#I like their style of movement and color schemes and the vibe of their backgrounds

[pianokantzart]

Wouldn't a Mario animation be better done in the same artstyle as the promo art for the Mario and Luigi games or maybe even that one Japanese commercial for Superstar Saga? That would be a great series to adapt into anime.

IDK man, I'm just saying that Nintendo clearly has ties with Studio Colorido, and Studio Colorido has a beautiful, vibrant, lively art style that I feel could really mesh well with Mario.

As long as they don't mess with the core character designs, we'd be golden.

[pixenite]

4 Trends in Website Design for 2024

Want your website to stop people scrolling and say "Wow!"? This year, web design is all about making things eye-catching and engaging. Here are four hot trends to make your website the coolest on the block:

1. Super Cool Pictures: Make People Look Twice

Forget boring photos! In 2024, websites are using extra awesome pictures. Think sharp photos, detailed drawings, and neat patterns that make the website look layered. This makes it more interesting and keeps visitors hooked.

Why is it cool? Cool pictures grab attention and make your website feel more fun to explore. People are more likely to stay if they see interesting things.

How to do it?

Great photos: Get high-quality photos that show off your products or services in the best light.

Layered look: Use different design elements on top of each other, like text boxes on photos or pictures popping out from the background.

Subtle movement: Gentle animations can add a touch of life without being annoying.

2. Dancing Words: Text with a Twist

Forget boring paragraphs! This year, websites are making words come alive with something called kinetic typography. Imagine headlines that bounce or buttons that wiggle a bit. It's a neat way to make important things stand out and add some personality to your website.

Important tip: Don't overdo it! Flashy animations shouldn't make it hard to read the text.

How to do it?

Interactive text: Make text elements react when visitors hover over them with their mouse.

Moving story: Use animation to emphasize key words or phrases in your website's story.

Easy to read: Always make sure the text is clear and easy to understand, even with animations.

3. Smart Design Helpers: Computers That Sketch Ideas

Imagine a magic tool that helps you design your website! In 2024, there are programs called AI design tools that can create unique layouts, color schemes, and even website mockups based on what you like. It's like having a super fast and creative assistant!

Remember: This tool is here to help, but you're still the boss! You get to decide how your website looks in the end.

How to do it?

Figure out your needs: Decide what parts of website design you'd like the computer to help with, like picking colors or suggesting layouts.

Pick and choose: Use the computer's ideas as a starting point, but don't be afraid to change things to fit your brand's style.

Stay in control: You're the boss of your website! Use the computer's suggestions, but make the final decisions yourself.

4. Y2K Flashback: A Fun Blast from the Past

Remember those cool, colorful websites from the early 2000s? They're back with a modern twist! This year, we're seeing a revival of the Y2K style with bold shapes, bright colors (think rainbow!), and a touch of shine.

Why is it cool? It adds personality to your website and reminds people of fun times, especially those who grew up back then.

How to do it?

Modernize the retro: Use classic Y2K elements like gradients and shapes, but update them with a clean and fresh look.

Keep it balanced: Don't go overboard with the Y2K vibe. Aim for a mix of classic and modern design.

Conclusion 

Websites are like shop windows - gotta grab attention! This year, it's all about cool visuals, playful text, and a touch of nostalgia. Pixenite, a website design agency, can help you create a website that's both trendy and reflects your brand. Remember, the key is to make it visually appealing, easy to navigate, and informative. With these tips, your website will leave a lasting impression!

FAQ

Q: Are these trends too expensive?

Not necessarily! Many of these trends can be achieved with simple design techniques and readily available tools.

Q: How can I make sure my website is easy to use on a phone or tablet?

This is crucial!  In 2024, the majority of people will use their phones to browse the internet. Make sure your website uses a responsive design that automatically adjusts to different screen sizes. This ensures visitors have a good experience no matter how they're viewing your website.

Q:  Should I completely redesign my website to follow these trends?

Not necessarily!  These trends are great inspiration, but the best website design reflects your unique brand.  Focus on making your website visually appealing, easy to use, and informative for your target audience.

Q:  I don't understand AI or computer-generated design. Is that something I need to worry about?

Definitely not! AI design tools are optional. They can be a helpful starting point, but you don't need them to create a stunning website.

Article Source - https://medium.com/@pixenite/4-trends-in-website-design-for-2024-f81d2f34f584

[artsybookworms]

A pointless thread in which I rate the TOA book covers:

10/10: This is literally such a gorgeous cover. I’m probably biased because blue/orange is my favorite color compliment, but come on!! Look at it!! The background almost looks like watercolor and then the sharpness of Apollo/Lester really makes everything work together. Clear focal point, movement guides the eye smoothly through the cover from bottom to top, artful composition, I could go on.

8/10: The art style is just so gorgeous. I think these reviews are making me realize I’m in love with John Rocco. Not as strong as THO but still pretty great.

6/10: Not a huge green fan, And for some reason I’m getting BOTL vibes? (If you haven’t read by PJO reviews, I don’t like the BOTL covers). This one just fell flat for me.

9/10: And we’re back baby!! Look at that composition!! It’s dynamic, dramatic, and on the whole would definitely catch my eye in a bookstore. The way her cape wraps around the title to emphasize it without taking away from the rest of the cover😭😭 PLEASE

8/10: Once again the color scheme!! So beautiful!! This one is a bit simpler and not as exciting (at least for me), but it’s a nice and dramatic piece for the final book! Not to be a broken record, but the art is ✨impeccable✨

Someone please tell me why the TOA covers go so hard😭 We should talk about them more

[katemerkel]

I was assigned to examine the work of Danielle Orchard, a contemporary female artist based out of Brooklyn, NY. As a fun side note, in my research of her, I actually found out we have the same birthday! Danielle works in a style that is reminiscent of cubism but with a more modern twist. She focuses heavily on the female body, as viewed from the female perspective. Many of her works include nude women leisurely doing day-to-day tasks such as bathing, staring in the mirror, or reading.

