The Drawing Board by LASA Ezine

Fall 2019

The Drawing Board 6

Biased Ballet

Will the Ice Crack?

Dimensions of Art

Cover by Eva Schwarm, Hollister Ream, and Ewan McInerney Image courtesy of Maddison Cowles

Sketching Out the Drawing Process

Making Virtuality Real

Letter from the Editors

Readers,

While walking down a street, notice the vibrant splashes of paint and glowing displays of digitally programmed visuals. Art surrounds us, ranging from computergenerated art to dancing. The Drawing Board is a magazine that covers art in all of its forms, including a multitude of topics from drawing figure skating. All the editors of this magazineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team live in Austin, Texas. Our first story is about figure skating and the pressures that many skaters face during their career. Ballet and the surrounding stereotypes are explored in the next article. Our third story is about drawing and the steps it takes to reach a final piece. Our following story is about the similarities and differences between 2D and 3D art. Finally, the real-world uses of 3D modeling and animation software are explained in the fifth article. We also include many informational graphics related to art throughout the magazine. We created this magazine using a wide range of computer programs to draw, edit photographs, and make page layouts. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve spent the past 2019 fall semester learning how to use these programs. We each arranged, conducted, and transcribed three interviews with experts in respective fields. The editing team would like to draw your eye to our layout, which is carefully crafted to fit each story and its topic. We hope you enjoy reading our magazine. -The Editors

Table of Contents 4 Authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Page

6 Will the Ice Crack? A dive into some of the pressures, misconceptions, and artistic qualities of figure skating.

Structured Skate

Some of the crucial parts of a figure skate and how they work.

Biased Ballet

A look at some of the history of ballet and the art and athleticism involved, as well as the experiences of male and female dancers.

16 Benefits of Ballet A graphic illustrating the connections of ballet to physical and mental health.

18 Who Are Artists? An infographic about professional artists in the U.S. and their lives.

Sketching Out the Drawing Process A piece comparing some of the different styles of art, and the imagination involved in making it.

Dimensions of Art Some of the connections, similarities, and differences of 2D and 3D art and the techniques used to create it.

28 Color Systems An exploration of the two color systems: RYB, the traditional color system, and CMYK, the color scheme used to create different colors of ink.

Making Virtuality Real A history of 3D computer animation, how far it’s come in the last fifty years, and why it’s important in real life today in architecture and manufacturing.

34 Blender 3D:

Through the Ages A timeline of Blender, the world’s first free, public 3D modeling and animation program, from its beginning in the 1980s to the present.

Meet the Editors Hollister Ream studies at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy in Austin, Texas. He is also working as an editor for the electronic magazine The Drawing Board. Other than writing for the magazine, he loves to compete in video games together with his friends, code complex programs, and is currently working on a personal-project video game title. Hollister lives in Austin, Texas, with his two cats and three human family members.

Zoe Barilla-Deuschle enjoys the fine arts in different media. She is the writer of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Biased Balletâ&#x20AC;? in The Drawing Board. She has been dancing for ten years, and currently dances at Ballet Austin. She is a freshman at LASA High School in Austin, Texas. She plays the violin in her school orchestra, and has been playing since she was five. Her other pastimes include writing, reading, and running. She hopes to pursue her dance career in the future.

Geetika Polavarapu, a freshman at LASA, contributed to The Drawing Board with “Will the Ice Crack?” In her entry, she hopes to provide insight on the pressures and misconceptions based around figure skating. She’s never had professional figure skating experience and is truthfully bad at skating. However, she enjoys watching figure skating events in mainstream media such as the Winter Olympics. Some of her other hobbies include painting, volleyball, and writing.

Eva Schwarm is a freshman at LASA High School and a writer for The Drawing Board. She wrote “Sketching Out the Drawing Process,” and also enjoys drawing herself. She has made a short webcomic in the past, and is currently working on writing and illustrating a children’s book. She also created the color theory infographic. She writes stories and dances. She also likes performing, producing, and writing music. She enjoys cosplaying, and often does it at conventions. She hopes to become a professional artist in the future.

Ewan McInerney is a freshman at LASA High School in Austin, and contributed to The Drawing Board by writing “Making Virtuality Real,” about the different uses of 3-D modeling and animation in the world. He also enjoys doing animation projects by himself. His other hobbies include ice hockey and origami, and he loves to write and play music on the electric guitar. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his family.

Will the Ice Crack?

By Geetika Polavarapu

Pressures of figure skating

F 6

igure skating is shown across the mainstream media as a delicate art form with the majority of

Akane Eguchi executes a crossover. A crossover is a technique used to move around corners and to build up speed to take off for a jump. Courtesy of 828studios

The pressures competitive skaters face, how skaters can be inspired by visuals consisting of slim feminine such an uncommon sport, and the bodies gliding across the ice on a combination of jumps and artistic thin blade. In reality the hours spent parts of the sport make figure skating developing muscles for the difficult unique. Competitive skaters explain jumps are anything but fragile. the misconceptions placed on the

seemingly easy sport and provide an insight into their busy schedules packed with over 15 hours of skating on top of balancing busy day-to-day activities in school and social life. In figure skating, appearance is a large portion of how both the

audience and judges portray your performance in a competitive environment. Former U.S. figure skating nationalist, Ashley Shin, spent seven years competing and realized the significance of appearance.

