Added to the “Studio” section of the gallery is part one of a three part tutorial all about Perspective and Composition. Part one centers exclusively around understanding and drawing one, two, and three point perspective. If you’re an artist who needs some help in this subject, I’d highly suggest giving it a read. The tutorial is on-par with most college-level classes :)

Coming up in part 2, we’ll be looking at building meaningful compositions and looking into how they work through compositional theory. Stay tuned!

Click the big banner above to see Part 1 now.

While I’m glad he’s concerned about this sort of thing [and I'm glad you think my stuff is cool :D], I want to take the time to explain a few things, especially if sometimes some people don’t stop to think about chains of influence and origin.

In some of my work, it has notable influence from Mirror’s Edge, and I don’t deny their origins [quite evidently since I do actually list Mirror's Edge as one of the influences for each of the inspired artworks.] For the following statements, I’m leaving [Being Alone] out, and I explain why in its description. For the other two artworks, [Now Arriving] and [Searching For] however, are original works — not Mirror’s Edge fan arts. They do contain influence from Mirror’s Edge in the form of minor color choices, but both images actually contain nothing from Mirror’s Edge itself. For some who aren’t aware, Mirror’s Edge does not actually contain a unique visual style, even its developers know this, as they’ve talked about where its visual style comes from in several interviews. Mirror’s Edge gets its main visual distinction by following basic color theory — the same color theory that you would be taught in your first year at any art college. Within the primary colors, blue recedes while red comes forward. That is, in essence, Mirror’s Edge’s entire design concept. [And believe me, N.C. Wyeth discovered the power of primary colors far before they did.]

Mirror’s Edge borrows influence from two other major sources: Swedish graphic design and Asian Architecture, [namely Tokyo and Hong Kong.] Mirror’s Edge is one HUGE reference to Tokyo, and if you weren’t aware I’d suggest to go look up some photos. Like… [this one], [this one], [this one], and [this one.] I’ve always been in love with Japanese urban development and mass transit, which is a big reason why it shows up in my work even before Mirror’s Edge’s release. One of the biggest influences Mirror’s Edge uses is the Sewers level, which is based nearly 100% on the Japanese G-CANS project. [See the G-CANS here,] and compare it to the Mirror’s Edge level seen [here], [here], and [here.] I first knew about the G-CANS before their appearance in Mirror’s Edge, so I was stoked that I’d get the chance to run around inside of them when it was released. The point is, if I were to do a picture involving the G-CANS, I’d reference the fact they’re influenced by the actual location in Tokyo rather than the level in Mirror’s Edge.

Swedish graphic design plays another huge role, as even my latest work colleague Kacper Antonius [editor in chief of Level magazine, Stockholm Sweden,] mentions by saying, “Compare the look of Mirror’s Edge to things like IKEA.” Such as [this] and [this.] “Swedish graphic design consists of solid high saturated colors with bold, white or colored solid text. Mirror’s Edge is a tour-de-force of Swedish Graphic Design.”

While I found Mirror’s Edge to be a fun and inspiring game, the truth behind the matter is that I’m not being influenced by Mirror’s Edge: the game itself. Mirror’s Edge did not invent these influences, it instead acted as a transporter to allow me to discover its own influences in greater detail.

A good example: the current design for Plastic Shards is entirely influenced off of Swedish graphic design. I can thank Mirror’s Edge for showing me how wonderful Swedish Design can be, but I’m not crediting Mirror’s Edge itself for infleuncing this design.

For people who say that my work is reminiscent of Mirror’s Edge, that’s fine, and you are accurate to say so :) However, if you say that my work IS Mirror’s Edge and I should credit Mirror’s Edge, then you’re vastly mistaken. Besides, my very most recent work barely even feels reminiscent of Mirror’s Edge anymore, hahaha. :) I think I’ve fallen in love with the color magenta lately.

However, with all of this new exposure comes a bit of the “telephone effect.” Basically, as some blogs pick up my work and publish it in a post, some facts can get skewed here and there. Most notably is some confusion about what I do, and the focus of my work.

I’d like to take the time to clarify that I do photography as a hobby. In the case of some blogs, they write that I “often use photography” in my work, when in fact I’ve only used it in two pictures within my gallery. [The "Series I" images.] All of my work is actually created from a more classic approach — that is, I start with a quick thumbnail of the scene, I bring the thumbnail to a rough sketch, the rouch sketch to a cleaned up sketch, then the cleaned up sketch to a final polished drawing. I have some supporting imagery to show the processes in a couple of my images.