The piece of her work that I chose to recreate was a portrait of a woman that I, unfortunately, could not track down the name for, so the link to the specific painting can be found here: http://danielleorchard.com/9raxi41354xmh65t9dxi8r5geby6bh. The piece features a beautiful woman, looking off to the side, appearing to be contemplating something. Her head is small in proportion to the rest of her body, and the color scheme is soft and welcoming, with a mint green background. She is nude, and the artist plays with her skin tones a lot on her chest and face.

I chose to recreate this piece because of its beautiful simplicity and the general vibe I got when I saw the painting. The woman is mysterious, I’m not entirely sure what she is thinking about, and her delicate facial features were sure to provide a bit of a challenge for me. I also liked how Orchard played with colors and textures a lot in this piece, and I wanted an opportunity to try that.

For my recreation of this piece, I wanted to capture the essential essence of what Orchard was depicting, but shift her style and colors a bit. I still depict a woman, but I chose to darken her skin tones a bit, and change the color of her hair and face. I also changed the color of the background. I enjoyed the sort of two-facedness that I saw in Orchard’s original painting so I really attempted to play that up, with making the color contrast between the two sides of her face more obvious. I used crayon, acrylic paint, and water color to create this piece. This was one of my first times using water color and I was happy with how it turned out overall. I love the freedom of movement afforded by watercolor and how I can create much more realistic looking portraits with it.

[recurring-polynya]

I was reading your response to that anon about renji's character - very nice response by the way! - and saw your tag about "infinite jest." I own that book and i'm curious on your thoughts on it? i find it a bit daunting (my paperback is in size 9 font, single space [!!!]) and i have plans to read it this summer. How did you feel about the story? Would you reread it? Did you take notes? (I read a review where someone had a notebook on the book so they could keep track of the story). If you answer, thank you for doing so!

WOW I feel like I have been waiting my whole life for someone to ask me for my Infinite Jest wisdom! I feel so honored!

So, I read Infinite Jest twice, about 7 years ago. I am constantly threatening to read it again. The first time took me six months, I do not remember how long the second time took. I did not do this for a class or anything, I just did it because I am insufferable.

My first tip to reading Infinite Jest is to think of it as a project, not like reading a book. Reading Infinite Jest is not very much at all like reading a book. It is not a story. It is the negative space where a story should be. It is weird and boring and confusing and insufferable, and reading it changed my entire perspective on what stories are and formed a new lens through which I perceive all media. I habitually read before bed, and there were some nights I was not able to make it through an entire page. This is not to say I read it and gave up--the text is very rich and chewy and sometimes I was just “full” after just a few paragraphs.

I am not sure if taking notes would help. The problem with Infinite Jest is that it presents you with a fantastic volume of information, most of which is only tangential related to the “story”. I feel like trying to keep track of what’s happening might make things harder. A lot of the information is arranged in appendixes at the end for easy reference. I think I read The Filmography of J. O. Incandenza about eleventy-thousand times, and the very serious descriptions of made up movies featuring an anthology-style cast has stuck with me more than an other aspect of the book (Blood Sister: One Tough Nun and Medusa vs. the Odalisque in particular). I feel like color sticky tabs might be more helpful, if you’re looking for an organizational scheme? I had two book marks, one to mark my regular place and one to mark my place in the appendixes.

You should probably be passingly familiar with Hamlet before you read it. For some reason, the entire first time I read it, it never occurred to me that it was a retelling of Hamlet, but it is, in fact, a weird, tennis and drug-themed re-telling of Hamlet. That’s why it’s called Infinite Jest, you see. I am a moron.

I did not take notes. I just let it wash over me. The first thing I did when I finished reading it, was to pick up my phone and google “what happened at the end of Infinite Jest”. I read a few blog posts and learned some things. I also felt reassured that no one really knows what happened at the end of Infinite Jest. The second read was much, much more satisfying, now that I knew what the hell was happening.

If you are not enjoying your Infinite Jest experience, you should stop. It was a very rewarding project for me, but it was also a lot of work. There is a certain kind of person who will tell you “everyone should read Infinite Jest!” and I heartily disagree. It is definitely Not for Everyone and there is no shame in giving it a shot and then giving up or taking a pass entirely.

It takes place in the not-so-distant future. Half of the book is extremely prescient, and half of it misses the mark in a hilarious way. DFW completely predicted Netflix streaming and Zoom backgrounds, but he also thought that people would get obsessed with live events and would go to see ice melt on a duck pond. A significant portion of the novel details an amateur documentary made with puppets detailing an idiot president coming to power, taking over Mexico and Canada, and turning Vermont into a nuclear waste dump and I am honestly afraid to reread the book because of how it’s just going to be an extremely accurate depiction of the Trump presidency.

