Throwback to 2013 when I went on a road trip in Melbourne. I missed the beautiful nature and lovely air there!
Right now, it’s haze season in Malaysia, courtesy of Indonesia.
Total number of hotspots recorded by ASEAN Specialized Metrological Center (ASMC):
Kalimantan (474), Sumatera (387) vs Malaysia (7).
Been sneezing almost everyday 🙂
It’s not just the art industry that falls into the trap of the ‘Herd Mentality’, it’s basically what plagues Mankind. We are more sheep than shepherd. Fear has a strong hold in our lives whether we deny it or not. People are afraid to explore because of the fear of the unknown or perceived failures. Yes, some of you may argue that it has been tried and tested, which is why we remain in the comfort zone. But only by going against the social norms and comfort zones do breakthroughs happen. Often, common issues get dismissed and overlooked.
In the art industry, we have what we call the ‘Popular Vote’. This may seem normal but in its essence, it is encouraging the herd mentality. Say for example, would you vote for something that you like (e.g. a favourite character) over something that is better in art execution and originality? To expand on this, let’s say both are your favourite characters. One looks more realistic but is copied from a reference and has sloppy colours. The other is not as realistic but is created from scratch with nice colours. Most people tend to go for the more realistic one. This is a classic trap of ‘Style Over Substance’. This is why ‘hot air’ continues to exist and fool many. The ‘eye candy’ without any substance.
Many artists face this dilemma of drawing something original over copying a popular reference in order to get recognition by the hoi polloi, the majority with no artistic background. I may or may not be broaching a taboo subject but this is a brutal industry. Even people with artistic background can fall into the trap of voting their favourite. However, it’s not unusual to see a disagreement between the art critics and the general masses.
So how do we resolve this? Observe and learn, resist the ancestors of Man’s instincts of fight or flight. It may be useful in the past but not in this case. In this day and age, thinking things through are often more rewarding.
Have a sheep:
This is a continuation of the sketch from this post: 16mins Sketch
After further brainstorming, I decided to change the gender, age and species to a clumsy female youngling. I wanted a challenge. Neither acknowledged by humans nor Archaeopteryx, it has to learn how to live in the dangerous world.
I guess this falls into the survival genre.
It is not easy combining two species that have anatomies from both extreme ends. The way the human joints bend are the exact opposite of how the Archaeopteryx’s joints work in various areas.
More to come…
Below are 5 applications that can make your life easier when using a PC. Personally tried and tested 🙂
Sick and tired of mainstream songs?
It is about time you add more to that poppy woppy playlist! Check out these underrated but fantastically epic music composers:
Audiomachine:
Two Steps From Hell:
Hans Zimmer:
Jeremy Soule:
Inon Zur:
Jo Blankenburg:
Have more to add to this epic music genre? State them in the comments below.
The 5 mins sketch above is a quick study on different types of houses.
Right, I have always done quick sketches but I just realised that my definition of a quick sketch slightly differs from the generic term of what a quick sketch is:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sketch
Hi guys! I have started working on a personal illustration again (after goodness knows how long haha – too busy yeah). In the meantime, what I’ve observed as a web design trend in 2014 was plenty of parallax websites.
I’m not saying they aren’t creative, it’s just that someone with a short attention span like me or just happens to have shitty internet, will not appreciate them as much and just want to get the nitty gritty details in a flash.
Hence in 2015, my prediction of web trends (to name a few) is as follows:
Here are several insie winsie examples:
Ruthless Spartans vs Cuddly Hipsters
The cute designs and funny title won me over.
It’s shopping. Need I to say more?
A creative play on the website link. Also, nice drawings.
I am sure there are plenty more web design trends to come, feel free to list them out.
I know my website is also due for an update (site design and projects) but I will get to that..eventually. One fine day. Haha.
Underrated (Hardly mentioned)
Overrated (Seen too much hype and fan stuffs on it)
First of all, I’ll like to wish everyone a Happy Chinese New Year! Second of all, let me tell you why it was not so happy for me.
