Wednesday, May 11, 2011

43) Illusion of Motion

One way to achieve the illusion of motion is through a repeated figure, which is very common and shows the same character multiple times to show movement of the character.
Comic strips are a great way of showing motion through repeated figure because comic strips usually consist of only a few characters and they are usually in every frame and they move.

Another way to show motion would be to have a blurred outline which is based on photography which when a photo of an object in motion was taken by a camera with a slow shutter speed the photograph turned out blurry.
Below is a drawing that shows motion through blurred lines giving the impression that the figure is walking.

The final way to show motion in drawing is to have multiple images of the same character or form in an overlapping sequence.
A perfect example of this would be the picture below that shows a snow boarder multiple times doing a flip.

42) Spacial Puzzles

Equivocal space is a spacial puzzle in which you can not be sure which object is on top or in the background.
Here is a perfect example of equivocal space.

41) Multiple Perspective

Multiple perspective is looking at a single object from more than one vantage point simultaneously. This creates a single image that is not what the eye would see in real life but that the artist knew was there and recognized.
Picasso was very popular for doing this in his paintings. He notices that every woman in this painting has a face. Even though the woman in the bottom right corner is not even facing the audience you can see her face.

40) Amplified perspective

amplified perspective is a dynamic and dramatic illusionistic effect created when an object is pointed directly at by the viewer.
Uncle Sam pointing to the viewer has been done and redone many times in different forms and fashions but it has gotten the readers attention because of its amplified perspective. Uncle Sam breaks the fourth wall and recognizes the viewer.

36) Illusions of Space

Overlapping is a common technique to show space because it creates depth by letting the viewer see that there are some objects on top of others which means that they are closer to the viewer.
In the photo below there are three horses and the one on the far left is the closest to the viewer because it is on top of the others and the one on the far right is further away from the viewer because it has other horses overlapping it.
I'm just kidding, I know they are butterflies

Vertical location is another depth cue that helps us to see space. Things that are usually higher up on the page are more into the background your eye wanders. Just like in the picture below you are seeing a landscape in which if you start at the bottom of the page and look up toward the top you will end up further away.
Another tool used to show space is aerial perspective. Aerial perspective is the use of color to show depth, for instance things getting cloudier or less clear, possibly even darker, as they move backward in space.
In this picture of a woman you can tell that she is closer because not only is she in front of it through overlapping but she is also more clearly defined and not as blurry.
The final illusion of space would be linear perspective which is a rather complex spacial system based on   vanishing points and how parallel lines appear as though they converge as they get closer to the horizon line. The most common example of this is railroad tracks because everyone knows what they look like and everyone knows that they are going to be equally spaced down the line however they seem to disappear if you look down a set of tracks that move in a strait line toward the horizon.


35) Scale Confusion

Scale confusion is when there is an object in a piece that is not the correct size according to the hieratic scale, which states that things get smaller as they are further away from the viewer and bigger as they get closer.
This picture shows a donut that is a sign on a building and it is pretty large being dunked into a small cup of coffee which we know is not possible but they have created this illusion through scale confusion.
Another great example is these two girls standing on a giant banana, which is not actually a giant banana it is a banana in the foreground while they are in the background.

33) Rhythm

Progressive rhythm is one form of rhythm in which repetition is present however the shape changes in a regular manner as it progresses leaving a sense of sequential pattern.

32) Absence of Focal Point

Absence of a focal point would be to have no clear direction and no clear emphasis on any certain object or item.
For instance the photo below is a picture that has no focal point and no emphasis on one particular thing but rather the whole of all the parts.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

28) Emphasis

Emphasis can be created in many ways, take for example contrast. Contrast can show emphasis by pointing something out that does not fit into the surroundings.
The red ball obviously does not fit in which is one reason that your eye is drawn to it, the other is that it is in the middle of the photo.
Another route to showing emphasis would be to isolate something. By making it stand alone and not be part of a group you add emphasis to it.

In the picture below there is a technique employed that is called Emphasis by Placement. This is created by having many elements pointing toward one single focal point to draw attention to it.

24)Balance

Symmetrical balance is usually the first thing to come to mind when the word balance is brought up. Symmetrical balance, or bilateral symmetry, is where one side becomes the mirror image of the opposite side.
The vehicle above is very symmetrical because what is happening on one side of the car is also happening on the other side of the car.
Asymmetrical balance is the exact opposite of symmetrical balance in the sense that even though it is balanced it is not the same thing on both sides. The example above shows two things both equally weighted but not both the same thing.

There is one more type of balance which is labeled as radial balance because of the fact that it all stems from one central point. The plate below is a perfect example of radial balance.

Crystallographic balance is the last type of balance which is otherwise known as all over pattern. 

