Bears Bear Art I Have Done... Thoughts?

[cg1701]

Here are a few examples of bear art I have been doing.

 

[Paws]

Hi JUB, my name is cg1701 and I can handle Photoshop and Artrage filters!

 

[cg1701]

Arn't we the funny one Paws

 

[cabal74]

I think they are cool. Better then anything I could ever hope to do

 

[cg1701]

I think they are cool. Better then anything I could ever hope to do

Thanks cabel74. Took me a while to find the correct settings to produce stuff like this.

Paws for the record have not got a clue what artrage is!

 

[travers]

So are these made from scratch or are they just photo transforms? It seems like its the latter, so... I'm going to have to agree with Paws.... Just because you figured out how to use stylistic filters on photos to produce pretty results, doesn't mean much. Anyone can do it and it doesn't really take talent.

 

[cg1701]

Travers, let me see your effort before shooting me down. It took me ages to get these right. And it does take talent to produce the effects. AND NO no filters were used!!!!!

 

[thevofl]

cg1701,

Let me give you my thoughts.

Taking other people's pictures and modifying them slightly in Photoshop isn't offering anything new to the viewer. The content is actually another person's work. If you were to change the focus from another person's content to your artistic statement, that would be different. (If you are the photographer, then it's a different story as you would control the overall artistic process.)

Of the four pics, only the first one I would say has an artistic edge to it, from the content to the flow of the hair to the cropping of the pic. The other three are pictures transformed into an art-like medium and they don't hold up as well.

The fourth pic screams PS. The fact that I know exactly the source pic doesn't help.

My design instructor gave the advice when it comes to Photoshop is that "A good use of Photoshop is when you can't tell it's being used at all." If you are simulating painting then by simulating the mistakes in painting, it would make it more real. When photographic precision comes through whatever filter you apply, it makes it look like a PS project. For example, the lighting in the first one is spot on--too much accuracy for someone painting. Also, there appears to be a blur in the same pic applied after the artistic filter was applied, which further disassociates it from an actual painting.

I don't want to discourage you from continuing any artistic endeavors. But I would encourage you to do something that really shows off your artistic talent instead of a technological one.

As a side note, don't use typeset to sign your work. That adds to the unprofessional look of it.

 

[Fat Tom]

...



Neat.

So... Liquify? Or maybe just smudge. Increased saturation... maybe an blended layer? It sucks that you spent so much time on pictures that looked better before you decided to melt their skin and make them look like wax sculptures on a hot day.

 

[cg1701]

Hi thevofl thanks for the tips, but i assure you photoshop is NOT used. The outer blur was something I added to bring a different feel to it.

I think what this thread has highlighted is the problem with the bear community at the moment where someone cannot even share something with a group that they really enjoyed doing without being shot down.

The fourth picture was my very first attempt at digital bear art and a lot of time and effort went into it trying to get a different tone with it. The first one was the last one i did.

Again thanks for your comments and i will see if I can get this thread removed as all I wanted to do was share something

CG

 

[cg1701]

Fat Tom to answer your message. NO, NO, NO and NO

But at least i have spent time on trying to create something and not slag someone off

 

[Fat Tom]

Hi thevofl thanks for the tips, but i assure you photoshop is NOT used. The outer blur was something I added to bring a different feel to it.

I think what this thread has highlighted is the problem with the bear community at the moment where someone cannot even share something with a group that they really enjoyed doing without being shot down.

The fourth picture was my very first attempt at digital bear art and a lot of time and effort went into it trying to get a different tone with it. The first one was the last one i did.

Again thanks for your comments and i will see if I can get this thread removed as all I wanted to do was share something

CG

That's the problem with the bear community? Really? Hmm, doubt it. That's any community where people aren't afraid to speak their mind instead of mindlessly supporting someone and sugar coating the truth. And if NO photoshop was used to edit the pictures, what program did you use? Gimp? Paintshop Pro? Certainly not MS Paint.

