Your Thing Sucks (website)

Here are some random things that have entertained me today, all from the same author Ryan Abegglen.
First, check out this site, Your Thing Sucks, it’s useless, but I like it.
Second, here is some of his art, and it’s very entertaining art.  He refers to these as “mechanical beasts”.  My favourite one is the house cat.

I love how the Q-Tip has been identified as a it’s only weakness, the hairball repository, and the cheetah blood.

Wow, who knew it could be controlled at a distance and could take up to 6 bullets?

Next time you’re around a donkey, careful, they can hear your thoughts. Yikes. Ridonkulousness!

This weasel will stab you, steal you heart and your wallet, does he have no shame?
Check out more at http://www.ryanabegglen.com/index.html.

Your Thing Sucks (website)

Elements of design in two-dimensional design

I have put together a quick summary of elements of design for those of you curious, but not eager to get down with a 500 page book on two-dimensional design.

The first thing to learn about design is how to see like an artist. We all have a preconceived image of our world that has been created by our experiences.

For example, take a piece paper and a pen and draw an apple right now before reading any further.

Now that you have drawn an apple, what does it look like? Is it perfect? Does it actually look like a real apple? Is it perfectly round, or wider at the top or middle? Is the stem in the middle or is it a bit to the side? Did you maybe forget to draw the small crevice from which the stem pops out of? And what about the bottom?

You most likely drew the symbol of an apple, but in reality it is much more complex. The trick is to look at an object as if it you were seeing it for the first time. Look for ways in which the subject isn’t what you expect.

Lines: Lines do a lot.  They defines edges, define space, create motion and energy or create a sense of volume and weight.  They are straight, curved, diagonal, thick, thin continuous or even broken.

 

Something interesting to keep in mind is that lines also convey idea and sense.  Flat horizontal lines create a sense of stability and restfulness. Vertical lines suggest strength and dignity. Diagonal lines have a feeling of motion, are more dynamic and energized.  Curved line have a softer, more sensual quality.

Shapes: There isn’t much to say about shapes, but there are a couple points to remember.  You can create them with lines, with colors or with tonal values.  And often, we don’t actually see the shape we think we are seeing. 

Often times, we will  draw what makes sense to us, but not what we are actually seeing.  A common mistake happens with cylinders.  Imagine you where to look at one head on.  What would it look like?

It probably would look like the rectangle.  Are you confused?  That’s because your brain is conditioned to see what it wants to see.  When looking at a cylinder head on, you don’t see the top or the bottom.

Color: Since it stimulates the brain and the body, choice of color is always important.  Warm colors create active and exciting responses, while cool colors create passive and calming responses.

Value describes the amount lightness or darkness of a color.  A value halfway between the lightest and darkest values is called a middle value.

Texture: Texture is the feeling or the appearance of a given surface.  It’s an important element of design, but don’t overemphasize it, because it will create a distraction to the viewer and might even misrepresent the surface you are trying to convey.

This assortment of fruits gives you an idea of the variety of different textures an artist deals with.

Pattern: Pattern must not be confounded with texture even though patterns can have textures.  Pattern is the appearance of an organized design on a surface. Be careful, a pattern that is visually dominant will flatten out an image.

Nature has a full array of patterns that inspire us.

Texture and pattern should never override the shape, color, and value of an object.

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Elements of design in two-dimensional design

Goo Girls - 1

Goo Girls - 1

Boys on rocks

Not my best. I didn't feel like working on this one anymore, so it is what it is.  You might notice that the colors of the final painting are much more "blue".  It's because I paint at night and take the pictures under a "yellowish" light.  I took this final picture in daylight so that we could see the true colors.

I start with the drawing.  I'm really not good at painting people (or drawing), something I might work on in the future.

The sky was too dark, so I lightened it up a lot!

I added sand colored shadows to the rocks and lightened up the sea.

Added seaweed color to the rocks.

Added waves.

Added reflection of rocks to the sea and some light bouncing off seaweeds on rocks.

Final look in daylight.

Boys on rocks

Sunflowers

http://maite-krysthle.blogspot.com/2010/06/tournesols-et-decor-interieur.html

My little sister drew it, I painted it.

Notice Casanova lending a paw to the bottom left.

My own sunflower creation.

Sunflowers

Country trail

This painting is a trail in the country.

The color palette was created using 8 colors: ultramarine blue, white, lemon yellow, cadmium yellow medium hue, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, crimson red and cadmium red medium hue.

Drawing the scene

I started by painting the whole surface cadmium red to make this painting more workable. Then a quick sketch of the scene was good enough to get started.

With ultramarine blue, I quickly painted the sketch to have more visible cues.

And the painting begins.  Check out the following pictures to see this paintings progress.

The end

Country trail