Sketch of the Week

Kanye West, ladies and gentlemen.

Blending Tool in Illustrator

Go watch this:

Blending Gradients in Illustrator
http://layersmagazine.com/blending-gradients-in-illustrator.html

Illustrator Pixel Preview

A while back I  learned about a preview mode in Illustrator called "Pixel Preview." I wasn't sure why anyone would use it until recently.

The Pixel Preview is good for viewing Bitmaps.

Bitmaps looks strange in Illustrator if you're using the regular viewing mode, but I recently discovered if you change the view mode to "Pixel Preview" you can see how the bitmap will look when printed.

By the way, in case you aren't familiar with bitmaps, I'm talking about the kind of file you would get if you went into Photoshop under "Image," then "Adjustments" and converted your image to Bitmap mode. Bitmaps are one color images with transparent backgrounds. Screen printers use them a lot.

A bitmap normally looks like this in Illustrator:

They look rough. If I'm setting up a proof for someone to see how their graphic is going to look on a T-Shirt I can't use this. After trying some roundabout methods of getting good images for proofs when using Bitmaps I discovered the "Pixel Preview."

This is how the same graphic looks in Pixel Preview Mode:

This more accurately represents how the image would look printed on a T-Shirt. You can change the view mode in Illustrator by going to "View" and "Pixel preview":

Just change your view mode to Pixel Preview before saving the file and you'll easily have a more accurate proof.

This mode is also useful for Bitmap distress patterns.

Random Drawing

Sketch of the Week

Woody Harrelson

Put Away Your Weapons

Artists are very familiar with criticism.

Art students are criticized by their peers and teachers.

Works of art are criticized every time they go out into the world.

Artists criticize everything they see.

Criticism is a huge part of the artistic experience, and that seems like such a shame to me.

I know, I know...criticism is supposed to help us get better.

But is that why we criticize? Do you really criticize things because you're interested in helping other people improve?

We deal with feelings of jealous, incompetence and pride. I haven't performed a scientific study of the motivations behind criticism, but I suspect most of it comes from less than noble emotions.

I'm not really talking about formal critique. I'm thinking of the thoughts you have in your head. I'm talking about the attitude with which you and a friend trash someone's work. I'm talking about the spirit of ruin--the desire to tear down what others have made.

We have a spirit of unhealthy competition instead of a spirit of cooperation.

Why aren't we trying to help each other out? Why don't we want to help others be better? Why do we want to trash something that someone else has created.

I learned a long time ago that it's so much easier to criticize than to create.

Creation is such a gift. Are we harmed when someone makes something? Then why do we hate on others' creations as though they shouldn't even have been made? I hear that attitude all the time, especially about music and movies. Some people think that just because a person's work gets "worse" that they should stop working.

How bizarre...to actually wish that someone would stop creating because you don't like their output.

Creation is messy, and we have a lot less control over the process than we like to admit.

I'm on a quest to become immune to criticism. Not that I don't learn from it, but that I'm not emotionally harmed by it.

At the same time, I wish we artists would embrace creation for its own sake. We don't have to pretend that everything people make is good. That's delusional and unhelpful. But we can applaud the desire to create and encourage it. How do you think people learn to make awesome stuff? By making a looooot of bad stuff.

Making stuff is good.

Painting Exercise

I made a doodle the other day and decided to paint on it.

Tips for Drawing Buildings

I was recently asked to draw a courthouse that was given as a retirement gift to someone. I'm asked to draw buildings from time to time, so I was inspired to share some of my best advice on getting them to look good.

Learn the Basic Rules of Perspective

There are books full of perspective tricks and information that will allow you to do things like draw a flagpole 90 ft away and 60 ft high accurately. You don't necessarily need to know that kind of thing.

What you do need to know is how to draw in 1 and 2 point perspective. Learn about vanishing points and horizon lines. If you understand the way perspective works you will be able to keep the various elements of your drawing in perspective with one another.

Cheat

If you're asked to copy a photograph there is a great trick that will save you a ton of time.

Print the photo you're working from on a piece of paper (probably 8.5"x11"). If you're drawing on a larger piece of paper than 8.5"x11" do this: If you have Photoshop or something similar, set the photo size to the same dimensions as your drawing paper. Crop the image and set it up just as you plan to draw it. Then, reduce the canvas size to your print size.

Take your printed image and rub pencil all over the back. I like to use a fat piece of graphite (something I would load into a clutch). Once the graphite is all over the back you can lay your photo directly in the center of your drawing paper and tape it down. Draw over the image with a pencil. The graphite on the back of the photo will be transferred to your paper. You can do this to create a guideline to work from. I would suggest copying the lines as accurately as possible to save yourself some grief later on.

Remember to Interpret

It's easy to get caught up with the ruler and bust out straight line after straight line, forgetting that art is best when we inject a little personality. Don't forget to add some style.

No Right Angle Cross-Hatching
If you're shading with hatched lines make them cross at diagonals, not at right angles. If you don't believe me, try it.

Make Lines Straight, Not Perfect
Walls are straight on average, but if you get close you can see the imperfections...the notches and bumps. Do that.

Dramatize With Lighting
Use strong lighting to create a sense of drama and interest in a static object.

And that's all you get. Oh yeah, buy a triangle straight edge.

One Level of Thinking Higher

We each operate on a certain level of thought.

We've grown comfortable with the amount of thinking we bring to situations and activities like fixing the television, getting someone to like you, helping your best friend with a problem and making art.

The revelation is that thought is like a staircase. You can't jump from the bottom of the stairs to the top, but you can easily go up one step.

To go up one step is to think about a problem more clearly and with more intelligence...to approach a problem in a newer, more effective way.

We can apply that principle to anything in life...including art.