Creative Digital - 4. Critique Project

Nicole Ryan: Assessment 1: Critique Project

1. The steps taken to find the website
Went into the Google search drive and typed in “digital art” and chose the second link down from the top.

2. The website address or (URL)
http://digitalart.org/
AND
http://www.digitalartistdaily.com/  

3. An art critique on three separate digital art works that appeal to you from the selected website. (It should be a simple observer’s critique).

Figure 1
Timothy Kong

Reverie Train station
8/1/11
1000x740, 239kb
Tablet, Photoshop

Reverie Train station, 2011, (Figure 1) is a digitally drawn image by Timothy Kong depicting a billowing steam engine awaiting its passengers inside the hangar of a train station. By using Photoshop, Kong portrayed this scene to have soft edges and earthy tones. The colours accurately depict the feeling of a dank station during what looks to be the 1800s. The soft texture gives it a dreamlike quality, with the rising steam giving the piece movement and by leaving open floor in the foreground, Kong has successfully illustrated his knowledge of space and three dimensional works. The light at the top right hand corner also has the hangar’s roof lines leading towards the sunlit area beyond, giving the piece direction. The boarding figures are highlighted in a white, almost ghostly glow contrasting against the dark metal body of the engine, as does the billowing steam. The left side of the painting also contrasts as it slowly transcends into yellow light; with these overall effects personally giving me the impression of a realistic scene. I chose to use this artwork because it reminded me of a work by Claude Monet, Gare St. Lazare, 1877, (Figure 2) which the artist Kong might of also recognised and attempted to recreate in a modern medium. I believe that this digital image is successful in its execution and in its implied effect.

Figure 2
Claude Monet, Gare St. Lazare, 1877

Figure 3 - Boy, Over Come by Eric R. Martin.

The next digital art I want to draw upon is Boy, Over Come by Eric R. Martin. Unfortunately digitalart.org closed down for retirement in October 2011 so I am unsure of the year and exact medium but I would say it is a Photoshop piece that is beautifully rendered in browns, greens and oranges giving it a fantastic earthy glow. This work is just amazing and I am very impressed with it, especially the colour use and I love the feeling it gives me of some very odd beings standing before this monster of a storm. It just feels very mythical and very inviting to the viewer to look upon.

Figure 4 - Holly-Anne Lloyd - Copius

I retyped digital art into the Google search drive and picked the tenth link down the page known as the Digital Artist Network. I found this image by Holly-Anne Lloyd called Copius which is a very interesting piece especially in its composition and its very busy detail. It appeared futuristic to me, especially in the wonderful movement displayed in the right hand side, moving in a sweeping arc. There’s just so much happening in this work that your eye can continually roam after resting upon the face which is easily the focal point in this work. There is even a Braveheart-like stripe/cross on the figures face to draws the viewers eye. It appears as if the figure is climbing out of a metallic hole in time and space. I love the box around the image and how Lloyd has then broken those edges giving the image depth.

URL:  http://www.digitalartistdaily.com/ 

User Friendliness/site coherency usefulness and aesthetic value

The website is bright and gives me pictures in little thumbnails of all the most recent works submitted by digital artists which were useful instead of having to download unnecessary pictures.  There is a contents list to the left which is nice and easy to read. After clicking on a thumbnail it would tell me the artists name and the name of the work but that was all which was disappointing, no background info on how it was done or even the year the work was done so there could be no comparing to newer methods and technology. The site is a bit busy with advertisements and a very bright background but that didn’t deter me as I don’t think it would for people interested in digital art. However there was a nice white background/square around the image so there was no interaction or disturbance with the rest of the page. I enjoyed the colour I saw on this website especially the set background with its bright red, blue, yellow and green and their basic but artistic depictions of houses which reminded me a bit of the French Impressionist Paul Gauguin (1848 – 1903) and his use of colour.

Connectivity

I was very impressed with its connectivity to other sites. At the top of the screen there is a Related Websites tab running along the page which would be useful if you were just browsing and unsure of what you’re looking for. After clicking on a thumbnail image I was shown the image and if I scrolled a little further down the page it had a surprisingly appealing number of links to other Digital Artist Network pages such as 3D Artist (http://www.3dartistonline.com/), Corel painter Official Magazine (http://www.paintermagazine.co.uk/) , Advanced Photoshop (http://www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/)  and Photoshop Creative (http://www.photoshopcreative.co.uk/ ).  These all had 12 little thumbnails for each link and it was aesthetically pleasing to see the snippets or previews of the art which also added some nice colour and intrigue.



And here are some other images I liked and had saved to use before digitalart.org shut down

Searching for the Ring - Kerem Beyit 2008

 

I don't come from a forest - Rolando Cyril 2011