1.2.38 Lifting Once you lay graphite on paper, you might want to remove it. If so, then an eraser used in the conventional way will work fine. However, sometimes you don't want to remove it completely. Lifting graphite rather than rubbing it away will take off the top layer or so leaving a more even and subdued result. You might then add another layer or continue to lift graphite until it looks right. You can also lift parts of a shape to mimic how values reduce as the lighting reflects across the surface. Use a kneedable eraser to do this.
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You may have a little difficulty recognizing the word "patterns" in the title of this post. Hvwoeer, tihs snetence is pborably esay to raed. So what is going on? A friend of mine has been studying the brain. I've been helping him out with some of the maths and concepts. You can read about some of the work at http://www.associatedpatternengine.com/ We have had many thought provoking discussions about how the brain might work, and what is required to simulate the thought process of a brain. The conventional idea seems to be that higher thought revolves around language. I used to accept this argument as it's clear that my mind is constantly 'talking' in words and sentences. But the work on pattern had convinced me that this is only a side effect. Real thought happens non verbally. Here are some examples.
We think the answer is that a brain is a probability-driven fuzzy pattern-matching engine. Everything is made of patterns. Professor Brian Cox has said everything around us is made of patterns. Everything is a pattern. If everything is a pattern, we have to ask, "What is a pattern?", and this is where my contribution fits in with the project. It's not an easy question. Some people will define a pattern something like, "Elements of a set of objects which repeat in a predictable manner." But I think this is incomplete. Here are two examples where there is no predictable repetition, yet an undeniable pattern.
What this means is that a pattern in the most general terms, is a collection of objects which convey information. In my model, a tiled floor consisting of a repeated collection of shades and shapes is indeed a pattern, but this is a special case. This is a pattern which can be defined as an infinite construct yet only using a small number of symbols. The general definition of pattern also includes as a special case, non periodic tiling which can be described using a small number of symbols and a tiling algorithm. An encrypted sentence is an interesting example because it conveys information to one person, and not to others. Therefore it is a pattern to one person, and just random stuff to others. There are other kinds of patterns which fall into the broad definition, one of which is turbulence, and another is the Mandelbrot set. In my definition, even the grains of sand on a beach is considered a pattern. This pattern, however although finite, is simply a very large collection of objects with no predictable repetition. There is no way to exactly predict the position, shape and color of any particular grain of sand in relation to another. Yet we all perceive a sandy beach as a sandy beach and not a cow or a tree. In your brain, when you see the words "sandy beach", this is a two-word pattern which triggers previously experience of a sandy beach. The mental image of a beach will be unique for each person but in every case, the input pattern "sandy beach" is associated with the individual's stored pattern of a beach. This could be a visual pattern, a pattern of smells, or a pattern of how it sounds or the feel of the sand in your hands. These are then strongly associated patterns. There is an input pattern and a set of output patterns. Some input patterns are more highly associated to more and stronger output patterns than others. The word "pAtTeRn" shown in mixed case is not as highly associated as "pattern" without case change. Words are seen as collections of information, we read the whole word in one 'gulp' where the first and last letters are what I call pattern anchors. They help to define the input pattern and focus it to those output patterns most likely associated. This is a good point to address the question, "What is art?" My answer is that art is a pattern. Furthermore, it is a pattern which invokes a significant flow of information from the pattern (the art) to the observer. If this flow of information is large and sudden, then the work might be bold, shocking, ugly, or extra beautiful. It may also invoke a flow of information that is slow and pleasing, constantly revealing new patterns, and new associations the longer you look at it. A work of art which does not invoke a flow of information is weak and unremarkable. The tip therefore for budding artists is to create works which are capable of delivering significant information to the viewer. This can be bold, loud and sudden, or slow and subtle. It can be a combination of the two. A good work of art makes a statement and the 'output' patterns do not necessarily need to be visual. You can pay several month's wages for a high quality long lens. But is it worth it?
