Find the shapes!

Wassily Kandinsky: Do Shapes have a sound?

This is a very important question.

We live in a world of sounds.

It took an orchestra composter/painter/graphic designer to be the first to ask this very important question. The reason he asked this because of his observable world. Drums and cymbals are very specifically shaped. A trumpet and a tuba look nothing alike and it is because of their shapes that they yield very different sounds.

If shapes and color can have sounds what would they look like? The following are how Kandinsky experimented.

Think of each of his musical works as a symphony not only of color and shapes, but of sound! He was creating visual orchestras!

Kandinsky's influences were not limited to just music. He was also heavily inspired by the scientific discoveries of his day.

Some of his visual explorations while rooted in music also were heavily influenced by art theory as well. He wanted to push the boundaries between how people synthesize sound and visuals. So that we the viewers can see sounds and hear visuals.

Just like music has movements and can be inspired by different rhythms so can visual art.

Now it's your turn!

Welcome!

Welcome students to Braden River Art's Blog!

In this blog you will be able to link to class assignments, find explanations of projects, gain access to reference materials, and advanced classes will be able to post assignments. I'm hoping this will further reflect the professional world and make your learning environment even better. 

Make sure you download and print a syllabus from…

https://app.oncoursesystems.com/school/webpage/11166054/

Also, please check out our gallery site at

www.brhsart.com

Character Design Continued

The key part to character design is again ...STORY! That will shape how your characters feel, sound, and appear.

It is helpful to imagine real life counterparts to your character design.

Part of your character design is testing out elements that help shape the character's personality.

Helping to depict challenges for your hero to overcome can make your character a lot more interesting.

Also, remember that the accessories that your character has should be story relevant. Make your element's count.

Once you have accounted for these elements, and they harmonize you will be amazed how your characters come together.

Make sure that you use really good reference...GOOD REFERENCE MAKES GOOD ART!

Rubric for your final character design project...

First develop a story. Your story maybe a continuation of a story that already exists, but must contain original elements. This is not copying something that already exists, but creating something new, or developing an original progression.

Second, you will need 3 characters and two accessories.

It is recommended you start with the protagonist, then the antagonist, and then a supporting character. 

Your accessories need to somehow be very story centric. They need to matter for the story progression...think excalibur for King Arthur, or a lightsaber for Luke Skywalker, or the Burn Book in Mean Girls.

NO GUNS!!!

What will be graded.

1. Story Presentation

2. Character Designs

• Good underlying silhouette.
• Gesture development...does it sell their story? 
• Costume...well referenced

3. Accessories

• Story Relevance
• Clear relationship to the characters
• Well Referenced

4. The basic Art Aesthetic Standards outlined in the Syllabus

Intro to Character Design

The Human Face: The mouth

Before we start drawing the mouth we need a quick measurement of the whole face.

It's important to note that when you draw out your basic guidelines that you should intend to erase them... especially your initial oval for the face shape. Remember it's what in the inside that counts. So in order to have your final face shape you'll need to draw the eyes, nose, and mouths first.

The measurements above give you basic anatomical guidelines to approaching the face. So far we have learned how to draw the eye and the nose. You cannot find where to draw the mouth until you finish drawing the eyes and nose. The eyes should be one eye apart.

In fact, the eyes can be used as measurement for the entire face. The face is actually 5 eyes wide. The space from the bottom lip to the chin is one eye. So in order to find where to draw the mouth will be dependent on the eyes.  The mouth actually fits between two pupils. So in order to draw the mouth on a face you will need to draw both eyes first.

See how the mouth lines up to the pupil?

Above is a basic drawing tutorial for drawing the mouth. Notice the upper lip is darker than the bottom lip? This is because most light sources such as lamps, ceiling lights, or the sun are above our heads.

An open mouth can be trickier sometimes. It's critical that you find the centerline of the face in order to start drawing the teeth. Also, note that the upper teeth are larger than the bottom teeth.

The mouth can come in a variety of shapes.

Always remember that mouth, eyes, and nose are connected to a skull underneath.

Here are some more sketches that can be helpful for your face studies.

The human face: The Nose

Noses can be problematic.

The nose here looks like it was flattened by a mallet. You don't want a nose like this. So what do I suggest? Grab the end of your nose. You should feel a ball. When you begin drawing a nose my best advice is to start with a ball.

Now what makes drawing a nose so difficult is that are no lines on the face that define the face. What makes us see the nose is value. So how we see a nose on the face is entirely dependent on light. Once we find the cartilage ball we can determine how light is hitting the rest of the face. 

Below are some great nose drawing notes.

Once you get a good understanding through some practice you can start moving the nose around on the face.

Here are some advanced visual nose construction notes. This tutorial focuses on the geometry of the nose. Notice instead of finding the ball first, these notes focus on the planes of the nose.