I do want to point out that DFW was both a problematic and deeply troubled man. He is not very good at writing anyone who is not a cis white man. I think he meant well, but we all know what that’s worth. When I read the book, I was not as discerning about these things as I am now, but I definitely recall some cringing, and I suspect I would be cringing even harder if I re-read it now. To me, DFW was an incredibly interesting writer. His descriptions of depression are unparalleled. He thought very deeply about what it means to be human, as is evident in his This is Water speech (a friend of mine happened to graduate from Kenyon when he gave that speech and said it was amazing in person). I often wonder what sort of person he would be if he had lived, what his opinion would be on things like the Black Lives Matter movement. I am not a DFW scholar, I cannot say. He is not with us anymore, though, and my philosophy is take his writings with the grain of salt that he was who he was. Infinite Jest is not a happy book about well-adjusted people.

Michael Schur, one of the creators of Parks and Rec, B99, and The Good Place is a huge Infinite Jest fan and wrote his thesis on it and owns the film rights to the book. Parks and Rec contains a number of Infinite Jest references, but they are mostly just names, they aren’t anything very clever. The Good Place is full of rich Infinite Jest vibes. Schur also directed the music video for the Decemberist’s Calamity Song, which is a scene from the book where the tennis kids play a weird game about nuclear brinksmanship. I did not know this the first time I saw the music video and I wish there was footage of me watching it and losing my shit in real time as it slowly dawned on me what was happening. If you have read my fanfic Call Me Back When the War is Over, the scene where they watch the Brawl is loosely based on this scene.

I wish you luck in your quest! One thing that may happen to you is that you may feel the need to talk about Infinite Jest, and if so I am here, please feel free to message me if you need.

[dippedanddripped]

Jack Carlson’s background is in rowing (he was so good he was on the US national team), but he’s found a new calling in gear. The self-described “streetwear omnivore” built a brand mixing the worlds of preppy style with youthful sportswear, offering everything from hardy, colorful rugby shirts to patchwork Barbour collabs and cheeky send-ups of finance bro style.

This all is represented best at the Rowing Blazers flagship store in SoHo, which has been closed due to Covid-19. But now Carlson is using his brand as a platform not just to combat coronavirus through making masks from leftover fabric, but also a way to stand up against racism and acknowledge the influence Black culture has had on taking prep style to a whole new level.

The following interview has been edited and condensed.

Jian DeLeon: How has Rowing Blazers been affected by Covid-19?

Jack Carlson: It’s been a whirlwind few months. COVID-19 obviously affected us in a major way. We have one store, and it’s a pretty key part of our business. We had to close it very early on,  but right away we wanted to do something to give back. I wanted to make masks from the beginning, but it’s a little complicated. Unlike some of the designers that immediately were like: “We’re going to make masks,” we don’t own our own factories. But thankfully, we were able to get some of the manufacturers that we work with back into the Garment District and start making masks.  We’ve donated thousands of masks to a food bank. The masks we’re making are made out of leftover scraps of suit and blazer fabrics. It’s because we’re getting to use these leftovers scraps of fabric.

JD: Now the focus is on two diseases: Covid-19 and racism. You’ve also become more vocal about the Black Lives Matter movement.

JC: It’s more than little awkward for me to speak about any of this as a white guy. I don’t know if you saw the photo that Highsnob asked me to send over for this, but to use a Vampire Weekend quote, I look unbearably white.

JD: Well, the fact of the matter is you’re exactly the type of person that should be talking about this. But also with Rowing Blazers and preppy style, there are ways it’s been subverted in street culture and Black culture.

JC: One of the coolest things that was a sub-movement of the #menswear days was Black Ivy.

JD: Right, that Street Etiquette editorial.

JC: Exactly! There were so many great people that were involved in that. Street Etiquette, Brooklyn Circus, Fred. Castleberry with those great photos. It was a little bit of an influence on what we’re doing too.

JD: One of the other big influences for prep style is The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Carlton Banks of course being. the traditionalist, but there’s that memorable scene where Will flips his school blazer inside-out to show off the paisley. I feel like that’s what you want to channel, taking the stuffiness out of the uniform.

JC:  Oh dude, you already know Fresh Prince is a huge influence on me. Black culture has been a huge influence on me in many ways. I think people can look at Rowing Blazers and if they just hear the name, if they’re not that familiar with the brand and what we do, they might be like: “Oh, this is like the whitest brand ever.” In some ways, it’s not really for me to even respond to that, because who am I to say anything about it? I am the creative director of the brand; I am a white guy. All I can really say is how much Black culture and Black icons really have impacted me and are a huge inspiration and influence to me.

JD: In what ways are you challenging yourself to give back to that community?  You’ve given a platform to Black-owned brands like Death to Tennis and Saint Ivory.

JC: The Black community is a super important integral part of the Rowing Blazers brand. Hopefully anybody who’s ever been to one of our events sees that and understands that. Obviously I come from a background in the sport of rowing — which is a very not diverse sport.

JD: That informed the Noah collaboration right? It benefited an organization helping make the sport more inclusive.

JC:  The Noah collab that we did benefited an amazing organization called ROW New York, which among other things, is really helping to make the sport a lot more diverse. It’s an organization I’m still very involved with and they’re doing great things.

JD: What other ways are you looking at how your brand and how you as an individual can help push this message of social justice forward in 2020 and beyond?

JC: We did what’s a very minor thing in the grand scheme of things, but we decided we wanted to donate a hundred percent of our proceeds from over the weekend to the NAACP. But it’s definitely a good opportunity for us to think more about some of those efforts that we’re doing to work with Black artists, to engage with the Black community, and to do more internally in our own sort of company culture. We’re a small company; we’re not some big corporation or anything, but we want to have more black voices within our company and in positions of leadership. So that’s a goal of mine for this coming year as well.

