer still needs to be a part of the image creation process. The role of the photographer is simply evolving, as is ours from just a retouching studio to a full creative production facility. Whilst we have a strong grasp of photographic technique, it’s preferable in many cases to also have a photographer’s eye looking over an image, as they can often help define the lighting and camera angles and spot errors that the untrained eye can’t always see.
So I am on the fence about this one. I was one of the first to call out the end of Photo Labs back in the 90's, but I don't know if photography will go away. I saud all the labs around will go away and there will be a few custom labs left around to do high end art stuff and thats it. Which is pretty much where we are at.
But this discussion about the death of photography we hear now is based on two fronts:
One, video is killing photography. Everything will be motion based and print is dead.
Two, CGI is killing photography. Why have shoot a product when you can just 3d render it.
Here is my main thought on both of these discussions. MONEY.
It all begins and ends with money. You think a retoucher is expensive and time consuming? Have a 3d model built and see what that runs. You think renting a studio for a still shoot is expensive? Add on all the hot lights and grips you need for a motion shoot. Plus sound and video editing. These are more expensive by factors of two all around. Don't forget that all of this take way more time to produce as well and time is money. You are not walking away from the shoot with a rough edit of the commercial to show the client the next day. That is weeks away. Same with 3d for any kind of decent rendering.
So I do not really see photography going away really. but on higher end shoots I see these other aspects being incorporated in the bag of tricks one uses to achieve a final goal. Video for "Harry Potter Newpaper-esque" loops on websites and 3d for incorporating impossible to achieve effects.
Me want
New Derringer Motorized Bicycles
Derringer is the neo-classical interpretation of a 1920's era board track racing motorcycle, but that's not all.This revolutionary moto-hybrid was conceived as an exciting new option in highly-efficient transportation. Derringers can be pedaled as a traditional bicycle, propelled via engine power, or pedaled with the assistance of engine power. While under power, the pedals can also remain stationary, allowing you to operate in the style of a traditional motorcycle. Capable of fuel economy ratings that can exceed 150 mpg, Derringers are the first product to take the compromise out of environmentalism, clearly evidenced by the number of customers who purchase a Derringer along with an in-home display stand.
Derringers were specially designed to conform with the legal classification of a motorized bicycle and, in their standard configuration, do not require the motorcycle license endorsement that is necessary to operate scooters and mopeds in most states. As long as the rider is over 16 years of age, no drivers license is required.*
Man, one of these would be cool as hell.
Night photos by Tim Simmons
Tim Simmons – work I like this take on night photos a lot. Very elegant and smooth. I am getting some people together for some night shooting and this is some nice motivational material. Very clean lighting.
I am wondering if I can run my profoto's from my truck without melting the battery.... hmmm....
Font maker?
Font Generator - Make Your Own Handwriting Font With Your Fonts
# Your own handwriting turned into your very own font for free # Optionally include your signature and digitally sign your contracts # You'll have your very own font within 15 minutes # Make as many fonts as you like # Use your fonts on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux # Personalize your digital scrapbook pages and invitations # Make your own "family handwriting history" # Use your fonts in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and every program that you own
So this is interesting. Blogging it here to come back and test so I don't lose the link. I'll let you know how the results come out.
Not to get all heavy on you.
So America is in free fall, we can all agree on that right? Everything is falling apart and all the lies from the last 8 years are coming to light. Banks with no money, overpriced homes not worth anything, new construction of horrendous quality, GM, Chrysler and how many other corporations failing right and left. The gig is up.
This is mirroring the collapse of the Soviet Union after communism failed, the difference being they went bankrupt playing high stakes poker against us. In America corporatism became cannibalistic, as is it's nature, and we destroyed ourselves with greed.
New Wacoms.
Working Under PressureWith 2048 levels of pen pressure sensitivity, Intuos4 gives you the creative power to dynamically adjust exposure, brush size, line weight, opacity and more. The Keys To Success
Work smarter not harder. Set-up the Intuos4 ExpressKeys™ to activate your own unique, time-saving shortcuts and modifiers in each of your applications. With Intuos4, remembering your shortcut settings is now as easy as casting a quick glance at the tablet. Each ExpressKey is now equipped with an accompanying illuminated display providing a constant reminder of the key's application-specific function.*
Interesting....
I wonder how this effects the Cintiq line?
