Doodles and Other Fine Art
Stumbled on a great “how to draw” article by Niklas Jansson. Mostly Photoshop, but the concepts apply to Painter and regular old natural media. Niklas seems to gravitate to comic art, but does so with aplomb.
Some other useful tutorials can be found here, here, here, and here.
Dave DeVries’ compelling work of “completing” kids’ artwork is showcased at The Monster Engine.
On the one hand, the project is a great way for kids to see their creations taken by a professional artist further than where they left them. It’s easy to see how this might ignite and inspire an artistic spirit that might otherwise fade.
On the other hand, there is something innocent and pure about the original art that doesn’t need embellishment. Would a kid see the difference between what they might otherwise be quite proud to claim, and end up assuming they had no talent compared to a real artist?
But, on the third hand, DeVries appears to genuinely care about the children and their art, and sees value in exploring from whence the monsters come.
It began when his neice Jessica, then 7, snatched his sketchbook at the beach and drew a flat, stick-like demon. DeVries, an artist, was so intrigued, he traced her drawing onto canvas and painted it in realistic, three-dimensional detail and color. Then he talked to Jessica about it.
It was the beginning of a project called “The Monster Engine,” …
“I love their drawings because they are so simple, uncensored and powerful,” he said. “They’re revealing a part of themselves, their souls.”
This is an inspiring project with some great art (both by DeVries and the children) on display.
Channel One has a Doodle Decoder gallery, with commentary from graphologist Anna Koren.
We all scribble stuff in the margins of notebooks or on our shoes, but what do all those stars, hearts and initials mean anyway? Some professional graphologists (people who analyze handwriting) like Anna Koren believe that these drawings reveal things about an individual’s personality. Koren reveals all in our ChannelOne.com doodle gallery.
Other links from this story
You sit in a class, a meeting, at your desk. You should be learning, listening, or working, but you’re doodling. That’s great! If the class, meeting, or desk were interesting, you’d probably pay attention, but they aren’t and so you doodle. Besides the obvious byproduct (fine art), it’s a well-known fact that working your doodle mojo is a prime indicator of above average intelligence and keen insight into, um, stuff (in fact, I often tell myself that very thing).
Doodlesmith.com is here for you, to lend support, inspiration, and plenty of merchandise.
You are currently browsing the DoodleSmith weblog archives for June, 2005.