I think we are a diverse group, but we can always be doing more. Right now the vibe is not about me; it’s not about Rowing Blazers; it’s not about fashion in general. It’s not about any of that. It’s really about bringing  serious social change in this country. It’s a good time for me to get a little more involved politically, take action, and put my money where my mouth is. So that’s where my head is at right now.

[intergalacticwifi]

Tumblrvision Staging Concepts

I’m not very active on tumblr europal contests (or tumblr at all actually, at least lately), but I do take part in a roleplay in the format of a song contest, in which you come up with staging for the song you’re sending, among others. Someone suggested I do that with Tumblrvision entries, so I guess I’ll do them all in this post. Whatever I come up with will not necessarily reflect my personal opinion of these songs.

01 Germany: Regular band setup. I feel like it’d help better if I knew what the song talked about… typically other people I roleplay with who send these kinds of songs put pictures on the background screen relating to whatever the lyrics are about, I feel like something like that (maybe with graphics/animations instead) would work.

02 Egypt: Traditional dancers. Elaborate costumes, maybe a dress change or two. Camera angles would have to be dynamic and shot up close.

03 Moldova: Okay so she’s wearing a minidress, maybe in silver, and alone on stage at first. When the song starts the camera is on her face a la Bulgaria 2016 but it slowly zooms out eventually turning into a wide shot of the whole stage. The stage lights and graphics are predominantly blue. When the chorus breaks out dancers come on stage, probably male, dressed in white, but the singer stands still. Rain falls from above (on the background screen). When the bridge comes on, the stage lights dim and lighting is focused on the singer, but then everything returns to normal as it ends.

04 Belarus: I really don’t know what to do with this uhh… I’d say a band setup, with the singer mostly standing still but the lights flashing and camera giving dynamic angles that the performance still seems full of action. As the end nears… the graphics become more colourful, I guess.

05 Finland: Singer would be wearing something white, rather avant-garde. Background graphics, if any, would be in white and black (maybe occasional silver and the like), basically a very modern, “Apple” vibe. I’m thinking backing dancers but I’m not sure if it would suit the song… oh there’s a rap. He’d be wearing a white veil too, probably. 

06 Albania: This one starts off with her alone on stage, also wearing a massive veiled cloak which covers her entire body and even the stage floor. Dancers come as the song begins to intensify, dress reveal. The choreography here is very… sudden, not necessarily intense, but fits the intense, vigorous atmosphere of the song.

07 Jordan: Dancers, and everyone on stage is wearing colourful summer outfits straight out of H&M. Choreography fits the fun, summer-y vibe of the song. Wide shots, maybe except during the more quieter parts of the song, where it’d be a close of up the singer and the singer alone.

08 Czechia: I can imagine there be furniture on stage, maybe a fancy couch. Band setup surrounding that couch. Just like the music video, people on stage are wearing a mix of leather and fur with streetwear. Singer starts out singing from the couch (either sitting or laying down) but ends the performance standing on the front of the stage.

09 Russia: Dancers on stage, of course. Maybe mixed, maybe all-male. They’re either all looking dapper in suits or wearing streetwear. Colorful but dimmed lights, emulating a nightclub. I guess the choreography would be fast-paced like in the music video.

10 Israel: The stage could look barren, or it could have a folk/country band playing. Either way, the lead singer is there in hipster-looking clothing, as well as the guy playing the tambourine, probably sitting away from the center of attention, and most of the time just appearing in the background. Speaking of background, the LED screen displays a field. Clouds or stars? Either work, or perhaps it alternates. The UFO from the music video would also make a nice touch to that sky. Also possible is 2 ballroom dancers tucked away on a satellite stage if any, or in an empty corner of the stage.

11 Montenegro: Tbh I’m not even sure if this is physically possible but on stage there is a long platform made of flammable material shaped like a bridge. You know what’s going to happen. The singer does start out standing on this bridge, but she struts down the path very stylishly as the first verse progresses, and towards the end lights that match and tosses it just as she steps off the platform. It doesn’t really get any more exciting from here, unless perhaps parts of the ‘bridge’ could be engineered to collapse at certain moments to sync with the song. By the end of the song it’s supposed to have collapsed entirely. Well then, cue a quick interval segment before the next postcard as the crew clear the stage…

12 Andorra: The music video is simple enough that the performance could just be an enactment of it. If not, simply the singer with whatever musical instrument he plays could work. Either way, there’s a band behind him. Maybe put on something a bit traditional/classy or whatever fashion style that works with the song.

13 Lithuania: Okay I didn’t really catch much of the lyrics but from what I heard perhaps a pilot theme could work? Again another band set up (of course a quite different band from the previous), perhaps there could be 2 dancers putting on a visual story but if the band and singer have themed costumes then we could go without dancers.

14 Portugal: If the singer were to just bring his guitar on stage and sing in front of the mic alone on stage that could work. If a similar staging concept could beat the fan favourite at the second chance round of a certain ESC national final, then it can definitely work here.

15 Tunisia: I suppose there would have to be some sort of contrast between the two. One could be dressed in more traditional garb while the other puts on something a bit more modern? Also maybe have some traditional dancers on stage, with slightly different sets of choreography when one or the other sings.

16 Bulgaria: A sunset color scheme with dancers could work. Of course Poli would have to join in with them on the choreography. They’re all wearing something summer-y. Streetwear again, I guess.

17 Iceland: Mostly black is used in this performance, maybe with a splash of another dark colour like purple. Greta would be wearing a dress with really big sleeves, it might look a bit medieval. Hood optional. She takes it off and reveals another skinnier, but still black outfit beneath just in time for what appears to be the bridge, and then takes off the mic from the mic stand and takes a few steps toward the front of the stage. This whole time, however, the backing singers are at the back of the stage, not really moving much.