I was recently asked about photographing subjects that are far away, and how to get a better result. My answer was: "Forget digital zoom. It buys you nothing more than you can achieve by cropping your image in the computer. There is no substitute for getting closer to your subject. Telephoto lenses compress the field so that objects look a little like cardboard cut outs. They also lose light in the optics. Well over 90% of most people's shots do not have to be taken with a telephoto lens. Some people just get lazy and 'zoom in' rather than walk a few paces forward. The remaining small percentage of worthwhile shots that need a zoom or telephoto fall into specialist categories: some sports photography wild life photography spying on celebrities... Of course there are other situations where a zoom or telephoto is nice. But these lenses are hard to use properly. You need good light to take a sharp photo. In low light or even average light, your long lens robs even more. This causes wider apatures, more difficult focusing, higher ISO (or sensitivity settings) which leads to more grain in the image. Low light needs slower speeds which contributes to camera shake, and motion blur. A log lens greatly amplifies camera shake. So a long lens benefits from a tripod. But to use a tripod, you need to be able to set it up quick. It's cumbersome and sometimes heavy or not permitted in certain areas. To mitigate some of these issues, you need a "fast" lens. This means one that gathers a lot of light to compensate for the losses. That costs a lot of money. In addition, particularly with complex zoom lenses, the construction of long lenses demands high quality optics. Otherwise chromatic aberration, and distortions become apparent in the resulting picture. Again, you will need to spend big money to get the best quality lenses. Perhaps with the high quality zoom lens, it becomes possible (but not probable) to take some great zoom shots." Okay - So what am I saying here? If you are starting out in photography, there are many much cheaper methods to get better pictures. Photography has so many technical obstacles that huge improvements can be made without spending $4000, or even $40000 on a long lens. In my opinion, since 90% of normal shots can be made with a basic digital camera costing perhaps $150 and do so on automatic settings, then most of the technical challenges are taken care of very well even for a child. Despite this, there are literally millions, or probably billions of photographs taken each year that are boring and unremarkable. Therefore, my ultimate advice is to spend a few dollars on some good books to learn about composition. Good composition can overrule many sub-optimal technical results. A well composed shot will win-out every time over a technically perfect (but boring) shot. The main difference between a good professional photographer and an amateur is often seen not in the content, subject or technical result, but in the artistic result. By the way, the green tree frog above was taken with the stock zoom lens supplied with my camera which is approximately a maximum of 80mm focal length in "35mm-speak", then cropped. Unless you have all the technical details covered as second-nature, and only if you have a genuine need to photograph things that permanently stay far away from you, then don't waste your money on a professional long lens. Use the cash on a course in composition, or good books on the subject. Well. This is getting silly. A Hollywood Law firm has told its own staff, "Never to use BitTorrent" on its corporate network.
BitTorrent is a peer to peer file distribution scheme. From a technical standpoint, it is very kind to the people who need to distribute large files because it allows large files to be downloaded, piecemeal, from many sources, using the combined resources of ordinary people's computers as servers. When you use BitTorrent, you can stop and start your computer and it will pick up where it left off each time your computer starts. When you have downloaded a file, your computer becomes a server to deliver parts of the file to other people who need it. There is absolutely nothing illegal about the bitTorrent system. However... People are known to use it to share copyright material. That IS illegal. The problem though, is how peer to peer has been made to look synonymous with illegal activity - hence the ban at said law firm. I think this is quite stupid . Let's compare the situation with another peer to peer network known as "The post office". The post office is peer to peer because you can send something from one person to another. That's all "peer to peer" means. This is in contrast to a system where your mail would have to be sent to a specific hub, and then sent out again. Let's assume someone sends a movie on CD via the post office. Assuming the movie is someone else's copyright, this is an illegal act. Who in their right mind would observe this possibility, then ban all employees from using the post office? Who would label the post office as an illegal organisation? Who would demand that the post office become responsible for the content of all mail passing through it? Who would see the post office opening and inspecting every parcel and letter that passes through? It sound's ridiculous, and it is ridiculous. Yet this is exactly what is happening to companies that provide a peer to peer service for the Internet. The solution? Simple. Stop illegally distributing copyright material! But don't blame the peer to peer protocol or the companies who implement these services. They are legal and useful and technically brilliant. This simple photo of a door is strong and powerful because of the strong blue and also because it is uncomplicated. But there is also a deeper story here. The letterbox looks like a hastily-cut hole right at the bottom of the door. I don't know why someone would do that. It means that the postman has to bend down. It's also obvious that the postman didn't even notice where it was. There is a touch of humor in the way that the large unprofessional sign-writing unambiguously points to the highlighted slot. It's a quick and dirty fix for a bad job. But I guess it works. Wood: In this photo, there is only one type of object. We have a semi-regular pattern, but most of all an image of texture that makes you want to touch it. You can look at it and almost feel what it would be like. Again, this is a very simple picture with high impact because of the simplicity of composition and high level of detail. There are photographic opportunities everywhere. All you need to do is look closer, and observe with the artists' eyes. We are tripping around a fair bit. Sydney-Hong Kong-London-Alacante-London-Hong Kong and back to Sydney. Two things are scarce: Internet access, and time! But we are having a good holiday. It's Fiesta week in Spain here. This is a picture of one of the people in the parade. It is a very colorful and incredibly long event. Each family spends literally thousands on their costumes each year.