[Click the image below to see a larger version.]

I also have a video recording of one of my one-hour speed paintings, start to finish, compressed into about 10 minutes. You can see how I work directly!

So I like to use photography as a method to improve my visual memory, composition, and value, however photography is actually RARELY present within my work :) This would make me a Matte Painter if I did use photography — but the truth is that I’m not a matte painter. I like to be a conceptual designer and illustrator. I like to sketch and draw things from my head, quickly, and then embellish the sketches after the initial speed sketch. [Much like the video above.] Of course if anyone has any questions, feel free to drop me a comment here!

Just wanted to clear that up, and hope you found those examples interesting!

Thanks again!

1) How do I turn off the zoomed in grid [the pixel grid] in CS4?

In Photoshop CS4, when you zoom in beyond 500%, a grid appears outlining the pixels. This can be great when working in big fields of solid colors, but not so useful when doing something like pixel art or spot-photo-retouching. To turn off this grid, go to View > Show > Pixel Grid. If checked, clicking it will uncheck it and the grid will not appear when zoomed in beyond 500%. Similarly you can find many other things in this menu like guides and 3D axes.

2) How do I get anti-aliased rendering when zoomed out in Photoshop CS4? Why do my open pictures still look jagged when zoomed out in Photoshop CS4?

In CS4, Adobe finally addressed the issue of open documents looking jagged and partially unreadable at non standard zoom levels. [like 33.33%, 66.66% etc.] Using hardware acceleration, CS4 renders the images with filtering, anti-aliasing the pixels to appear smooth at any zoom level. Unfortunately, this rendering requires graphic acceleration. On some Mac computers, this can be tricky, as it uses the Mac OS OpenGL acceleration to render open documents. Sometimes the graphics acceleration will break because you have a secondary monitor attached to your system. This is rare, but it does happen, especially on MacBook Pros. Detach your second monitor, open Photoshop, then plug your second monitor back in again. You should find that the graphics acceleration works all of the sudden. Also be advised that the acceleration does not always work in some releases of the Windows 7 Beta, and under normal Windows [Xp/Vista] releases, having your absolute most recently updated graphics drivers can help.

If you’re not sure if your Photoshop CS4 graphics acceleration is working, you can check it in the preferences. Open the Photoshop CS4 preferences, [Photoshop > Preferences > Performance for mac. Edit > Preferences, go to Performance for Windows.] There’s a box that will list your currently active video card and rendering method [DirectX, OpenGL.] If this box displays empty with  no information, then something isn’t working correctly. The best troubleshooting methods are
1) updaing your OS
2) updating Photoshop CS4
3) Updating your graphics drivers
4) Hardware issues like an attached secondary monitor, Cintiq Tablet, or your computer just may need a restart.

It’s a two page spread for SYNTHESIS.

Click the thumbnail to the left to go there now! ]]> http://plasticshards.com/blog/archives/90/feed 1 http://plasticshards.com/blog/archives/12 http://plasticshards.com/blog/archives/12#comments Sun, 03 Feb 2008 20:00:34 +0000 Matt Laskowski http://plasticshards.com/blog/?p=12

I have to admit, I’m not a big reader — of books or comics. The only series I’ve enjoyed reading through were the Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy, the three volumes of Cowboy Bebop and the two of FLCL. [–But if we count art collection books, well, that’s a whole different story.] However, early last month I’ve found a new manga called “Yotsuba&!” [To be exact, the manga isn’t new in Japan. It’s been in syndication for years officially known as Yotsubato!. However the official translated editions have taken their time coming overseas.] The books caught my eye as I recalled seeing a package for a collectible action figure of the main character, Yotsuba Koiwai.
I was interested to take a peek inside the first issue, and to my surprise, it’s created by Kiyohiko Azuma — the artist and mastermind behind Azumanga Daioh. Right off the bat I knew that Yotsuba would be something I would appreciate. Then and there, I bought all five available volues, the comic store clerk saying himself, “You know, I’ve been really meaning to read this…” I really shouldn’t have been so surprised that Yotsuba was by Kiyohiko Azuma. One look at the art style should have been a dead giveaway. I’ve been a fan of Azumanga Daioh for years, after all.

Cover of volume #6, Yotsuba and her offbeat Dad.

