Project 3 and 1,000 True Fans
February 24, 2010
Kevin Kelly’s post concerning an artist only needing 1,000 true fans was quite an interesting read. It’s good to know that an artist need not sell his soul to a Hollywood conglomerate to make a living. Kelly essentially says that to make a living, an artist only needs to have 1000 die-hard fans to survive (you won’t be rich, but you’ll get by). Of course, if multiple people are working on a project, more than 1000 fans will be needed to make up for splitting the profit between more than one person. If the profitability of a certain type of media is relatively low, then more than 1000 fans will be needed too.
I’d imagine that it would be rough trying to fill your ‘fan roster’ with 1000 people who would be willing to do whatever it takes to get your artwork. Fortunately with the continuing rise of the internet, it’s easy to reach those 1000 fans. They don’t need to drive to your show to appreciate your work, they just need to log on. Ultimately, this means that your style can be your own, but you need to have your shit in order and be on top of your game to keep those fans interested.
Heres project #3. We talked about limiting our time usage with these projects. I kept this strictly limited to two hours.
As always, I’m open to comments and suggestions.
5/8 and heres an edit: I tired to make the apple seem like its more integrated with the picture and to have the hand/face relationship a little stronger and seem less like one is in front of the other.
Wanton Destruction
February 11, 2010
What the internet means to an artist….simply put, a lot. It allows an unprecedented level of access to quickly and cheaply distributing ones own artwork. Sites such as DeviantArt and Worth1000 give artists the ability to post their own artwork so that anyone with an internet connection can view and critique it. In the past, I’ve used DeviantArt, and the critiques I received were usually pretty helpful. Sometimes they weren’t, but that’s the downfall of the web – everyone has access to it, and the person commenting on your artwork may not know what the hell they are talking about.
Another aspect of the web that is important to all artists is that once you have posted a picture online, you no longer have control over what happens to it. I’ve heard of several cases where someone will post a photo to Flickr or Facebook and then it ends up being used on TV, posters or Billboards without the owners permission or compensation. It is very important for anyone posting anything online to use watermarks or post only low-res images to help protect their work.
The internet is both a blessing and a curse for the art consumer. The internet allows someone to conveniently access an absolutely immense amount of artwork, so no trips to an actual museum are required. The downside is that the overwhelming majority of artwork online is terrible – mine included, I’m sure. So while one can go to a museum and be almost certain to find great artwork, one can search for hours online and find nothing of worth.
Heres a few interesting pics from 1000words.
This one seems especially successful because of the feeling it evokes that the guys being licked on his lips.
So that’s whats inside of my car battery….
Excellent concept. A plus for using sushi.
As for project number two. I wanted to practice the layer masks. I’ve used them in the past, but I am sure I need the practice. I think signing up for that Lynda.com site with photoshop tutorials is a good idea (it also has tutorials for Maya. That woulda come in handy last semester.)
I’m going to post a few ideas for this project. The idea behind the first one is that the world went into a nuclear apocalypse and the inhabitants of Towson turned into zombies. Why did they zomb-ify rather than get vaporized like the rest of the world’s populace? Ask a scientist.
Idea #2
This second idea looks a bit rough still, but it more of the concept I was interested in. I wanted to get past the literal destruction of Towson. Hell, if someone wants to destroy something entirely, then it’s physical destruction is only the start. You have to dig deeper and wipe the very idea of it from existence. Comment? Suggestions? post em please
I just looked through other posts with this project and both of the ideas I saw had zombies. Coincidence? Or is there a ‘zombie fad’? I will post another idea soon. And perhaps the edit to project 1. Depends on how much work I can get done.
2/15 – Looking through other posts, I see that the ‘cutouts’ filter is in frequent use. Add that to the fact that my appetite for destruction (pardon the awful reference to GunsNRoses) isn’t filled. The picture doesn’t show that total annihilation that this project is aimed towards. Gotta do something about that. Trying that Lynda.com tutorial online…..Fantastic. Even the simple stuff is full of helpful information and shortcuts I would otherwise be unaware of. So far, money well spent. I’m thinking that doing one of those ‘one photomanipulation-a-day’ dealies would be good foor improving my lacking skill set.
Working towards project 1
February 2, 2010
So, stll working on this 1st project. Coming to terms with the fact that I know little to nothing about photoshop besides the very basics. Seemingly simple tasks are taking way too long. Buuuuut, I know theres only that much more room for improvement. I’ve never really experimentd with using photoshop for creative applications (just photo editing on the side) so it’s all quite new.
So here’s the picture.
Any comments, suggestions, desires to have me delete this – please don’t hesitate to let me know. The idea is a ‘FantasticFour’s Ben Grimm’ thing, but because of the color of the original photo, the cracks look too red and it ends up looking more like a disease or rash. I grew up on Marvel. I want to re-do this with 1.) another picture 2.) more content and 3.) more expression, but if anyone has another suggestions, please let me know. Thanks, and I’ll see everyone tomorrow if class isn’t canceled.
