starting off...

welcome, session 2 gang!

i wanted to start us off by showing you a terrific, and interesting commercial. it's for honda, which is the least interesting part of it. what i find really intriguing is the tenor of the ad - that they use 'hate' as a way to sell a product, and to promote critical thinking and problem solving. both are great things for you artists to embrace!

photoshop...

when you use photoshop, see if you can create powerful images that really take advantage of the tools. photoshop has the uncanny ability to fake images that look right, but are obviously wrong. if you haven't seen Aphex Twin videos or album covers, here you go - they're a great example.

silhouettes...

take a look at Kara Walker's work, and check out how much detail can be described with only the outside edge of a shape.



for our final project, we'll try using a silhouette made with illustrator, but imported into a photoshop background that you build.

altered self portrait...

while we're working on altered self portraits, take a peek at Annu Palakunnathu Matthew, who investigates what it means to be Indian in America, instead of American Indian. interesting work!

speaking of content...

making your triptych can be difficult, especially because you're considering content. how can you get us to feel what you want us to? you're aiming to avoid predictable thinking, which is hard - it's so rarely encouraged.

take a look at my link to Banksy, a british artist who specializes in graffiti and often has politically loaded images, like this one.

uploading images

when you save your illustrator images, be sure to select and delete all extraneous marks or we'll see oversized and awkward pics. like so:

design & composition

we did a little talking today about design and composition, but i wanted to follow up a little bit more.

the way that you construct your imagery is really important - what do you emphasize through enlargement, centering or tons of small detail touches? what do you de-emphasize by simplifying, obstructing or shrinking? how do you alter natural color to reinforce your decisions?

these things will help to create a focus for an audience, and enable them to appreciate the features that you want them to spend time with. your choices help to control and lead the viewer - that manipulation is crucial to artmaking.

take a peek at this Chris Ware animation below - it's a fantastic story from This American LIfe, an NPR radio show - but watch how he uses basic circles to create focal points, and advance the narrative. it's terrific, simple design.