18 Monaco: The song’s beginning already sets the tone here and it is intimate. The singer could be wearing a colorful spring dress (maybe one with flowers), and pretty much keeps to herself during the whole performance, just standing there in front of the mic. But the real star here is the titular “Woman in the blue skin”, which means there will be one dancer whose skin was painted blue for this performance. The choreography will be something a bit more artistic, then.

19 Armenia: An extravagant intro a la Wild Dances. Full of dancing, perhaps Sirusho does a number along with men dressed as traditional warriors. Potential choreographies: the dancers lifting Sirusho into the air, spinning/other circular movements, wrapping arms around each other’s shoulders and forming a line. Also expect pyrotechnics - this entire performance is just going to scream high energy.

20 Denmark: The performance begins with the singer standing alone on stage, which might be covered in smoke/fog. Everything would be dark, the LED screens off or at least showing only the color black. The singer is wearing a glittery white pantsuit similar to Norway 2013 except with pants of the same design. The song may be slow, but eventually there could be backing dancers with fast-paced choreography. Wide shots are used, creating the feel that they are dancing at the edge of an endless void, or something like that. It just… feels empty.

21 Algeria: 2 potential stagings: the first, the singer stands there in front of the stage in front of a band setup. the second, her being alone on stage though potentially there are holographs or similar graphic effects. Either way, the background shows a magnificent night sky, with a moon.

22 Slovakia: The choreography in the music video could be easily adapted for the live performance. The singer and dancers are wearing the kind of fashion you’d typically see in high-end nightclubs.

Thus ends the first instalment, tune in for the next batch!

[nomurapls-inactive]

What’d they do to Sora?—A visual analysis of KH 1, 2, & 3

One of the biggest staples of the original Kingdom Hearts games is their visual charm. The team managed to do what Disney rarely could: transform the animation giant’s 2D into amazing 3D and then some.

But something kinda funky is happening in KH 3. Somehow Sora and the gang are looking less, well, Sora-and-the-gang-y, and it’s not just the new wardrobe.

Before I get into what’s off about KH 3, I need to map out what makes KH 1 and 2 so visually appealing. There are three big reasons for why KH’s visuals have stood the test of time:

Color

Style

Animation

Color is usually what our eyes notice first in a given scene and is a vital tool for setting the mood. We universally associate color with so many things that we can immediately assume the tone of an image with a quick glance before even looking at the details. This psychology of color is utilized in everything from retail, to movie posters, to social media, and so on. Unsurprisingly, KH has also tapped into this with lush, playful color palettes that hearken back to each respective property. Disney takes us to places with magic, fairytales, talking animals, and monsters—nothing of the “real” variety, and KH reflects this first and foremost with color palettes that immediately tap into that fantastical setting. The color schemes that exist throughout KH are not likely to exist in real life settings, and they work hand-in-hand to assist cartoony shapes.

(At least, I would hope you don’t find something like this in real life.)

This lack of realism ties directly into style, another key factor in letting your audience know what kind of vibe you’re going for. KH sets this fantastical tone by taking elements from Disney and breaking them down into their most basic parts, playing with stylistic choices popular in both Western and Japanese character design to create something new. It’s a “less-is-more” approach to art direction. Simplify, simplify, simplify. This, combined with its vibrant colors, allow for unreal environments, ones reminiscent of the same childhood wonder classic 2D films instilled in audiences. Likewise, Final Fantasy characters, who normally exist in realistic settings, become softer in order to accommodate their new space. The end result is a world that seamlessly blends the simplified visuals of hand-drawn animation together with the complexities of 3D modeling.

(The gang’s all here.)

These would not be complete, however, without equally fantastical animations. No matter the medium, the best way to tell the audience more about your character is through body movement. How characters move is also dictated by the overall tone of your content. Sora and the gang are animated with exaggerated motions and grandiose body language to remind us of the fanciful world they inhabit, and the larger-than-life personalities they have.

(Donald’s hat jumps with a mind of its own while Sora’s facial features spread across his face. Goofy unfortunately missed the pantomime memo.)

Contrastingly, characters from live-action movies rather than animated films move with much less grandiosity because they exist in realistic worlds. They are dictated by their setting just as much as stylized characters.

(Jack Sparrow may move in dramatic ways for a human, but Sora’s got all that and more thanks to being a spiky-haired shounen with giant feet and hands.)

Levels like Port Royal are where we can begin to see the problem with KH 3: once you strive for realism, you’ve already aged.

Achieving realism is still incredibly limited by technology. We’re getting closer, but as it stands we don’t have the necessary technology to make 3D indistinguishable from reality. Games especially fall victim to what’s known as Moore’s Law, which (as far as games are concerned) states that a graphics chip will upgrade every two years. So, once something is put out, it already has to worry about looking dated within as little as two years. Because of these limitations, a lot of media dip into uncanny valley real fast. Simply put, when something is meant to look realistic but fails, our brains take issue with it. We think, “Hey, I know that’s supposed to be a real bear, but it doesn’t quite look or move like a real bear, so I’m uncomfortable.” But take that same bear and turn it into a stylized cartoon and we no longer have a problem with it not looking like a real bear. The former is what’s happening to the KH 3 crew, while the latter is what they should be aiming for.

To begin, let’s look at these two screenshots of KH 2 and KH 3 respectively.

(Feel old yet?)

