For Photographers and Graphic Artists, Not A Pretty Picture Out There

This was a tough read and a tough pill to swallow.

Creativity becoming a commodity. My mindset has changed often these past few years concerning this topic. As a consumer, I see the value in "Free" and "Cheap". As a creative and a content creator, I see it for the double-edged sword it is. It is still something I struggle with.

As a designer, how do I compete with someone who uses Photoshop and charges nickles and dimes for what they produce? My solution so far?

I don’t compete with them.

I would be doing my industry and my peers a great disservice in lowering the value of my skills and talent. That’s not to say I don’t take on free projects now and then, especially those I am personally invested in. But even then, I try to make sure those I work with know that they are not paying for product - they are investing in people. They see value in not only what I make but also in how I make them.

It’s tough for me to accept this. As a consumer, free is extremely appealing. But for myself, I’d hate to see many of my friends, who are musicians and artists, spending their time and hard-earned money to produced quality music and art not get compensated for it.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-et-onthemedia22-2010jan22,1,3750639.column

Amazing Street Painting by Kurt Wenner

Kurt Wenner is a master artist best known for his extremely high quality street painting and chalk murals using a projection called anamorphosis. These 3D chalk drawings on pavement have been featured in many newspapers and on several television shows. And in this article you will find out why.

K.Wenner's canvas are the streets. He has has combined traditional street painting techniques together with his interest in classical art, to create an art form all his own. Many of the images use anamorphic techniques as well as trompe l'oeil, in order to create a world where fantasy and reality combine.

:: LINK Via PSDeluxe ::

More about Kurt Wenner.

Forgive Us Our Tresspassing - Banksy

Of all the pieces that Banksy recently put up in Utah, I especially love this one spotted outside downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. The clever stencil features a graffiti boy praying for forgiveness. "Forgive Us Our Trespassing," it states. As always, the whimsical way he plays with words and images is brilliant!

"100 Abandonded Houses"

These are photographs of abandoned houses in Detroit. They're part of a project called '100 Abandoned Houses' by Kevin Bauman. You might think that 100 is a large number, but reality counts around 12.000 abandoned houses. As you can see a lot of these houses are pretty big and beautiful. Bauman started this project due to pure curiosity about the state of his hometown. These picture were taken in Detroit's Brush Park. He was always interested as to how an obviously wealthy part of town could have ended up abandoned.

I couldn't believe what I saw when I saw these pictures. This all seems so sad to me. It really is. The sadness and feeling of melancholy and loss is simply dripping off those photographs as I look at them. Doesn't the city of Detroit want to preserve this incredibly beautiful part of it's heritage? What's stopping them? How is it even logical that new housing projects are being built when these gems can be renovated but are completely ignored?

Read more about why he started this project by visiting the official website for this specific project here.

Apart from that, I couldn't help but imagine fantastic stories about how the family's came to live in those incredible mansions, their family history and where they are now.

The Third & The Seventh

The Third & The Seventh by Alex Roman is a full-CG animated piece that tries to illustrate architecture art across a photographic point of view where main subjects are already-built spaces. Sometimes in an abstract way. Sometimes surreal. Made with 3dsmax, Vray, AE and Premiere.

I can assure you, you’ve never seen somthing like this. Will blow you away!

Strange gift tags

Die cut gift tags of strange creatures by illustrator John Metcalf.

Strange gift tags

Mind Blowing Hyperrealistic Sculptures

Artists that produce photorealistic sculptures, for the most part, aim to show us our bodies and life as it really is.

Technically, artists who strive for a high resolution level of detail in painting or sculpture are called “hyperrealists”, although all hyperrealists are also considered to be photorealists.

Every detail is slavishly recreated as close to the real life model as possible, even if the sculpture is larger than the original scale.

Photorealistic sculptors create truly amazing sculptures that will make you feel wonder, revulsion and the sense of looking in someone else’s mirror.

In this post we feature sculptors Ron Mueck, Evan Penny, Jamie Salmon, Duane Hanson, Sam Jinks and Adam Beane who produce sculpture that seems alive in every detail, right down to veins and rashes on skin. This compilation should give you a cross section of modern photorealistic sculpture.

Mind Blowing Hyperrealistic Sculptures