This made me both hate and enjoy animation at the same time. I can finally rest now.
It’s short because adding sound, color, and other details into it takes a lot of time and energy.
If I had like a few months, it would probably be better.
Probably the last post on this blog… I dunno.
Haev Goode Day.
I have finally finished animating. It is currently 6:03 AM EST. I currently never want to do art ever again, but I know I will come back to it.
Looking back, I’ve noticed that I’ve changed. Maybe the anatomy I draw is a little better, and the emotions on faces are a bit more believable. The animation seems smoother and the lines are cleaner. Although I’ve seemed to have progressed a great bit, I’m still far from being satisfied. I always see what I make as inadequate, and I hate doing it. But I guess it helps me to get better.
There are seemingly still things that I’ve got to learn. I sometimes set the bar too damn high. I mean, a 2:00+ min animation?! IN LESS THAN A MONTH?! AM I CRAZY?! A good minute takes like around 1000 frames. So I’ve cut it down to less than a minute. I also expected the quality of the illustration to be much better, and the animation better as well. I’ve got to understand that such things take time. I’ve also got to set boundaries for myself, and certain limits. So what if it doesn’t look like what I expected. If I keep at it, the quality should eventually get there. I’ve got to learn that my expectations will usually not match the results, and that’s okay. And that I’ll only get better with time. The people I aspire to be like have been in the craft for many years, and even they are not yet satisfied.
I’ve got to learn that somewhere, someone is appreciating my art, even though I tend to think it isn’t good enough. Improvement takes time, as does bigger projects. Come back to it when you’re better, and maybe you’ll see what you wanted to see, or maybe you’ll want to see better.
If I sound weird, it’s because I’m talking to myself. Sleep deprivation will do that to you. But this shows how much I’ve invested into doing art. Hell, I’ve done so much, it would be a waste to stop now. So… I guess I should stop… Just kidding.
I am satisfied with what I’ve learned this semester. I’ve come out of it a little older and a little more experienced. With this experience, I can drive myself to learn more and to become more experienced. Now, enough with all this philosophical shit.
ART IS SOMETHING THAT TAKES A GREAT DEAL OF EFFORT AND TIME. Trust me, there will be times when you want to give up, but a determined artist will be able to move past it. Not everything can be completed within a day or week.
Also, doing art doesn’t take talent, it takes skill. Skills can be learned and repeated, talent is a one-time-deal.
It seems like I’m becoming delusional now, I should get some sleep… 6:21 AM.
Art takes effort.
Art takes time.
Art takes practice.
Sleep is for the weak.
It appears even art has principles. As open ended art seems to be, it seems to have rules. Here are the 5 Principles of New Media Art, as according to Lev Manovich:
1. Numerical Representation: Yep, you heard right, math manages to shoe-horn itself into everything. Being that NMA consists mostly of digital media, math does have to get involved. Everything that we use in class is a program and a computer calculating algorithms and 1’s and 0’s. It’s just how computers work. Even on stuff that isn’t a “computer”, the device must still compute. Tools such as digital cameras, and such, still must go by computations. It’s how pictures can come out beautiful, without too much effort by the artist.
2. Modularity: This means that all NMA consists of smaller parts or can be a part of some bigger thing.
3. Automation: This is where NMA separates itself from traditional forms of media. There must be a point at which the artist is not involved in the process, and such processes are handled by a program or computer. For example, in traditional painting, an artist had to do everything to ensure that their piece was what they wanted it to be. But with the advent of digital art programs, the computer is now able to aid the artist, assisting in what originally took some time to do, to only a few seconds.
4. Variability: NMA allows for a certain degree of “liquidity”. It can always be different in a way. Whatever the artist creates, it is not permanent. It can be edited by another person to fit what they desire. Unlike old, static media, the way something was made was the only way to do it. It was difficult to edit mistakes without damaging the original piece.
5. Transcoding: Describes what NMA physically is. It isn’t really all that physical. NMA exists as computer data, and it is moved around through computers and digital networks.
Now what does all of this mean? It is what separates New Media from “Old Media”. Even something created on a computer in a “traditional” way, is an example of New Media. These principles are set to describe and separate New Media into it’s very own category. Although I find it hard to put principles and rules on art, I can see what these principles are trying to achieve. All the principles are what differentiate NMA. If there was no distinction, then what would this glorious, new , type of content creation be? NMA
I really actually enjoyed this documentary. I honestly thought at first that it was going to be some whiny, counter-culture thing, but the film turned out to make very important points. Media nowadays is an industry, everything that is famous or iconic is owned by a large corporation. And in our modern day and age, such corporations seek to pervert and restrain the creativity that has gone on for centuries. We build on the past, nothing just comes out of nowhere. Through creativity, we take what we know and make something completely new by adding our own take on it. It’s how it’s been for centuries.