Jason Leisge's new work
Jason D. Leisge - New in progress stuff
I am adding some new stuff here because its either not finished or its a fresh photo.These two are done, I just need a healed photo of them.
The black and white phoenix is amazing. Tattooing is such a strange art to me. You have to get in so close to people and then physically hurt them. So it's this very intimate thing in a way with all this trust going on. It's interesting to hang out in the shop when they work.
A good idea.
How to Test RAM Under Mac OS X | Command-Tab
Memtest Usage To run memtest on a new memory module, first shut down your computer and install the new chip. (Some helpful guides for doing this can be found at iFixit, if you’re unsure of the exact steps.) Ensure the chip is firmly in place, close up your machine (or don’t, if you’re a pessimist), and power it on while holding down the Command and S keys to force Mac OS X to boot into Single User Mode. Once you see a black screen with white text, you can release the key combination. After all the system logging is done scrolling past, type memtest all 2 to test ‘all’ memory ‘2′ times. Two passes should be enough to detect any blatant problems, but I wouldn’t hesitate to let it run for hours on end if I suspected an intermittent memory problem (memtest all). When complete, you should be greeted with “All tests passed” if your new RAM is in good condition. If your system locks up or freezes indefinitely during the test, you may have a bad memory module on your hands.
Cool project
Ghost in the Machine - a set on Flickr
In this series I showcase a number of portraits of musicians made out of recycled cassette tape with original cassette. Also included are portraits made from old film and reels.
So to be clear, they pulled out the tape and used it to draw the portrait. Very cool use of materials.
addicted to information
"And I do believe we are becoming addicted to information. You only need to look at those people who have hard drives filled with songs that they have never even listened to. They are not even collecting music. They are collecting information. And the more people become addicted to information and the faster they can obtain that information, the less they will be able to contemplate that information, and it is the contemplation of the information which makes it art."An argument I've heard advanced is that there's been a general devaluing of music in recent years - not merely in economic terms and expectations, but as a more central role or defining marker of what makes a person and who they are. What would be your take on this assertion?
BC: "I do believe that music is generally being devalued because of this addiction to information that I was speaking of. I like to compare it to a drive through the countryside. If you are driving at a comfortable pace then you are able to enjoy the sights of the countryside for yourself; the trees and the color of the sky and the sad-eyed cows, etc. If you are driving 100 miles per hour, there is no way you will be able to enjoy what the countryside has to offer. You will be too busy reacting to contemplate; the potholes, the corners, the lone farmer's truck.
Oh, I know the pain....
Me moaning about shoddy UI inconsistencies and mistakes in Adobe products and how they get shittier with every release.
For the record I can not use CS4 with my comp for unknown reasons. I have been on support calls with Adobe and they say I have a unique case after going through hell and back.
OMG WOW
YouTube - Hausu (1977) Killer Lampshade
It is a lampshade and it kills and then the cat painting attacks, but a pair of legs appear and karate kicks the cat causing the woman to burst out of her cloths and then start bleeding which then breaks open the floor into a river of blood while two girls scream. Only a horrible run on sentence can describe this.
Robert Freakin Pollard
Vice Magazine - ROBERT POLLARD -
Was it difficult when things took off for you, to juggle family and a band? You were a schoolteacher and you had two kids.Yeah, it was extremely difficult, but I was somehow able to do it. Much to the chagrin of some of my relatives, I just couldn’t give up fucking around with music and art ideas. And we didn’t put as much time into it as people thought we did. We would meet on a Saturday or Sunday, get fucked up and record everything we did, and then sit back and laugh at it. And we could barely play. We would make noise, play acoustic guitars, act out skits, experiment with feedback, break things, create radio talk shows, DJ, all sorts of things. And always record it all. Then on Monday I would go back to being a dad, a coach, a teacher, a husband, and an amateur athlete. Too many irons.
Though it may not be cool to link to a Vice article, I dunno. The hipster police may track me down over this one.
Man, I like Prints.
Kiyochika’s War
The energy and artistic skill of the best war prints are all the more remarkable when we keep in mind the haste of their composition. Some sense of the impressive nature of this accomplishment can be gleaned by an overview of prints by Kiyochika, the most esteemed of these artists, who is calculated to have produced more than seventy triptychs during the brief ten months of the Sino-Japanese War. Kiyochika’s impressions of the front ranged from the lyrical to the atrocious, sometimes even bringing these two extremes together.
This image of a sinking ship is my fav.
This and the following link via Plep