Kelly He completes a jump with clean landing. She rotates in the air and lands with outstretched arms. Courtesy of Kelly He

“Because figure skating is an aesthetic sport, I think how you present yourself is very important,” Shin said. Competitive skater Akane Eguchi falls victim to the pressures of being apart of the skating community. “Especially in figure skating, people have extremely high standards,” Eguchi said. “They basically compare our performances, physical appearances, and impressions, which develops a bunch of pressure to all of the skaters, including me.” Kelly He, amatuer figure skater, believes skating is a mental battle because if a skater is thinking about their former mistakes, for example: unsuccessfully completing a jump in their routine, they might lose the entire performance because undivided focus is required for their next jump in the routine. “There’s lots of pressure for getting better when you’re on practice ice you see other skaters who are much better than you doing moves much more advanced but you can’t let them get to your head,” He said, “It’s the moment right before you get into the ice while you’re watching your opponents skate perfectly clean programs.” Contrary to TV programs, figure

skating isn’t all glitter and sparkles. “There’s more to it than just jumping and gliding, there are many components that make figure skating one of the most challenging sports in the universe. I promise you, just watch documentaries,” Eguchi said. Similar to dancing, competitive skaters begin at an early age. To begin at a later age is not uncommon but slightly more difficult.

“There’s more to it than just jumping and gliding. There are many components that make figure skating one of the most challenging sports in the universe.” - Akane Eguchi Competitive Skater “I first started skating because my mom liked figure skating. I think I began to be interested in figure

Eguchi enjoys the music chosen for her program. Courtesy of 828studios

skating while watching the older skaters at the rink,” Shin said, “I started competing when I was 12 years old and continued skating up until I was 19 years old.” Figure skating is a huge commitment and skaters can spend over 10 hours a week on the sport. “For about two years I’ve been competing, but skating for around four years. I used to skate two hours before school and four on the weekends in middle school, about fourteen hours a week. Now with all my curricular in high school I only skate on the weekend, for five hours: and one day before school for 2 hours, and in total about 7 hours,” He said. “I spend a little over 20 hours training at the rink every week, so it’s difficult to handle school homework and skating practice at the same time,” Eguchi said. Skaters can become interested in the ice sport by watching the high jumps and eye-catching speed supported by a single blade. Eguchi never expected to be into skating, but when she saw her sister enjoying the activity, she soon fell in love with it. She found videos of silver medalist Mao Asada which increased her interest and eventually led her to begin practicing on the ice. A free program is a quick four minute long performance used to

judge the skater as a whole. “The most difficult part of figure skating is putting all the spins, jumps, and skating together into about a four minute program,” Shin said. Jumps earn points in the grading system based on the level of difficulty. For example, a single toe loop would be worth 0.4 and a quad axel would be worth the most with a 13.3. The better the performance, the higher the cumulative grade. “There are 6 jumps - axel, salchow, toe loop, loop, flip, and lutz. The jumps are different because of the entries into the jumps and all have different technical values.” Figure skating is graded based on the athleticism and the artistic depiction of the music accompanying the skater’s program. “I’m in novice moves in the free skate and I can do an axel, double salchow, double loop, double flip, double lutz and combinations of the jumps. Lots of people think that jumps are the only elements figure skaters work on, however, lots of practice also goes into spins, footwork and moves in the field,” He said, “I enjoy the jumps of skating the most because you can clearly see your improvement through jumps. however it’s a lot easier to plateau, stop improving, and lose your jumps.” Jumps are difficult to master and are a reason to be proud of the hard work put into the extensive repetitions for the completion of this skill. “Currently, I’m training a lot of combination jumps including tripletriple combinations to put in my senior program for next season,”

Eguchi strikes a final pose to finish her program. Coutesy of Akane Eguchi Eguchi said, “To be honest, I mostly enjoy the artistic part of figure skating because when we create our program’s annually, we try to develop a story by utilizing our body movements and connecting to the chosen music.” With the jumps and continuous dance movements, figure skating is heavily taxing to the body. Being

a national level competitor, Shin understands the intensity of the sport. “I don’t think there’s any sport that I can compare figure skating with because all sports are so different and incredibly difficult in their own ways,” Shin said.

Structured

Lining

Skate

Backstay

By Geetika Polavarapu

A figure skate is essentially a boot and blade attatched together by screws. The condition of a skate is important as having even a single screw loose can lead to ankle injury which is quite common in this sport. Dull blades are often talked about because these blades fail to grip to the ice properly and make advanced jumping very difficult.

Boot

Heel Stanchion

Edge

Blade

Hook Tongue Lace

A blade consists of an edge, stanchion, and toe pick. There are two edges: inner edge and outer edge; these edges are used for everything as they are the part of the skate that come in conatact with the ice. The stanchion supports the thin blade to the shoe itself and the toe pick is used for abrupt stops. The ideal spot for spins is located further forward on the blade since it provides the perfect distribution of weight for the extremly fast turn that visually seems to defy physics. On the boot, the backstay is a part that provides support for the foot.

