stop motion tests

this is the first stop motion test i did, using photoshop and after effects.

this was created using my iphone and a tonne of clicks with capture roughly 2/3 photo's per second on my journey home from uni one day.

Doing these tests is really helping me learn more about the art of animation/stop motion and also inspiring new ideas for our own work.

ITAP Lecture 3

In this ITAP lecture blog post I have written generally about the over arching principle of originality as I found it to restrictive to pin point 2 principles.

I find it extremely interesting to think that there is nothing in art that hasn’t already been done before. It actually quite hard to come to terms with, the fact that I will never create anything that has never been done before. I am however not quite sure about the truth of that statement, I do not think that there is nothing in the entirety of my and/or others creative mind that has never been done/drawn/designed/painted/photographed before. I think there is definitely clear and extensive evidence to show that in art themes, ideas and concepts have been recreated over and over but I would like to suggest that there is still a wealth of originality within the creative minds of today. 

“Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.”

C. S. Lewis (Source http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/originality.html#Fs1VsjLq2YwrJzsh.99)

Here I think C.S. Lewis is saying that originality is achievable, if you simply care not about originality. You need to forget about being original to cultivate originality. there are plenty of quotes to of people with the opposite opinion, but I think how can you ever think that in this world of advancing technology and progression. Maybe their answers to the questions, ‘What does original mean?’, ‘What does new mean?’ are different to mine. I would argue that even in a blatant copy/remake of a piece of art, there is originality. Even in the act of copying you can come up with something the is incredibly better than the original. You see this in music and in art very often, and that is why i think that originality is something that can be achieved and is not lost.

ITAP Lecture 2

The two principles I have chosen to write about are Principle 4 & Principle 5, Developing Ideational Fluency & Managing a Creative Environment.

Developing Ideational Fluency
So I don't think I've ever started a project without a mind map or 'brain storm', writing down words in a crazy mess that spring to mind when a certain topic or theme is given. I'm not entirely convinced that this is the best way to generate ideas, for a something that is visual, why write a tonne of words down on a page? I have found more recently that sketches and drawings is a much easier way to get my creative side flowing. Here is an example of what I'm talking about...

          

So you can clearly see here the progression of ideas. however i would like to say that i think this particular project was very narrow minded. I didn't generate enough ideas and ended up with something that was basically a development of my first idea. Having said that I still think there is good fluency between the ideas I had. In the field of idea generation i think it is important for visual communicators to maintain a high level of diversity and freedom in their thinking. The quality of little thumbnail sketches is something that has held me back in the past and I've discounted many thoughts or ideas just because they look terrible on the page. Even I think that they look terrible in my imagination and i don't trust that i will be able to draw or get the idea out 'well enough' but in this lecture we were taught that ideational fluency refers to quantity not quality. As children through school we are taught the opposite, 'quality not quantity' but we need to reverse this mindset to free our minds into thinking outside the box and creating a healthy number of ideas.

Managing a Creative Environment

I was very inspired after out lecture, this out of all the Principles made me prick up my ears the most! I decided that day to go to B&Q and buy some blackboard paint and paint a large section of my wall in my bedroom, right next to my desk and this is the result.

I understand the importance of a creative workspace and how it really does motivate you to be creative all the time! Since doing this i have written a song, drawn all sorts of drawings on the black board and generally had more of a drive for creativity.

I agree with David Hockney when he said, "People have asked me, 'Isn't it boring in Bridlington, a little isolated seaside town?' And I say, 'Not for us. We all think it's very exciting, because it is in my studio and it is in my house.' (David Hockney)". You can have a completely boring, uninspiring and dull hometown, yet still have a vibrant exciting and inspiring workspace that allows you to remain in a creative flow.

I think both of these principles are linked, an inspirational creative workspace is vital for developing and maintaining a healthy and fluent stream of ideas.

ITAP - Drawing & The Brain

I had my first ITAP lecture yesterday and it was all about our RVJ's (Reflective Visual Journal) more in depth name for a sketchbook. The two principles from the lecture that I have chosen to write about are. Principle 1: Drawing and Principle 2: The Brain. 

*i would just like to state that i am completely clueless as to how formal this blog needs to be. i am normally very informal on blogs but i don’t know if because this is uni work i have to be all serious. so I’m going to go with informal for this first one...

Some of the points made in the lecture were about how drawing and being ‘playful’ in creativity creative can really help in using different part of your brain, therefore enabling you to not only produce a different kind of work but also to think differently. “Drawing is thinking” and so anything that can help us think in a different way is highly valuable. I think it’s very interesting that things that are so often expressed in words can actually be expressed in drawing format. It is actually quite liberating to know that if I have a problem I can just get my RVJ out and do some drawing and that by the end of it that problem could be solved. Sometimes if you’re like me, getting ideas out in word format can be a real challenge, but I learnt in lecture that drawing helps get your ideas out of your head onto paper. 

Looking at the work of Danny Gregory (http://dannygregory.com/2010/09/journal-xv/ - Posted on Tuesday, September 14th, 2010 at 8:22 pm) you can see a clear develpment in the way he thinks out his problems through drawing.  In this image he is thinking about motors hand held mixers and irons then very abruptly there is a drawing of his lunch. “Crispy Duck”, “lunch at evergreen...” I love how he really does count it all as important and valid in his ‘on-the-page’ thinking process. It almost denotes that he take very seriously the notion of finding inspiration in everyday objects.

"Learning to draw can also help a person become more detail-oriented" Chesapeake, Virginia (PRWEB) October 06, 2011 (http://drawingsecretsrevealed.com/drawing-and-brain-research-special-report)

My grandfather is an artist and illustrator (he actually studied at BIAD at the Margaret street campus when he was young) he is one of the most detail oriented people I know, and he is also a great illustrator. His many years of learning how to draw and working as a professional illustrator for the council, along with the countless hours put into personal paintings and model making, have transferred to his life where he is a man very interested in the fine detail of life. 

I hope one day through learning to draw and use of my left brain I too can become a detail man both in my professional practice and my everyday life.

just for fun!

Photographing Rogue

I was asked by the Music Producer Rogue to take some photographs for his profile page on the new music initiative 'Airborne Music' this is the one we chose to use. It depicts some of Birmingham's iconic buildings.

If you want to check out Rogue, then you can get involved at:

http://www.facebook.com/RogueUK

http://soundcloud.com/rogueuk

http://www.youtube.com/user/RogueMoosic

check it out

http://www.redbubble.com/people/jtnc/portfolio

my t-shirt site. buy a t-shirt! :D