The Art of Yours Truly

Alright, so, I've been posting concept art, off and on, from--mostly--artists in the Tyranid community. Like I've said before, I love concept art and find it wonderfully inspiring. When I posted up my last ARTicle (see what I did there?), someone commented that, though I post sketches from all these other artists, I never post any of my own.

I tried to explain it away, saying that I wasn't much of an artist when it came to drawing, and that I got my ideas firmed up best in real models.

I later discovered that the Anonymous poster was, in fact, my own brother, which caused me to discount his comment entirely until he explained his reasoning. He said that he'd seen the kinds of random doodles I do to get ideas about how to lay out models/to preserve the images that flash through my brain. While he agreed that they weren't "Art," he thought that there may be people out there who were daunted by the idea of sketching something and who don't dare draw because they feel their drawings are terrible. He's a very different kind of artist than me, and I think that in this difference he has more patience with all kinds of art, while I tend to discount anything I do that isn't perfect.

All philosophical art posturing aside, he told me that I should whip up a post about the random sketches I do to show that cool models can come from random sketches. I think that maybe he's right, and in the vein of the How To Sculpt series, I hope that this post shows people that sometimes just doing something is enough: that you don't have to be amazing to at least be good.

If not, it should at least be good for some LOL'z.

The Art of the V&A: Miniatures & Inspiration

While in London earlier this week, we stopped by the Victoria & Albert Museum near Knightsbridge in London. I'd never been on my previous trips to London, and I'd really been missing out. If anyone is located anywhere near London, I'd recommend heading down soon to check out the very inspiring Power of Making exhibit (pictured above) that is on for a limited time.

Power of Making from Victoria and Albert Museum on Vimeo.

It's a random collection of fantastic creations by modern artists (from miniature sculptures carved into the lead of pencils to giant, wooden exosuits designed so Steven Hawking could fight crime), and though the exhibition is small, it has an inspiring focus on the act/process of creation, rather than on the finished products themselves. I spent like 40 minutes in the small gallery and came out with a burning urge to MAKE SOMETHING.

While at the V&A, I also stumbled across some mind-numbingly intricate Japanese carvings that I thought bore sharing with folks who appreciate tiny little things. Here's hoping they can provide someone with some inspiration!