Eyelet Sources: Medium

Sole Toe Pick Ideal spot for spins

Biased Ballet By Zoe Barilla-Deuschle

hen most people think of ballet, they think of girls in tutus, spinning around on their toes. In reality, it is an athletic art form, which dancers of any gender dedicate their lives to mastering. Ballet commonly gets incorrectly stereotyped, whether it is about the work and commitment put in, athletic involvement, or the dancers themselves. Ballet is a style of dance originating from 15th century Italian Renaissance courts. It gained

Amy Selman waits backstage at a performance. The Corpus Christi ballet works on new shows each season. Courtesy of Amy Selman

popularity in France in the 1700s because of King Louis XIV, a ballet enthusiast and dancer himself. The entire ballet vocabulary is in French. It has since spread across the world. There are six widely used schools of thought, or methods of teaching classical ballet. The methods are Vaganova (Russian), Cecchetti (Italian), Balanchine (American), Bournonville (Danish), Royal Academy of Dance (English), and French. These methods vary stylistically and from country to country. Ballet is a means of selfexpression. The silent, expressive art of ballet passes down traditional stories through music and movement. Currently, ballet is seen

in the form of traditional classical or modern. Although it has been commonly misinterpreted in recent years, ballet is being seen more and more as an athletically challenging activity. Amy Selman, choreographer at Harbor Playhouse in Corpus Christi and former soloist at Corpus Christi Ballet, believes that male and female dancers are not getting equal athletic recognition. “To me, dance is finally being recognized as a more athletic pastime and career than it’s ever been before,” Selman said. “While women are being seen as more athletic as dancers, that’s not the typical response men get.” In ballet, male dancers are the

ones expected to jump the highest and have the best turns, while maintaining agility and gracefulness on stage. Men need to be as flexible as the women. They need to lift an entire person over their heads and still make it look elegant and easy. Many people are unaware of the hard work and training required of male ballet dancers. The physical aspect of ballet is not the only way male dancers are stereotyped. Some people judge dancers on their personal life, with factors such as their sexuality.

Eliza Schwartz posing for a photoshoot. She is en pointe. Courtesy of Eliza Schwartz

Eliza Schwartz jumping for a photoshoot. Courtesy of Eliza Schwartz

“If there weren’t men in ballet, it wouldn’t be ballet.” - Harrison Broadbent Dancer with Ballet Austin II Harrison Broadbent, a dancer with Ballet Austin II (BAII), believes that a dancer’s sexual orientation does not determine their capabilities as a performer. “Right from the start, just being a male dancer, people think you’re gay,” Broadbent said. “Whether that’s true or not, it’s something that is used as something to break you down, to make you stop loving this art form. It’s viewed as very feminine, and that it’s not made for men. But if there weren’t men in ballet, it wouldn’t be ballet.” Ballet is not a typical activity for most men to do, and the stereotypical connotations of it being associated with femininity and being gay make it even less popular among them.

“A lot of men hide the fact that they dance, I’ve even had friends in the company that wouldn’t tell people for a long time,” said Selman. “I hate that they can’t embrace who they are … But you’re always going to run into those people with incorrect preconceived notions about what it is to be a male dancer.” It is not just male dancers being stereotyped in ballet. There is a certain body type that is praised in the ballet world. It is thought of as being the best and prettiest for ballet, and can be discouraging to all dancers. These unrealistic body ideals cause many dancers to go on unhealthy diets and suffer from body dysmorphia and eating disorders. Eliza Schwartz, a dancer with BAII, said, “Most people think that ballet dancers are super skinny, super tall.” This mindset is often discouraging to young dancers. It is an unnecessary way to think of dancer’s bodies, what they have less of instead of appreciating musculature and strength. “To me, a ballerina is all muscles and strength. Yes, there’s thin, but their muscles are what you see. You don’t see the bones, you see how strong they are and how they can hold themselves in these crazy positions,” said Selman. Ballet can beneficial both mentally and physically as being a sport and a form of art. The athletics provide a workout and release endorphins to relieve stress. The creative elements help to relax

the mind. Ballet can also be an emotional outlet. “Growing up as a male dancer, school was never the easiest. Even though ballet contributed to most of the teasing and bullying, it also was an escape, it gave me an out, it gave me somewhere that I could totally be authentically myself,” said Broadbent. However, ballet isn’t just beneficial for the dancers, but for those watching, too. Watching a performance is not only entertaining, it often inspires people to take a class themselves. “For the audience, it can transport

them for 2 hours. It can help people get moving again,” said Schwartz. “Moving your body everyday, getting it in shape and keeping it in a very pristine, strict atmosphere is very beneficial if that’s what you want,” said Broadbent. Ballet works different muscles from other physical activities, while giving you everything else they offer. Ballet’s structured environment implements a sense of respect and mental control in dancers from a young age. “I have ADHD,” said Selman. “In ballet, I could quiet that part of my mind.”

