Exercise #6 Blog Posting
Digital Journal Week [5]
Figure and Motion Clay Sculpture Project
This project was a lot of fun to do, working with clay is one of my favorite mediums to work with. I hope to continue working with this medium in the future.
My sculpture had shown proportions very accurate to the model we had worked on in class, the neck of my piece could be shorter. Overall, it was well done.
3D Design and Color Project # 1
Color Contrast and Perfect Neutrals
3 PERFECT NEUTRAL COMBONATIONS
Digital Journal Week [4]
Todd McFarlane
Well known graphic/comic book artist/entrepreneur
Todd was born on March 16th, 1961 in Alberta, Canada. He began drawing at a very young age and he picked it up as a hobby. As Todd got older his interest of comics grew and he accumulated many of them. He then would replicate the drawings within and would grow his skill as an artist. His favorite comics came from the creators like Jack Kirby, John Byrne, Frank Miller and many others.
After High School, he attended Spokane Falls Community College for a 1 year then transferred to Eastern Washington University. He designed his own program to focus more on graphics and art. He worked as a janitor to fulfill part of his baseball in which he had to get an on-campus job. Unfortunately, due to multiple serious injuries, his pursuit of professional baseball had ended. Later that year, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree. When his hopes of playing baseball didn’t play out, he worked at a comic book store to help finance the rest of his college tuition.
When he first began his career, he would draw pencil/pen, and/or ink. As he got more and more commissions, he started to use early forms of computer programs to draw out his images for cover art and comic panels. Coming into the more recent present, he has evolved to the use of very, very, very expensive drawing tablets. He can get the basic shapes done of whatever character he has done, then quickly fill in the base colors and shading within a matter of minutes to then have the finished result done in less than an hour. With his skill and today’s technology, he can make some really amazing pieces.
He worked for both DC and Marvel comics with his most prevalent icons being Batman and Spiderman. Though, two of his most famous creations are the alien symbiote Venom and the supernatural solider of Hell, Spawn.
McFarlane created Spawn back when he was in high school, he established basic drawings then enhanced them over the years. The early versions of Spawn looked a lot like Spiderman, but McFarlane has since changed the color scheme, added more muscle, and the very iconic demonic cape.
In most recent times, he has started up a toy collection line that anybody can enjoy and has made many appearances at many Cons from San Diego to New York City.
Many versions of Spawn have been made, but this is one of my favorite pieces.
The use of lines and highlights to show movement of his symbiotic like cape, the build of Spawn’s stature along with the symbolism of the giant, metal cross on top of the cathedral where Spawn made his home.
Tint, Tone, Shade
Caricature Project-Post Critique Comments
Of the comments I recieved on my piece from people who either wanted to speak or forced themselves to say something.
Great work in keeping the use of lines in my digital piece, if they were not added it might have made my final piece just of blob of minor detail and color.
Some of my features were exaggerated, however I may have not done my ear effectively as the rest of the face, looks a little “elvish” and maybe has the appeal of an earring.
Shading and blemishes of the piece really add depth and tone, color and the use of heavy line work really stand out and really bring this piece together.
Overall, I feel that this was a huge learning experience as the first major project of this class. This is definitely getting me into the mindset of being able to draw whenever I want instead of seeing this form of art as a chore. Really looking forward to the next project as it deals with physical 3D material which I feel may have a really good outcome. We will have to wait and find out!
Caricature Project
BRIEF
DOCUMENTED RESEARCH
Bryan Schulte 1/27-28/2020
Figure and Motion Caricature Research
Caricature- a picture that exaggerates a person’s features to produce a comic or grotesque effect (TheFreeDictionary).
Origin- The word caricature comes from the Italian words carico and caricare, meaning ‘to load’ or to ‘exaggerate’. In the 1590s the Italian Annibale Carracci (and his brother Agostino) applied these words to some exaggerated portrait sketches they created (Caricature Art).
Evolving even more through the High Renaissance, and making the style making its way to the modern era.
Thomas Nast-
(born September 27, 1840, Landau, Baden [Germany]—died December 7, 1902, Guayaquil, Ecuador), American cartoonist, best known for his attack on the political machine of William M. Tweed in New York City in the 1870s (Britannica).
