Yourself as an Avatar - Fun Photoshop Project

Such a fun project to build Photoshop skills! There are lots of tutorials online, but here's a good one.

Here's my personal example:

The Monster Engine

Okay, so occasionally I come across an artist who is so inspiring that I have to include it on my blog even though the work is not digitally created. An artist by the name of Dave Devries created a book, The Monster Engine, in which he uses child-drawings to create fully shaded, textured finished pieces. The results are amazing and beautiful. Studios like Pixar and Dreamworks would do well to work with character designs created by children. Maybe this would be a fun project in an art room, working in cooperation with younger students. See more examples here.

Image copyright Dave Devries

One take music video

I love this video because it is both playful and technically masterful. Students could try something like this on a much smaller scale. A project like this generates a fantastic discussion on the level of planning, practice, and attention to detail required in order to capture it one take. Have fun with it!

HD Video with Canon 5D and 7D

Digital video has made amazing progress in the last 10+ years since I first started using it. Just as with all technology, it started out clumsy and expensive and now it has become incredibly streamlined and affordable. And some how the quality of video has gotten better and better despite the diminishing size and multi-functions of video recording devices.

Canon makes some great SLR cameras - now with the capability of creating HD video. Below are a couple of examples of the impressive quality of these cameras that will hopefully inspire you and your students.

PUSH PULL from Landis Fields on Vimeo.

HANGAR 7 from Landis Fields on Vimeo.

Visually breathtaking computer generated art piece

This work is completely computer generated and is beautifully crafted. It may be a bit long to show the entire work to your students, but certainly watch the entire video yourself and choose parts to share with your students. Be sure to watch it in full screen mode.


The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

50 Most Beautiful Trees Photography

I love to look at art that inspires me and teaches me something about art creation. Though all of these images may not fall into the category of 'digital art', I'm guessing many have been manipulated in image editing software. More importantly, these are great examples to show students because they are absolutely captivating. I could spend an entire class period discussing what makes these photos stand out from thousands of other photos of trees, and the value of image manipulation in photography.

Take a look at 50 Most Beautiful Trees Photography.

'Either Side of the Sun' - Copyright 2009 Mike Shaw

Fascinating projection art

555 KUBIK | facade projection | from urbanscreen on Vimeo.

555 KUBIK

"How it would be, if a house was dreaming"



The conception of this project consistently derives from its underlying architecture - the theoretic conception and visual pattern of the Hamburg Kunsthalle. The Basic idea of narration was to dissolve and break through the strict architecture of O. M. Ungers "Galerie der Gegenwart". Resultant permeabilty of the solid facade uncovers different interpretations of conception, geometry and aesthetics expressed through graphics and movement. A situation of reflexivity evolves - describing the constitution and spacious perception of this location by means of the building itself.



Production: www.urbanscreen.com



Art Direction: Daniel Rossa - www.rossarossa.de



Technical Director: Thorsten Bauer

3D Operator: David Starmann www.shineundsein.de

Sound Design : Jonas Wiese



Realized with www.mxwendler.net mediaserver



A extended version of this documentation can be found here: vimeo.com/5677104