Happy Friday HU

[Boston001]

Please feel free to show us your projects and photos, I'd love to see them. I will be out of my house for a few hours after I post this thread, but I'll get back here later.

I have noticed a few artists sharing their work here, and although my Muse seems to be hiding from me this past winter, I can't tell you enough how important my art studies and photography have been to me and my mental health. I am a person who builds things in my mind's eye. I use this skill in many ways in my life, not just in my art. I use it when I am navigating a route to a destination, it's like having a map and a compass in my head, I can actually see the roads I know and the shortest route I will take before I take the vehicle out of park. Most of all I use this skill to understand mechanical things. I see how things are put together and if something needs to be fixed it's almost like holding the parts in my hands. Quite often I know what parts need to be ordered just from the symptoms of the system. This skill is also a curse. My emotions sometimes hijack these skills and my worrying can make me physically ill. I can have wild thoughts trying to analyze a problem, catastrophizing them trying to predict the future, or analyzing things that have happened to me in the past, then I go down the rabbit hole of, I would have, I should have, I could have, and no matter how I try the past can not be changed. I sometimes even have arguments with people before they happen, trying to strategize what I'm going to say, coming into the situation angry, and finding out I was completely overreacting, usually, this only happens with people of authority, those F---ing people lol.

Back to my art. I use computer software called Blender3d modeling. when my Muse is in the house, I will come up with an idea or I will sift thru hundreds of photos on Flickr, until I find something inspirational, then I will ruminate on it for a while because my mind's eye can build things a thousand times faster than my computer and mouse. I can't wait for the technology to link my brain directly to the PC hahaha. I also learned a hard lesson in this world we live in! No matter how long I work on something, how intricate the detail is, no matter how much emotion I express. When you post something on social media, "The lady who took a low rez pic of their cat, will always get more likes and comments" it's just a fact we artists have to live with lol.

This is my version of Living on the Moon, Salvador Dali created in 1929. this project was things I was doing about a year ago. I love learning about art history, I recommend searching for Waldemar Januszczak documentaries on YouTube. He's fun! yes, fun lectures who'd of thunk

[Starrlight]

I love your art it’s fantastic and interesting to look at; very pleasing to the eye. I also love Salvador Dali. I’m working atm. Maybe when I get home I’ll post something of mine here. Have a Happy Happy Friday!!!!!!

p.s. I’d love to learn how to do this type of art but not very good with computers… never heard of Blender3D modeling

[Boston001 in reply to Starrlight]

Thank you, I chose this Dali because it was architectural and Blender is very good with basic geometry. I painted the backdrop with my drawing tablet software to get a similar look as Dali's original. Blender doesn't feel intuitive like other art mediums. It's not that you need to know how to use computers, rather it is having to memorize the software functions and that took me years to call myself a novice, and they keep updating it almost monthly. Blender is open-source software, meaning it is free to use and install on any computer, and anyone with coding knowledge can customize it. I don't know anything about computer coding.

[Starrlight in reply to Boston001]

Thanks for the details about the art and info on the Blender. I would love to see more of your art.

[Starrlight]

here’s one I did with pen and ink plus marker

Nature Inspired Abstract Art

[Boston001 in reply to Starrlight]

That is awesome! It makes me think of a muted watercolor tropical jungle with a hint of paisley

[Starrlight in reply to Boston001]

😊 You made me smile and made my day. Thank you!

[Boston001]

Thank you

[Boston001]

😀

[Starrlight]

Awww thanks so much Charlotte! ❤️

[designguy]

Cool artwork, it's amazing to me what can be done on the computer anymore. Love the lighting on the ceramic/reflected surfaces.

[Boston001 in reply to designguy]

Thank you!

Indeed I enjoy the era I was born in. The photograph alone would bankrupt me if I had to pay for film to be developed.

[designguy in reply to Boston001]

Yes, i've been there done that, I still have a big light box with the holders for viewing 35mm transparencies. Had to pay for the film and then also for processing the film, I don't miss that.

[Boston001 in reply to designguy]

It's funny I have noticed over time. In the 90s a faked photo was a faked photo, 2005 I'd look for clues of photoshop, 2010 when I started doing CG I'd look for the tel-tailed signs of CG, 2015 deep fakes came to town and just last year I installed an Ai on my Pc, that will do in minutes the same job that would take me days to modify with CG.

Ghost

[designguy in reply to Boston001]

Yes, i agree it has changed and evolved so much and quickly. I use to be able to tell whether something was fake or not but it's really difficult anymore. I started off in the graphic world originally doing architectural renderings/perspectives by hand and then they started being done on the computer but they looked too accurate and it made them look fake. Now they have even made the computer rendering compensate for things like the imperfections on a real solid wall and variations in lighting, texture, etc... I remember a number of years ago the professional photographers associations were wanting some kind of seal on digital photos that indicated if it was altered or not but there was no way to enforce it. It cracks me up that I have a very good digital camera with a bunch of very good lenses and yet I use my iphone a lot, who would have thought. I bought my first flat bed scanner in the late 80's for $3500 which in today's dollars would probably be $9000 or more and now I can buy a much better scanner for a couple hundred bucks or less - wow.

[Boston001 in reply to designguy]

There is a scene in Bicentennial Man, Robin Williams is getting a make over and the tech is telling him the secrete to making things look real is to add imperfections. Humans are exceedingly good at recognizing patterns and the lack thereof with the things of nature. I always try to reach for that balance of imperfection, Blender has masks that can add fingerprints, rust, and paint chips, imagination is limitless. Haha my first PC circa 1995, was $3000 at Sears, 5GB hard drive, 250k memory. The Tee shirt program on that was my first introduction to graphic arts.