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Influence

Influences wean it came to my drawing style came mainly from artist like Otto Dix with his sketches of nightmares he had from war. This picture is called Storm Troopers Advancing Under Gas. I am found of this picture as I like how Otto was able to turn these solders into faceless monsters with the barbaric poses he put his figures in and how he used only grays, blacks and whites helps create the illusion of the gas and the fears which created for people.

A other Influence is Francis Bacon which I am found of his work because work to be some of the most painful pieces of work I have ever seen. One series he did which stands out to me is the Base of the Crucifiction. I find this picture so effective because of a number of factors. One the figures are naturally deformed however still have human quality like the figure on left looks like it was a women as seen from her long curved neck, hour glass figure, long hair and she is wearing a dress however to be left there on the table like a mental piece with out arms or legs can suggest that she is depressed as she looks sad since her head is looking down. The figure in the middle has a interesting posture to it and makes it look like it is searing directly at however it has no eyes. The figure on the right is my favorite as I find it stands out more because of the striking pose of the its body and how its form looks like it is being stretched which explains why it screaming. However this pitcher could be a symbolic for how Jesus Christ had died on the cross. This could be because the all three could represent the stages which Jesus suffered though, the right being him dragging the cross as it looks like it is pulling something, the middle being placed on the cross as the middle figure looks tired from it's open mouth and bent figure and finally the nailing to the cross which is the third with the spikes on the floor. A other factor which makes this picture shocking is the back ground by how Bacon had used a harsh orange which makes the picture uneasy to look at which promotes that whole them of pain behind the picture. A other factor is how he applied the paint and how he used uneven brush strokes to make his picture seem like a ruff texture. I am also fond of this painting because I saw it in real life wean I went to the Tate Britten last year wean I wasstudying fine art in Six Form.

A other artist which I found useful for reface was my lecture Jonny Duddle how taught us how to use gray scale panting in photoshop which is the method of using a gray template on a picture then to work shades to define shape and form in your picture by showing were the light hits it and were the the picture is darker. Then you would change the colour with the color replacement tool to change the grays into color, which saves so much time compared to traditional methods. The result is a colorful display which highly resembles a traditional panting.

I am highly found of a few anime's which use very interesting art style like ''Hellsing OVA'' which tries to capture the style of the manga as seen in in this video on youtube and this capture from the manga. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S6TomyMP9s

http://www.mangareader.net/205-13790-7/hellsing/chapter-65.htmlI really like this style as I find very dynamic in movement, perspectives and facial emotions but both use very thick lines which give a bold look to it, while some the poses may seem flat, it is the just from the style of the manga which allot of it looks like it may have been influenced by Otto Dix's work as Kouta Hirano the illustrator for Hellsing used allot of dead bodies piled up with a bold style similar to Otto's work. I am very fond of the tank fight scene in ghost in the shell (1996) wean kusanagi jumps on top of the tank and try's to destroy it wean her muscle swelled up and take a superhuman form but how the muscles formed and moved is some of the best animations of the human anatomy I have ever seen which is quite ironic as Anime is criticized mainly for having

single frame animations to cut on costs. When I saw this for the first time I was blown away as it made me say '' Oh My God!''. One thing which I noticed from looking at this was that animation team had deftly looked and have a understanding into a great amount of detail of life drawing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK8V9jG7Wjg

One of my most favorite themes in art style is from a anime called ''Baccano!'' which is set in 1930's America and captures the feel of the era. The reason why I am interested in it's art style is because you can see a striking resemblance to the work Edward Hopper how had painted one of my most favorite pictures which is ''Nighthawks''. The background used in ''Baccano!'' uses hoppers works influence as they use slimier textures and lighting of buildings to give it that painted look but the style in ''Baccano!'' does not have the element of loneliness as Edward Hoppers painted have and in a interview with Takahiro Omori the main animation director of ''Baccano!'' said that he doe's not know Edward Hopper. “I am not very familiar with Edward

Hopper. Maybe Akira Ito may know, but I don't think that we got our inspiration from there. Before we settled with the current art direction, Akira Ito put forward a few illustrations by some artists, but none of them clicked. We settled on what we have now after some trial and error. I suppose if I had to mention something we used some American comics, especially Mike Mignola's work such as Hellboy and Batman: The Animated Series, for reference.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Msg8ypnLqaw

Inspiration

Influences wean it came to my drawing style came mainly from artist like Otto Dix with his sketches of nightmares he had from war. This picture is called Storm Troopers Advancing Under Gas. I am found of this picture as I like how Otto was able to turn these solders into faceless monsters with the barbaric poses he put his figures in and
how he used only grays, blacks and whites helps create the illusion of the gas
and the fears which created for people.

