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Category: Other Artist Work

The Wonder of Light – Lava Or Water?

Posted in Musing About Art, and Other Artist Work

Light is such a big part of art .  How a subject is lit, where the lighting is coming from, how the lighting changes the colors are some of the lighting questions that come into play with how a  painting is composed.  What type of lighting  – natural  sunlight, incandescent, florescent light, all cast different shades of white onto a painting. The "perfect " light is natural sunlight.

Now what happens when nature decides to throw a curve ball into the "perfect"  lighting with a spectacular sunset?

AP photo by Bethany Gediman, Daily Mail

This AP photo was taken by Bethany Gediman –  courtesy of the Daily Mail

Is it lava flowing down the cliff? Or is it just a simple waterfall?

"A window of time just opened in Yosemite National Park when nature photographers wait, as if for an eclipse, until the moment when the sun and earth align to create a fleeting phenomenon. This marvel of celestial configuration happens in a flash at sunset in mid-February — if the winter weather cooperates.  On those days the setting sun illuminates one of the park's lesser-known waterfalls so precisely that it resembles molten lava as it flows over the sheer granite face of the imposing El Capitan."  UK Daily Mail.

Youtube photo clip courtesty of   UK Daily Mail of Yosemite waterfall

Youtube photo clip courtesy of UK Daily Mail
"…Photographers look for 
the lowest angle of light that will paint Horsetail the colors of an iridescent sunset as rays reflect off granite behind the water. It materializes in varying degrees of intensity for the same two weeks every year.  'If you hit it at just the right time, it turns this amazing color of gold or red-orange,' said Frye, a photo instructor with the Ansel Adams Gallery in the park." – Daily Mail

How  cool is that?!

 

Snowflakes

Posted in Other Artist Work

I've enjoyed our snow free – so far – winter. I don't like shoveling and being on the road with drivers who drive too fast  in snow.  So when I saw this fantastic photo of snowflakes, it reminded me of  the part of snow I do like – it's so beautiful! 

Snowflakes

Photo was taken by Julian Colton via Flicker.

These snowflakes are just gorgeous!  I love the close up look at all of the tiny details of each snowflake.  And it does look like each one is different!

Amazing Etsy Shops: La Petites by LaCharmour

Posted in Other Artist Work

There are so many wonderful shops on Etsy.  While looking around today, I came across this amazing shop:  La Petites by LaCharmour.  It is a shop of incredible  needle felted animals. Take a look:

Etsy shop LaCharmour

Polly the Basset Hound, made of  Corriedale and Merino wool.

German Shpard LaCharmour Etsy shop

Roxanne the German Shepard    Shop owner JulieAnne makes each one upon order.

sheep by lacharmour at etsy dot com

Baarbara the Sheep    I love the sheep's curly wool. Lots more at La Petites by  LaCharmour

Art of Skyrim

Posted in Other Artist Work

If you have a video game playing male over the age of 17 in your house, chances are he's playing Skyrim. The game came out this past November and is a big hit.  One of my sons noted how artistic the game is.  I sat down to watch and he is right –  the artwork of the game is beautiful! The landscapes are gorgeous, dragons have detailed scales and  reptile skin, the boulders look real, the lighting is wonderful, the carvings on doors and the little details on the buildings are really something to behold.  I don't typically think about the artwork that goes into creating a video game. And yet, these artists are such an integral part of video game creation. Take a look:

Gameinformer.com has a great article about the artists behind the game Skyrim.

Art of Skyrim Gameinformer

Meet Matt Carofano, the Art Director on Skyrim from Bethesda Softworks. Included in this article is a video how this talented team of artists bring the land of Skyrim to life. At 3:10 in the video one of the digital artists is using a digital pen to detail an image on the computer, which is interesting to watch.

Kotaku.com has some great shots of the conceptual art before it goes to the level designers who create the actual gaming actions.

Skyrim conceptual art from kataku dot com

The lighting in the first photos is fantastic. The detailing of the arm muscles and chain mail in the second photo is some of the attention to detail of the artwork in this game.

Escapist magazine details what influenced the artists and the direction of the artwork:

"Living by the mantra of "less Renn-fest and more biker bar," they pulled heavily from McFarlane's work, dark fantasy art, and Bethesda film favorites, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, without giving in to the temptation of ripping them off entirely. In the end, 90% of the work was thrown in the trash, leaving only the best ideas to provide a visual blueprint for Skyrim.

As with all conceptual art, it was eventually handed to the level designers to create the physical, interactive world. Of course, not everything translates precisely from those first ideas, but without such a vibrant foundation, the programmers would never have been able to hem such a large, consistent world together so seamlessly. "There is so much more than what we drew that's just so amazing. It's like Christmas," said artist Adds Lederer. "It's so cool to see all of that stuff come together, and what's really amazing is just how much further they take it, and how much cooler it is."    – Escapist magazine

And that's a peak behind the video game easels. The bloggers at Kotaku.com are devoted to showcasing the fine art of the video game artists. Stop by their blog to see  more about these fantastic artists.