Ballet is a special thing that we get to experience, filled with many joys and benefits. People are currently allowing these stereotypes to inhibit them from experiencing the art of ballet to its maximum, and need to realize that ballet is just a style of dance and start appreciating all it has to offer. “Dance to me is joy. It is joyful,” said Selman.

Selman dancing the Spring Fairy in Cinderella with the Corpus Christi Ballet. Courtesy of Amy Selman

Selman dancing Cinderella with the Corpus Christi Ballet. Courtesy of Amy Selman

Benefits of Ballet By Zoe Barilla-Deuschle

• A half hour of dancing will burn around 462 calories • Ballet combinations that involve jumping increase heart rate, which can improve cardiovascular health • Ballet improves muscle strength and definition • Dancing regularly will build endurance and stamina • A ballet training will also correct poor alignment and balance

Effects on the Brain • Endorphins are released, which reduce stress levels while exercising and make us happier after • Regular exercise can improve memory and thinking skills • Exercise will release hormones, which cause growth of brain cells Sources: The New York Times and Harvard

Dancing decreases anxiety, stress, and depression levels. Being a part of the dance community is also a way to socialize and stay connected.

Who Are Ar tists? By Hollister Ream Artists are a foward-thinking, diverse group of people who make up a large part of our society. However, life can sometimes heap hardships onto them and their work. In 2018, artists in the fine arts earn about $48,960 annual wage. this is less than the typical $52,145 earned by the average worker in the United States. The artistry industry is only growing by about 1% per year, a relatively small amount.

Average Worker

Artists

As of 2009, there are 2.1 million artists working in the United States. They make up 1.4% of the total workforce in the United States. They also make up 6.9% of what is classified by the government as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;professionalâ&#x20AC;? workforce.

93.1% 6.9% Ar tist s

her

Wo rke rs

Source: The National Endowment For The Arts, Pew Research Center, USA Social Security, and The Bureau Of Labor.

Artists are far more likely than the average person to use a computer, even if they do not work professionally. About 72% of non artists use computers, while 84% of all artists use computers, and 95% of professional artists use computers.

95%

Sketching Out the Drawing Process By Eva Schwarm

rt can be found in daily goes into making it. life, but many people Creating a drawing has multiple do not know about steps, which can include coming about the process that up with ideas, planning, sketching,

inking, coloring, and shading. Every artist has a different take on the process. Steps can be added, taken away, or interpreted differently. Many artists enjoy drawing, but artists like creating art for different reasons. Kat Fajardo, a visual artist from Austin, has a unique reason she loves drawing. “My favorite thing is basically shutting off my brain, not having to think about anything, any worries and just draw whatever I want to,” Fajardo said.

Ideas and Inspiration

Ben Humeniuk does rough sketches in blue pencil. There are many different sketching methods artists use. Courtesy of Ben Humeniuk

Many artists find inspiration through their childhoods, such as Ben Humeniuk, a comic creator from Houston. “My religious faith is one thing that inspires me,” Humeniuk said. “I myself am a Christian. I’ve grown up with stories from that tradition.” Humeniuk finds points of connection between stories from his faith and his life experiences. “I’ve been learning about, ingesting since I was a boy and I see those stories reflected in the stories in the world around me.” Humeniuk said. Different kinds of stories can inspire artists. While Humeniuk was inspired by religious stories, Fajardo got inspiration from pop culture. “Growing up on anime and comics really inspired me to pick up a pencil and draw my own characters

and my own stories that developed in my head,” Fajardo said. Maddison Cowles, a comic artist from Austin, draws inspiration from her daily life, and a variety of experiences. “Conversation, also life experience. Just thinking about things you’ve gone through in the past or emotions you’re feeling in the moment,” Cowles said. “Sometimes going on a trip, seeing new things, sometimes that can be really good to get you on an inspiration streak.” Fajardo gets ideas from dreams, daydreams, and unexpected places. “I get most of my ideas from dreams and whenever I daydream I come up with weird ideas, and from there, I rush to pick up a piece of paper and write it down before I forget it,” Fajardo said. There are many things to draw, but artists can have a favorite. Fajardo likes drawing from fantasy elements in her art.

Kat Fajardo includes a diverse range of people in her art. Courtesy of Kat Fajardo

“I’m a fan of really bright colors, really really bright colors, super vibrant neon colors, stuff like that, so more often than not, That’s kind of the colors that I’ll naturally gravitate towards.” - Maddison Cowles, Austin artist “I like to draw mostly fantasy and fantastical things,” said Fajardo. “I love drawing kids hanging out with strange creatures and having their own small adventure.”

