Jessie and Nikki are on the ball, so they're ready to start up a brand new battle already! After hitting up Toronto's One of a Kind Show on Wednesday, it was decided that the best theme would be, "Production!"
Well that may seem like a silly theme, the need (or want) for production pieces is a reality for a lot of aspiring artists. It can be hard though for some people to sit down and design a successful piece, then actually fabricate it, then fabricate it over and over again so they can troubleshoot all their problems, then you have to figure out advertising, and you have to do that successfully to if you want to sell it and oh.. it's just such a big headache!
Inspired by all the things that they thought were right - and wrong - at the craft show, they want to try their hand at producing a relatively original (or at least sort-of-unique) design.
The soft-deadline for this battle will be April 18th, because that's the last day of Nicole's glass program at Sheridan (like, forever - how terrifying).
So think about production from a couple different points of view, and we'll be trying to inspire you with posts about the craft show!
Tips:
- Don't copy someone else's design, that's just too easy (and you could get in trouble)
- Consider how many steps it will take you to fabricate this design, it shouldn't be too time consuming per piece
- Take design from things that interest you, if you love cityscapes, forcing yourself to make imagery of tree lines would drive you mad
- Remember that if you love cityscapes someone else will love them too, maybe even more people than you expect
Showing posts with label Start. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Start. Show all posts
Thursday, March 28
Monday, January 21
Battles Recommence!
New Battle Theme: Figures!
Finally, the battles are starting back up again! Jessie has officially given me the a-okay to post a new battle, and Chris from school said he'd be happy to participate if we made the theme figures, something we both happen to need to make!
This battle will have no set time limit for Jessie's sake while she adjusts to working life, however we will work our hardest to pressure Jessie into finishing her sculpture within a decent time frame, because that's what friends are for!
This battle starts today; Monday, January 21st, 2013
How would you incorporate figures into your regular work?
Saturday, October 13
Battle 06: Start!
Here's the theme for Battle 06, if you can't guess what sort of generic fun it will be, then we are disappointed in you!
There is a particular reason why the theme is Halloween, and it's not because we love the holiday and think holidays deserve special awesome attention! No, it's because this theme is large enough that I dearly hope I can persuade some friends to enter the battle!
If you are making;
- Your own costume
- A creatively carved pumpkin
- A candy sculpture (someone please do this!)
- Some production pieces to sell
- A piece of art with Halloween themed colors
You can go on ahead and enter! Most artists seem to enjoy Halloween, so I'm operating under the assumption that we'll all be making Halloween themed art anyway!
I am doing, I'm not sure yet, hopefully a bowl!
Theme: Halloween!
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| Yup, the computer is still broken |
There is a particular reason why the theme is Halloween, and it's not because we love the holiday and think holidays deserve special awesome attention! No, it's because this theme is large enough that I dearly hope I can persuade some friends to enter the battle!
If you are making;
- Your own costume
- A creatively carved pumpkin
- A candy sculpture (someone please do this!)
- Some production pieces to sell
- A piece of art with Halloween themed colors
You can go on ahead and enter! Most artists seem to enjoy Halloween, so I'm operating under the assumption that we'll all be making Halloween themed art anyway!
I am doing, I'm not sure yet, hopefully a bowl!
Friday, September 28
Battle 05: Start!
New Battle Theme: Fall!
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| (Temporary photo) |
If you aren't sure what that means, don't worry, I'm not sure either, this theme is all Jessie! Off my cuff I imagine that anything autumn themed would win the battle this time around. It could have pretty orange leaves, a pumpkin, a turkey (for thanksgiving), or anything else that you relate to fall!
Personally I find such an open ended theme to be a little bit difficult, so assuming Jess already has an idea (it is her theme after all), she's probably a good step or two ahead of me. If I can't think of a representational sculpture to do, I could always take this as a good moment in time to go into the abstract (as long as I throw some leaves into whatever I make it will be fine, right?).
This battle starts today; Friday, September 28, 2012
And it ends; Wednesday, October, 10, 2012
Friday, September 14
Battle 04: Start!
New Battle Theme: Global Issues!
You may be thinking, "What the heck kind of theme is that?" but I really think it's one every one can relate to! Whether it's oil, plastic surgery, rich people, abused kittens, forestry, or global warming, I think just about everyone has an opinion about at least one global issue!
I personally wouldn't think of this piece as a heavy, serious, "How do I convey all my disappointment in this situation," sort of thing, that might be a little bit too heavy. Instead, I have approached this challenge from the point of view of, "If I were going to donate a piece of art to one of my favorite causes, what would I make?"
I actually have a whole slew of things I'd want to make, from something as simple as a black and clear penguin for global warming, to a realistic, skillfully crafted foot, with the last one or two toes butchered off by the saw (people actually do that you know!).