19) Unity

Putting elements close together is a way to make separate elements look as though they belong together called proximity. The picture below makes these women appear to be part of a group because of the fact that they are huddled together in the middle of the piece.
Another way that can create a strong sense of unity would be to repeat shapes, the shapes will seem as though they belong together because they are the same shape, for instance the image below.
A very subtle way to create unity would be through continuation, this route consists of one shape leading into the next which leads the viewers eye through your piece and unifies it.
Continuity is yet another form of unity which can often denote the visual relationship between two or more designs. An example of this is shown below in which each frame is used to show a certain instance in a time frame which is all unified because they are all part of the same story.

18) Visual Texture

Visual texture is where an artist reproduces the color and value patterns of familiar textures to make the viewer see texture where no texture actually exists.
This drawing by MC Escher is a great example of visual texture because it shows the texture on the hands explicitly so that the viewer knows that the hands are coming to life.

17) Tactile texture

tactile texture is texture that can actually be felt, just like when an artist uses very thick paints. Here is a perfect example, it is Thiebud's "cakes" and he used a very thick impasto technique to make the icing really come to life.

16) Value as Emphasis

Value emphasis is most commonly made through contrast.
This is a great example because it shows emphasis on the black dot because it is much darker than the whites and mid level greys surrounding it. 

15) Value as Pattern

Value pattern refers to the arrangement and the amount of light and dark independent of the color used. 
The living room in the photo above, although its terribly ugly, is a great example of value pattern because there are very few values used which are mostly cream, white and grey. If you look closely you can see some green objects but overall it is a very neutral value.

13) Rectilinear and Curvilinear Shapes

Objects that have one continuous curve mounted on a tubular frame are curvilinear.
This is an example of curvilinear design on the couch shown above.

Another type of shape would be rectilinear, which is a shape that emphasizes 90 degree angles and rectangular planes. 

The object above shows rectilinear form very well.

12) Nonobjective Shapes

Nonobjective shapes are similar to abstraction because they are not a natural, real life shape. However they are not abstractions because they are not the simplification of a real life shape.

11) Abstraction

Abstraction is a visual representation that has little resemblance to a real life image.This can be done through distortion or simplification.

Monday, May 9, 2011

10) Idealism

Idealism is where an artist distorts what they see to make it more ideal. For instance the statue of David that was mentioned before.

This is Di Vinci's Vitruvian man which is very famous although it may not be an exact picture of a man it is based off of the golden ratio and so it shows what is believed to be the Ideal man.

8) Naturalism and Distortion

Naturalism is when an artist creates something that is very realistic as if looking at the something real. And distortion would be taking something that is real and changing it to make it different. Much like photoshop does to pictures. For instance:


This is not the best example (Because the statue of David is already distorted) but it gets the point across.

7) Lost and Found Contour

Lost and found contour involves not seeing part of the outline in a piece because it fades away or it is no longer seen.
This is a great example of lost and found contour because there are many objects and people in this painting that fade into the darkness and background however you can still comprehend the outline of it.

6) Line as Value

Some ways that an artist could use line to show value would be to hatch which is drawing lines that follow one direction.

You can see that this drawing usses only single direction lines to show value.


Cross hatching is a way to show heavier shading that is used when drawing the darker parts of a shadow and it consists of lines going in multiple directions.
You can see that this drawing uses lines that go in one direction to show value and as those values get darker there are lines going in multiple directions layed over each other.

5) Gesture line

Gesture lines are used to show the body of the object rather than like contour lines which show an outline.
The photo above is recognizably a person even though it is just lines and there is no definite outline.

Gesture lines are excellent for quickly sketching and showing motion.




You can see very much that this character is moving or dancing.

4) Contour line

Contour lines are a line that shows the outline of a form and gives a very general shape for people to recognize.

For instance everyone would recognize this as a pair of shoes even though it is just an outline with very little detail being shown.

3) Line as Emotion

Line can be used to convey emotion just like in this drawing by Louisa Gifford
The hair is used to show fury and anger as it flies away from the character's face.

2) Line Direction

Line can show direction in many ways.
For instance the photo below shows a line that draws your eyes towards the background by making your eyes follow it.
The photo bellow shows an implied line that makes you look for what it is that the gestured character is  picking up.

"Ooo used chewing gum!"


Psychic lines are lines that show direction by using something as small as the direction that a character is looking or pointing. Such as in this Caravagio below.

"Do it. You won't do it."

1) Line as Shape

Line can Have a very simple look
or it can show shape, for instance the shape below is a simple line but it creates a shape that we, as humans, recognize as a seal


Its actually a whale.


Sunday, May 8, 2011

Space


This is a perfect example of space, it shows how things get smaller as they go further back in space. when items move in a strait line in space they can reach a horizon line and or create a vanishing point.