 

[Fat Tom]

Fat Tom to answer your message. NO, NO, NO and NO

But at least i have spent time on trying to create something and not slag someone off

I create stuff too, as I do photography and graphic design. But, I certainly don't cry when someone doesn't like it. If you'd like, I can post some of my shit, and you can feel free to shoot it down.


Oh, and just to point this out: "bear art I have done... Thoughts?"
This opens yourself up for negative criticism.

 

[cg1701]

Again with the flaming and shooting down. Proves my point really. And who's crying i am expressing myself as you so rightly pointed out. Funny how that does not apply to me isn't it

Double standards love it!!!!!

And what the hell is Gimp? Sounds like something sexual LOL LOL

 

[Fat Tom]

Again with the flaming and shooting down. Proves my point really. And who's crying i am expressing myself as you so rightly pointed out. Funny how that does not apply to me isn't it

Double standards love it!!!!!

And what the hell is Gimp? Sounds like something sexual LOL LOL

I'm not really flaming you... and well, you're kind of crying about it. You're looking to get the thread deleted because you're not getting the feed back you wanted.

I don't understand what you're saying is a double standard. I said I would gladly post something of mine for you to criticize. I'm giving you the same opportunity you have given us. But, you wont hear me saying "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! THIS TOOK ME FOREVER!!!!!!!!! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND MY ART!"

And Gimp is like a free version of photoshop. I've personally never used it, but I've heard a lot of its tools are quite comparable.

 

[cg1701]

I would not slag off or criticize anyone's work only encourage so that they could improve

 

[Fat Tom]

I would not slag off or criticize anyone's work only encourage so that they could improve

Mindlessly encouraging someone is not a way to get someone to improve. It only blows their ego up. When I first started doing photography, I thought I was the shit. I would get A's on all of my assignments, and felt that I was better than everyone. Then I had a class with a teacher who failed me on almost everyone of my assignments. He said I wasn't exploring my ideas nearly enough, and that the overall product was shit. This blew my mind, and I swore up and down the halls that he was dead wrong... Then I worked harder the next time... and harder and harder. THAT'S how I improved. If it weren't for him, I'd still pump out complete shit.

 

[spiderhead]

I think the problem people are having is they don't feel like you're offering anything artistic to the image other than very simple photo manipulation. If you want it to be bear ART then you need to add something artistic to it. Your computer shouldn't be doing the heavy lifting for you. You need to offer a new idea that takes us away from the original photo and make it look like the computer was merely a tool you utilized and not the actual artist.

I attached a picture of a clearly manipulated photo. This guy has definitely used a photo as the base of his art, but his imprint is all over the piece. It's his art at this point. Sure we all know that he used a computer to do it, but he's really offering something that is original and his vision and effort is definitely the final impact that the piece has on the viewer.

 

[jimbill]

cg1701, I think they're cool.

I think paws and thevofl were very bitchy because they must work in the graphics field or also enjoy doing that type of work. It would be like a professional singer going to a karaoke show and mocking someone whose friends thought was real good.

As it's a hobby for you, and you're not trying to sell us copy written material, I think you have done something creative and nice. If you were a professional and had a web site somewhere, we could all make fun of it if we knew what we were talking about or just had an opinion. But since you're just some guy who frequents this site, the level of complete cuntitude that those posters brought was complete bitchy queen shit.

It seems like a fresh style to me, something I haven't seen before.

 

[thevofl]

I think paws and thevofl were very bitchy because they must work in the graphics field or also enjoy doing that type of work. It would be like a professional singer going to a karaoke show and mocking someone whose friends thought was real good.

Nope, I wasn't intending to be bitchy. And I am not in the graphics field; I am a professor (not in graphics). I was offering constructive criticism. I wanted to offer him some suggestions to really improve. I agree with Fat Tom that it is listening to the ones that challenge us, learning from it, and growing from it. I want him to strive for improvement, not be pacified by politeness.

To use your analogy about the singers, let me take it one step further. If all you want to do is karaoke then fine. But if you tried out for American Idol and asked for their thoughts, they would not hold back. I am not saying I am a professional graphic designer with years of expertise, but I do have some background for encouraging and educating.