So when I am using images other than my own as references there is a nagging question.
The law is that copyright remains with the creator of the image unless you have an instruction from the creator saying otherwise.
Using the image as reference means I will no doubt recreate elements but how much is necessary so as not to infringe on copyright? How derivative must the image be ?
This has proven to be a difficult question to answer. The famous case of Rogers v Koons demonstrates some of the key elements of infringement. A really interesting commentary on the case is included on the American Society of Portrait Artist Site.
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A diary of my adventures in art from painting to 3D animation. I have added work over 10 years so it has become a record of my changing abilities and interests. Contact me if you have any questions.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Friday, December 31, 2010
Reference Image Sources 1
Finding good references to use in the construction of images is necessary. I use them to generate accurate representations of subjects but also to aid in colour design and composition choices. The idea is that you refer to these while drawing as much as you can and eventually you build up a mental reference library.
For me that is a loooong way off so for now I have to find images to aid me. There are a vast numbers of resources on the web. My first impulse is to hit Google and perform an image search. sometimes a good choice but what is pulled up is only as good as the image tags. If you are looking for references you will be most likely looking for particular subjects, poses and locations.
While one word searches such as dog (255,000,000 results) or sea (215,000,000 results) will pull up a wealth of images, a search for a Doberman Pinscher by the sea will not be so useful (25,300 results).
The success and usefulness of image searches is heavily dependant on the filename the user has given the image and the context the image is used in.
Try to make your filename a good description of the subject matter of the image. For example, my-new-black-kitten.jpg is a lot more informative than IMG00023.JPG.
Also the additional image contained in the alt attribute
Not so good:
<img src="puppy.jpg" alt=""/>
Better:
<img src="puppy.jpg" alt="puppy"/>
Best:
<img src="puppy.jpg" alt="Dalmatian puppy playing fetch">
To be avoided
<img src="puppy.jpg" alt="puppy dog baby dog pup pups puppies doggies pups litter puppies dog retriever labrador wolfhound setter pointer puppy jack russell terrier puppies dog food cheap dogfood puppy food"/>
The last one risks being flagged as spam.
Google has made attempts to improve image tags. Well rather it has tried to use us to add additional tags to images in what I think is quite an ingenious device.
By using a web based game called Image Labeler additional descriptive labels are given by users to images on the web.
This will hopefully improve the accuracy of results.
While these improvements are been made there is a possibility that this broad search approach will disappoint. Using specific reference image libraries is an alternative. Next time I will discuss some of the resources I have found to be useful.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Happy Christmas- Ben Bulben oil painting
Happy Christmas / Holidays to all!
Well made it to the big day. Travelling home just 35 miles away was more like a relief mission than the usual trek to be with family. The extreme cold meant I had to bring heaters and water (in case pipes froze).
Anyway below is a painting that I did for my sister as a gift. Earlier in the year she asked if I would do one for her - something from Sligo. It is of Ben Bulben -a mountain near where my parents home is. It has a very distinctive profile. It was done on a square canvas which meant I had to think a little bit about composition. It would have fit a little easier in a landscape format but I think it ended up being more interesting. Anyway I have completed it early November and have been looking at it since. Touch ups and a big rethink on the sky. Originally a lot of Cumulus clouds - it was too claustrophobic. I think this works way better. I will be sorry to see it go. Hope she likes it.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Getting ready for the big day
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I did this a few years ago for a Christmas card. i was still getting used to photoshop.
Has a melancholy feel to it which I suppose is how Christmas is for some folk.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Over the Wall 2
Following on from the last post this is another view from the the same location on another day
Still a winter scene. The digger in the shot had stayed stationary for over 2 years. The bubble has burst and left the country 85 billion in the hole diggers like this dug. By the the country I mean every tax payer whether they played the property game or not. Wheres the justice and fairness in that?
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Over the Wall
Had a lot of snow fall here on Friday about 6" (well alot for us). This caused my 6 mile commute home from work to change from a 15-20 minute jaunt to a long frustrating 2 hour study in traffic chaos.
Last year we had less snow but very low temperatures. It provided some unusual landscapes. This is an oil painting of one of the views from the rear of the house I was in called 'Over the Wall'. To the left of this view is an abandoned digger and the shell of a new house build. The promise of completing that build long evaporated and now probably as extinct as the Celtic tiger that fuelled its creation. I chose to not show it. The only hint of all this is the piece of scaffolding in the foreground.
Last year we had less snow but very low temperatures. It provided some unusual landscapes. This is an oil painting of one of the views from the rear of the house I was in called 'Over the Wall'. To the left of this view is an abandoned digger and the shell of a new house build. The promise of completing that build long evaporated and now probably as extinct as the Celtic tiger that fuelled its creation. I chose to not show it. The only hint of all this is the piece of scaffolding in the foreground.
This afternoon I shot this guy hunting for food also in a fields over my garden wall. The light was fading hence the grainy quality.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Snow Time
There is heavy snow forecast here tomorrow and Friday. On the western seaboard of Ireland I can only remember a handful of winters when there was significant snow or temperatures lower than -5°C. This our third winter which for us has delivered both. Maybe that was on my mind when I made this image for Christmas.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Spitsticker!
A few months ago I picked up a request to colourise some engravings. They were all by a French artist of the mid 19th century called Gustav Dore. Dore was a prolific artist and created a vast number of engravings to illustrate a number of books. The book in question here was a History of the Crusades by Michaud.
This method of illustration was overtaken by other printing techniques but there are still practitioners. The spitsticker of the title is one of the principle engraving tools used in the construction of these images.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Tis the Season
Had a little time this afternoon to do some Christmas shopping. I confess I don't do the tasteful colour coordinated designer Christmas. I instead revel in the bright colourful stuff and have accumulated a motley set of decorations which carry memories of past Christmases from distant places. Its dark and cold outside and I need to balance that out. So today I added to my collection some LED lights (energy kind) and a small angel. Tomorrow they will be artfully arranged on my tree.
The Guardian (UK newspaper) has gathered a collection of photographs of Christmas Trees (or not) that have graced the Tate Britain. What you see is a battleground for statements ranging from the obscure - this years by
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Five a Day
Well I got busy putting together a showcase of some of my fruit a veg images. It was heavy on the bananas and apples as thats what I tend to bring to work for lunch. I have to take an hour lunch so I can spend 30 - 40 minutes drawing. A lot of it tends to be digital but I do break out the pencils as well. I really like the watercolour pencils for this kind of ad hoc effort. Sometimes it feel repetitive to work on the same subjects but looking at this collection should keep working on them. They were created in the last 2 years.
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