Art History and Digital Applications
Mona Lisa
- There's a lot of perceptions and opinions, some love it, some hate it, some focus on her mysterious smile.
- The artist is from the Renaissance period.
- Da Vinci came about in the high Renaissance.
Altarpiece Analysis
- Triptych Design: The altarpiece is created as a triptych, a three-part panel.
- Biblical Narrative: The painting depicts the Annunciation.
- Angel's Announcement: An angel is announcing to Mary that she will give birth.
- Patron Guest Stars: The people who paid for the painting got themselves included in the artwork.
- European Context: The architecture, clothing, and presentation of people are European, reflecting the cultural context of the time.
Cultural Equivalence
- Contemporary Depiction: The painting's context is similar to depicting a scene with Americans in modern clothing, such as suits and ties, in a contemporary setting like a Starbucks.
Perspective and Realism
- Flemish Painting: The painting is a Flemish painting done a little before the high Renaissance.
- Physical Discrepancies: The physical perspective might seem off, with the table appearing flipped up and the linear perspective not aligning correctly.
- Vanishing Points: The vanishing points are not consistent, indicating a lack of proper perspective.
Masaccio's Fresco
- Believable Space: Masaccio's fresco creates a more believable space where viewers feel they could step into the scene, unlike the previous painting.
- Consistent Perspective: The fresco avoids unusual table angles and inconsistent vanishing points, creating a more cohesive and realistic depiction.
Renaissance Change
- Cultural Exchanges: The Renaissance was marked by cultural exchanges with Mediterranean cultures, bringing knowledge back into Europe.
- Advancements: Some of the knowledge included mathematics and optics.
- Key Figures: Albert Crosby discussed these cultural exchanges, and mathematicians like Al Husson contributed to the exchange of knowledge.
- Wisdom Schools: Wisdom schools in places like Florence facilitated these exchanges.
- Product of Knowledge: Linear perspective was one of the products of this period.
Catholic Church Strategy
- Target Audience: The Catholic Church aimed to convey biblical narratives to an illiterate population.
- Inspiration: These people loved watching plays and performances.
- Stage-Like Depictions: The Church hired artists to create paintings that depicted biblical narratives as if they were on a stage.
- Engagement: People could easily understand and imagine the characters in these stories.
Renaissance Art
- Believable Space: Believable space and objects characterized Renaissance artworks.
- Financial Influence: The Catholic Church had significant financial resources.
- Artist Competition: Artists began competing for contracts to create portraits and images for the Church.
- Exploration: These artists sought to understand why things looked the way they did.
- Observation: They studied objects like apples in sunlight to understand light and shadow.
Principles of Chiaroscuro
- Rediscovering Shading: Shading had been primarily used for beautifying drawings but Renaissance artists rediscovered it's importance as shape
- Lines vs. Shading: The idea that lines matter less than shading in drawing.
- Codified Principles: Renaissance artists codified their observations into principles known as chiaroscuro.
Elements of Light and Shadow
- Highlight: The lightest value on the object, caused by the saturation of light.
- Midtone/Halftone: Transitional tones surrounding the highlight, representing the truest value and color of the object.
- Core Shadow/Form Shadow: The darkest part of the shadow, where the surface turns away from the light source.
- Reflected Light: Light that bounces off the environment and back onto the underside of the object.
- Cast Shadow: The shadow projected by the object onto the surrounding surface, with a harder edge.
Artistic Competition and Realism
- Formula for Realism: Artists wrote down these principles to create a formula for making things look real.
- Competition for Contracts: Artists competed for contracts from the Catholic Church to gain money and fame.
Application in Digital Art
- Digital Tool: The computer is like an art tool.
- Fine Art Principles: Fine art principles like chiaroscuro can be applied to computer-generated artwork.
- Principles to be Applied: The principles are going to be applied in the computer using Photoshop.
Proko's YouTube Channel
- Recommended Resource: The YouTube channel Proko, created by Stan Prokopinko, offers excellent drawing videos.
- Focus on Light: Light on form is the reason we see anything. Analyzing the light in the scene, to capture it so the viewer can feel the light. Form looking three-dimensional is just a byproduct of correctly capturing the light on the form.
- Main Zones: Light and Shadow.
- Terminator: The edge where the form transitions from light to shadow.
- Form Shadow: A shadow caused by the planes turning away from the light source.
- Cast Shadow: A shadow caused by one form blocking the light from hitting another form.
Touch Settings
- Disable Touch Input: Disable touch input on tablets in Photoshop to avoid frustration when your finger moves the artboard.
New File Setup
- Image Quality: Set up a new file with high quality for artwork.
- Dimensions: Set width and height in inches (e.g., 8.5 x 11 for a standard sheet of paper).
- Resolution: Use a resolution of 300 pixels per inch (PPI) for high-quality images.
- Color Mode: Choose RGB color for screen compatibility.
Photoshop Functions and Terminology
- Pace Down: The area that surrounds the artwork in the Adobe Photoshop program.
- Artwork: The sheet on the program.
- Layers: Transparent glass-like pancakes stacked on top of each other that allows you to make independent paintings.
- Layers Panel: Panel where you can keep track or add on layers.
