A note about gadgets!

Im not sure if this really fits into the normal learning log part however it does line up with experiances with new medium/materials and general exploration. so im going to stick it in anyway!

So after a lot of humming and harring i finally took the plunge and bought a most coverted Cintiq Companion.
for those of you new to the realm of digital painting Wacom manifactures probably the most accurate drawing tablets avalible today. they range in size and basically facilitate drawing with a stlyis straight on to the screen.

they have now combined this technology to create the compantion which is a mixture of a drawing tablet and a full on pc in 13inch format.
So anyhoo the following pics where all sketched on said tablet!


I have to say that after messing around with settings and getting all my stuff on to it, the device is absoulotoly awsome. I use it mainly for sketching out new items before transfering it to my bigger cintiq.
Ive also been exploring more of a messy form of sketching trying to get more life into my peices.
The ballerina mostly turned out better her right shoulder bugs me though i dont think the negative space is quite right and her left arm is not really finished.

The below is ok i like her torso, her right arm is a bit wrong i think and her hands, oph nuff said on the hands!

Random ladybird, i dont know why but i love drwing lady birds. anyhoo was playing with the light values over the top of the shell. or is it carapiece on a bug?! 

redo

view port - thumbnails and exploration.

initial i had issues with starting this exercise, this was due to not having any items related to any of the subjects.  I finally came up with an artworkshop im not sure if it was what was intended but it includes toolboxes!

I changed the format of this slightly, making ir slightly squarer and moving the cover closer to make the picture, more readable. however  i think maybe i should have included more content.

 The thumb nails I prepared i favoured more of a square view port for the close ups. i also used a rectangle view port for more of a landscape. personally i liked the close up squares best but. the word workshop really implies multiple tools. art tools in this case.

that is why i chose the zoomed out one.

diagram take two

Giving instuctions

i did not really enjoy this exercise. its not really my sort of thing and i found it difficult trying to convey how to play a tune, based on knowning nothing. i hoped that the user would take the intuitive step that the number of notes corrisponds to the amount of times you press the key ...

random sketch

Giving instructions - playing a tune on an instrument

create a collection of reference materials for the subject.
what information do you need to impart?
be mindful of the process stages and hierarchy.
try to use as little words as necessary if not any.
keep all sketches and notes in learning logs

before you start the final artwork take a critical look at your roughs and compare one element to another and be especially aware  and be especially aware of what is happening in the immediate background image.

Abstract illustration - gershwin

the exercise is to listern to a piece of music and create marks the conveys the essence of the music.

the best example of this is fantasia by Disney. allthough this is an animated example, some of the fantasia pieces either tell the story or create and abstact represntation.

i chose rapsody in blue.