The bottom shot may be an early reveal, but it’s not far from the material they’ve released recently. As you can see, it’s much more detailed than the top image, but this is actually hurting the scene rather than helping it. The colors are muted and muddy in comparison, which would more accurately represent a real environment, but it’s so starkly contrasted by the unrealistic characters that it doesn’t connect. Sora is harder to see against the background because his colors and effects are also mimicking a more realistic application. Even the UI is harder to see, compared to the brilliant colors and shapes of the top image. What the top image lacks in explicit detail it makes up for in readability, creating a cartoony scene of implied information that more closely resembles a classic Disney film (which is the point of KH’s art direction to begin with).

(While both swatches contain brown hues, KH 2 is more vibrant and thus allows for better readability and contrast. KH 3 literally looks like mud here.)

KH 1 and 2 largely avoid this readability and incohesive problem because hardware limitations were used to their advantage. When you’re tasked with creating a game full of Disney- and Final Fantasy-inspired assets but lack the technology to make anything look as “real” as pre-rendered cutscenes, you opt for airbrushed gradients, vibrant colors, cartoon features, and exaggerated shapes. Everything needed to look distinguishable from one another because PS2s were still developing and TV screens were fuzzier. Looking at the games now, it’s easy to see that they were made in the early 2000s, so of course they show age, but it’s also easy to see how beautiful they still are when compared to other games of the era which took on a realistic approach. (Also, imagine if Okami had gone with realism like it originally planned instead of sumi-e, and you can get a further idea of why style can easily trump realism in 3D aging.)

(Only one year apart. Neither are ugly, but when you aim for realism like in the first game, your age shows more and you dip a bit into uncanny valley.)

Now, I don’t think all of KH 3 looks terrible. The technology and efforts should be applauded, and in truth the Disney characters and Heartless shown thus far retain much of their original charm, and definitely benefit from the graphical upgrade most of the time. The animation is spot-on, as well.

(You just can’t look too closely, or else you get a face full of suddenly detailed textures that do not belong on a cartoon character.)

The counter is, unfortunately, that based on other released material, the art direction is not cohesive yet. You have some great-looking enemies and allies, those of which you know right away belong in a KH game, but stacked against a realistic background with lighting, effects, and muted colors that make it difficult to see. Details that are there solely because the technology allows it. More-is-less rather than less-is-more. They can’t seem to find a balance between simplified and detailed, 2D and 3D, Disney and Final Fantasy, that the original games built.

(I don’t even know what to say about this. It’s just straight up ugly. Why do his hands look like that? I feel like I’m looking at one of those nightmare-fuel fan renditions of “X character in real life.”)

(fix this.png)

Until they make up their minds about modeling Sora and other original characters, and about how to handle the lighting, effects, and other issues which are holding simplification hostage, there’s always going to be something off, something that isn’t translating well from the jump to next-gen consoles and preventing the games from feeling as KH as possible—and it has everything to do with the industry’s fixation on realism. Cartoony/anime-esque characters comprised of simple shapes and designs, like 90% of the ones in KH, do not mesh well with realism, whether it’s in the details on their clothes or their environments. Hopefully the team can see that before release date, otherwise, KH 3 is going to be full of uncanny valley and readability issues.

im still gonna play the shit out of it tho

[rhysosborneusc-blog]

Top 5 Title Sequences

MAD MEN

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/mad-men/ I love this sequence because of the mixture of graphics and realism. By graphics I mean the silhouetted figure that’s the main “character” of the sequence. The contrast of these styles (black and white graphic/colored advertisements) is really effective especially timed with the music.

GAME OF THRONES

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/game-of-thrones/ Game of thrones’ title sequence’s number one quality is that it’s adaptive. As the story progresses, new locations and graphics for those locations are added to the map. This makes it a different experience every time it plays, convincing the viewer not to skip the title sequence. I like the way that the buildings are mechanically built – like the way that the characters mechanically out-scheme each other. The stylistic blur and the semi-realism of the animation is what makes this title sequence so memorable and rcognizable to me.

SILICON VALLEY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA4InNa0NSQ Though brief, Silicon Valley’s title sequence describes the show and subject matter perfectly. The constant rise and fall of different buildings, the hustle and bustle that hides the overall changes of the landscape, and the little details make it always a pleasure to watch. The little details are like uber and lyft being hot air balloons battling as they take to the sky, or facebook slowly taking over more and more buildings.

VINYL

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/vinyl/ Yet another HBO show kills it on the title sequence. Though i haven’t seen the show, the titles make want to watch it just because of the vibe that the sequence portrays. The graphical representation of the needle passing through the vinyl is instantly grabbing, and the black and white contrast throughout is thematically appealing. Even the typography’s grungy nature fits perfectly. What I love most is the use of what looks like microscope footage of bacteria jumping to the beat of the music. Whether it be animation or real cinematography, the natural forms and the movement of these shapes is visually incredible.

PSYCHO

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/psycho/ Even though this was a class example, I have to list it as one of my top 5. Saul Bass finds a way to take simple geometric shapes to perfectly represent the themes of the oncoming film. I love the incomplete all-caps typography that he uses, and then completes them with the animation. My absolute favorite part is when the title PSYCHO is on the screen and the letters break back and forth briefly. 1. Because of my obsession with geometry and the shapes that this makes and 2. Because it represents the climax of the film really well (no spoilers). I also don’t know if it’s the poor quality and the age of the film or a stylistic choice that Bass made but I love the way that the white text is sort of blurred on the black background. This gives it a “neon sign” sort of feel that is popular in today’s design climate but is also reminiscent of the flashing Bates motel sign.

