January 2014 Video Tutorial : Drawing Plastic and Chrome What's the Diff?

No intentions to touch it anymore Csehz, I'm quite happy with it, symmetrical or unsymmetrical, I like it :D

Stygg

It's a really good piece, stygg, and you were quite resourceful to use the fractal fill as a natural background. The right foreground emphasis, and here's the Big Point I'd like to make on a Friday (TGIF!):

When I used to teach art at a vocational school, I had some "rules" concerning art because these folks were entry level and rules from the teacher seemed like the quickest way from Point A to Point B, you know? Machiavellian fer shure, but I'm goal-oriented:

Rule #17 (or whatever): Asymmetrical is better than symmetrical.

The Mona Lisa, Robert Indiana's sculpture of the word "LOVE", just about any statue you'd see in a park...not one of them display a symmetry.

Why? Because Art is supposed to involve the viewer at some sort of level, and that involvement needs to be sustained or it will fail to become emotional, deep, profound, whatever.

Asymmetrical compositions lead the eye from an area of importance to the next area, sort of like a tour guide in a museum.

Here's a real simple example, with emphasis on "simple". Which "painting" sustains your attention more?

Attachment 100802

Remember, as this Xara Xone area on tg is now an accredited Xara Academy extension, there will be grades for the answer to my question here, and anyone who answers, "the left, symmetric painting is better, it's Great Art" will receive an "F".

Have a Great Weekend!

:)


Always the Kidder,
Gary

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gare

not one of them display a symmetry.

Why? Because Art is supposed to involve the viewer at some sort of level, and that involvement needs to be sustained or it will fail to become emotional, deep, profound, whatever.

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Gare thanks, I like these explanations very much. In my understanding so an assymetrical composition can more express emotions, because the emotions anyway are moved away states from a neuter balance, from a kind of center. So the drawing better to not be in balance and the viewer will look at it forever :D (Stygg I again opened that vase :D)

I agree with csehz Gary, I also like the detailed explanations and also the right image in your post does sustain your attention more. I'm not sure how I came to get the vase, for want of better words, out of plonk but it appears it looks better for it! So of my understanding of what your explanation is saying Gary is that an image will sustain more interest to a viewer if there is to some degree some asymmetrical content in an image or the entire image is asymmetrical ?
Since csehz first pointed this out about the vase I had drawn, I have looked at it several times and believe it does look more interesting for being asymmetrical even though it was suppose to be balanced, centered. So does this mean we should draw all images asymmetrical, sort of flawed if you like, kind a like saying stop using text in centered alignment, looks more interesting left aligned.

Stygg

@stygg: In a word, "no." Not every drawing you draw absolutely needs to have what we might call "imperfections", but asymmetry is just another "color in your palette", another ingredient for a recipe you haven't thought up yet.

• There is contrast: you can use it to highlight and separate elements in a composition, such as contrasting colours or contrasting brightness. Look at what Van Gogh did with contrasting tones in his work.

• There is balance without symmetry. How about a lot of little circles on one side of a composition and one large circel on the other side? Asymmetrical, but balanced.

Symmetry has its place. For example, if an automobile was extremely asymmetrical, it might be hard to drive just before you crash into something. And this is why car manufacturers always advertise their cars photographed or modeled at a 3/4 angle...which makes the symmetrical object look asymmetrical.

I've seen lovely kaleidoscopic images, and Peter Max used to do a lot of symmetrical drawings, and it's fine, because the mature approach to art is to be inclusive and not exclusive. Many professional artists agree that asymmetry is an appropriate device to use to explain a visual idea IF the subject, the concept, warrants it. Sometimes you get a gig to design wallpaper or wrapping paper that demands a regular repeating element, and this sort of need for symmetry is absolutely appropriate.

There's more, but I need to stagger these "teaching" sessions or I'll run out of stuff to cover for monthly tutorials.

But I've very chuffed to see there's an audience on tg who want to Learn Art through Xara. I don't really "teach" Xara: what is there to teach? Key commands? What a tool does? The online Help covers that!