- New Layer: Use the icon panel to add a layer really quickly.
- Tool Panel: The brush tool looks like a paintbrush.
Values: Color is not needed during this demo.
Mona Lisa
- There's a lot of perceptions and opinions, some love it, some hate it, some focus on her mysterious smile.
- The artist is from the Renaissance period.
- Da Vinci came about in the high Renaissance.
Altarpiece Analysis
- Triptych Design: The altarpiece is created as a triptych, a three-part panel.
- Biblical Narrative: The painting depicts the Annunciation.
- Angel's Announcement: An angel is announcing to Mary that she will give birth.
- Patron Guest Stars: The people who paid for the painting got themselves included in the artwork.
- European Context: The architecture, clothing, and presentation of people are European, reflecting the cultural context of the time.
Cultural Equivalence
- Contemporary Depiction: The painting's context is similar to depicting a scene with Americans in modern clothing, such as suits and ties, in a contemporary setting like a Starbucks.
Perspective and Realism
- Flemish Painting: The painting is a Flemish painting done a little before the high Renaissance.
- Physical Discrepancies: The physical perspective might seem off, with the table appearing flipped up and the linear perspective not aligning correctly.
- Vanishing Points: The vanishing points are not consistent, indicating a lack of proper perspective.
Masaccio's Fresco
- Believable Space: Masaccio's fresco creates a more believable space where viewers feel they could step into the scene, unlike the previous painting.
- Consistent Perspective: The fresco avoids unusual table angles and inconsistent vanishing points, creating a more cohesive and realistic depiction.
Renaissance Change
- Cultural Exchanges: The Renaissance was marked by cultural exchanges with Mediterranean cultures, bringing knowledge back into Europe.
- Advancements: Some of the knowledge included mathematics and optics.
- Key Figures: Albert Crosby discussed these cultural exchanges, and mathematicians like Al Husson contributed to the exchange of knowledge.
- Wisdom Schools: Wisdom schools in places like Florence facilitated these exchanges.
- Product of Knowledge: Linear perspective was one of the products of this period.
Catholic Church Strategy
- Target Audience: The Catholic Church aimed to convey biblical narratives to an illiterate population.
- Inspiration: These people loved watching plays and performances.
- Stage-Like Depictions: The Church hired artists to create paintings that depicted biblical narratives as if they were on a stage.
- Engagement: People could easily understand and imagine the characters in these stories.
Renaissance Art
- Believable Space: Believable space and objects characterized Renaissance artworks.
- Financial Influence: The Catholic Church had significant financial resources.
- Artist Competition: Artists began competing for contracts to create portraits and images for the Church.
- Exploration: These artists sought to understand why things looked the way they did.
- Observation: They studied objects like apples in sunlight to understand light and shadow.
Principles of Chiaroscuro
- Rediscovering Shading: Shading had been primarily used for beautifying drawings but Renaissance artists rediscovered it's importance as shape
- Lines vs. Shading: The idea that lines matter less than shading in drawing.
- Codified Principles: Renaissance artists codified their observations into principles known as chiaroscuro.
Elements of Light and Shadow
- Highlight: The lightest value on the object, caused by the saturation of light.
- Midtone/Halftone: Transitional tones surrounding the highlight, representing the truest value and color of the object.
- Core Shadow/Form Shadow: The darkest part of the shadow, where the surface turns away from the light source.
- Reflected Light: Light that bounces off the environment and back onto the underside of the object.
- Cast Shadow: The shadow projected by the object onto the surrounding surface, with a harder edge.
Artistic Competition and Realism
- Formula for Realism: Artists wrote down these principles to create a formula for making things look real.
- Competition for Contracts: Artists competed for contracts from the Catholic Church to gain money and fame.
Application in Digital Art
- Digital Tool: The computer is like an art tool.
- Fine Art Principles: Fine art principles like chiaroscuro can be applied to computer-generated artwork.
- Principles to be Applied: The principles are going to be applied in the computer using Photoshop.
Proko's YouTube Channel
- Recommended Resource: The YouTube channel Proko, created by Stan Prokopinko, offers excellent drawing videos.
- Focus on Light: Light on form is the reason we see anything. Analyzing the light in the scene, to capture it so the viewer can feel the light. Form looking three-dimensional is just a byproduct of correctly capturing the light on the form.
- Main Zones: Light and Shadow.
- Terminator: The edge where the form transitions from light to shadow.
- Form Shadow: A shadow caused by the planes turning away from the light source.
- Cast Shadow: A shadow caused by one form blocking the light from hitting another form.
Touch Settings
- Disable Touch Input: Disable touch input on tablets in Photoshop to avoid frustration when your finger moves the artboard.
New File Setup
- Image Quality: Set up a new file with high quality for artwork.
- Dimensions: Set width and height in inches (e.g., 8.5 x 11 for a standard sheet of paper).
- Resolution: Use a resolution of 300 pixels per inch (PPI) for high-quality images.
- Color Mode: Choose RGB color for screen compatibility.
Photoshop Functions and Terminology
- Pace Down: The area that surrounds the artwork in the Adobe Photoshop program.
- Artwork