Blog Image Essay #5

Movement and energy is the two main ideas that come to mind when the term kinetic is brought up in a discussion. How can a static two dimensional image convey the movement and energy, is it possible? Matthew Ritchie has found a way to show us that yes, yes it is. In his piece “Something like Day” shown above, the general feeling you get is well… movement there’s almost no way to take in all the energy without going up and just observing and standing and following the black lines. Lines are what you are seeing in black, the continuous and uninterrupted movement is something I’ve never quite seen. The gentle curves that follow other black line built upon by other black lines, gives a feeling of completeness and wholesomeness. Then as you follow the lines from the outside it all abruptly turns to color, and instead of mostly going horizontally, where twisted and thrown up down and every which way, possibly telling us that you can never predict everything in your life, that each and every day is unique. All this is taught through lines, black lines, and colorful lines, all on a static white non-moving wall. Kinetic can be shown very easily and yet be one of the most complicated items in a piece.

Blog Image Essay #4

The fifth element an astounding movie, most notable known for its incredible CGI work at the time, but today let’s look at the poster, which uses “area of focus” very well. There is quite a bit going on in this piece, flying space ships, three floating disjointed heads, and 5 very bright lights ranging in size going smaller and taller in a hill effect. The area of focus in this piece is undoubtedly is Bruce Willis’s face where not only is there something of a blue aura focusing around and behind his head. But his head is also the biggest out of the three. As well as the 5 lights hill effect the largest one leads us straight to his chin. The flying space ships add to the piece as well with their light tales that pretty much act as arrows pointing to the triangular hierarchy where Bruce is dominant in all shapes and sizes. The blue aura around his acts as a area of high contrast between the blue whitish, to the straight black. Yes with Area of Focus it is a very nice tool to utilize indeed, to point to something that you want the world to see.

Blog Image Essay #3

Ahh, Yes texture and its many various forms is a powerful tool indeed, one that can express a gamut of emotions. This is a desktop made by the fantastic artists at looking glass studio, and is a desktop for the game Bioshock. The large scale looking hand is one from a big daddy, who is the bouncer in the world of Bioshock. And the tiny clean, is from a little sister, a girl that pretty much once was a normal little girl but after a series of events ends up sucking the blood of the dead to produce a drug. It’s an original game for sure. Besides it being a remarkable achievement in rendering technology, what is the feeling this piece is conveying to us? I feel a dreading feeling like the pure has fallen to the dark; the righteous has become and joined forces with the twisted. The large, dark, brooding, slimy, dirty, hand, next to pale, innocent, small, makes for a very interesting contrast as well. Through the texture we learned all this, texture is a fascinating, and deep and powerful tool. One that when used properly can elevate any piece of art to new highs and extremes.

Blog Image Essay #2

Today let’s discuss Line, and to talk about line I have brought in our friend Rorschach, everyone say, hi Rorschach. Who can tell me about Rorschach and how he relates to line values… no well good, maybe you little shits will learn something today. Rorschach is a character in one of the most beloved comic books of all time “Watchmen”, which was created by Alan Moore, and is being made into movie as we speak by Zach Snyder.

Well enough history, LINE VALUES!!! YAY!!

Most notable first is Rorschach’s mask, which has blotches of ink on it. Which obviously refers to his name and how he got it, but what is the ink telling us? Throughout the book Moore uses the ink blotches to convey Rorschach’s feelings and emotions. In this particular scene we get the feeling of wondering, thinking and a touch of danger or possibly movement. We feel movement through the very thin and numerous horizontal lines that run behind Rorschach face. We feel wonder, and thinking in Rorschach face, the rounded blotches together with the four separated blotches almost like the main mass of blotches is reaching for the four lost ones. Like someone searching for answers.

Blog Image Essay #1

For my first assignment I will be writing about Norman Rockwell’s The Golden Rule. This piece really stood out to me first and for most because of the message it sends it viewer, which is obviously do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This is a fantastic message about human peace, and loves thy brother. Now down to the elements of the piece. We are first and for most drawn to the little African American child who is placed very precisely in the center, contrasting the very bright cloth of the individuals behind him. He looks rather dirty and down trotted, which tells me he is in need of help. He doesn’t have a shirt own, so he doesn’t own very much, but yet he still holds that gold bowl like his offering it to us, wow humanity at its finest. Other aspects that stand out about this piece is the use of triangular hierarchy, in the contrasting white cloth wears. Not only is it contrasting the African boy by his at the base of the hierarchy which draws our eyes to him but also that the cloth wearers are also staring at him, which creates more invisible lines to the boy.

Blog Entry #1

My name is Kyle O’Brien and I am an aspiring Digital Arts major in Bowling Green State University. Art has always held a special place in me, in the way one can express their self, how you create your own world and manipulate it as you see fit, its enthralling. The captivity a white piece of paper hold is mind-blogging. It playing god in a sense, that I dictate what goes on in my own personal world.

My Influence stems from a pretty wide variety of artists and objects most notable: Comics, Video games, MC Escher, and Dali. Through all this things I have become a rather interesting individual and very interested in art.

I consider most forms of media art, Video Games, Movies, Books, Music. I consider these things art because there original. They’re a medium in which to express meaning, thought, or emotion.

The reason why I took a chance to learn art academically is because I’m not sure what I’m capable of… I did fail the portfolio for BGSU and am currently rounding up some more art for my second attempt. But you know what was interesting about me failing; I spent a solid week’s worth of work on that flash presentation and the professor flew through it, clicked, skipped the intro, complained that there was no sound, and tore my pieces of art apart that I presented… I still had fun. I had fun failing. I entertained myself by learning flash in a week and a half’s time, spent long nights online searching for help, and spending well over 500$ for both flash and a Wacom tablet… and I failed, with a smile on my face.

Currently the Smiths: Hatful of hollow, is in my CD player. Then on my MP3 player the most listen track is Madvillain: All Caps.

Blog Entry #2

This is Andrew's Composition

This is My 2-D Composition

Lets take a look at the different pieces, my piece in black, and Andrew’s piece in white.

Well first and foremost the biggest difference between the two is the obvious background color, Andrew stuck with the traditional white background, while I choose a black background because I wanted higher contrasts, because my images had a lot of white borders and it become difficult to distinguish where the image started and where the image ended.

Andrew went for a theme it seems like, he choose magnifying glasses, bulls head and seems like pen handles. While I stuck with the shapes, square, circle, and line and what was in those shapes is what I like. Andrew went ahead and said threw his piece that I am bull headed and stubborn, and that I have a close eye to detail, as for the pen I can’t quite place it. In mine I wasn’t really go for a theme besides all about me and what I like, it just kind of happened that the top of Morrissey’s head ended up under the world, and people general took it like an idea bubble and that he was thinking about the world and somehow they got protect the world from my piece… I wasn’t really going for that but to each his own.