A Blank Page There are different ways to start an art piece. For Cowles, starting an art piece is an intuitive process. “I usually am pretty intuitive when I work, so I don’t think about it a whole lot. I just kind of start going for it,” Cowles said, “Then adjust it as I see fit and as I’m working.” Other artists do a lot of planning before starting an art piece. Fajardo’s planning for her comics includes many steps. “So, you start with a script. You have to dedicate a week or so, just writing out what’s going to happen within the comic and the dialogue and the setting,” Fajardo said, “And from there, the next step would be thumbnails, plan out what each page would look like, what the character’s going to look like, the concept art.” Artists sometimes do a sketch before moving on to a finished version of the drawing. Since a sketch may not be the final version of an art piece, it can be very rough. Cowles said, “I do a really, really, really loose drawing, super loose, to the point it doesn’t really look like anything, except to me it looks kind of like something, to just get the placement for things.” A sketch can be improved in multiple stages. The next step for Huminiuk is refining the loose sketch. “I’ll just use a pencil and kind of lightly lay down lines until I find something that I want to work with, and I’ll go on over it with a darker line, kind of heavier push,” said Humeniuk. For some artists, the next step

in the process is inking. Inking can be done either digitally, or with physical materials. “If it’s digital, I’ll create another layer over my initial sketch and just draw directly on top of that layer,” Humeniuk said. “If it’s physical, I’ve got a printer that lets me print out various sizes of paper. I’ll print out something in light non-photo blue ink, and I’ll go back over that with a brush pen or a Micron and then when I scan it back into the computer, I can drop out the blue sketch lines from the scanned document and just keep my black lines and it looks really crisp.” Even within the realm of physical

inking, there are different types of nibs, brushes and pens. Some artists prefer certain tools for their inking. “I prefer to ink by hand, traditionally ink, so I like to ink with nibs,” Fajardo said, “My favorite nib is the G Pen, and it’s basically just use the pen and dip it in ink, and then you draw out.”

Color and Light

There are premade color palettes available to be used by artists. Humeniuk uses online tools to select colors for his art pieces as well. “I like to work with limited palettes Maddison Cowles often uses bright and premade palettes colors. Color choice can help convey because it makes emotions in an art piece. Courtesy of my decision making Maddison Cowles faster and easier, and methods to help conceptualize it keeps my picture looking where shadows and highlights are, cohesive,” Humeniuk said. but not all shading has to be correct “So, if there’s a palette out to add a sense of volume. there that looks good, I’d “Usually, you try to pick a light like to try to take that and source and imagine where the light use it. If there is a palette source is, and then, think about that doesn’t exist yet I use where the planes of the surface are,” that Adobe color tool and Cowles said. “Sometimes though, that will help me create there can be imagined shading that’s one, and it’s just nice.” just pretty made up to give a sense of Some artists prefer volume that’s not necessarily correct certain types of colors. shading.” “I’m a fan of really Artists make different decisions bright colors, really really about how they do their art. bright colors, super vibrant Humeniuk often decides not to neon colors, stuff like that, shade his drawings. so more often than not, “For the most part, I actually work that’s kind of the colors without shading and just doing flat that I’ll naturally gravitate colors because that’s an approach After sketching, many artists ink their work. towards,” Cowles said. that’s been successful in European Inking can be done digitally or with physical Artists use different comics for years, and I really like materials. Courtesy of Ben Humeniuk

that appeal,” Humeniuk said.

Getting It Out There Many artists post their work on social media. This can be an effective method of attracting an audience. “Instagram is incredibly friendly to artists right now. Hashtags are a great way to be discovered. It’s a good chance to network,” Humeniuk said. “Twitter is also pretty good, especially if you want to network with other cartoonists who are creating work, there’s a lot of tips and advice out there. Reblogging, retweeting, commenting on other people’s posts can create connections.” Being very active on social is one way artists can help engage with their audiences. Fajardo is one of these artists. “I post a lot on Instagram and Twitter, and so whenever I work on a piece, I try to post as much as I can in terms of work in progress shots, just to show people that I’m constantly busy, I’m not just laying around doing nothing,” Fajardo said. Artists also find spaces where they can promote their work in person. “Going to conventions and places where people are interacting over art, especially where comic editors will be, is immensely helpful on that,” Humeniuk said. There are different events where artists can meet up to show off their art. One way art can be presented is in zines, which are independently created magazines. “Another fun thing to do now that’s become really popular is making zines and going to zine fests or different art sales and stuff like that,” Cowles said.

This is the finished comic page. Artists often finish an art piece with color and shading. Courtesy of Ben Humeniuk Whether it was published in a zine, posted on the internet, or displayed in a different way, art can be a satisfying and complex creative process for the artist, as well as an enjoyable experience for the viewer.

“I’ve just always really enjoyed drawing,” Cowles said. “I feel like it’s really fun to be able to have something in your head and then be able to create that out of nothing on the paper.”

Dimensions of Art

Dimesions The Connectionsof andArt Differences of 2-Dimensional and 3-Dimensional The Connections and Diffrences ofArt By Hollister Ream 2-Dimesional and 3-Dimensional Art

hen first perceiving art, some people would like to simply set it into a category with other ones that they have seen that look similar to the piece. While this may be a seemingly apt first glance, art is far more complex than just an object sort into a group. Art is a blend of many groups of pieces, and styles, each contributing their own various elements to the piece. There are a couple of these styles that relate to visual art and the pieces it contains. However, many artists mostly create only one style of art. Two possible styles are three dimensional visual art and two dimensional visual art. They could not be more different, because there is a whole dimension standing between them. Yet at the same time, these are two of the most closely related forms of art that exist, as they are both a primarily visual experience, building off of similar skills. ValĂŠrie Chaussonnet, a metal sculpture artist, has been working in art for over 30 years. In her opinion, three dimensional art requires balance to create.

