The value of Digital VS Traditional Art

I won't presume to define what's art and what isn't but I think I can explain some important differences between paper and screen and how that effects how we all view the final product and particularly its value as art.

There is not much difference on how art is conceived, wether it's analog or digital. It takes ideas, planning, skill and practice to do both. Most renderings will require research and reference images as well as testing of techniques and styles. Tracing and blocking out reference images save time and insure proportions and perspective are correct. So in many ways, the final product is produced using the same skills and procedures. So then, what is the difference?

While the quality and concepts of the final image may be the same, the thing that makes something "art" may boil down to uniqueness and permanence. A digital piece, though beautiful, can be reproduced at will but does not have the advantage of being truly tactile. It can also be modified and changed at any time. A huge plus. Art on paper etc is given value not just from its beauty but by its uniqueness. There will only ever be one like it. It's impermanence is what gives it some of its value. It may last a long time, but probably not forever. Working with real world materials force decisions that can't be corrected later on and can lead to very different decisions during creation. So while digital images may be on par visually with traditional art, and have certain advantages over it in terms of reproduction and flexibility, the things that make traditional art so rare also give it a value digital art can't replicate.

What do you think?

Jesse Owens on American Experience

I am hoping anyone reading this will watch American Experience on May 1st. yes it's a great documentary but my reasons are purely selfish I'm afraid to say. I did mega loads of work on this. Retouching and animating photos in 3D space, restoring and animating posters and magazine covers, recreating and restoring headlines... just tons of work. I haven't seen the final version yet so I don't know how much of my work is still in there but the shear volume says... it's a lot. If you look at the case and crew listing, I'm under "Graphics" with my partner on this project, Alton Christensen.

And please, feel free to tell me what you thought about it... good or bad.

Check your local PBS station for the time but it seems to be playing at 8 pm here and on the east coast.

Show description:
The most famous athlete of his time, his stunning triumph at the 1936 Olympic Games captivated the world even as it infuriated the Nazis. Despite the racial slurs he endured, Jesse Owens' grace and athleticism rallied crowds across the globe. But when the four-time Olympic gold medalist returned home, he could not even ride in the front of a bus. The story of the 22-year-old son of a sharecropper who triumphed over adversity to become a hero and world champion, Jesse Owens is also about the elusive, fleeting quality of fame and the way Americans idolize athletes when they suit our purpose, and forget them once they don't.

Pen & Ink illustration

Trying to do more traditional artwork along with the more digital oriented work.

Harness

A little digital painting from an old reference photo I took about 12 years ago and never used. Getting closer to doing a face... not confident enough yet.

Spring has arrived. The sure signs... Cirque du Soleil at the old port, surfers on the Saint Lawrence. Plus more HDR along the piste cyclable.

30 Years of Behemoth media

2012 marks the 30th anniversary of Behemoth media. What started as the name (Behemoth Productions) for super8 productions made by myself and partner in crime Jeannette Reeves merged with my graphic design business to become Behemoth media in the 90's and continues to this day. I expanded into more post production and animations after the year 2000 along with leaving film behind for a digital workflow.

After making several test films and playing around with my Bell & Howell super 8 movie camera (oh how I still miss it) I took a film editing class from ”the Jamaica Plain Newsreel” who were a small group making super 8 documentaries in the Boston area. My first project was called ”Different Drummer”. The simple concept was to film my good friend at the time, writer Stephen Merritt, and put the footage to music. I used a song he chose, ”Watching and Waiting” by the his favorite band, The Moody Blues. It was fairly well received in class. I have no idea where Stephen is today, but I still appreciate him letting me film him and show it. He was a geek before it was chic, like many of my friends, and I think the film shows this and his love of solitary activities like reading, writing and walking in the nature.

I've retooled the old dragon logo and I like it so much I think I'll be using a modified version on future productions from now on. It seems more ”film oriented” and the love of story telling through film and illustration is what's kept me doing this stuff for 30 years.

Second painting attempt

paint what you love...
I should take a break before I get too obsessed (and disappointed) with my attempts. I want to do a pen and ink on real paper next anyway. Click to see more details in the digital painting.

Wacom Intuos5 touch

After getting the iPad so recently, it was a huge surprise when I received a Wacom tablet as gift. I had an old tiny one that bit the dust a few months ago. I never like using it but I know many artists who can't live without one. I figured I just was having a hard time getting a grip on how to use one. One of the reasons for iPad was to use it as a sketchpad so I was not prepared to make such a step up so soon.

The intuos5 I have now has completely changed my attitude on using a tablet. Having a great tool really makes a difference. The first day I produced 6 illustrations for a book in a pen and ink style. I've never even tried to do anything in color or like a real painting on the computer before but I've always wanted to try. So using a photo I took a long while back as reference I did this bee painting (above) in about an hour. It might not be a great work of art, but I am very happy with the results.

I have the medium sized model and I reccomend this size as it makes navigating the pen across the screen much easier than a smaller tablet. The multitude of programmable buttons I have only started to explore the uses of, but I imagine I will find them all very useful.

The tablet works with most software, as a pen or brush, a mouse or as better way to control and construct cgi animations. Sketchbook Express comes as a free download and it is an amazing program for drawing. I do find photoshop, with it's hundreds of options harder to draw with but more useful overall. In the end I am sure I will be using both as you can edit PSD files in both.

review: iPad 2

After having no interest in buying a tablet the last two years, I suddenly found myself finding that the compact size and long battery life of these devices were something I could use more and more. With release of the new iPad, the iPad 2 was dropped in price 100$ and was a little more affordable. While 16 gigs are not a lot by today's standards, it does allow enough space for light usage.

My iPod had 64 gigs of storage so I had decided before I bought the iPad to not put music on it and only video I would be using immediately. The 16 gig restriction is a little annoying, I would have liked the chance for a 32 gig, but apple isn't offering anything larger unless it's the new iPad.

After a week of using the device, it is easy to see why it has become such a popular device. It is much faster than a phone or iPod using the wifi, playing games and anything else a small portable device is used for. I don't find typing on it particularly difficult as I had been lead to believe in many reviews I had read. Even more surprising was how useful it is for drawing and sketching using the sketch-up app and a Wacom stylus. It is not super precise, but considering a Wacom tablet with built in screen starts at 1000$, it is a pretty impressive tool to have at this price.

I am not a big gamer, but I do like adventure games and I was eager to see Riven on the iPad. It played great and the enlarged images are ok but the video is fairly pixelated. So when possible I would recommend getting HD games made for the device over iPhone versions when price isn't a barrier.

The 2 cameras, as with the iPod touch, are horrible. Video chat on Skype is not bad, I don't want or expect film quality there, but even as portable camera the images are too grainy. Using an iPad as a camera or video recorder is awkward to say the least. I would rather see more storage space, larger battery or lower price in place of the rear camera.

brume de village gai

plus à flickr