Yotsuba&! follows the Koiwai family, comprising of just Yotsuba and her father, who move to a new town somewhere in Japan. Mr. Koiwai unintentionally adopted the orphaned Yotsuba one day from a land somewhere overseas, saying “one day I just sort of found myself looking after her.” He acknowledges that Yotsuba can be an odd child, often not knowing or understanding things that an average 5 year old should. Though Mr. Koiwai can be a real oddball himself, he remains a good father to Yotsuba, who she looks up to as a primary role model. The Koiwai’s are soon discovered by the neighbors, the Ayase family, through Yotsuba’s energetic arrival. From then, Yotsuba spends a lot of time at the Ayase household, and each family member has their own stance with Yotsuba. Asagi, the eldest daughter and a university student, loves to pick on people, which makes her an adversary for many of Yotsbua’s antics. Fuka, a 16 year old high school student, often becomes unintentionally entangled in Yotsuba’s activYotsuba and her father, who move to a new town somewhere in Japan. Mr. Koiwai unintentionally adopted the orphaned Yotsuba one day from a land somewhere overseas, saying “one day I just sort of found myself looking after her.” He acknowledges that Yotsuba can be an odd child, often not knowing or understanding things that an average 5 year old should. Though Mr. Koiwai can be a real oddball himself, he remains a good father to Yotsuba, who she looks up to as a primary role model. The Koiwai’s are soon discovered by the neighbors, the Ayase family, through Yotsuba’s energetic arrival. From then, Yotsuba spends a lot of time at the Ayase household, and each family member has their own stance with Yotsuba. Asagi, the eldest daughter and a university student, loves to pick on people, which makes her an adversary for many of Yotsbua’s antics. Fuka, a 16 year old high school student, often becomes unintentionally entangled in Yotsuba’s activities. She tries her best to maintain a positive impression on the Koiwai’s, though she’s frequently picked on by them. Ena, a few years older than Yotsuba and her most frequent playmate, usually ends up lying to Yotsuba to protect her hopes and feelings. These usually end up coming back to grief her later. Mrs. Ayase finds Yotsuba’s presence a delight, and appears to have no issue with a soon developed habit of being called “Mom” by her. Mr. Koiwai himself becomes concerned about the Ayase family constantly having to put up with Yotsuba and helping her out as much as they do. In exchange, Mr. Koiwai usually feels the need to invite the daughters on trips special events. Each anecdotal chapter of Yotsuba&! revolves around these interactions between the two households and the town they live in. [Explanation: the title “Yotsuba&!” is a tie in with the way chapter names are written, telling what the primary subject matter will be. For example, some titles are: Yotsuba & Moving In, Yotsuba & Challenges, Yotsuba & Revenge.]

Yotsuba, Asagi, and Fuka

Yotsuba & Ena

Ever since reading the mangas, I’ve been strangely addicted to the simple “slice-of-life” story telling that Yotsuba&! offers. Reading the mangas just make you feel damn good. Not to mention their blunt, somewhat dry humor is as appealing as Yotsuba is adorable. The tagline of the manga, “enjoy everything,” really just kind of makes you miss the old days of being a kid yourself — experiencing new things daily and just being carefree. If a Yotsuba like this green-haired, quad-pig-tailed, adorably clueless one exists…. I want one!!

The actual quality of the artwork within Yotsuba&! is really a showcase for the talent of Azuma himself. Azumanga Daioh was kept very simple in both the manga and the animation. Most of the backgrounds were reduced to simple gradients or shallow-depth scenes. This wasn’t a bad thing for Azumanga, it was originally drawn in four-panel manga, after all. Since each panel was the same size and rather small, they really only had enough room for a couple characters and speech bubbles, thus backgrounds weren’t very important in Azumanga. However, Yotsuba&! is a whole different story. The backgrounds are meticulously drawn panel to panel with fine details and shading. You get a feeling that what you’re reading is real, with real scale and weight. Some of my friends have actually commented “Oh, I thought those pictures were photos from afar” to the illlustrations. Each panels composition and angle is taken into great consideration — Azuma almost makes it look easy. It’s actually done so well, you’re able to playback what you read in your mind as though it were really an anime.

Yotsuba excited for a long-awaited trip to the beach.

Unlike Azumanga Daioh, Yotsuba is not an anime, and currently has no plans to be animated (so Azuma says. In a couple years, I have reasons to believe otherwise.) Though we cannot see Yotsuba and her adventures animated, Azuma was kind enough to give us something else: music. We can hear Yotsuba’s movement representationally through meoldy, thoughtfully performed by the Kurikorder Pops Orchestra. (Yes, the same orchestra who did the music for Azumanga Daioh —  continuity is good!)

