Art - Painting vs Background

The Scene
When painting a scene, the question should be asked -

      Is it to be an illustration of the scene ?  ,  or
      Is it to be a backdrop to some sort of action ?

For an illustration / painting -
      The aim is to produce a picture which is a snapshot of a moment in time,
      containing everything that you can see in the "frame" that surrounds it.
      This can become a painting to hang on a wall,
      or an illustration for a book, etc.

For a backdrop / background -
      The aim is to produce a setting in which action can take place.
      This can be artwork used as background for animation,
      or sets for stage productions, etc.

The Approach
These two areas, require 2 slightly different approaches.

For the illustration / painting -
      Everything that you see within your chosen "frame", is painted.
      The picture is static, there is no motion.

For the backdrop / background -
      Only paint those things which will not be involved in any action.
      (At this point, I'm not seperating background, middle ground or foreground)

      Leave out the things that will be involved in movement.
      These are incorporated later,
      either as animated figures, or actors in a play, etc.

Examples

This is a photo that I took of a ship,
moored off Mindil Beach, Darwin
(Northern Territory, Australia).
It may be one of the ex-pearl luggers
used for tourist sunset cruises around
the Bay.

This artwork is intended
to be a painting.
This is copied from the photo,
showing all the items
that are in the photo.

This artwork is intended
to be a background.
This is copied from the photo,
only showing the items
in the background,
leaving out the ship,
which I intend to animate
at a later date.







(c) Katherine Stuart 2013

Art - Phases of the Moon

I am in the habit of
watching the moon rise,
from my bedroom window.
(This photo was taken
at a friend's place.)

This got me thinking about
the Phases of the Moon.

As we all know,
the cycle of phases is
   28 days.

                                                     So, I constructed
                                                     a "sequence" of
                                                     28 squares,
                                                     one for each day,
                                                     to show these phases.
                 
                                                     The idea was to
                                                     look out my bedroom
                                                     window and
                                                     observe the moon
                                                     as it rose in the east,
                                                     and what phase (shape) it was,
                                                     then record that shape
                                                     in the corresponding square.

                                                     For practical reasons,
                                                     sometimes I made
                                                     the observation at night
                                                     and sometimes during the day.
                                                   
                                                     These are the results
                                                     for the period of
                                                     24 July 2013 - 22 August 2013

                                                     (Remember-
                                                      that I am in the
                                                      Southern Hemisphere,
                                                      so this may not be the same
                                                      as in the North)

                                                   
                                                                                     
                                               

                                                      So, in effect
                                                      what I've done
                                                      is produce my
                                                      first "animation sequence".

                                                      As far as I understand,
                                                      film is usually set at -

                                                      24 frames per second (fps),
                                                      (or 25 fps NTSC)

                                                      Though, of course,
                                                      other speeds can be used.

                                                      From this sequence
                                                      of the moon,
                                                      I am getting the sense
                                                      that the optimum
                                                      (or average)
                                                      speed for film
                                                      should be -

                                                      28 fps


                                                      Also, on sequences -
                                                      A sequence is a
                                                      cycle of motion or action.

                                                      When that sequence is
                                                      repeated continuously
                                                      over and over,                                                                                                 it becomes mechanical.                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
                                                     

                                                     Continuous cycles of                                                                                    motion / action
                                                     form the basis of                                                                                          the principle of                                                                                              Mechanics.                                             

                                                   
                                                   
                                                   
                                                   
                                             
































(c) Katherine Stuart 2013

Trouble with Orcs

I'm back!

I was having   trouble with Orcs.

You know what I mean.

A Few Weeks Break

To Everyone who is interested,

I'm taking a break for a few weeks from my blog
to do some personal business.

While I'm away,
I will still be working on
making the casual dresses from the sarongs,
and, the next art entry.
But, these will take some time.

See you in a while :)

Art - Enlarging / Reducing a Drawing

 
    To Reduce
     Draw a similar framework
     to the original,
     in lead pencil,
     but make the squares
     to a smaller measurement,
     to the size that you require.


 *  Original
     Have your drawing,
     or a copy of your drawing
     if you want to preserve your original.

     Draw a framework around it,
     using a lead pencil,
     of evenly spaced grid lines,
     making squares.



     To Enlarge
     Draw a similar framework
     to the original,
     in lead pencil,
     but make the squares
     to a larger measurement,
     to the size that you require.


  -  Notice where the lines
     of your original drawing
     cross the grid lines.

  -  In the new framework,
     mark, in lead pencil, with a dot,
     where you estimate
                                                these cross over points would be.

                                             -  Join the dots up into the shape
                                                of the original drawing,
                                                in lead pencil.

                                             -  If leaving the drawing in pencil,
                                                carefully rub out the grid lines.

                                             -  If wanting the drawing in pen,
                                                re-work it in pen first,
                                                and when dry,
                                                carefully rub out the grid lines.

                                             -  If need be,
                                                adjust the enlarged or reduced drawing
                                                to match the shape of the original.


(c) Katherine Stuart 2013                                         
                                                                               

The Darwin Show

On Friday (26 July 2013) I went to the Darwin Show.
(Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia)

It took me the whole day to get around and see everything,

without trying to do it too fast, 

the idea being to enjoy the day.

But, I ended up being pretty dusty by the end of it!

Below is a selection of photos, to give an idea of what the day was like.

Inside the showgrounds

Horse events

The Amazing Drumming Monkeys

Goat

Pumpkin - 126kg

Emu on stilts

Sideshow Alley

A crocodile carved out of sand

Bonsai

(c) Katherine Stuart 2013

Art - Building Up a Picture

Choose a simple scene that you would like to paint.

I chose the beach.
I had to paint this scene a number of times,
before I was able to produce the result above,
using -

The Concept of Layering
This is where brush strokes overlap previous brush strokes,
or overlay the previous brush strokes entirely.

(This was outlined in the previous worksheet:: Art - Edges)

To build up this picture, I followed these steps -

1 - Sky
      Starting at the top,
      I worked down to the horizon,
      fading the colour with more water.

2 - Beach
      Starting at the bottom,
      I worked up to the wave line,
      and beyond (to go under the sea colour)
      fading the colour with water.

3 - Sea
      I started at the horizon
      working downwards,    
      fading the colour with water over the sand colour,
      so that the sand colour could be seen,  
      and down to the wave line.
   
4 - Wave foam
      I dobbed, placed small dots,
      of the colour mixed with some water,
      along the wave edge.


(c) Katherine Stuart 2013