He studied art at the National Academy of Design and at the age of 15 became a draftsman for Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper and at 18 for Harper’s Weekly.
Nast did some painting in oil and book illustrations, but his fame rests on his caricatures and political cartoons. From his pen came the Republican Party’s elephant, Tammany Hall’s tiger, and one of the most popular images of Santa Claus. He also popularized the Democratic Party’s donkey.
Mort Drucker- Mort Drucker is most famous as one of Mad Magazine’s “usual gang of idiots.” He mostly illustrated their film and TV parodies, which allowed him to show off his immense talent for caricaturing (Lambiek).
Drucker was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1929. While he showed a talent for drawing and was encouraged to take art classes at the Pratt Institute he was actually more interested in sports.
he learned everything by studying great masters such as Norman Rockwell, E.C. Segar, Albert Dorne, Harold Foster, Robert Fawcett, Austin Briggs, David Levine, Al Hirschfeld, Ronald Searle and Charles M. Schulz, whom he regarded as his prime graphic influences.
About 1950, he began freelancing for comic books. All throughout the decade he contributed to mystery, war and science fiction titles, published by both DC and Stan Lee‘s Atlas line.
In 1956 Drucker joined Mad Magazine through Nick Meglin who had recognized his talent. Original founder Harvey Kurtzman had left and Al Feldstein and William M. Gaines became the new chief editors. Drucker immediately learned that Mad had a different approach than most magazines.
George Cruikshank- George Cruikshank was born in London on 27th September, 1792. His father, Isaac Cruikshank, was a successful caricaturist. After a brief education at an elementary school in Edgeware, Cruikshank worked with his father in his studio.
Cruikshank wanted to study at the Royal Academy, but his father insisted that he needed his help in the studio. He taught him the rudiments of etching into copperplates; at the age of thirteen he was executing the titles of his father’s caricatures, and also putting in backgrounds, furnishings, and dialogue.
In 1835 Cruikshank was considered to be the most important graphic artist working in England.
Cruikshank was asked by the publisher, John Macrone, to illustrate a series of stories and articles by Charles Dickens, that had appeared in the Morning Chronicle.
Work Cited
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Thomas Nast.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 3 Dec. 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Nast.
“Mort Drucker.” Lambiek.net, 1 Jan. 1970, http://www.lambiek.net/artists/d/drucker_mort.htm.
Simkin, John. Spartacus Educational, Spartacus Educational, spartacus-educational.com/PRcruikshank.htm.
Caricature Art: History, Characteristics, http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/caricature-art.htm.
DOCUMENTED RESEARCH SKETCHES
DESIGN STAGE OF CARICATURES
Feedback on 2/4/2020
Lorenzo gave me the feed back of possibly giving my caricature head a sweater/sweatshirt to the bottom of the floating head.
FILE MANAGEMENT OF CARICATURE PROJECT
FINAL IMAGES OF PHYSICAL DRAWING/DIGITAL COPY
REFLECTIVE WRITEUP
This project was definitely a first for me, Caricature art would honestly be the last style I would choose. However, this is a great start into becoming a better artist, deciding to go off an artist who uses very basic lines was very comfortable for me to do. I didn’t want to overwhelm myself. I was very happy how the physical copy turned out, though bringing into Photoshop was going to be a challenge as I haven’t used Photoshop in almost a year, it took a little time to get used to the features on the platform. What got me really excited in the end was the decision to add varied hints of shading. I first it was very basic base colors of the skin, eyes, and hair. Though with a little incentive from a fellow artist, I began to experiment with shading and adding tones of blemish to certain parts of the face. This was my first time applying shading to a art piece and being very happy with the outcome! Photoshop is an amazing tool and when you start to remember the short cuts of the program. You can come up with really cool solutions to problems that can take hours for someone who is unaware of the short cuts. Experimentation and encouragement from other artists has made me want to figure out and research on how to add shading to all future art pieces. Cause even though it might be an extra step in finishing a project, a little bit of shading, can go a long way when it comes to 2D drawing! The feeling I got when I saw the first Digital draft to what is now on this post. My heart skipped a beat from the joy I felt seeing that enhanced look of the shading. I definitely want to explore more with shading, not just on Photoshop, but in drawing on pen/pencil and paper.