Giving Directions, a work by Nancy Hoover. This painting incoporates three dimensional textured elements. Courtesy of Nancy Hoover

“You know an illusion that makes you everything believe that an art piece in two that has to do dimensions is actually a three with balance of dimensional object. things,” Chaussonnet “I just always was interested said. “When I am in the idea, like the illusion creating in my sculptures I of dimension,” said think it really is where I have a Aaron Sacco, a digital sense of how to do the depth.” graphic designer. “And To make something in I love the idea that you three dimensions requires could take something knowledge of how that thing that was flat and make it would look like in reality. feel like it had space in Nancy Hoover, a painter it, that you could turn a and an art teacher at The page into something like Girls School of Austin. that.” “It is far more time At other times, this consuming illusion goes farther to sculpt than just perception and because and blends into you are seeing it in texture, like a three dimensions” flat object with Hoover said “you actual variation cannot just put a in its texture, shadow here, a or a statue shadow there. You a l m o s t have to actually sitting pull the nose out on a flat and get the brow and plane. the cheekbones in the Hoover actual clay.” is currently Many pieces of art working on a cannot simply fit into one of these two categories of visual art. Sometimes Ascension, For Jessi Combs, a prize-winning piece of art by Valérie Chausonnet. This work was made this comes in with welding tools. Courtesy of Hollister Ream the form of

painting with similar t e x t u r e d variations in the surface. “Even though it’s two dimensional and hangs on a wall, this is a piece I am working on now, you can see I have added on elements,” Hoover said. “Maybe not huge 3 dimension, but there is texture and there is depth coming out. So 2D art is flat, but you can also have the illusion of it being a 3D piece. Look at how cartoons are done these days in Disney and Pixar and everything. They look like actual creatures, but they are really flat manipulated technical drawings.” Sometimes, similarities can come from the idea of the art, and affect even the process of creating the work. “A lot of my sculptures are kind of flattened so they are almost like relief,” said Valérie. “Because when I conceive of them you know, when you make c l a y you

can just do a 3D and build it like this, but when you are doing metal how is it going to hold until you weld it.” Even though there are many similarities in different forms of art, each artist benefits from a special flair or distinct style to differentiate them from other

“I go and look at something and I see something and I know what it wants to be.” -Valerie Chaussonnet Metal Sculpture Artist

artists who participate in the same vein of art Two art pieces by Valérie Chausonnet. These pieces show the unique relief-like style of her as them. sculptures. Courtesy of Hollister Ream “I feel like my artwork is both like realistic and also has a good eye for color.” Sacco said. This can be a unique style of approaching the work, or even just a way of thinking about what the artist wants the art to feel like, what emotions you want the art to convey. “For me I like to be challenged by making it look real, but with sort of a whimsical aspect,” and they think what do I want to do and they start drawing.

For me I see my working as a cooperation with the work because I use material that already has a history,” said Valérie. “I go and look at something and I see something and I know what it wants to be.” Two dimensional and three dimensional art connect, and have similarities in many ways, and yet they maintain a great degree of difference between them. The type of art that is being made is a large factor in how the piece comes out, but also artists should try to adopt a unique style for themselves. Art should be connected to how you want to make it. “I think sometimes art is inside you, even when you’re little, and you’re driven to create.” Hoover said.

Color

By Eva Schwarm

RYB: The Traditional Color Wheel

These are the colors taught traditionally in elementary school art classes. RYB is the most commonly taught color system in schools. The first version of this color wheel was created in 1666 by Sir Issac Newton.

The Debate

While the RYB color system has been around the longest and is the one most often taught in art classes, many think CMYK should be taught instead. While both systems can produce every hue, CMYK can produce more vibrant versions of these hues and has a wider color gamut. This is because CMYK, scientifically speaking, better mirrors the RGB system, with cyan absorbing red light, magenta absorbing green light, and yellow absorbing blue light. This would also help clear up the widespread confusion between cyan and blue, and magenta and red.

Systems CMYK: It Printed This Page

CMYK consists of inks that are cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. Since when cyan, magenta, and yellow are mixed together, the resulting black is muddy, true black must also be used. K is used for black because it stands for â&#x20AC;&#x153;keyâ&#x20AC;?. The other colors are aligned with the key plate. The color system was first used by Eagle Printing Ink Company in 1906. This magazine was printed using CMYK.

Sources: designersinsights.com, alexanders.com, eetimes.com

RGB: Additive Vs. Subtractive

The RGB color wheel is identical to the CMYK color wheel with the exception that the primary and secondary colors are switched. This is because CMYK is a subtractive color system, and RGB is an additive color system. CMYK comes from mixing pigments, which absorb the different colors of the spectrum, which make black when all mixed together at full intensity. RGB comes from mixing different colors of light, which make white when all mixed together at full intensity.

