Twitter Uses the Golden Ratio
I knew of the ratio, but I didn’t know what it was called till now. Well, Twitter is using it in the new site design. Read about it here. The golden ratio is one of my favorite mathematical theories. It’s nice to know there are identifiable connections between math and aesthetics.
Tag Archives: art
Photoshop Turns 20 Years Old
I began using Adobe Photoshop in the mid nineties with my computer whiz next door neighbor to guide me. I had in mind to invent a company for graphic imagery production, and I called the corporation Prime Images (named after my favorite Autobot). My neighbor sat down with me at his computer and showed me the wonders of this application called Photoshop. In no time, he had made me a logo in a sophisticated black text with what looked like a blue comet forming the dot on the “i” in “Prime.” I just knew that I needed to get my hands on a copy of Photoshop, and I did. It was the best investment in my life up to 13 years of age. By the time I was 15, I had a rudimentary knowledge of the application and began learning to apply it to professional work. Continue reading
For Productive Artists, Dreams Come True
Beginning to advanced artists enjoy the process of imagining. Coming up with the new, imagining the possibilities, thinking up something that can make people laugh and cry at the same time get’s artistic designers on a temporary high. Then the realization kicks in that to put those ideas on paper, film, or web would be work. Continue reading
Before and After Representations of Beauty
My wife is an awesome, smart, beautiful woman. I love her to infinity. Regrettably, we all have our moments when the lighting and cheap digital cameras we have to take snapshots with don’t show us how attractive we actually look. My wife has been dealt the card of “not-so photogenic for life.” She looks much better in life than in most of her pictures.
For this reason, I am here to help sweeten her pictures from time to time. Here’s a recent shot I took with a before and after treatment in Photoshop. This is a simple cleanup in Photoshop, and it’s not very difficult if you know what you’re doing in the application on a Mac or PC.
Why do we care about the way we look? Is beauty in the eye of the beholder? I think not. There are fundamental consistent values we all think deem something beautiful. However, we often confuse beauty with our personal tastes and preferences. There is a subjective and objective quality to beauty at the same time. Continue reading
Myths, Lies, and Half-Truths New Cover Art
The final cover
I create cover art every now and then. I like the creative. I could do without producing creative for others. : ) I like every mockup I create just about. For each book cover I work on I mockup at least 5 unique covers. Inevitably, the authors choose my second or third favorite of the lot. For once, I wish my preferred mockups would be chosen. Maybe one of these days….
The cover that was chosen was inspired by some new book covers I’ve seen at Barnes & Noble in the past year. Maybe the next time you’re browsing a book store, you’ll recognize a cover or two that also have a torn cover effect. Continue reading
Organic Apple Logo Illustration
I was doodling in Photoshop to see what it would look like if Apple (the computer company, obviously) made their logo organic. I deliberately played down any shine on the texture so they would not look like they were coated in wax. What you see is raw apple skin.
It’s totally inconsequential, but interesting.
Defining Morality in Art
Most of my readers know that I am a Christian, and I like to think about the ramifications of Biblical worldview in the arts. It’s not easy to compete with the various worldviews in art and culture since what’s culturally acceptable is so influential. Popularity usually supersedes morality for patrons of the arts. If the majority of people enjoy something good or bad, the negative peer pressure throughout culture will excuse anyone to enjoy the morally bankrupt movies, books, music . . . and so forth. Continue reading
Secular And Sacred Culture
Most people in western culture, consciously or passively, consider art to fit in one of two categories: secular and/or sacred arts. Few people know how to define these categories. Churches usually don’t educate their flocks on the arts, but along the way—going to church, Sunday school, Bible studies, etc.—members of the flock get an indirect idea of what religious art is, and what it is not. The rest of the culture wants to put sacred art into a box that they can tuck away from their lives. Only on the rare Christmas or Easter church services they attend do they enjoy religious icons, decor, or other religious artistic works. Continue reading
Adobe’s Art House Ad for CS4
This is one of the pieces of art that defies reality. It’s actually quite a pleasant romp through an Alice and Wonder Land out-of-this-world experience. While it is evidently sophisticated and cleverly simplistic, it would give you the illusion that it is nonsensical and without meaning.
Visit Laughing Squid’s post to watch the video »
Come on! I like the video. It’s pure genius. It has this unusual—perhaps uncomfortable—happy nature to it. However, it is anything but an example of successful pointlessness. If you mean by pointless that the creators wanted make a video that was seemingly pointless, then doesn’t that mean the point of the film was to be pointless? Ha—caught ya! Seriously, it’s a well made video that illustrates the finer potential of visual stimulation that Adobe’s products can provide. So sit back, and enjoy a little nonsense.
And don’t let it give you nightmares. 
The Structure of Storytelling
I’ve been a huge fan of fiction the greater portion of my life. What started as my interest in the simple charm of the characters in the Hundred Acre Wood (Winnie the Pooh books and cartoons) and the heroic spirit of Superman (Christopher Reeve’s first two Superman movies) grew into the full fledged and ever swelling compulsion to find another great story. Life is great, and man’s ability to mimic life in imaginative worlds of his own is one tremendously valuable gift that God has exclusively bestowed to mankind. After all, to be more like God (made in His image) I think He wants us to scratch our imagination with stories of our own that reflect the nature of His own [His]story.
What you’ll find from being a part of the story’s audience is a good story is seemingly simple and natural. A good story doesn’t usually seem forced or contrived by a gifted (or well-trained) storyteller. This is an art and a method. Usually art in general is accused and confused of being random. However, storytelling is a prime example that contrary to modern popular opinion, storytelling is much more like a science then an accident. The fascinating detail that makes all good stories great art is that the method of the telling is in sync with a quality of human emotion which appears to be random. Emotions—seemingly random to the average observer—breath life into the science of a well-plotted story. The composition of the story becomes art thanks to the harmony it shares with expression from the spirit (where emotions come from). Interestingly, man’s spirit, being much more dynamic and sophisticated than that of animals, is another attribute that makes us more like God’s image (persona).
In light of these characteristics of the storyteller and story, one can see clearly that the art of a story is not dictated by human standards and whims of change, but a Higher more consistent power dictates the qualities that always drive a good story home. There is never a story that can brake the bonds of God’s storytelling structure and principles. The better we understand God’s nature the better storytellers we can be, and the more we learn from stories the better we may understand the nature of God.