A other Influence is Francis Bacon which I am found of his work because I find his work to be some of the most painful pieces of work I have ever seen. One series he

did which stands out to me is the Base of the Crucifiction. I find this picture so effect

ive because of a number of factors. One the figures are naturally deformed however s

till hav

e human quality like the figure on left looks like it was a women as seen from her long curved neck, hour glass figure, long hair and she is wearing a dress however to be left there on the table like a mental piece with out arms or legs can suggest that she is depressed as she looks sad since her head is looking down. The figure in the mid

dle has a interesting posture to it and makes it look like it is searing directly at however it has no eyes. The figure on the right is my favorite as I find it stands out more because of the striking pose of the its body and how its form looks like it is being stretched which explains why it screaming. However this pitcher could be a symbolic for how Jesus Christ had died on the cross. This could be because the all three could represent the sta

ges which Jesus suffered though, the right being him dragging the cross as it looks like it is pulling something, the middle being placed on the cross as the middle figure looks tired from it's open mouth and bent figure and finally the nailing to the cross which is the third

with the spikes on the floor. A other factor which makes this picture shocking is the back ground by how Bacon had used a harsh orange which makes the picture uneasy to look at which promotes that whole them of pain behind the picture. A other factor is how he applied the paint and how he used uneven brush strokes to make his picture seem like a ruff texture. I am also fond of this painting because I saw it in real life wean I w

ent to the Tate Britten last year wean I was studying fine art in Six Form.

A other artist which I found useful for reface was my lecture Jonny Duddle how taught us how to use gray scale panting in photoshop which is the method of using a gray template on a picture then to work shades to define shape and form in your picture by showing were the light hits it and were the the picture is darker. Then you would change the colour with the color replacement tool to change the grays into color, which saves so much time

compared to traditional methods. The result is a colorful display which highly resembles a traditional panting.

I am highly found of a few anime's which use very interesting art style like ''Hellsing OVA'' which tries to capture the style of the manga as seen in in this video on youtube and this capture from the manga.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S6TomyMP9s

http://www.mangareader.net/205-13790-7/hellsing/chapter-65.html

I really like this style as I find very dynamic in movement, perspectives and facial emotions but both use very thick lines which give a bold look to it, while some the poses may seem flat, it is the just from the style of the manga which allot of it looks like it may have been influenced by Otto Dix's work as Kouta Hirano the illustrator for Hellsing used allot of dead bodies piled up with a bold style similar to Otto's work.

I am very fond of the tank fight scene in ghost in the shell (1996) wean kusanagi jumps on top of the tank and try's to destroy it wean her muscle swelled up and take a superhuman form but how the muscles formed and moved is some of the best animations of the human anato

my I have ever seen which is quite ironic as Anime is criticized mainly for having single frame animations to cut on costs. When I saw this for the first time I was blown away as it made me say '' Oh My God!''. One thing which I noticed from looking at this was that animation team had deftly looked and have a understanding into a great amount of detail of life drawing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK8V9jG7Wjg

One of my most favorite themes in art style is from a anime called ''Baccano!'' which is set i

n 1930's America and captures the feel of the era. The reason why I am interested in it's art style is because you can see a striking resemblance to the work Edward Hopper how had painted one of my most favorite pictures which is ''Nighthawks''. The background used in ''Baccano!'' uses hoppers works influence as they use slimier textures and lighting of buildings to give it that painted look but the style in ''Baccano!'' does not have the element of loneliness as Edward Hoppers painted have and in a interview with Takahiro Omori the main animation director of ''Baccano!'' said that he doe's not know Edward Hopper.

“I am not very familiar with Edward Hopper. Maybe Akira Ito may know, but I don't think that we got our inspiration from there. Before we settled with the current art direction, Akira Ito put forward a few illustrations by some artists, but none of them clicked. We settled on what we have now after some trial and error. I suppose if I had to mention something we used some American comics, especially Mike Mignola's work such as Hellboy and Batman: The Animated Series, for reference.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Msg8ypnLqaw

I have uploaded my drawing work on flicker if anyone wants a look its at http://www.flickr.com/photos/68308818@N08/sets/

The Mascot

We were given the task this week to design a mascot for the Betty Smithers Design Collection but it had to be based on a object in the collection. There were 3 objects which stand out in the selection we were given which stand out which was a, dark green plastic box with a roman, greek style on it, a ash tray which looked like it had a smiley face on it which screamed anthropomorphism and finally a case for some scotch malt whiskey.

