Am I really that out of the loop?

[Captain Big Trousers]

Random thoughts:

I think a lot of really interesting art today is made by combining traditional media with digital trickery.

I haven't owned a mobile phone since 1998. It is possible.

I hate these modern "television" thingies. What ever happened to family hour, gathered around the radio?

I did have a laugh at a group of teen boys walking through the mall last week, all staring at their phone screens as they walked.

[enyawd72]

So all you have to do is make your painting, scan it in, crop it to the size they want and stick the logo on top of it in Photoshop. I'm sure Tim Burton would love to see your traditional media technique, that's how he does things too.

Well, why didn't they just say so? Jeez, that's like writing a fifty page manual on how to flip a light switch.

Honestly, I had no idea what I was supposed to do. I downloaded all the stuff they said to and it was just file after file of crap with no instructions on what to do with any of it.
It totally confused me to the point of giving up before I even started. Despite posting on here and a few other message boards, I am not tech savvy.
Dammit Jim, I'm a painter not a computer programmer!

[The Toyroom]

I love tech...it's all about the future, baby! (Though I am still peeved at the delay on the personal flight packs...)

[HardyGirl]

edit: double post

I really don't get the "Above it all" attitude that some people have towards technology. "Bah, facebook, stupid people sending messages back and forth, waste of friggin time, I don't even have a facebook account, therefore I'm better than the people that do blah blah blah", "Kids and their cell phones, always talking and texting blah blah blah", "Video games, kids always playing video games, when I was a kid I played scrabble blah blah blah".

I am the QUEEN of blah blah blah! I don't think I'm better than everyone else. And I obviously understand some level of technology to use a PC, maintain a website and use YouTube. However, I don't get the need people have to constantly talk on a phone, wherever they happen to be. Texting is something I will NEVER understand. I don't know who came up w/ the concept of typing on a phone, (I always thought phones were for talking!). If you're somewhere you can't talk out loud, you got no business being on the phone, in my opinion. I have a phone at home, and a phone at work, and an e-mail address. It's not like I'm hard to reach. The only time I use my cell is when I'm traveling, b/c my older brother worries about me. Other than that...

And yes, I'm anti-Facebook!

[Mikey]

Was in walmart and seen what I thought was a crazy guy talking to himself.

Then I noticed he had a headphone earpiece and was apparently talking on the telephone in his ear.

Then I noticed other people with that thing in their ear too --- but they weren't talking .......

............. weird

[4NDR01D]

I've seen the future brother, and it is....WEIRD!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjhB6J23Qjs

[ctc]

>However the inability to translate it into proper pixels and resolution leaves it virtually worthless on the digital stage. A true waste.

It's a separate skill set. I still maintain that there isn't a correct way to do any art; it's all about the end result.

As for the tech thing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saPhxZZQCWk

Don C.

[kingdom warrior]

I'm a Traditional Illustrator but I understand the computer side of it, it's just a matter of sitting down and working through it.

I pencil and ink and paint traditionally, but I will scan and enhance, watermark,resize etc on my Mac. I don't color on the computer, just don't have the patience for it...I'd rather just do it the old school way.

A lot of those contest you need to stay clear of, most of them are Popularity contest. especially if it's through facebook and voting for pieces unless you have 4000 friends you have no shot against a kid who has a thousands of friends who are all voting for him or her.

I entered a Duran Duran contest last year and it was brutal,so many hacks trying to get votes but Duran Duran did make choices of their favs and I got Honorable mention by them.

I don't mind a pro using new tools especially when they MASTERED the traditional ones, It's the hacks who I have a problem with who when you turn off the computer, can't reproduce on paper or canvas what they boast they can do on a computer......anyone is a Rembrandt with Great computer software, but that does not make you an artist.......

[kingdom warrior]

It's a separate skill set. I still maintain that there isn't a correct way to do any art; it's all about the end result.

Don C.

Yes there is, there are Professionals and there are amateurs.
an Amateur clicks and uses cheats to get his work done

a Pro critically thinks what he needs to do to make his design work. his drawing may go through many stages to get there.

Learning to use the proper tools is the first place you start, Learning how to traditionally do art is how you understand
how the Masters did it. How light comes to play how to mix colors and how to fix your mistakes. once you master traditional you can then work
in Digital if you so choose to do it.