I was greeted with Windows 7 crashing at startup AND safe mode with networking. It wasted my whole morning so I decided to post the solution here in case anyone encounters the same problem.
First, try to check if there is any software, drivers you have installed or updated recently that could be incompatible (This includes Antivirus programs).
Second, you need to go to safe mode. Reboot and press F8 before the splash screen comes up and go to safe mode (no networking). Then search and type device manager under start menu. If you have the same problem with me, that is crashing at startup and safe mode with networking, it could be your wireless adapter’s busted. Under device manager, go to network adapters, right click the wireless adapter and uninstall. It will reinstall once you restart. You can try a rollback too but that may not work. Furthermore, uninstall any drivers that has the yellow triangle on it.
Another option is doing a system restore like this: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-au/windows7/products/features/system-restore
Alternately, try this program: http://www.guru3d.com/content_page/guru3d_driver_sweeper.html. You can also try to switch off your computer, pull out the plug, press the start button for 10 seconds before plugging and turning it on again.
It could also be a virus attack. Try doing a full scan with Malware Malbytes or any antivirus program. Of course, if this program is the source of your problem, it’s a different story altogether. Also, try to defragment all your hard disks as it could be a memory issue.
To do a clean boot: To restart without any startup background processes, type msconfig under start menu, deselect “Load startup items” under Selective Startup in the General tab. Under the Startup tab, select “Hide all microsoft services” and disable all or those you think that could be interfering with the startup. If none of this works, reinstall your windows driver but backup your files first (create a .bak file).
Ok, finally, I am going to enjoy the rest of my holidays. Good luck.
Know how people say art is subjective? Well, here is how to view art from a designer’s mind:
In order to design, first of all, we need to change our general way of thinking. For example, we do not view the art personally (this does not mean that we do not put in any emotion at all). What do I mean by that? Take a look at this scenario:
Mr.A and Mr. B were each given a photo of their friend to edit.
Mr.A: “I can’t do it, he keeps staring at me in this photo!”
Mr.B: “Oh, John’s gaze is intense. Hmmm, the eyes will need to blend in with this background though…”
See the difference? What Mr.A can do to think like Mr.B is to see the goal ahead, the purpose of this and what needs to be done. If designers think like Mr.A, they will be limiting themselves to a number of subjects. “I can’t draw ghosts, they are too scary!”. This is the design industry we are talking about, and by design, it includes entertainment and there are a lot of subjects.
Secondly, we thrive from constructive criticism. Yes, you heard correctly. Not just plain criticism without any valid reason behind that (you can disregard that person as talking crap). In order to improve, we need to swallow whatever pride we have and understand where the critic is coming from. You may or may not agree with the person’s opinion but keep all opinions in mind and do what suits best.
However, there are also critics that goes like this: “This looks weird but I am not sure why”. If the person do not know why it looks weird, ask them to point to an area as to where it is the weirdest. If that still does not get reduced to a more specific area, try and find out why it is weird. If the theme of your design is weird or abstract, then please disregard this.
If for whatever reason, you are on the other extreme (low self-esteem) and think all of your design sucks, fret not. This is where we thrive from good feedback lol. We all sucked when we first started unless you’re some kind of mutant genius.
A mutant genius like this:
Or like this:
Yes, I couldn’t resist. I’ll like you guys to check these videos if you haven’t already and tell me which you prefer (something like my own research).
What does these videos and all those that went viral (like Gangnam Style) have in common? They are either funny, random or unique in their own way. One danger of designing commercially is there is a risk of losing your own unique style while adapting to others. Having said that, flexibility and the ability to create other styles is good (It is important especially to do what the brief tells you to do.) but do not lose your own style.
How do you maintain that? Practice. It is something like not mixing work and play unless specifically asked to. How do you develop a designer’s mind? Practice.
