Sunday, December 31, 2006

Progressive Anatomy/John Watkiss

Essential for any artist studying anatomy.
The Progressive Anatomy book involves abstract reductionism of the body from head to foot page by page of all muscle grouping throughout this volume. It concludes with the big issue of composition and placing the figure intelligently on the page. With further references to knowledge over style. 8.5"x 11", Spiral Bound, 60 pgs



http://www.watkissart.com
http://johnwatkiss.blogspot.com/

Saturday, December 16, 2006

Structure and Function

LEONARDO'S WAY OF TEACHING ANATOMY

One of the easiest ways to learn anatomy is to relate function with structure. Quite often, the anatomy is intimately connected to its function. Evolution has produced the most efficient structure for the maximum performance of the body. However, bodies are under constant change and as researchers look back at the history of the human, many structures have disappeared or become more prominent.
Leonardo’s originality as an anatomist is best revealed through his drawings and descriptions accompanying each of them. He did not believe in the use of too many words to describe his ideas. The few words he used were directly related to the drawings and expressed mechanical and technical ideas. For instance, he referred to muscles with words such as “springs” and “wires” in order to convey the idea of a machine.


The wires or cords are to indicate the lines of tension developed by the muscles as shown by his words:“...Make this leg in full relief, and make the cords of tempered copper, and then bend them according to their natural form. After doing this you will be able to draw them from 4 sides. Place them as they exist in nature, and speak of their uses.“
Leonardo's approach, with its notions of layers, levels, transparency, cutaways, sections opens up the body in a new way. Surface features and below the surface features are now integrated into the same process of understanding. But at the same time there is a curious way in which the new methods of visualization lead to a process of externalization: everything can be seen, brought out into the open, not just the insides of arms and legs, but also the inner organs and even the inner expressions of the mind and soul. There is a new belief that everything can be brought to the surface. Hence the study of anatomy, art and an early form of psychology emerge together in Leonardo's notebooks(Dr. Kim H. Veltman)


As a mathematical supplement, Leonardo’s detailed measures of every single part of the body emphasized his desire to normalize the human body. This calculated approach could relate to an eventual plan to create a human machine.(S.Pestieau)

Leonardo on the Human Body

Leonardo Da Vinci's anatomical drawings, due to his extreme curiosity, became one of his most profound works to date. Published by Dover from the original text 1952. The book is set up in 2 columns and broken up into headers of different anatomical structures; either of bones, muscles, ventricles of the heart or brains. The chapters are broken into systems: nervous, cardiovascular, myological, osteological, respitory, alimentary and others. Within the text there are italicized words. These are the words written on the drawing itself, in Leonardo's usual backward writing style.

Some of you might be curious, beyond the drawings themselves to read what Leonardo thought at the time. And from there is the authors commentary. For those interested in anatomy, drawing, painting or anything in the art field, this book is highly recommended, for it has limitless reference value. I continually look at it for my drawings. One will also notice that many of the "models" are of the same body or person. This is because Leonardo asked a friend on his deathbed if he could cut him up, dissect him and then draw him. The friend, of course, consented to this, and so we have Leonardo's masterpiece.

More Links
Anatomy Image Bank
Web Anatomy
AndrewLoomis Anatomy
Photo Reference on Human Anatomy

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Anatomy for Artists

Burne Hogarth: Dynamic Anatomy

Exploring the expressive structure of the human form from an artist's point of view, this study describes the relationship of muscles and their effect on surrounding forms. The author demonstrates how to portray the anatomical details of the human figure in action and at rest.

George B. Bridgman: Constructive Anatomy

Over 500 illustrations; instructional text. "Best book on artist's anatomy."-Art Students League News.
A variety of sketches depicting bone and muscle structure, as well as human features, illustrate these lessons in drawing human forms.

