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March 27, 2004
Carmack in 3D.
Here's a wild sculpture for you...An artist (who also was behind the "Fake Screenshot Contest" exhibition) has created a foam resin sculpture based on the character model in Quake III Arena modeled after engine programmer John Carmack. This is really a clever little project, as it's a sculpture based on a 650 polygon model, not the actual person. This gives the model a unique look. Here's a quick glimpse (check out the artist's site for more pictures):
February 18, 2004
Our latest call for models.
We've placed a few different ads at Craigslist for models for our Thursday night drawing sessions (see here and here), but this latest ad is the first I've written myself:We're looking for models who have extensive body art for a drawing session. This includes heavy tattooing, scarring, piercings, ritual markings, etc. These are clothed or costumed poses, so you should be able to show off your artwork without being completely nude (custom outfits/costumes are fine, and in fact are encouraged).I'm looking forward to seeing what we get from this one. Should be fun. If you know anyone that's interested. here's the full ad with contact info.The drawing session is on thursdays from 6:30-9:30 and pay is $18 dollars an hour. If hired you would be needed for one session only, although if it goes well we may bring you back again in the future.
Poses range from 2 minutes to a half an hour. There are usually 4-10 artists at each session.
December 11, 2003
Gehry does Brooklyn.
The plans for the new sports complex designed by Frank Gehry to be built in downtown Brooklyn were unveiled today. Whether or not this gets built is tied to whether or not they can actually move the Nets to Brooklyn, but looking at the designs, it's tough not to get excited about the possibilities. The new stadium would be placed at the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush, an area that has been getting progressively more and more commercial over the years. Obviously, were this to be built, it would greatly accelerate that process (for better or worse), but it would also bring a great deal of business to the Brooklyn area in general.
The design of the complex itself is quite striking (see this slideshow at the NYTimes for more images). It contains not only the stadium, but also commercial spaces, and it features the same kind of titanium waves that Gehry has been so well known for (albeit in larger, more structured patterns). As radical as it may seem to some, I really hope this gets made. I still hold out that the Guggenheim Museum will be built on the waterfront in downtown manhattan (see images of that here), if only because it's tough not to be jealous of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Gehry's most celebrated work. Heck, even the new Disney Concert Hall is an impressive bit of architectural magic, and that's in Los Angeles! I'm not too thrilled with the current plans for the new World Trade Center (I don't hate the design, but it's not spectacular), so the more buildings we get from Gehry the better.
November 15, 2003
Crude scratchings in charcoal.
Since there were a surprising number of people (and by surprising, I mean more than zero) who asked to see some of the drawings from our weekly drawing session (see this post if you have no idea what I'm talking about), and I had pulled a bunch out to spray them with fixative, I decided to scan a handful in to share with the world. So I fired up iPhoto, and posted 18 of them up on my .mac site.
Keep in mind when looking at these that they are all five, ten and fifteen minute poses, not painstakingly rendered illustrations. But there you go...enjoy.
November 14, 2003
Attention NYC artists/art students
I posted the following to the Shacknews comments, but I might as well put it here too:Attention NYC artists/art students
If you've ever wondered why there's no LNC on Thursdays, it's because I'm off drawing. I used to either take classes, sit in on classes, or just roam around the city drawing with a friend of mine, but starting in May, a few former SVA students and myself started a weekly drawing session.
Every week we meet up at a gallery in Chelsea and pay for a (clothed) model to pose for us for three hours. Because we get to pick the models, we've been able to get all kinds of people we would never see in a conventional art class. Last week we had a war reinactment guy come in with full WWI regalia (complete with grenade, pack, canteen, *everything*) and last night we had a guy come in who designed his own far out costumes and wore these things on his fingers that looked like metal claws. And that's just two of the people we've gotten...there are lots more, including fashion models, and people of all ages. One of our regulars is actually the waitress at a bar a few of us go to.
Anyway, the more artists we have, the less everyone pays, so the more the merrier. Lately we've been down to about five people, although at one point we had as many as 14.
If anyone's interested in coming, drop me a line either by shackmsg or at jason at shacknews dot com.
It doesn't matter how good you are. We've had all kinds of people come, from professional illustrators to art students to one person who had never drawn a line before in his life. I've taken art classes for years, but I've learned more in the last six months doing this than I have in any class.
All you need to have to participate is something to draw with/on and enough money for your share (we pay the model $54, which is split among however many people we have). I cannot overemphasize how much we've all gotten out of this. If you'd like to learn how to draw, or just feel like you could use the practice, I highly recommend coming along.
September 05, 2003
More great magazine covers.
Following up on the story right below this one, a friend of mine passed along this stunning gallery of classic Vogue covers. If you have any particular appreciation for illustration, be sure to check this stuff out. I mean, look at this collection by the great Carl Erickson...never again will you see covers this beautiful grace a mainstream American magazine. What's interesting about those in particular is that not only did Erickson paint the cover, but he was given total and complete freedom, which extended to the magazine's logo. That resulted in some really interesting interpretations.
For still more great old magazine covers, check out Playboy's 50th Anniversary cover gallery, which is a bit depressing as you watch the wild cover layouts from the magazine's early days devolve into the bland images of late (with maybe one or two minor exceptions) .
A facinating look at the 20th centrury.
Mark Evanier linked to the Esquire cover gallery from his blog, and browsing through the gallery is a really interesting look back at the last century (or from 1933 on, anyway). Looking through here, you get to see the magazine's formal look in the 30s, the brief switch to pure illustrations in the late 40s, a comedic turn in the 50s, totally far-out look in the late 60s, a political twist in the 70s, and then the sudden change in the 80s, where rich white men were on practically every cover. Looking through these really makes me wish magazines would stop with the silly celebrity worship and get back to putting a little more thought into their covers.