Today, the majority of buildings are designed with 3D modeling programs. This tower at the Formula 1 racetrack in Austin was partially designed by the engineering firm Walter P. Moore in the computer program Revit. Courtesy of Aaron White

Making Virtuality Real How do we use computer modeling and animation today? By Ewan McInerney

nimation has been used for almost a century to give life to characters, creating them from collections of points and lines. With the rise of 3D computer animation

in the last few decades, artists have been striving to create more and more realistic and lifelike characters and scenes. The concept of computer modeling and animation was developed in 1972 by computer

scientist Ed Catmull, who created the world’s first 3D model of a hand. Today, many industries, including entertainment and gaming, architecture, manufacturing, marketing, engineering, and healthcare - use 3D graphics to assist in creating projects and products. Animation has been used not just for creating imaginary characters and stories, but for creating real-life buildings and tools as well. “In our industry, we’re going through a bit of a revolution with data and 3D models,” said Aaron White, Director of Digital Practices for Walter P. Moore, an engineering firm

based in Houston. “Traditionally, engineers put their designs on drawings and then hand them over to contractors, and more and more drawings are just fading out, and people are using models for their work now instead to communicate information between the design engineers and the contractors.” Architects and engineers use computer models to communicate their ideas for designs more efficiently, but in some cases with engineering, 3D modeling can save lives. “We have a whole host of software where we actually analyze the structure,” White said. “The software goes through the mathematics of the wind load or the rain load or the snow load, or what happens when there’s an earthquake or something similar. We use these programs to analyze these buildings and model them based on what happens if there’s an earthquake nearby, or it’s really windy.”

“In our industry, we’re going through a bit of a revolution with 3D models. People are just using models for their work now instead to communicate information between the design engineers and the contractors.” - Aaron White Architectural Engineer

Many companies that make medical equipment use 3D modeling programs to create devices like this prosthetic hand. Courtesy of Javelin Technologies

Before this software was invented, engineers had no way to test their projects other than in the real world. But now, the software that engineers like those who work for Walter P. Moore use can simulate natural disasters to let the engineers see what happens to their building model if impacted by a natural disaster. But sometimes, the real problem isn’t outside of the building. Walter P. Moore helped design the famous observation tower at the Formula 1 track in Austin. White describes balancing money and safety as one of the most difficult challenges of the project. “The building code tells you the maximum occupancy of the structure,” he said. “On the observation tower, the occupancy was about a hundred meters per square foot. If you can imagine a lot of people shoulder to shoulder, that might be about a hundred pounds per square foot. We’ll test that load against the structure on the computer,

and then we can actually analyze the structure and validate it.” Architecture is a big use of 3D modeling in the real world, but it’s not all about massive projects like racetracks and towers. Vinay Shah, an engineer from Colorado, is part of a company that manufactures medical devices. Shah and his coworkers use a computer program called Solidworks to digitally create and design the devices before they’re manufactured. “I take the device components and put them all together in Solidworks into what’s called an assembly,” Shah said. “I use Solidworks to view this assembly, to put it together. Then you can develop what’s called a fixture: another piece of equipment that helps the pieces get put together in the right way every time. To make an analogy, you could be modeling the pieces of a car, and you need a jig to make sure that the steering wheel goes on in exactly the right way, with every car that’s manufactured.”

Shah explained how a device, which starts out as just a 3D model, gets from Solidworks to something you can hold in your hand. “It depends on the material,” Shah said. “There are three ways our devices are manufactured. Probably the biggest one is injection molding; for plastic parts, we send the model to a company that makes a mold. They can inject plastic in its liquid form and let it set, and you can get very precise parts. Then there’s machining - you could have a solid block of aluminum and cut shapes out of it, hone it, to get a specific shape. Finally, there’s sheet metal mending. You can take a piece of sheet metal and lay it out, punch holes in it wherever you want holes, and then start folding it until you can get a 3D piece out of a 2D piece.” There are many real-life uses for 3D modeling and animation, but its most famous application is in the entertainment industry. Since 1995, countless movies and shorts have been made with computer modeling

programs. Companies like Pixar and Dreamworks have armies of professional animators to create characters and move them around. During the early 1990s, a programmer named Ton Roosendaal had the dream to create a free 3D modeling and animation program that could be used by anyone. In 2002, Blender, the world’s very first open-source animation program, was released to the world. 17 years later, Blender has millions of users worldwide, and has released several “Open Movies,” animation shorts created by the collaboration of users all around the world. Daniel Bystedt, a Blender computer artist, explained the process of turning a collection of points in space to a lifelike character with thoughts and emotions, beginning with the concept phase. “The concept phase is mostly about defining the initial visual representation of the subject,” Bystedt said. “For example, the director might want a ‘big, burly

Modeling programs often release shorts to advertise new versions of software. This tiger was made to showcase Blender 2.8 in 2019. Courtesy of Blender

monster with spikes.’ I have to interpret that idea and translate it into a first representation of the object. This might be a 2D sketch or maybe a quick sculpt [a primitive 3D model]. Usually, there’s quite a bit of back and forth with a director in order to get something that they really like.” After the artist and the director reach an agreement about what the model should look like, the modeling phase begins. “Modeling and sculpting is the step of actually creating the geometry within a 3D application,” said Bystedt. Even after making the shape and the skin of the character, which is most of the work, steps still need to be taken to make the model look more realistic. Hair needs to be added. “Grooming is the step of adding fur or hair onto your character or creature,” Bystedt said. After the addition of hair to the character, there are still some important finishing touches. After the grooming phase comes the texturing phase. “ Te x t u r i n g is the step of painting colors, glossiness, et cetera, onto your model a n d