Yotsuba plays the recorder.

The idea of making a soundtrack for a manga series sounds gimmicky at best, but don’t let the idea fool you — the soundtracks are actually just as significant stand-alone as the actual mangas themselves. Azuma explained at their release that the soundtracks are NOT a literal play-by-play of the manga that you listen to as you read. Referred to as “image albums,” the music is designed to elicit mental images of events described by the titles. The end result is an interesting listening experience that adds significance to Yotsuba and her family and friends.

The first album, simply [and cleverly] named “Yotsuba&♪,” follows Yotsuba throughout the course of a typical summer day. 33 tracks follow her from dawn, just waking up, to dusk, going to bed. The music is full of a couple reoccurring themes, usually involving a string ensemble, a piano, a flute, a xylophone, and Japan’s signature childhood instrument: the recorder. It sounds very appropriate for music reminiscent of summer. The simplicity of the tracks, just like the simplicity of the manga, just make you feel good and I find actually help my concentration when doing things around the apartment. The expertise of the Kuricorder Pops Orchestra also help because no matter how simple the music is, none of it sucks. The orchestra has some insanely professional recording equipment. The tracks are among the most clean and noise-less recordings I’ve ever heard done in a studio. Props to them for not skimping.

Interesting highlights of Yotsuba&♪:

Track 1 “Dawn” – Contains an absolutely beautiful string melody as an opener. It gave me a good chill down my spine the first time.

Track 13 – “Drawing Together” – The attitude of this track is just great, love the electric piano and pizzicato strings.

Track 17 – “Making Lunch” – Try to guess what this track is supposed to be of!

Track 18 – “Eating Lunch” – Contains possibly the most standard rendition of the Yotsuba theme.

Track 19 – “Nap” – Delicately performed. This song shows that a recorder can be a wonderful instrument.

Track 22 – “Yotsuba’s Small-Big Adventure” – Perhaps the most mentally engaging song of the album, at 3:30, there’s an amazing flute and recorder solo, joined in by drums.

Track 33 – “See you tomorrow” – Fans of Azumanga would appreciate this track. It sounds most like the music of Azumanga Daioh. Very nostalgic.

[Download YOTSUBA&♪ - 57MB]

(Album is properly tagged. The first track, “Dawn & Album Artwork,” contains the entire booklet originally included with the album.)

Just like the summer album, the winter album focuses on following Yotsuba through daily activities. However, unlike the summer album, it does not follow her through a single day. Through a series of fully orchestrated suites it illustrates the entire season. Spanning from when winter arrives, to christmas, to new years, spring cleaning, and spring arriving. The orchestration of the winter album consists of more or less the same instruments, only playing to a new set of themes that are more winter appropriate. Most tracks have a more full sound to them, such as the first few tracks which rival “Yotsuba’s Small-Big Adventure” already in their mental imagery. I find this album more interesting to listen to during these months thanks to its unique sound which still makes you think “winter.” Western wintry music always finds the need to remix the same Christmas songs over and over and over until you become physically ill from the repetition. Other countries who don’t focus so heavily on Christmas as much as we do sure tend to come up with better music for the colder months. I’m sure if you give it a listen you’ll agree as well.

[Download YOTSUBA&♪ Musical Suite (General Winter) - 67MB]

(Album is properly tagged.)

Miura, (Ena’s friend,) Ena, and Yotsuba performing morning calisthenics.

If you haven’t checked out Yotsuba yet, you’re probably going to want to. It’s a real treat.

Enjoy everything!

“loft23″ is an interesting collection of luxury loft apartments which are more or less a single huge room divided up with walls. A single bedroom here is a bit hefty at $2100+ per month. As a student, my current rent is $475 a month, and I find that hard to scrounge up on time as it is. Still, if I find a love, I’m sure moving into a place of that price would easy across two people with full-time jobs. Though by that rate, renting an apartment would be foolish over time, and you would be better off paying to own.

Still, this would be my kind of living.

Man, I would love to have friends over at a place like this. How relaxing.

Stainless steel half-inch tiles in the kitchen. Strangely beautiful.

How about that? They actually made the roof of the building a functional social area. Great view of Boston.

Check out the place for yourself to kick your curiosity: loft23