Trajan

*giggle*

[ARTICLE] Creativity: Born with it, or work hard to get it?

I ran across this article, where Brady Russell (indie cartoonist and blogger) goes in detail about his "theory on creativity". To paraphrase, his main points are that he can spot an artist's "style" even by looking at their early childhood sketchbooks, and that this style is carried over to adulthood. So no matter how hard you work to improve yourself (he's not arguing that you don't improve yourself), you retain this "style", or rather, the characteristics of your style are visible in your earliest drawings. He also stresses that the most successful artists (or people in their respective fields) are born extremely creative, and "no amount of practice or conditioning can help those who simply aren't 'born with it' ".

I didn't read too many of the comments for this article, but quite a few people don't agree, someone named Von Allen being one. Here is a reply from Brady Russell, addressing Von Allen and several other comments at once.

As for myself, I think that yes, there are people born innately creative and talented. People you want to kick in the stomach because they just rock your mind with how brilliant they are. But, I also think that talent will take you no where fast unless you work hard and get better at it. Sure, I know plenty of talented artists, but they don't apply themselves, are not motivated, and never practice or have the desire to make something of this talent they possess. I think if you are actually born with talent, you should definitely use it. Because it's a fucking shame if you don't.

I was born with the ability to draw. Being artistic and creative runs in my family: that being said, I had to work hard and practice and learn to get where I am today. I drew stick figures with the best of them. As time passed, I developed a better control over my medium and honed in on my artistic skills. It's an on-going process. And I can only go up from here.

What are your thoughts?

[NEW MEMBER] Charles a.k.a Astrobatboy

Let's all welcome my friend Charles into the PID fold. He's a talented 3D modeler and traditional artist, especially in the character design department. You can see his portfolio over at his spiffy website or his blog.

-Alex

Wallpapers

Lady Day Dream

Here is my first submission for Desktops. She fell.

Desktop Wallpapers

The PID Staffers got together recently and discussed the direction
blog will be heading in. Within the next few weeks you will be noticing little things changing here and there. Right now one of the changes you might notice is a new section on the sidebar called "Desktops." We decided that creating freebies for our readers to come by and download – such as desktops and icons – would be a good way to share our work with everyone and bring traffic.

With that said, those of you interested in making some fun wallpapers or anything of that nature, email them to me and I will put them up for you on the sidebar.

~Shal

Gino Real

Amazing work from Illustrator Gino Real. I found his blog on one of my favorite blogs, blogarians. Check it out, most inspiring.

Blog Of Note

ToDoListBlog

A blog, where it seems that people from all over send in their to-do lists and they get posted on this blog. The blog has released a book with all these to-do lists. Me being a big fan of to-do lists, I found this pretty inspiring.

Kanye West - Good Life

I've been meaning to post this video on here for a while. I think its a beautiful video and I love the animations and the rappers interaction with them. Its very clean and well put together. I think my two favorite parts are when hes bopping his head and the type is moving along with him, and the part with the fancy rotoscoping. Very fun. I would love to learn how to do something like this.

Gorilla Doodle

yes

I don't think yes.

Be Kind Rewind.

I love and hate this... how fun would have this been if they had drawn (illustrated some how) Jack Black and Mos Def instead of lamely photoshopping them in?!

Figure Drawing Week 4

Figure drawing classes resume in mid-January. Weeeeeeee.

[WIP] Fish Tank Illustration

An illustration that I am working on for work. This is supposedly going to end up being animated some how either in Flash or AE. It was fun to do, because I got experiment with a different style that I wouldn't normally do.

[REVIEW] Movie Posters: Year in Review (Part 1)

As 2007 draws to a close, it's time to revisit the magical land of film posters. In part one, I'm going to talk about my favorite posters from this past year. Part 2 will focus on the most awful crimes against man.

The following posters are NOT in any order...they simply reflect posters I liked throughout the year.

Paris, Je T'Aime
This poster was on my "so far" list from six months ago. It still holds up as an amazingly strong design. The details and color create such an amazing feeling. I've never been, but this poster seems to really capture the ultra-romanticized vision of Paris perfectly.

The Savages
It's a vector! There seem to be a lot of these lately. This poster feels, to me, like an action figure package...very fun.


Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
I'm always a sucker for Tim Burton....and this is as Burtonesq as it gets. The monochromatic photo with a hint of red, really drives this design home. However, what sold it for me is the subtle red peeking through the floorboards. The type treatment I can take or leave.


El Camino De Lose Ingleses
Another one that was on my "so far" list (though, in a different version). The shapes, type and photo all combine to create a wonderful mix of classic and modern design. However, could there be MORE logos at the bottom??

30 Days of Night
It's hard to make design look spontaneous and messy without looking lazy and illegible...this poster pulls it off very nicely.
I'm Not There
This and the next poster on this list are unique. It's not uncommon for a movie to explore different visual languages and release several posters in different styles. It IS uncommon to have more than one of those styles be successful. This poster is GOOD, not GREAT....but GOOD. I can see what they're doing with the type, but it's not my taste. What sells it for me is the tag line (which I suppose is more a marketing thing than a design...but whatever).


I'm Not There (2)
I think this poster very elegantly tells you everything you need to know about this movie.


My Kid Could Paint That
A different version of this poster was on my "so far" list... However, I like this one better because the kid is cuter and the art is better in this photo.

King of California
A TAD creepy, but the warmth cannot be denied.

El Orfanato
This one is on the list for style...but not actual execution (the same goes for Planet Terror later in this list). I love the classic, dirty feel, but I have a lot of little issues (like, why isn't the logo off-white like the paper? Why that image? etc...).


Dedication
There's a lot of posters doing this style (even a few one this list), but I find it very charming. Handwriting lends so much character to a potentially staid design.


Descent
Typography, sucks. Upside down image of Rosario Dawson naked, awesome (if not a little strange looking).
Good Luck Chuck
As much as it pains me to give this movie any credibility...I really like this alternate poster.


Everything's Gone Green
Connect the dots! Brilliant!


Planet Terror
Much like El Orfanato, this poster has some GREAT style elements, and it draws your eye like crazy, but it feels a little dead to me.

Across The Universe
There were actually other posters from this film I liked better...but I think this one is very classy none-the-less. The classic Beatles typeface, and the spaciness of space make it a winner for me.

Black Snake Moan
The movie was very average (despite countless topless instances of Christina Ricci)...but the poster is so cool looking. His head is the O!

The Darjeeling Limited
The photo is very nice, but I LOVE the hand-written text...it's so classic. What I also love, is that the graphic design present in the poster, exists in the film as well (the credits appear to be hand written at the end).
Cashback
How uncomfortable is THIS? It's so very strange and unsexy in a sexy way.


Year of the Dog
Handwriting (and neon green) prevails once more as we finish up part 1 of my 2007 Movie Poster Review.

See you in part 2.