I first did some ideas based on each of the items

1.-The Box, This item I thought of making him into a roman emperor by giving him a toga and a olive leaf crown which to a degree capture his sprite from the design it had on it also the plastic had a marble look to it so it could relate to riches or high power.

2.-The ash tray- I thought since this ash tray had a giant smile on it, then the mascot should be smiling and this gave me a idea of those old cigarettes adverts in the 50's which is why I gave it a vintages cartoon look, influenced from the first Mickey Mouse cartoon, 'Steam Boat Mickey' also I based it on those old drive through adverts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYrzdVISuUY&feature=related.

3 and 4 are just more simpler versions of 2

4- I based after the whiskey which is why I made it into stereotypical Texas land lord but this would not do since it the whiskey was Scottish but if it was a bottle of Jack Daniels, then that would be a different story.

5-I based it on a sheep herder which was more fitting then the Texas land lord also the case has pictures of a farm, hay and other farmer objects so for him to be a farmer or sheep header was seen as a must also pubs are very common in small country side villages and to see a farmer go in for a pint after a long day would seem fitting since this a case of whiskey after all.

6- I thought I would make the case seem older since this is a malt whiskey and it needs time for it to mature so making him old would capture that vintage spirit of whiskey but also to a degree you can relate that to most of the objects in the whole collection since lots of them are antic.

I then expanded on this whiskey idea by exploring the different versions of this whiskey man I could do but to things which I thought that was important was that he must be Scottish and he must be old.

1- I decided to give him an more serious look to him and expressive. I gave him a bent hunch back to show his age and I gave him a German Shepherd since that's one of the dog's mainly used for sheep herding but I made it a shot glass since his master is a whiskys case. I really like this one since I feel to it's heart captures the case the best since since whiskey is meant to be enjoyed slowly and savored not like vodka or rum which can mixed with other drinks or drank in quick shots but this is not the same for whiskey since if you mix whiskey with another alcohol it can leave you with a hangover like no other, I learned that after mixing god know's how

much whiskey with a cookie and cream lacquer... Lets just say I had stomach pains the next day. But after that I try to avoid mixing whiskey and try to have it by it self which is why by making my mascot old, he is more likely going to be a traditionalist so he would not be as open to new ideas like how you should mix whiskey with a milky lacquer.

2-The second one I based it after a picture I found on Google of a old Scottish man which I thought would be interesting for a idea.

3- I based this on Sean Connery since I found him to have strong features which reminds me of whiskey also besides him being Scottish but he actually done adverts for whiskey http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDG2V4veQLU&feature=related.

4. I did a more simpler version of 1 but put on the clothing of 2.

5. I did a stereotypical Scottish worrier which I based after 'Braveheart' and the 'Demoman' from Team Fortress 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWBeqNYihjQ which I find hilarious bu

t this idea is to chaotic which does not match the malt whiskey since it needs to slow and mature.

I then experimented on Photoshop and got these results.

This is what I got so far but being packed with my other projects I will comeback and up date on this in due time. Also I thought of naming him 'Malt' or 'Scot'

Introduction draft

For my introduction draft I will look into the question of ''what makes a thing into a person?''. To answer this question I will look into 3 points which I consider to be signification to bring something to life. The physical form which will be how the character moves, shows emotion and speak. Interaction which will be how the character interact with other characters, objects, the general environment and awareness of there universe. But the most important point is there level of independent thought because that's what truly makes a thing into a person were they can act on there own and choose there own actions then it leads to the idea of them being able to think and in turn, become more human like. You can relate this to anthropomorphic character of Golems which are statues given life to preform task with out no free will. With out free will the character will seem lifeless and be only a moving puppet but if they have free with then it adds a whole new perspective on the character and helps us to understand them and how they think . I will look into a character called Weathly from portal 2 because I find he cover's all these points and he was actually one of the most entertaining and likable characters I have seen in resent video games which is quite ironic since he is only a robotic eye but he is more human then most video game characters how are actually human. So he is a perfect example of how a thing can become a person.

my blog task of the week

well there are two notable things I did on the subject of anthropomorphism. well this one I did before but I will mention it now since it was interesting. I looked into book called ''Theory of visual perception'' which is a psychology book on how we see things and how are mind registers and process the information we see.