A chessboard created in Blender after the concept and modeling phases. During setting up the character these phases, only shapes and forms are taken into account. Graphics by Ewan McInerney before an actual shot,” said Bystedt. Finally, it’s time to render an image or an animation of the character. Rendering is the process of polishing the 3D model or animation and making it look more realistic than what is shown in the modeling interface, taking into account lighting and more complex materials. In the past, rendering an animation could take hours, days, or even weeks. But with the recent addition of a new rendering program me to explore storytelling and suddenly possible, and that opens up called EEVEE, artists at home who animation in my personal work a a lot of possibilities for artists like use programs like Blender can see lot more,” Bystedt said. “Before me.” their pictures and characters come to EEVEE, rendering images took Computer modeling is becoming life almost instantly. a really long time, and it wasn’t more available and accessible to “In the last two years, the realistic to be able to render out a the general public today through development of Blender’s realtime couple of minutes of animation on programs like Blender. In its 50 years render engine, EEVEE, has enabled your home computer. And now it is of existence, it has come far, from a hand in 1972 to designing football stadiums and making tiny modifications to prosthetic arms today. In the entertainment and gaming industries, 3D animation is here to stay. Computer artists are finding ways to make 3D modeling and animation more realistic, faster, easier. “After I’m over the initial modeling phase, where everything is a blobby mess, starting to see the character coming to life is great for me,” Bystedt said. “It’s always very rewarding to go from having an idea in your The same chessboard after the process of texturing and rendering. During these phases, the model is made more realistic as the program takes into account the color of the head and finally seeing it on objects and light sources. Courtesy of Ewan McInerney the screen.”

Blender 3D

Keyframe - a frame that marks the starting and ending points of a smooth transition - the computer fills in the frames in between

1998

2002 2002 - The Blender Foundation is founded, to continue developing Blender as an open-source program

Suzanne, Blenderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mascot. She was first seen in Blender 2.25 and is used to test textures of modeled objects. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

1998 - Roosendaal founds a new company called Not a Number to help with marketing and developing Blender

Early 2005 - Blender users around the world create a new animation short, named Project Orange after Blenderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s colors

Shader - the actual substance of a modeled object (like glossy or reflective)

2005 Texture - a pattern on an object made up of one or more colors (like checkered or striped)

Oct. 13, 2002 - Blender is released to the world as the first open-source 3D modeling and animation program

The Blender Logo Created in the year 2002 by Roosendaal. Courtesy of Blender

2019 - Blender 2.8 is released with a rendering engine called EEVEE, which can render images almost instantly

2019

2005 - better character and hair animations, complex materials, more varied combinations of textures available Early 2017 - lots of improvements to bones muscles, skin, and to 2D cartoon animations in Blender 2.7

2017

Through the Ages

By Ewan McInerney

1995

1988

1995 - the interface and toolset of the NeoGeo program is completely rewritten; its name is changed to Blender

1988 - Dutch programmer Ton Roosendaal founds an animation studio called NeoGeo in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Early 2006 - Blender physics, such as gravity and wind, are improved to look more realistic with characters

of creating a more

photorealistic image from a 3-D model

Blender; connects with other armatures to form joints

2007 - Roosendaal founds the Blender Institute to create more Open Movies 3D video games, and visual effects

2006 Render - the process

Armature - a bone in

A tiger created in Blender in 2019 by artist Daniel Bystedt to beta-test Blender 2.8. Courtesy of Daniel Bystedt

2006 - the animation short “Elephants Dream” is released as the world’s first Open Movie, made only by Blender users

2009 - Blender begins developing a new version, 2.5, completely overhauling the animation system, tools, and interface

2009 Sources: Blender, wikipedia.org

2008 - Blender’s very first video game, Yo Frankie! is released; improvements to Blender game engine

Ton Roosendal, creator and main founder of Blender. Courtesy of Blender

2008

Imagination Inspiration Investigation! Words Art Color Creativity Dancing Drawing Imagination Ideas Ink Inspiration Light Paintbrush Render Shader Skate Texture

S I N S P I R A T I O N G E G H

H V Z G H D I U Y N I T A D S E

R J G S R E G O P K R P R T H D

E K W Q M A L N R T C A H V A L

K N D C A S K A T E W P H J D R

F H G I R H H W R I N A Y S E G

H O S A T E J N N O E D T K R H

D Y G B R D A G I A A G E L E S

Z A L B G K F T G H N R X R N U

X X N R Z C A B I B B H T R D R

U E A C Y N V G M V H W U A E B

N E P G I A E H T A I B R H R T

G R U G E N E J H E R T E M J N

X E A D A A A E G H S A Y B W I

M M Z R D J A W I N G R G Z M A

I L G N G V G G L R O L O C C P H V Z G H D I U Y N I T A D S E