Just because I can look under the hood of a car does not make me a mechanic
Just because I know my daughter is sick does not make me a Doctor.

The end results may be the same but in the end the Pro will always do better
because he can do IT ALL THE TIME over and over he or she is trained to come up with new ideas that the amateur can not do...........

[Gorn Captain]

In general, the people who complain about technology are the people who don't understand it or don't have it.

Maybe they just can't wrap their heads around it (in which case it isn't their fault), or maybe they cannot afford it (again not their fault).

[Gorn Captain]

You had to download and use something called "assets"

Some assets are way better and simpler...
Into the Blue, 2005, Jessica Alba - Download Wallpaper | Wallpapers voor je Desktop

[ctc]

>Yes there is, there are Professionals and there are amateurs.

I disagree and agree with this. I think there are pros and amateurs, but I don't think the hardware seaprates them.

>an Amateur clicks and uses cheats to get his work done

True; but I think it shows in the work. That's why it's important to separate the ideas of "good" and "enjoyable." People tend to confuse them, so anything they like is de-facto good.

>a Pro critically thinks what he needs to do to make his design work.

THAT'S the key! There's a plan and a vision.... but I don't think it's how you get to your end-state that makes the dif; it's where that end-state is. Dip pen, computer, markers, finger paints.... it doesn't matter if it gets you where you want to go.

>Learning how to traditionally do art is how you understand how the Masters did it.

Yeah, but it's not a religion. You don't learn colour theory or rotations or perspective or which end of the pen goes in the ink because of some moral imperative or dogmatic tradition: you learn them becuse they work.

>once you master traditional you can then work in Digital if you so choose to do it.

This feels so bad to me 'cos I don't like computers, but.... there isn't a heirarchy of tool use. I don't have to master acrylics before being "allowed" to use watercolour or oils. They're different techniques and you can do them in whatever order you want, depending on what you hope to achieve. They share a lot of universal ideas.... like the aforementioned colour theory.... but they're not one interconnected whole. Oil is different from watercolour. Computer art is just another tool, separate from the rest.

I think part of the problem folks around here have with the CGI is that you've never seen any that doesn't suck. Overwrought movie effects and crappy comic colour that makes everything look plastic are the norm. I've seen some great computer stuff. (Mostly from Japan and Europe.) I've also seen how readily it becomes a crutch too.... but I've seen that with other techniques too. (Remember the 90's, where "draw like Jim Lee = success?")

>The end results may be the same

I don't think they are, but I don't think the tools or techniques denote that.

>but in the end the Pro will always do better because he can do IT ALL THE TIME over and over

Maybe; but everyone has an off day, or dries up.

>he or she is trained to come up with new ideas that the amateur can not do

THIS I disagree with a bunch. I think a lot of pros suffer from the need to do things "right," and end up doing the same things over and over. But this goes to the heart of my point: it's the underlying idea that I think marks the worth of the work.

Don C.

[Brazoo]

To me the debate about using digital mediums is different than what enyawd was originally talking about, because even if this was before computers existed he'd have to know how to create artwork to spec if he wanted to take on commercial work.

On professionalism, I think it's extremely important for professionals to understand technical skills that support their work. Look at it this way - serious professional musicians don't just play nice music - they have an understanding of the technical aspects of recording as well.

[Brazoo]

As for the debate about digitally created art instead of traditionally created art -

I can see how using digital techniques can make an artist lazy and cut corners - like correcting mistakes or making alterations could curb someone's drive to be able to master their craft without those techniques. You could say the same thing for people who use erasers though - there's not much difference - it's just another extension of eraser technology.

To me there's always going to be different camps of professional artists - there's the people who want to play with every tool in the toolbox - and there are the people who find creativity giving themselves limitations. To me they're just different paths - and I'm probably somewhere in between the two paths.

I agree that learning natural mediums and historical theory makes you a far better artist - but I think someone with those skills can work in any medium and do great work.

[Brazoo]

You can work in non-digital mediums and stay in the creative shallow end too - I think the difference is that a lot of people learn the basics of computer graphics and THINK they're in the deep end.

From what I've observed.

This artist is a great example - from what I know, Jonathan Bergeron didn't touch computers for years, but got a Wacom tablet and does incredible digital work now:

Here's some of his recent traditional paintings: The art of JONATHAN BERGERON - 2011 Paintings

Here's some of his digital art: The art of JONATHAN BERGERON - Digital art