I found this book from a talk I had with a relative of mine about anthropomorphism which he suggested I should look into the ''Theory visual perception'' and the ''Gestalt theory''. I asked him about anthropomorphism since he is studying his Psychology Masters degree so I thought he would now something or point me in the right direction which he did.

shortly after I was with my group '' we got games'' in the library looking for information which we found a copy of theory of visual perception which I then took home.

after looking into the book I found a really useful chapter which covered the Gestalt theory. In this chapter I found an interest passage which covered a topic called ''Cross-Cultural similarites'' which described how are minds start ruffly the same however is shaped throw what we see and experience. It also covers how primarily we are all the same and that why you can sometimes understand a person how speaks a different languages by there tone of voice, like if you hear some one speaking really quick, load and aggressively then you can presume the person is angry or how they express there emotions throw facial expressions and body language since that what humans used before they adapted with voices. so to use basic human emotions or behavior you can apply that to any thing and it would make it easier to relate to like ''Lumiere'' from Disney's ''Beauty and the Beast'' which he is only a candle on a metal frame but by making him speak, have facial emotions and organic movement then it make it easier to relate to him as a human then a object since we use are primal precipitation to understand him like if we took away his voice you can still understand him throw his movement.

The book I looked into was written by a man called Ian E. Gordon ''1989''. after looking after this book I found a Other book by him which had the same title but was published in ''2004'' which after looking at this book I found a extract which talked about how are minds can register something even it was change slightly for example he talks about how you can recognize a song even if it is ''played in a different key'' so with this theory applied to anthropomorphism if you change something like a person into animal or a object like a table or a robot but keeping quality like a face or body shape it makes it easier to recognize it as a person.

However for what I actually done this week, well I have been playing the new elder scrolls title, Skyrim on the ps3. This may seem like a lazy way out of the assignment however in this game there is vast number of anthropomorphic characters and creatures in the game which have there own interesting aspects which I will list below.

There is a summon in the game called a ''Flame Atronach'' which is a humanoid fire elemental ''daedra''. The interesting aspect behind this ''daedra'' is her feminine body shape and how elegant she movies in the air, similar to how fire is. fragile and elegant but wild and dangerous as seen by how see spins in the air like a ballerina how ever is ready to burn down anyone how threatens you however for me I use her a meat shield to distract the enemy while I charge at them. A example of her can be seen from the video I found below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GgsCMTnaBs

A other interesting creature is the Spriggan which is a very similar to the flame atronach but is made of wood and uses powers of nature rather then flames. The spriggan is usually found in the woods or any were there plant life as they serve as guardians of nature and kill anyone how goes by as human and other humanoid races since they are a threat to nature so there's a sense of responsibility which this reminds of the Titan ''Gaia'' from the God of war series since she is mother of the earth and that sense of responsibility is there. That and they live animals of the forest like one quest I had to go to area were it was full of spriggan and grizzly bears but I made short work of them with my good friend... FIRE!

A other notable creatures are the dragons in skyrim. Besides they have no human like quality since there very sharp and evil looking however one point which makes dragons stand out from other creatures in the game is that they can speak in human and there tong which is one of the main plot points in the game since you can there learn there language which is how they use there power and use it for your self, earthier from basic breathing fire, becoming invincible, sprinting unnaturally fast or my favorite '' Ice Form'' which freezes the enemy in ice and they fall on the floor like a statue, unable to move. All ways a good laugh. These dragons remind me allot of the dragons from the table top board game '' Dungeons and Dragons'' since in D&D, dragons are actually intelligent creatures how can speak, take human form and take have alliances ether Good (Metallic), Neutral (Gem) and evil (Chromatic) like the 'Red Dragon' which loves gold and killing people, very evil.

A good example of this is with the video below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMy3OmRbfzk

However in skyrim there are two actual anthropomorphic races aside with the humans, elves and orcs which you can pick from and exist throw out the game which are Khajit and Argonians.

The Khajit are a race of humanoid cat people and the Argonians are a race of lizard people which they both shear similar attributes like they can wear clothing, Armour, use weapons and tools like blacksmith or making potions. They can talk and live with human society as proper proper people since they can talk and express emotion quite easily however they differ to in Skyrim rather then previous titles like Oblivion were Khajit and Argonians would be seen as equals to most in this one they are treated differently by people now. In Skyrim there is a huge emphasis on race in the political world of the game were Skyrim is divide by civil war between the ''Imperial'' empire which consist of all the races in the elder scroll world vs the ''stormcloaks'' which are rebal army how are fighting ageist the empire because of there alliance with the ''Thalmor'' or High elves which now the stormcloaks fight for the freedom of skyrim and to let it be run by ''Nords''. This effects the Argonians and Khajit since because of this they are seen as second class citizens, especially by the ''Thalmor'' which see everyone as lesser. All ways good kicking there butts, high class snobs.