I want you all to learn...for yourselves, not for anyone else...what Xara is good for, not that we simply blindly accept it as a good program.

Stygg, and this is advice for all: loosen up. I'm beginning to look a lot like Obi Wan Kanobi, especially around the hairline, so let me say, "Stygg, trust your Instincts. Let go, and let the force of Art and Observation flow into you."

What a crock, right?

:)

Seriously,

Gary

Well Gary from Star Wars came the saying "inspiration will you not find, it will find you" so not waiting for it to find me I had a look around the web and found this great image from the Chesterfield Broadcasts. It's got everything including one of Ron's cars, now if inspiration came to me like this, I'd be a happy Xone Academien.:D

Stygg

Yeah, well Yoda would have gotten an "F" by my editors and Lit teachers in school for his use of grammar as a blunt tool.

:)

You're on the right course, but change your attitude a little, stygg. Don't envy, just appreciate wonderful work. I had this same problem about 20 years ago with Charles White III and Maxfield Parish's work. I loved it still do, and was beating up on myself for not having the imagination to follow their course in art approach.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. I then started examining WHY I loved their work, what elements they and I have in common conceptually, and then didn't try at all to create this image back in 2001. It does have the "feeling" of Parish, but I used the tools that I was familiar with.

Attachment 100824

The character is obnoxious and cartoonish in the same breath. He exudes an attitude that is causing the cartoon buildings to yield way to him as he struts toward camera. There's something on contemporary approach but also a history cartoon playfulness going on at the same time.

Is it my best piece? hardly, not in my estimation. My best piece will always be my next one.

Soak the stuff you see in, process it, see what elements apply to your vision of a specific piece of artwork.

And be at peace with yourself like Yoda, but don't live in a bog.

-g

Thanks once again for great feed back Gary, they always put you on the right track and clear your mind of, as you say, a little envy and even frustration but as you say again, use your own what you know to a piece or new piece. The Westside Attitude, I love it, cocky little guy but at the same time fun, cartoonish with the buildings, great piece.

Stygg

Thank you, Stygg. The 3D cartoon used just about all my system resources and programs I owned to "realize" my graphical idea.

Perspective is very important with artists, because we are living human beings with worldly concerns, who if we're lucky, have the discipline to immerse ourselves in the realms of imagination, inspiration, and fantasy for a few hours a day.

I could point you to a virtual stockpile of unfinished business, that when I'm in the right frame of mind, I'm happy that they're unfinished. It will give me something to complete someday, or not, but there's a reason why the files are segmented from my real, published, paid for artwork: Life Is Short and I was cutting my losses by putting aside something that was refusing to work for me after an hour of patience, then frustration, then hatred for the idea that wouldn't hatch!

I want the process to be an enjoyable one for me and for the members here. The destination (the finished piece) is going to be what it is and in a cosmic sense, you don't have absolute control over a finished product because you're finite and mortal and a lot of times our pursuit of art requires a connection we can channel through from the Divine to the personal Inspiration. Go rent "The Agony and the Ecstasy" if I'm not making sense here. What we DO have control over is the process, the journey to our destination of a finished piece.

The more relaxed you can be as a person, the easier it is to channel and make that connection that no one can explain, from THE IDEA to the canvas, you know?

Was this a Sunday Sermon? Sorry if it seemed that way. I'm more of a Ralph Waldo Emerson kinda guy when it comes to things we mortals can't explain rather than a Jonathan Edwards sort of believer. Nature and God are sort of the same thing to me.

-g

Class it as a Sermon if you like Gary, it's the kind of Sermon I could listen to or read all day, there's always something to be gained from theses sort of replies, insight, new way of thinking about art, the list is endless, I'll take as many Sermons as you can offer. One of the reasons why I love them is because when I was at University doing my Electrical Engineering Degree, I had a chance to do an extra curriculum course on Textile prints, colours and design but being a hard nose young idiot, you know nambi pambi arts is not for us Engineers! pillock! Now I wished I had done it, would have been great to have for what I love doing now.

Stygg