Gottfried Bammes: Die Gestalt des Menschen

Künstleranatomie einst und heute, Leonardo - Anatom und Pädagoge, Michelangelos Verhältnis zur Anatomie für Künstler, Die Proportionen des Menschen, Die plastischen Bausteine des Körpers, Die untere Extremität, Das Rumpfskelett, Die Rumpfmuskulatur, Die architektonische Form des Rumpfes und seine Formzusammenhänge, Die besondere Oberflächenform der Hand in ihrer plastischen Bedeutung, Die Kopfgelenke und deren Mechanik, Die konstruktive Form und Plastik des Schädels, Die äußere Erscheinung des Kopfes, seine Oberflächenbildungen und das Körper-Raum-Problem, Die Verarbeitung des unmittelbaren und mittelbaren Ausdrucks des Gesichts in Porträts, Künstleranatomie und künstlerische Freiheit u.a.

Designers who Blog

‘Designers who Blog’ is about blogging designers. Due to the slop over in the industry, also included are illustrators, photographers, writers, advertisers, marketeers and more.

At ‘Designers who Blog’ you’ll discover people sharing thoughts, ideas and creativity about their industries. You’ll find off-the-rack blogs amongst well designed, amazing sites.

http://www.designers-who-blog.com/

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Job offer: Storyboard

Storyboards Inc. has represented the best artists in the business for over 25 years and we are looking for some fresh talent to join our team. We represent experienced artists who draw storyboards, shooting boards and comps for advertising agencies, commercial production agencies, and film production companies.Our client roster boasts top agencies all across the country.
We require you to have at least 3 years experience in the storyboarding business and would ask that you take a look at our website to understand the level of talent required.
Please be clear about what type of storyboarding you're interested in. We are not interested in finished illustration, fine-art work, figure drawing, or graphic design work.
Work can be submitted via email to ariam@storyboardsinc.com or on a CD.
We're based in Los Angeles, but rep artists across the country.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

PS3 Next Generation Games


Assassin's Creed is a video game in development by Ubisoft. First shown as Project Assassin at Microsoft's X05 event, at the E3 2006 trade show, it was officially announced for the PS3, expected to be released in the first quarter of 2007 under the name "Assassin's Creed". Later on, Ubisoft also announced that the game was coming to the PC[1] [2] and Xbox 360 [3]. The game is being developed by many of the same people who helped make Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and began production as soon as the latter was completed.
One of the most talked about features of the game is the ability to get around the game world. Influenced by the Parkour phenomenon and its freedom of movement, the player will be able to grab onto and climb "any object that sticks out more than 2 inches", which means exploration of the cities, rooftops, etc. will be possible on a greater scale than in any previous game. The game will also be completely free-roaming, which has led to comparisons with Grand Theft Auto, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Shadow of the Colossus, and other games.
Trailer


The Getaway
Some people bashed The Getaway on PS2 and its sequel, Black Monday, for its mildly broken play mechanics. But we really liked it. That's why we're excited to see what the talented chaps at Sony's Team Soho studio will be able to pull off when this astonishing PS3 tech demo, Getaway: Future Vision, becomes a fully-fledged Getaway 3 for PS3.
In the meantime, there's plenty to be excited about; the London-based developer has put together a stunning trailer based on the real-time demonstration that SCE's development chief, Phil Harrison, performed back at E3's press conference.
We're bringing you the usual high-quality, 60fps video quality so you can see just how staggering the demo looks. Depicting an early morning Piccadilly Circus, you'll see astonishing level of photorealism thanks to all the dynamic range lighting, pixel shading and probably a thousand other kinds of sophisticated graphical techniques. It's impressive. Source: KikizoGames

Trailer

Sunday, December 03, 2006

basic drawing skills

THE FRANK REILLY SCHOOL OF ART

The teaching program of Frank Reilly consisted of communicating an accumulation of knowledge and skills beginning with the elementary and building to the complex. He taught the crafts of drawing and then painting. The students first learns these necessary crafts before moving on to art. Craft has to do with developed skills and art with creativity and emotional connectivity. Each step in his lectures followed logically upon the step which had been previously taught. More...

Planes relative to the light...

Planes are concave, forms are convex.