Art History

I know this isn't exactly a "digital art tutorial", but having a knowledge and understanding of art history is important even for digital artists. It's also incredible for inspiration. Already, reading the textbook for my Art History class has given me so many ideas for digital pictures and models to create, both of a purely historical sort and a fantastical sort... (if only I knew the software well enough to produce them!)

Here are just a few random, miscellaneous things I've learned so far in Art History:

* Post and lintel architecture consists of two upright beams with a beam sitting on top. Stonehenge is an example. Some doorways were also formed this way.

* In Ancient Egyptian art, people were portrayed in stiff, unnatural poses. Heads were in profile; eyes are seen from the front; shoulders were seen from the front; and legs were in profile, with one foot in front of the other.

* A relief sculpture is partially carved out of its background material. ("Whew, what a relief I don't have to carve the whole thing!") A sculpture in the round is entirely carved out and free-standing. (You can walk all the way around it.)

Example of a relief sculpture

Example of a sculpture in the round

* In Medieval Spain, the combination of Christian and Islamic influence resulted in a style known as Mozarabic. 

* Ottonian art consisted of many carvings made from wood and bronze. The name "Ottonian" came from the rulers of that time, Otto I, Otto II, and Otto III. (That's a lot o' Ottos!) (Say that aloud three times fast and you'll see how brilliant I am. Okay, okay... it's not actually very funny. I'll go retreat into a nerdish corner now.)

* In the Romanesque period of art in Europe, many beautiful castles and churches were built. Some churches would have columns with zigzagging "v" patterns called chevrons.

Chevrons (image from paradoxplace.com)

* Some common features of Medieval churches:
(a) Mosaics on walls
(b) Stained glass
(c) Domes
(d) Political as well as religious functions
(e) Used as a site for pilgrimages

Medieval church with stained glass

Now, I want to hear from you! What are some aspects of art history that inspire you? What is your favorite historical piece of art? Do you know an interesting snippet of art history that you'd like to share? Or, do you have any other comments related to art history? Answer one or all questions in a comment below!

Photoshop Cave Painting

Today I finished my first digital art assignment at Full Sail University. For my Art History class, I was assigned to make a "prehistoric"-style cave painting in Photoshop.

This activity taught me a few things about Photoshop. I'll briefly show you how I made the rock wall, added texture, and created a light source.

1. Rock Wall

First, open a new document in Photoshop.

Then, set your foreground and background colors to a light and dark color for your rock wall.

Go to Filter, Render, and select Clouds.

To add a touch of realism, add some noise.

2. Add Texture

Switch over to channels.

Create a new channel. It will be called "Alpha 1". 

Go to Filter, Render, and select Difference Clouds. Then, continue to select Difference Clouds until you get a pattern you like.

This texture will be applied to the rock wall in a second; but first, we need to add a light.

3. Light source

Switch back over to layers. Then, go to Filter, Render, and select Lighting Effects.

This cool lighting tool will then come up. You can adjust the size of this light, its intensity, its shape, its color, and more, until you get it to the effect you want. 

Then, before you hit "okay" on the light, go to the properties panel, click on "Textures", and select "Alpha 1."

You will then have a very rocky-looking texture from your Alpha 1 channel. You can adjust the height to make it very subtle, or very rough. Play around with it and see what you can make!