In our discussions of plastic surgery issues, Jessie and I have created a whole page of amusing pieces that comment on how silly plastic surgery is. From a bear with absurdly long teeth to a peacock with a neon spray painted tail, we've covered every animal we can think of (which actually wasn't that many).
This week, if you haven't noticed, there is no image, as my computer is on the verge of death, so I am very afraid to try and run photoshop (yes that is what I make my silly doodles in). Once everything is copacetic I'll edit a photo into this post :)!
I'm not sure what Jessie is making for this competition, so I can't wait to see!
As a side note: Returning visitors may or may not have noticed that we've been attempting to post at 10:00 AM (-5GMT) - in my brain that equates to people being able to check a new post during a lunch break. It may or may not have also been noticed that we have run late on a few posts, due to the start of school. With this in mind, I'm going to change the official posting time to 1:00 PM (-5GMT), because I am responsible for the battle-related posts and my morning classes finish at Noon, so even if I forget to hit 'Schedule' the night before, it's okay!
Friday, August 31
Battle 03 Start!
Battle Theme: Unconscious
End: Wednesday, September 12th, 2012
You can find the rules here!
You can find our handy tutorial on unconscious art here!
Okay, dinosaurs and fantasy creatures are fun - super fun - but we can't let anyone get too comfortable, because we're jerks, so our next battle theme is unconscious art! Did anyone else pick up the hint when we did a sort of 'how-to' example post about it? It actually feels more opportune to us if we do a difficult battle like this early on because when the competitors are a core group of familiar people, we can really hash any issues out regarding the theme. And if we can't explain the concept well to each other, then we know that we shouldn't really try guiding strangers through Unconscious art. Or something like that?
If anyone is interested in unconscious art they can drop a comment or e-mail and we will be more than happy to brainstorm with you!
Friday, August 17
Battle 02 Start!
Alright, we're already on to our second craft battle and gosh I am just so excited! The details are as follows;
Start: Friday August 17th, 2012
End: Wednesday, August 29th, 2012
As always if you would like to show off your fine work on this blog after the craft battle is finished, please remember to check out and follow our simple rules.
I'll let you know right now that my inspiration started off as simple as 'dragon' but my concept for style led me to reminisce about Mulan. And you know what? Having a solid reference seems to be extremely helpful, instead of pushing myself to fabricate my own style out of thin air, I'm planning on starting with a Mulan stylized creature, then the more sketches and/or pieces I make, the more I can tweak the style into my own. It makes life a whole lot easier!
Anyway, rambling aside, I hope you ponder some fun fantasy creatures today, maybe do some research into the less known ones?
Battle Theme: Fantasy Creatures
Start: Friday August 17th, 2012
End: Wednesday, August 29th, 2012
As always if you would like to show off your fine work on this blog after the craft battle is finished, please remember to check out and follow our simple rules.
I'll let you know right now that my inspiration started off as simple as 'dragon' but my concept for style led me to reminisce about Mulan. And you know what? Having a solid reference seems to be extremely helpful, instead of pushing myself to fabricate my own style out of thin air, I'm planning on starting with a Mulan stylized creature, then the more sketches and/or pieces I make, the more I can tweak the style into my own. It makes life a whole lot easier!
Anyway, rambling aside, I hope you ponder some fun fantasy creatures today, maybe do some research into the less known ones?
Friday, August 3
Grand Opening: Battle Number 01!
Welcome to the very first Craft Battle between Jessie and Nikki! To get our motivation rolling the very first theme will be based on a sculpture that Jessie has been working on in her spare time.
Start: Friday August 3rd, 2012
End: Wednesday August 15th, 2012
If anyone would like to compete in this battle check out the four handy Battle Guidelines.
While we're working hard on our dinosaurs we'll post some biographies, tutorials and other art-related information that we find interesting/inspiring, so feel free to stick around!
If, like myself, you only remember to check half of your bookmarked links, then feel free to like our new page on Facebook. Every time we make a new blog post we'll post an update and link on Facebook just for you! Facebook: Craft Battles.
Happy battling!
Battle Theme: Dinosaurs!
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Start: Friday August 3rd, 2012
End: Wednesday August 15th, 2012
If anyone would like to compete in this battle check out the four handy Battle Guidelines.
While we're working hard on our dinosaurs we'll post some biographies, tutorials and other art-related information that we find interesting/inspiring, so feel free to stick around!
If, like myself, you only remember to check half of your bookmarked links, then feel free to like our new page on Facebook. Every time we make a new blog post we'll post an update and link on Facebook just for you! Facebook: Craft Battles.
Happy battling!