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leothefox — Crocodile
Published: 2013-03-25 07:09:54 +0000 UTC; Views: 477; Favourites: 23; Downloads: 8
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Description
Aquatic persistence of the atomic children. Work drawing inspired in part by Aubrey Beardsley.Related content
Comments: 16
Wow!
I don't get the aquatic part, but that's one great piece of work!
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The foreground figure is supposed to be floating, but it's really stylized, so it's easy to miss > o >
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So... Somebody must be thinking at least a little about composition
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Sometimes 
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The fun for you will come down to deciding between adhering to the discipline and letting the madness flow. The question is, which will result in the stronger art? And how much can you let the madness flow while retaining enough discipline to ensure you're making the strongest possible art? Eventually, I think, you will do both at once and the result will be magical.
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It just seems that whenever I grasp onto the thought of an image I've never seen before, it tends to be something that ignores composition. It feels like something is lost when that image or idea gets translated into "art". Does this make sense?
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It makes sense. It's part of the visualization process, part of will to form. It's difficult sometimes to bring the image from your mind's eye to the page. You have to overcome the medium. But composition can't be ignored. It's the abstract part of the visualization process. It's always there, and it always affects the outcome. It's something that demands a bit of thought and study, something you need to embrace and internalize.
Once you've done that, you'll start to keep an eye on it without specifically looking for it. And this is good because, you know, no matter how well you draw a subject or scene, if the composition is bad, the picture will be weak. In this way, design trumps drawing and abstraction trumps representation.
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It's just that the images that really get me excited, the ones my subconscious can make on it's own, seem to exist outside of these rules. It's part of why they're interesting.
...it's a tad tenuous, but I'm reminded of a dadaist principle. I don't know if you've ever seen the show "Tim & Eric Awesome Show: Great Job". In it, there are sometimes presented infomercial segments for machines that either don't work at all or are obscenely impractical. That's the sort of principal these dream images work on: they are intriguing because they're broken.
I don't know if that makes an aesthetic in itself. Perhaps it could?
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I haven't seen that show, but I understand what you're saying. The machine can be broken but the drawing still benefits from good composition. I might know something about that.
Anyway, your work is not about the drawing as broken machine or bad composition as an end in itself. It's about your narrative and what's in these dreams of yours. It's expressed in your odd, stolen-but-owned visual language and often seen through the lens of your deliberate, inverse-value rendering.
Some of your works are flat-out illustrations, others are more enigmatic. None of that allows you to ignore ideas about composition because you've given far too much effort to improving every other area of your work.
I think, well designed work is like well-written prose. When the composition works, we don't think about it. The eye moves naturally through the image and you can direct the point of emphasis. People get sucked in and they linger. When composition is bad, it impedes that movement and reduces your emphasis. People get pulled in, but they pass through in an instant or bounce back out. Think about it while you're working
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I'll try and think on it. All my favorite composition concepts come from movie poster art, which itself can be abstract in the extreme. I think I need to get going on a good long series of something.
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Good.
A series is useful if you're working through an idea and one drawing or painting does not do everything you want it to do. The need evolves organically. But going in to do a series just for the sake of doing a series may not serve you. Series length determines itself.
Composition is the abstract component of all images. The emphasis placed on the composition is the difference between abstract and figurative images. You can also look at your library for books about composition or look it up online. It's good to learn more.
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My series end up too short for my liking, generally. Some artists can stretch a concept out to like a hundred pieces whereas I'm lucky to get out five.
My library isn't that impressive
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Perhaps you don't need a long series. Perhaps a hundred pieces in one series is a sign of low creativity. Five is fine. No worries!
You've mentioned that. My local library is pretty good. They have a decent collection and I make purchase requests all the time. They usually buy the books I request, too. If your area has low population, they may not have the money to do that. It's unfortunate. Perhaps they can get you something through interlibrary loan.
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Sometimes it just seems to me that my output is too erratic. A series seems to balance things out, ensure themes are explored more.
I ought to get off my lazy ass and make a go of that, you're right. I'll caffenate this weekend and see what comes of it.
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Those are things only you would know. It's up to you to push and pull at all of that and to see what happens.
I have themes that I explore on and off over time. They don't go away, but my attitude toward them changes. When I've had enough of them, I leave them. When I'm ready, I go back. If I don't go back, I may be done with them.
Sounds good. I'll be interested to hear how it goes.
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