[gmjerson143]

Sarimanok ng Bayan ng Mapayapa by National Artist Abdulmari Asia Imao in front of the Vargas Museum

“Sarimanok ng Bayan na Mapayapa” is an art piece made by National Artist Award for Visual Arts recipient Abdulmari Asia Imao. This art piece has an oil paint in a canvas as the type of media used for the creation. This art piece had been created during the year 2006. It stands as a 36 inches by 48 inches artwork.

           The artwork shows an image of a sarimanok, which is considered to be a legendary bird of the Maranao people who originate from Mindanao. Its name has been derived from the words “sari” which means garment or clothing and “manok” which means chicken. The sarimanok shown in the artwork is a complete image of the said legendary animal and has been placed in the middle of the whole of the artwork. Also, the sarimanok stands out among the other objects shown in the artwork as it is the largest thing that a viewer can see in the painting. In the background, it shows an image of a circle on the left side while a crescent on the right side along with two buildings with a dome as the roof. The said objects can be considered as some of the Islamic symbols considering the artist, Abdulmari Asia Imao’s background. He is a muslim originating in Sulu he himself said that he has been focusing on the sarimanok style, improving it and revitalizing it to develop it into another design that will become distinctively muslim.

           The art piece has been consisting of mostly curves. It is minimal when it comes to straight lines. In the main subject of the art piece, the sarimanok, it is made up of mostly curves with only its beak that contains straight lines. The feathers, the tails, and the hair are shaped with curved lines. Making it appear flowing. These scroll-like, leafy and spiral motifs are considered to be the symbols of good fortune. With art piece focusing on the sarimanok, it is likely that the dominance of curved lines in the piece as a whole would be a connection to the legendary animal.

The colors present in the artwork are various. As it is a legendary animal derived from the clothes of the Maranao tribe, the animal also contains a variety of color in its feathers to represent the colorful garments of the said tribe. When it comes to size, the sarimanok dominates the space in the artwork. It appears to be the largest object. This alone would represent its characteristic in the Islamic legend as an enormous animal where its crest has touched the second heaven though it is only in the first heaven among the seven heavens that the legend believed to have which is also further fortified by the shape resembling a mountain beneath its talons. The background has a single dominant color which blue though in two different shades which is in stark contrast to the animal. The animal has various colors that do not seem to have followed a common color scheme. However, despite this, the clashing of the colors creates a harmonious effect which really sets the animal apart from its background.

In terms of light, the artwork seems to have a contrast. The background has been divided into two parts vertically. The left side has a dark blue color above and a light blue color below while the other side has a light blue color on top of a dark blue color. This difference probably represents the two heavens in which the sarimanok is believed to have touched. Additionally, the left side has a round shape while the right side has a crescent shape which could represent sun and moon respectively which contributes to the contrast.

           The artwork also contains shapes that resemble clouds. The shapes seem to contain movement and let the viewer think that it is moving to the left. This is also reinforced by the sarimanok and the fish in its talons as both are facing to the left.

           Overall, the artwork represents the Islamic culture and belief with an emphasis on the legendary animal, “sarimanok”. I find the artwork interesting and striking. It changed my perception of colors and how it should be complementary to each other. As I look at the artwork, it emanates a positive vibe especially when I see the thin line between the sarimanok’s beaks which makes the animal appear to be smiling which I think is what the artist would want to say knowing that the artist’s objective is to promote his religion’s culture and belief.

Allah Calligraphy by National Artist Abdulmari Asia Imao in front of the Vargas Museum

         One artwork of Abdulmari Imao is his painting entitled, “Allah Calligraphy”. This painting is showcased during the Eidl Fitr in Newport Mall in Pasay City in the gallery entitle, “Unite as Muslim and Christian artist as one” which showcases the paintings of Muslims and Christian showing family values and traditions here in the Philippines. This gallery show in which many paintings of different artist in the Philippines was held during the 2014. This gallery is one way to show how untied the Filipinos are despite of being divided by different religions by showing a glimpse of what their culture are through the most creative way a man could ever do, their artworks.

The painting shows or portray Islamic culture which is evident by the symbols that is used in the painting just like the star and crescent moon. It somehow shows a mosque that serves as a worship place for our Muslim brothers and sisters. The painting uses dark colors that emphasizes each figure and also uses colors that compliments each other. The painting is composed of lines that makes up different shapes and figures. Such as the blue and green line that connects to make up a roof of the mosque. The painting has no other illustrations and just focuses on one subject matter in the positive space.  The way we see the stroke of the paintbrush that the artist has made can make us conclude a smooth texture of his artwork. The way how the colors produced consistency in such a way that it doesn’t change its value for it remains dark color shades. Such as the background, it maintains dark red, the colors blue and green maintans dark, the color yellow in the painting remains dark, all color shades in the painting artwork remains the same. All in all, this artwork of Abdulmari Imao is a magnificent one for it portrays and gives justice to the elements of art accordingly.

Interpretation:

           This artwork symbolizes the unity of Muslims during the day of Eid’l Fitr for Allah’s sake after Ramadhan month. Eid’l Fitr is a Muslim festival celebrating the end of the feast of Ramadhan. Ramadhan is very important for our muslim brothers ad sisters for it is one of their act of worship to their God, Allah. At the center of the painting has the name of Allah written in arabic. It represents that our Muslim brothers and sisters do things for Allah and place Allah at the center of it all. For them, if you place Allah at the center of everthing, all things will fall according to its perfect places. The crescent moon in the painting is called the Hilal that is used as symbol together with the star in Islam.