1.2.37 Blending
When you put graphite onto the paper, you often want a smooth transition from dark to light. In one technique which we shall look at (circularism), this is achieved without blending. The results are very nice, but the process is slow. Many people like to use a tool like a rag or tissue to move the graphite around on the paper to achieve a smooth result. Blending is just to take a non-drawing instrument and use it to deliberately smudge the graphite. Depending on the paper and the grade of pencil, and the blending tool, different results are obtained. Here are some tools in common use: • Tissue. • Stump. • Paper. • Rag. • Paint brush. • Tortillon. • Chamois. I'd like to introduce Manny Librodo. His regular client is UNICEF. I found his portfolio one day and instantly recognised a huge talent. Manny and I corresponded, did a link-exchange on each of our web sites, and he agreed to do an interview. Rather than the Q&A format, It works better as an account. My first question was to find out why he started photography. I asked him what made him take the first photo. It tuns out that Manny had to travel a lot and used photography as a means to document his travel. I think something more than pure documentation comes into play as he definitely introduces a strong artistic element into his work. At one time, he was travelling almost 200Km a day through Vietnam “chasing locals” and this, he reported as adventurous and dangerous being in the middle of nowhere. The funniest time was Shooting in Myanmar with 5 other friends. It was in the middle of their “water splashing festival.” Running and shooting photos at the same time is very funny. When asked about his ratio of hits to misses – in the sense that many photographers can take hundreds of shots and keep only one or two, Manny publishes about half of what he takes. This is quite an amazing technical and artistic achievement. He tries to take photos that tell a story and especially those which show an emotion. He prefers people not to look directly at him when he takes a portrait, even if they are posing, he asks them to look to one side. “I employ guerrilla tactic. (Hit and run). But if I need to take more I smile and point to my camera. If they nod or smile back, that means permission is granted.” I like the strategy, it's 'shoot first, ask questions later'. He seems very cool and collected because when I asked him how he would feel if he could no longer take photographs for some reason, he simply stated, “It's okay. Then I can start post-processing (photoshop) all my backlogs.” 1.2.34 Pop
When you draw something that should be sticking out of the page, like a nose, if it looks like the paper is no longer flat, and the nose could really be sticking out of the paper, then it has POP. This is achieved by careful rendering of light and shadow. 1.2.35 3D A piece of paper only has horizontal and vertical coordinates. It therefore only has two dimensions, but we can use shading, highlights, focus and blur to create the illusion of a third dimension perpendicular to the page. This really is an illusion. The paper is flat, but the mind is accustomed to seeing certain shadows and highlights in certain arrangements on a real three dimensional surface. When we successfully emulate this in a drawing, the effect is to trick the mind into appreciating this third dimension. Part of this is simply because the sun is above, and shadows are underneath objects. 1.2.36 Punching up When you complete a drawing, all the general values have been established. The mid tones should be right and all the shadows in the right place. But sometimes you need more impact. A process called punching up can improve the drawing. This is where you look for the deep shadows and try to make them blacker. It increases drama and contrast. 1.2.33 Depth
This is a term which can be used to describe several things about a drawing. Good contrast might give depth, but so might the subject matter in an emotional sense. Control of focus and all the other elements might contribute to depth. It might be easier to describe this by imagining a person who is shallow, and then one who has great depth. It's hard to put these concepts into words, but if you can imagine the person who has depth, and then apply the feeling to a drawing, then this is what we are trying to understand. Depth can also be part of the history of the drawing, and of the conditions and life of the artist. It is for this reason that some reasonably ordinary works get sold for a lot of money: the artwork is inextricably linked to a time, place, world-view, political environment and the trials and tribulations of the artist. Do not overlook this important and intangible concept. |
(C) Jeremy Lee 2010, all rights reserved.
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spOOkspOOk's art is owned by Jeremy. He has practiced drawing and painting for about 40 years, and might get good at it one day. spOOk's art is focused on graphite portraits. Archives
October 2016
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