I understand what copyright is. It isn’t all bad and it shouldn’t be something we seek to destroy. It is to protect the intellectual property of someone from someone else who seeks to profit on what they made. Although, that is blatant copying. Taking something and changing it to be something in your style, isn’t a violation of copyright. It is the creation of something new.
As as an artist myself, I would hate it if someone took what I had made, and claim it as their own, or sharing it without a source. This is what hurts an artist. But someone taking something you made, and adding their own little spin to it is something different. It’s as if someone is paying homage to your work and creating something new.
I really enjoyed the in depth look at how corporations have diluted the creative industry. Being in a business university, you’d think that we should take the side of business. But where should the reach of a corporation end? When do they go too far? The mentioning of so many different laws that seek to restrict and restrain creativity and innovation is troubling to me. That there is a lack of competition, and there is simply a few big companies that control all.
The documentary was pretty personal as well. The amount of times that I have found my favorite videos on YouTube that have copyright strikes on them is appalling. Even when the music is sourced and proper credentials are given, it can all be taken away.
The segment on how Brazil is leading the world in innovative and creative freedom surprised me. In a country plagued by corruption and poverty, they manage to get something right. It shows that our own great country, which has its own positive aspects, can have parts that aren’t too great.
This documentary also reminded me of a previous documentary that I had seen a few years ago. I think it was called “Everything’s a Remix”, and it shockingly showed how much of mainstream music builds upon music from the past, all without mentioning the song they took from. Along with this documentary, they bring up good points: everything is built upon the past. There needs to be a foundation that one can build something new from. And if such an ability is restricted, then we are stuck doing the same things over and over, with no progress. But like the documentary showed, even though laws and rules are enacted to stop it, it will always find a way to progress, regardless of what anyone says.
-deleted- Because it was garbage.
Come and see the jittery madness.
We are currently experiencing a new era in the art world. What was once created using oil paints, chalk, lead, and, other physical mediums, are now being done by the processing power of a computer. Art has moved into a digital age. Like in almost every aspect of our lives nowadays, art is now done on computers.
Like ke in days of physical mediums, artists would find techniques and ways to make their art stand out compared to other’s work. Digital art is the same, artists seek to make their art unique to the next guy’s stuff. I experience it first-hand. I also make art digitally, and we all have similar tools. So you must find a way to make what you make your own.
In the reading, I took particular interest in how digital art is relevant in advertising. We usually don’t think about much behind modern advertising, just that it is annoying and sometimes a hassle. But sometimes, there is a beauty that can be found in modern advertisements. Most if not all of them are done by artists using digital art programs. Many are assemblages of many different images combined to find a new one. Then the final composition is a whole new piece of art in itself. The reading shows us two examples of advertisements, which are both for movies. But the styles are both different. The top is clearly more complex, using scenes from the movie and creating a collage that represents the movie as a whole. The second superimposes several photos over each other to create a sense of depth. With modern digital techniques, such things are achieveable.
Digital technologies are the new tools for the trade. Artists are adapting and creating new pieces of art that hold a uniqueness because of the new techniques they were created with.
Art… It’s seen as all fun and games until you actually get into it.
Art takes effort. Effort that I’m sometimes not willing to give, but I’ll do it anyway. My art is usually silly and comedic, though when trying to be dramatic, I’ll do so, but sometimes it’ll end up being humorous. I’ll tend to lean towards art that is done by hand. Not really stuff done by mouse-clicks, but rather through the movement of a pen on a surface. Photo manipulation is fun, but creating the photo seems more fun.
Much of what I’ll be creating will tend to be hand-drawn, although this takes time, I enjoy doing it. It’s not me trying to be a “go-hard”, it’s just trying to develop a skill I have outside of class as well. I don’t want to confine what I’ve learned in this class to simply this class, I want it to develop my skills outside of and after this class.
My pieces will tend to be cartoonish, silly, and light-hearted. I enjoy making things that will keep people happy. As I’ve said before, I’m not very good at making dramatic or abstract things. I’m just not very good at making “symbolism” and such. But! Much of my art should have small details that have inside jokes that only I will be able to laugh at. Though, if you understand the references, thumbs up to you.
If you enjoy some fun and silly things, you’ll probably enjoy my stuff. If you don’t enjoy it… well I can’t help you there.