Blog 5

The most significant accomplishment I had in my midterm would be the creation of the complex backgrounds I used. In both pictures, the background creates the whole feeling and tone and really makes my big idea make sense and come together. In the dark one, I used many grudge textures to overlay which made the scene rough and dark looking. I then blurred some of the sky and darkened up the clouds making it look almost stormy and very unhappy. My background in this work really brought my idea's through because of it's dark character. My bright apple in this picture was then seen as an outcast and a form of life that seemed to grow from nothing. In my other picture, the background is a "storybook." Happiness seems to always take the form of a "fairytale" and i tried to portray this by adding grass growing from the book to make it seem alive. The sky is bright and blue while the tree seems to be flourishing. Now, my rotten apple falling seems to also be out of the place as the other apple did. It could not flourish even when it seemed to have been given everything.

At first, I had the most problems with masking. I understand how to mask in which you make the background start to show when behind an image and vice versa but the hardest thing for me is masking out complex selections. I know there is a somewhat easy way to do this but this is something I do not think we covered very in depth if at all. Reading online, it seems masking selections is the best way when you don't have blatant edges to use the selection tools on such as hair or feathers for example. I feel I have picked this up and really improved my selections. I have learned that proper selections can really make or break a piece. A project with bad selections can look so amateur so this is definitely in my opinion the most important part. Although the example I am about to post is very simple from an earlier quiz, just imagine what how bad it would look if the selection around my face and hat were blotchy. It would completely ruin it.

In this class, I have definitely had a few pieces of work that had a deep meaning, both to me and possibly the audience. I also had one or two quizzes that were just a showcase of the new features we learned in order to complete the assignment. I obviously much more enjoy completing works that have a connection to myself. I put in ore time and focus into these pieces. I feel that now that this class is over I will be able to create work that shows emotion and connects to myself. I won't have to worry so much about the grade or the techniques required or even necessarily my big idea, instead I can create work with really no explanation-perhaps work that just means something to me with no explanation behind it. That's completely okay though because artists don't always have an exact definition behind their work. The image on top represents something that just showed technique and influenced me in no ways. The image on the bottom has a deeper connection and one that means something to me. 

Final Project

Grant Crider

Final Artist Statement

            The big idea I am exploring through my final is similar to the one I explored in my midterm. I am going to address identity as it is defined or influenced by different filters we each posses. In the midterm, I portrayed “life” growing in bad situations and dying it what seemed to good situations. However, in my final, I explored my relation and the connection to myself within this big idea. Instead of displaying the presence of other life in different scenes, I used my own hands in an environment that really describes who I am. Hawaii is a place I love and I plan to move there with my siblings some day. My open hands during the daytime show an obvious openness. However as the day fades to night and the sun goes down, my hands begin to close suggesting acceptance. As the day ends, there is still another one coming. In life, when we experience problems or filters as previously discussed, it is up to us to react. We are the only ones who can control whether or not we can grow despite any filter or position we are placed in. Ultimately, each person is responsible for their own outcome and how they define themselves. With this, I hope to symbolize peace within myself and an overall acceptance and happiness. Through animation, I can accurately display my message. If it were still images, it would be hard to get my point across so therefore I really caught interest with animation from the start. I feel a connection with this big idea especially in my final. This is a way of life I definitely want to completely adopt. I have gotten much better but I hope to one-day come to this overall acceptance “at the end of the day.” Although my final has simplicity, the meaning is much deeper. It can be interpreted in many ways, which I really like. I would consider this project the closest to me with the deepest meaning. Art that has meaning no matter its complexity or simplicity can really speak to audiences or in this case myself. 

Blog #4

Like the midterm, I want to focus on the big idea of identity and how people become themselves or individualistic through specific filters. However, for the final, I want to expand it a little further and show that only we are our own barriers. We are the only ones who can control whether or not we can grow despite any filter or position we are placed in. Ultimately, each person is responsible for their own outcome and how they define themselves. I came to choose this as my big idea from my research leading up to the midterm such as the brainstorming, and then furthered my big idea after I completed my midterm. During my research, I found images of men with no teeth who looked to be very poor placed in a very bad environment. However, most of them were smiling as wide as could be. Then, I would find images of pretty girls or other people who seemed to be in a much better state of living than the other people I found but they had their heads down looking very depressed. This brought me to the conclusion that although outside factors definitely influence and impact us, we are the ones held responsible for our own outcomes.

For my final, I plan to use my hands closing in animation as a visual strategy. This signifies "tight situations" or a bad environment. Also, I plan to use the sun fading into planets or some sort of other cool background feature. From the animation from open environment to closed or bad environment on repeat, I can portray my big idea. This work is to be used as a time mechanism. At first, the work is to be "open" and bright with sun and happy feelings. As time progresses, the mood and set will begin to darken and things will begin mysterious and unrealistic. The hands will begin to close. I will use an object however, to grow bright as the world it is given darkens. I'm still in the process of determining this object I will use.

I was influenced by a couple different artists and ideas. The artist that was suggested to me which definitely correlates with my big idea is Tony Oursler. His work can be found here: http://www.tonyoursler.com/index.php
I will take less of his actual visual work but more so of his type of thinking with me on to the final. He portrays faces in inanimate objects which look like they have a very strong personality. This goes hand in hand directly with my big idea for the final.
Here's a couple images:

Another artist that influenced me by his visuals is Christopher Haines. His work also correlates with my big idea but his work is more my style. It is very accepting to the eye and is really detailed. He uses a lot of faces to illustrate his big idea but most are made of different material. The faces have grown character. Here are a few examples:

Finally, one new photoshop technique that I plan to incorporate animation and a burning effect. There are many cool ways to make things look as if it is lit or perhaps even on fire. I may use this in some sort of way to show something that is burning but there is still something that flourishes even through the fire and ash. This is not for sure yet, just an idea but if I can figure something out, it will be a very cool technique! I also really like "cracking" pictures and making them look like they are falling apart. This is a new and cool technique I may add as well. 

