On crafting Universes

http://www.solarvoyager.com/tutorials.asp

(…)it is useful for beginners and pros alike to see how other artists achieve certain results. These tutorials are only intended to be guides as you work through new processes and challenges. Upon these building blocks, you must add experimentation and a great deal of practice(…)

Solar Voyager hosts what in my opinion is the net’s best collection of tutorials on crafting realistic space scenes by means of 2D techniques. Most of them are focused on different approaches to rendering planets of all sorts, but fortunately there are several other articles which cover a broad field of subjects, from nebulae to asteroids to truly impressive star fields. As you’ll soon realize, following the articles will be a lot easier if you have Photoshop, since that´s the tool of choice in most of them; however, I’m sure that there’s no effect that you can’t achieve by using other programs, so that shouldn’t be a problem.

Besides from the tutorials, you should pay some to time to visit the rest of Solar Voyager, which covers all branches of space art: you´ll surely be surprised by the quantity and quality of many of the works shown!

The art of breeding pictures

http://mzlabs.com/gart/g4.html

Genetic Art is a way to describe processes where genetic selection procedures are applied to computer-generated media, the selection criteria being based on aesthetical choices. In other words, think of yourself as a Mendel-wannabe of the digital era, one that works with images instead of peas. Ready to experiment? Continue reading The art of breeding pictures

HoBot

http://www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/Ho.htm

http://www.zoho.nl/zoho2.html

the “ultimate puppet” that could duplicate the grace and range of human movement

Mark Ho has recently been spotted in many sites across the Web after his work on the ArtForm No.1, a metal fully poseable robot sculpture. The reasons for this interest? Well, according to a post in digg, Mark is selling a limited series of these sculptures, priced at more than 36000 dollars each. That will raise some eyebrows, but honestly, I think that the price is fair (and it would be even if the series weren’t limited). From a craftsperson’s point of view the statue is a masterpiece, comprised of 920 pieces that Continue reading HoBot

NetLogo 3.1

http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/

NetLogo is a programmable modeling environment for simulating natural and social phenomena. It is particularly well suited for modeling complex systems developing over time. Modelers can give instructions to hundreds or thousands of independent “agents” all operating concurrently. This makes it possible to explore the connection between the micro-level behavior of individuals and the macro-level patterns that emerge from the interaction of many individuals.

3.1 features a new suite of link primitives, configurable world topologies, randomized agent ordering, and a new tie primitive.

NetLogo is one of those cool, easy-to-understand program languages, like Processing, that I keep in my linkshelf with the hope to learn one day and become a really cool artist.

Based on the famous (at least when I was a kid) LOGO language, NetLogo really IS an impressive programming environment for at least three reasons: it is easy to learn so students can use it; it is written in java, which means that the programs can be executed from within the web browser, like the examples here; and it has a very wide scope of applications, from biology to art. All in all, this is a highly interesting and worthwhile environment that I’ll keep on wanting to try for a long time. 😉

Art by Tucho

http://www.artbytucho.blogspot.com/

A few days ago my good friend Tucho Fernández opened his new blog, “Art by Tucho”, where he is regularly posting samples of his drawings and 3D models. Tucho and I worked together in the Glest project and he is now also working for the video games company Traganarion Studios. As for his art, the quality of his paintings is eloquent enough. I would add that he’s especially talented for drawing things of an organic nature, especially fantasy creatures and dinosaurs, but in my opinion that’s only because that’s his preference. I’ve been trying to make him draw robots and spaceships since I first met him, though, and the Battle Machine is the best example that he is equally skillful at drawing almost anything. 🙂

Kurt Wenner paints in 3D

http://www.kurtwenner.com/street/

Wenner’s unique and innovative use of anamorphic perspective creates unforgettable images that combine the painted surface with its surroundings into a single composition.

After the interest shown in a former article on Julian Beever’s anamorphic pavement paintings, I decided to complete it with more materials on the topic. Julian’s site included several pictures of his chalk paintings, but I remembered to have seen some more, so I made a little research to see what I could find -and I found myself surprised by the (re)discovery of another great painter and master of the anamorphic technique, Kurt Wenner.

I say rediscovery because in fact I already knew several of his pictures, though I thought they belonged to Julian; actually, besides the fact that they use similar methods, it’s easy to see differences between them. Both of them are figurative, and draw the contours of the shapes they paint. However, if Beever tends to paint contemporary and often quotidian people and objects, Wenner’s imagery is neoclassical, in between Renaissance and Baroque. My favourite paintings of his are those where he works the scenography and composition in order to enhance the pathos, giving the pictures a strength that outperforms that of Beever… yet Julian has got a sense of humour, a “human touch”, which make his paintings great even when the subject is not. In other words: Human people in a picture by Wenner tend to become objects, statues in the picture. But when Beever poses with his creations, he brings them out to the world.

In all, I would say that Beever and Kenner, both great artists, complement each other very well, and I hope that they keep on bringing us many more marvellous paintings. 🙂

Related Article: Julian Beever paints in 3D

Guess what, guess who?

or the Mystery Masterpiece contest

http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=24

I will present a somewhat obscure work to be identified by title and artist.
Every few days I’ll check back to review your answers. The first to post the correct information will be the winner and get to post the next one. He/she will then determin the winner and it will pass on to them and so on and so on and so on…

While browsing through the Wetcanvas forums I came across this initiative, which I find equally amusing and educational. It just takes a small bit of interest, if not simple curiosity, to dip into the list of proposed artworks (1016 so far), and I warn you that in between guessing, discovering and reading the comments you will easily spend quite some time there; however, time spent this way I believe to be a true investment! 🙂

Ni Tsan of the day

Ichung has always loved my bamboo paintings. I always paint them to unburden myself. I’ve never had the purpose of reproducing their appearance. I don’t mind whether they have many or few leaves, that their branches are straight or crooked; I limit myself to give brush strokes. The people say that they look more like rushes, or ropes, or any other thing; I don’t manage to make them see bamboos or have interest in my paintings. They may be right. What I don’t understand very well is why Ichung likes them.

Everything Vermeer

http://essentialvermeer.20m.com/index.html

The Essential Vermeer provides a wide range of in-house resources for studying the work and life of Johannes Vermeer.

This site is simply awesome. It contains a huge amount of information on the great painter: no matter what you’d like to know, you’ll find it here. I wouldn’t know what to highlight, but I found very interesting the articles on the master’s technique and those on the palette he used. If you feel like an expert after all the reading, you can participate in the controversy about the authorship of the recently attributed “A young woman seated at the virginals”.

Draw with Loomis

Updated 14.01.06

www.saveloomis.org

Art-Instruction Books of Andrew Loomis

My friend Tucho told me that he was using the books featured in this site to improve his technique, and actually I found them all very inspiring, not only for artists as talented as he is, but for everyone whith an interest in illustration. The page is also relevant since it´s hard to find printed copies of the books.

For more info on Loomis himself, you can read his biography here.

[Update] In a recent visit to the site this article points to, I found out that the books are no longer available there due to a letter of removal. On the other side, you can now find the books for sale in various online stores, like amazon.com.