Untitled piece (1984) by National Artist Abdulmari Asia Imao in front of the Vargas Museum

         Calligraphic in form, this large-scale piece rests atop a concrete platform. It is the first work to greet museum visitors once they enter the driveway. It cues vision to the museum building and the sprawling ground beside it. This work is example of Philippine modern sculpture that expresses and embodies Muslim ethnic identity through abstract form. As chronicled in Pasyal, a monograph on public art in the university, this brass piece combines three themes from Islamic iconography. One is the 5-pointed star atop the structure reminiscent of the sari-mosque which when can be spotted, it gives an idea to them that it is the crest of the Muslim religion. The core of the sculpture evokes the figure of the sari-manok, a mythical rooster carrying a fish in its beak. The curvilinear shape reminds us of the motifs pako rabong and naga from the Tausug and Maranao woodcarving traditions. It looks great due to its eye catching in line of sight. It has an arrangement of objects or themes which combining the three interrelated themes, that of the sari-mosque as identified in the 5-pointed star that sits within the crescent moon, that of the sari-manok or the rooster with a fish caught in its beak, and that of the sari-okir with its curvilinear motif. There is only one color which is gray that makes it calming to look. It is well carved and polished because some are straight lines, curvy, and formation of the three themes. It’s a public viewing sculpture because of its position and angle as well as the placement. Its abstract form portrays the combination of different shapes and forms which some are not in a fixed shape that makes it more complicated to determine its actual spacing and meaning. In other words it is a subtle in its contrast which the sculpture’s form is difficult to be analyzed or described. Its movement is flowing due to some curvaceous lines and edges. Its color is pale due to its cement-like color that makes it more a cemented sculpture to be seen by. The sculpture is also Asymmetrical because unequal proportioned elements.

     The painting makes me feel puzzled due to its abstact form which is hard to figure out what does the sculpture portrays. It is cool due to the color and if the light touches the sculpture, it will more likely to brighten up due to its color to absort light. I believe that he made the sculpture to bring Muslim culture closer to a wider audience in terms of their identity, tradition, and overall in their religion. It is catchy to the eye of the viewers and set as the reason of curiosity towards the viewers of what would be the sculpture wants to tell us. We can also observe that the scale or size of the sculpture is monumental type and i guess the reason why is it monumental it is because the artist of this sculpture wants us to realize how important our culture is, though it looks like old now as you can see on the picture but then the essence of the sculpture remains new specially to us millennials, because it tells us and notice the Muslim ethnic identity through abstract form.

[lindsaythom]

Photos By Olivia Bee

Her photos share a theme being majestic, romantic, and intimate. I think she plays with temperature a lot which makes her photos engaging. Her color schemes are very appealing and work well to her enhance her subject matter. She mostly shoots in color but she picks when to use black and white very well like in the photo for Vans I chose. The way she uses color almost reminds me of Wes Anderson and it has a youthful vibe.  

I enjoy how experimental she is. She combines light, movement, subjects, and landscapes differently for each composition. This makes each photo feel unique but they still feel like they all share the same style. Olivia uses symmetry a lot in her work as well. It is obvious with the last two pictures I chose with the mirror images of the girls. It can also be seen in the way the subjects are posed when there is only one person in the photo and sometimes has to do with how they interact with the background.

[kpriceitdaspring2017-blog]

Project #2: Digital Collage/ Montage- Exploration in Multimedia

Artist’s Statement: My goal was to create a dream-like scene that reflected who I am and my favorite time of the year...summer. Everything is a blur, quickly whirling around you, but they are all things that I enjoy and that mean so much to me. Pastel hues contribute to the light hearted vibe and repetition creates a playful whirlwind, and the direction of each fish gives the illusion of  movement.

I chose to make a “.jpg.” file for two reasons: 

Gifs and audio accompanying digital art do not work well with my personal aesthetic style.  

A .jpg file is the same file as a photograph--simply my favorite kind of art to create!

Symbolism: 

Fruit & Bike: This was inspired by the fruits that I grow in my backyard back at home. They are tropical, yellow, and give a sense of comfort to me. Bike inspiration comes from pinterest. 

Girl: I am always the one behind the camera, not usually one to be in the photo. So, I chose to work with an image of a girl that resembles myself enough to communicate the point. This is a subtle symbol of my love for photography. 

Fish: Snorkeling is one of my favorite summer activities, and the reason why is because of all of the parrot fish that I spot. They are such detailed, colorful, beautiful creatures, and I knew I had to tie them into this work. The beta and blue tang are representative of the pet fish that I have, also. 

Sunsets: This idea to combine multiple sunsets was inspires by a work that I learned about in photography class. I believe that the colors in these sunsets serve to unify the lower and middle sections of the work. 

Formal elements: 

Unity: achieved through using a similar color scheme to unify top, bottom, and middle sections. 

Repetition of fruit and fish gives this image a sense of motion and gives it a dream-like essence. 

Shape: Many different and detailed shapes were cut out using the quick selection tool on Adobe Photoshop. These small details give the eye places to move all around the image. This look was created using layer masks. ***I learned how to quickly, effectivley, and neatly utilize layer mask effects and the brush tool during this project***

Line: The meeting place of each different scene creates a line for the viewers eye to travel across. Line separates the background, but the girl on her bike serves to keep the spaces somewhat unified. 

Pattern: The striped pattern on the girl’s short helps her to stand out and not get lost in the background.