Digital Painting and Drawing at University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
Triangular Orchid
Than Win Digital Manipulation 43.18 cm x 27.94 cm |
In this piece, I used conceptual techniques to observe and express the form of an orchid. I used planar marks and created an abundance of polygons to separate different colors. I created the outlines and the colors through a picture of an orchid. I was inspired by Justin Maller and his use of technology to create artwork using geometric shapes. I was able to create this piece by using the skills I learned during my summer art program at UW - Milwaukee.
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Instructor: Christopher Wiley
Date: July 11 - 22
Date: July 11 - 22
For two weeks during the month of July, I attended UWM for a digital art class that taught us how to use Photoshop and WACOM tablets to create digital art. Other than learning how to use the tools, we were taught different types of art concepts. I have applied these concepts before, but I wasn't really taught about it in-depth.
Here is a list of the topics that were taught:
• Photoshop Anatomy (Menus, tool, brushes, shortcuts, etc...)
• Color wheels (RGB, CMK) (Conceptual) • Foreground/background colors • Brush basics • Brush techniques • Color harmonies • Shapes • File navigation • WACOM quick buttons • Layers (Multiples kinds) • Blending |
• Line qualities/weight
• Contour lines • Image sizes • Sampling (eyedropers) • Cropping • Angles • Clipping techniques • Rectangular marques tool • Lasso tools • Quick Selection • Free trasform • Puppet Warp |
Inspiration
After these topics were taught, we started our final project that used all of the skills. This project could of been whatever you wanted to create. Chris, our instructor, also introduced us to many different artist that created artwork relevant to what we were discussing. One of these artist was Justin Maller, and he created digital artworks using triangles/facets to create a figure. These artworks included fictional characters. animals, organic and non-organic objects, and more. Our generation is using technology a lot more and I like how Maller is able to use this tool to create beautiful artworks using geometric shapes (triangles). You can see that in my use of triangles and symmetry which I use as my central idea. He wanted to use shapes to create artworks and I feel he does this because triangles and sharp edges are seen as futuristic and I feel like he really enjoys using technology to do this.
Examples of Justin Maller's work
ProcessOn Photoshop, I outlined the edges and wherever the colors changed using Shift and left click to create a straight line connecting two points.So for my final project, I wanted to create a figure out of polygons. While looking for an object to recreate, I thought of my mom, and she loves orchids, so I found a picture of an orchid and used that as my base.
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Wikipedia "Phalaenopsis hybrid" 2007
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phalaenopsis#/media/File:Orchid_Phalaenopsis_hybrid.jpg |
I tried my best to create triangles but I ended up using polygons as well. I created bigger triangles for spots that didn't have much color change, and a group of smaller triangles for the parts that had more detail. I only did half of the orchid, because I noticed that many of Maller's creations are symmetrical and I wanted to follow that. Once I finished half of the outline, I filled the polygons in with local colors from the original photograph using the eyedropper and fill tool. Afterwards, with the help of my instructor, I copied, flipped and then flushed the other half.
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Various times throughout my process, I would use different colored backgrounds like, white, black, and blue to see what color would be the best. I found that the black worked the best. After some minor touches, I was finished. Fortunately, I was able to see my artwork get printed and it was a good feeling to see work that I was proud of.
If I were to do this again, I would create more triangles and try not to use any other polygons. This project was done with a shorter time period, so all the craftsmanship would be better if I had more time. The areas would be filled in completely, showing no background color.
If I were to do this again, I would create more triangles and try not to use any other polygons. This project was done with a shorter time period, so all the craftsmanship would be better if I had more time. The areas would be filled in completely, showing no background color.