Glitch Art (Part 1: The Basic Databend)
Bokeh Inspired Tutorial
Bokeh is the blurred effect you see in a photo when things are out-of-focus. In certain cases where the out-of-focus area contains a lot of light and different colors, the blurriness can create an interesting aesthetic that is pretty to look at. Bokeh has made its way from photos to the digital space as made evident by an abundance of bokeh-inspired wallpapers available for desktops and mobile phones. Here are some examples of bokeh in photography: Example 1, Example 2, Example 3, Example 4, Example 5.
The goal of this tutorial is to create an abstract bokeh-inspired wallpaper like the one displayed above.
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Echo Park Rising – A Free Music Festival on 8/25
If you’re around Los Angeles on August 25th, you should plan to check out Echo Park Rising, a free music festival presented by 98.7fm taking place all across Echo Park from 11AM to the wee hours of the morning. In addition to the wide variety of bands playing, there will also be a ton of great art to check out and food to chow down on. More information will be announced as the festival approaches, so stay tuned for updates from their official site or social media accounts.
Echo Park Rising Official Site
Echo Park Rising on Facebook
Echo Park Rising on Twitter
Art & Copy: Inside Advertising’s Creative Revolution – A Review
Over the weekend, a family member recommended that I watch at Art & Copy, the 2009 film by Doug Pray. Pray’s film is a documentary look inside the world of advertising agencies, the creative minds who have shaped them, and the world of commerce they have defined over the last fifty years.
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Color of the Year: Pantone’s Zeitgeist Chroma
Last month Pantone announced Tangerine Tango as the “color of the year” for 2012. Executive director of Pantone Leatrice Eiseman described the hue as “sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive.” Great, but what made Tangerine Tango a better choice than Passionate Purple? Or Bombastic Blue? Or Requiem Red? Well according to Pantone, the chosen color is meant to act as a guide through which our culture’s current zeitgeist is being channeled.
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Online Art Resources
Art is a vast subject that changes frequently and often radically with time. Here are some interesting, informative, and inspirational art-oriented websites to keep you in the know and inspired with fresh material.
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Some Shots from Abroad
I recently got back from a trip in Europe. While I’ll spare you every detail of my journey, I thought I would at least post these skeletons I found on the streets of Paris. A little bit late for Halloween, but still.
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Artists: Kidult Says “Hi”
The anonymous French graffiti artist known as “Kidult” is gaining notoriety at a rapid pace. By filling up fire extinguishers with paint and dousing luxury brand store fronts with his tag, Kidult is on a mission to once again “Illegalize Graffiti.” While many are considering his tags a compelling statement, a large number of critics have already summarized his work as nothing more than vandalism. Wherever you personally land on this spectrum, Kidult is making sure of one thing: he will be heard.
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Who Would Have Thought?
(Above) Art piece by Martin Pyper using nails and string.
When you look around the room you are in right now, how many items do you see? How many of these items do you find useful? Can that stapler be used to do something more than attach papers together? Can that pen do more than write? Sometimes we are so comfortable with our surroundings that we don’t notice things that were there all along, and sometimes we are so used to using objects for what they were made to be used for that we don’t see other possible uses for them. This is unfortunate, as beautiful and amazing things can be made when imagination is the only limitation. This entry showcases a selection of artists who have thought beyond the stapler and the pen. Their work displays what is possible when we “think outside of the box.”
Advertising Design and Arts InspirationsDesign: At the Press of a Button
“New and improved!” – This can be applied to anything from people to gardening tools. Something that is improved from its previous version implies that it is now better, and as a designer, few things can be better than saving time. We look for tools that make it faster to make something look good, and methods/techniques that make it easier to do something. Unfortunately, doing something the easy way can sometimes mean sacrificing quality. For example, in Photoshop, simply using the Quick Selection Tool to isolate an object might be sufficient enough to select it; however, zooming in and actually hand-selecting or deselecting pixels in detail will get you a much more accurate selection. But of course, that takes time. Wouldn’t it be great to have a tool that is a combination of ease, speed, and quality?
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