Quiz 4

Movies, probably more than any other type of media have a certain type of people they are trying to reach. Whether it be the action packed “manly” movie or the Little Engine That Could…movies are always trying to appeal to a certain crowd, age, group, or gender.  The two posters I picked differ more so in the type of audience it attracts more than anything. Both movies are suitable for an older age group, from late teens to adults. However, The Kingdom is a war movie with a very serious tone to the poster. There is zero smiling and the background is dull and dangerous looking. There are several guns present and what looks to be a guy who was shot or is already dead. In Zack and Miri Make a Porno, the scene is extremely appealing to everyone. The sun is shining and even has a little smile. There are cartoon birds flying around implying how perfect life is. The two characters look down to earth with their smug little looks. In almost every aspect the two posters differ visually. Each gives off a completely different message to the viewers. The color scheme’s are the main reason for this difference in appeal.

Midterm Project

The big idea I decided to go with is identity however; I chose a very particular side in this extremely general word.  I focused on the fact of remaining the same (or different) under varying conditions. I wanted to explore how people define themselves in a heavily influential world. Everybody is influenced in so many ways, pulled from so many directions, and influenced greatly by race, religion, and geography. I am going to explore how people grow into themselves through these filters. Throughout this exploration process, I realized these filters influence us greatly. To explore this big idea, I set up two very different places. One seems to be dreamlike and enchanted if you will, while the other is dark, gloomy, and grungy. These scenarios are one way I could represent the filters I just discussed. Visually, I used an apple to demonstrate the differences between people in both pictures. In the pretty scene, there is a rotten apple following from the sky where everything else in the picture seemed to have flourished. Also, I used a girl that seems to be in a very sad position while she fades away into smoke. These two objects could not grow despite everything they were given. In the next image, the scene is terrible, with a corpse and stormy sky as well as a grungy texture over it all. Here, I have a very bright apple falling from the sky that seems to be completely healthy. It also has a face signaling that this apple (person) came to be who they really are even if they had to grow from concrete. This apple had an identity; a sense of being even though the background gave it no reason to live. Also, I have a couple flowers growing next to a skeleton. This signifies much of the same thing. This big idea is very important to me in several ways. First, I want to grow to be more thankful everyday for what I have. Over the last few months I have realized a lot about life and just how lucky I really am to have the opportunities I do. If we all just started taking a step back and looking at the good in people or life instead of the bad, the way we define ourselves would alter completely. We all would continue to get stronger despite any problems we may face just like the green apple.

Blog #3

http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/tutorials-effects/100-artworks-from-the-top-digital-artists-in-asia/

Calvin Ho appeals to me and I'm sure many others through his digital art. I am attracted to this artwork because of how the the artist tends to cover up the faces of the subjects in his picture. This relates to the artists big idea directly. Not only does identity come up through his big idea but the complexity behind his work addresses the complexity of our minds and body. The complexity is what I find most inspiring about Calvin's work. There are so many ideas floating around in the same picture. Most of the time it's hard to even relate to what the picture is trying to get across. These would be the source of my main questions. What significance do the fish play or the ostrich like neck? It's fascinating at the same time however. The great thing about these pieces is the feeling of unknown. I will try to bring this into my midterm. I don't want my work to be easily defined on one quick look. I want to bring more questions to the table like Calvin does. Also, I want to use the approach of bright colors in front of a black and white subject as well. These components could really make my work a lot stronger as well as more interesting.

http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/

This artist appeals to me in so many ways. His work also relates directly to my big idea which is identity as defined by life and background. The use of black and white in all of his pictures really enhances the meaning behind the picture. Its so interesting to see smiling faces as well as unhappy scenarios even though both pictures appear to have a bad background. I am most inspired with this work because the photographer is not afraid to get down and dirty. He is not afraid to show the world the sincere pain some people are in. The pictures I selected are actually some of his most school appropriate photos. Through this work I have little questions that arise, it is mostly inspiration. I hope I can portray serious issues in life as well as happy ones who impact people deeply through my work like this artist did to me. In my final project, I will try to take with me these ideas and not be afraid to portray the things people  may or may not want to think about because these are the most influential pieces. Also, I plan on bringing the black and white component into much more of my work. When viewing pieces in lack and white, I personally feel more passionate about it. This would really help me get certain messages across.

Big Idea Discussion

"Big Idea's and Artmaking Process" influenced me more about a subject than many articles I have previously read. Here's why, the article brought art out to me a way of life and also a way of expressing an artists concerns or interests in the world. A picture can often say more than words, and with a picture addressing a  particular topic, the viewer can really learn a lot. One big idea can break down into many smaller topics, allowing the artist to address many issues in today's world. I previously judged artwork based off its complexity and excessive use of in depth transformations. After reading this article, I respect simple artwork so much more now because sometimes simple gets a meaning across much better. I have a better understanding of why some artists are more famous than others even if there work is not as in depth. A big idea really portrays a lot about an artist and as well can influence many people who share similar big ideas on our world.