Charity Drawing Donation

Today is the life size Gingerbread House fundraiser for McCrossan Boys Ranch.

I donated a drawing to it to be raffled off. Hopefully they will raise a buck or two for the ranch.

KH

Four Days Unplugged

Though I've only added one blog in November, prior to this one I am sneaking in on the last day of the month, I've been extremely jam packed with some interesting creative challenges in November such as learning Flash and Javascript, creating birthday drawings, wedding presents, Advent covers, adding new features to my website, adding new mediums to my illustration offerings, planning out my 2009 Charity Auction schedule, revamping my auction display, and helping a few friends with their creative projects. 

So, not much time to keep the ol' blog chalk full of new material.

The last four days I have been out of town, away from the studio–away from drawings and computing. What a recharge! Love what I do, but a break in the action was great. Went to my parents for Thanksgiving which my wife, Kathy, did the cooking for and it was fantastic. Then, Kathy and I and two of our children helped serve food at my nephew's wedding reception. A fun time was had by all. Hated to see it end. But, life goes on.

Look for a lot of changes in December and January. There's going to be some interesting developments at my website: KurtHoldorf.com.

--KH

p.s. Here's a cartoon I did in response to all the media reporters making race an issue--wish they would just quit asking about it and making comments about it so the issue of race will go away much faster!!!

Photo Retouching Hint

When retouching a brick building in Photoshop, it is very easy [read: possible] to remove something in front of the building (like a big ugly power pole) by following this simple trick.

Copy a whole "sheet" of bricks--being very careful to match patterns in the brick--then use the distort feature to change the distortion of all the bricks at once rather than clone bricks one at a time. First of all, cloning one at a time will be impossible to match perspectives. NOT ONE BRICK is the same due to perspective. It is much easier to plug in a patch of bricks where you can change the perspective on all at the same time.

Be sure to complete the illusion by matching sharpness and lightness.

--KH

Another Nuance Gallery Visit

Went to the artist reception for Chuck Weidemann yesterday at Nuance Gallery/Studio in Beresford, SD.

Chuck Weidemann is a realist painter and definitely paints from the heart. I think I learned more about fine art in 20 minutes of that visit than I have during the last 20 years of my commercial art career.

I have a feeling my color pencil work is going to take a very good turn in the coming months.

Fireproof

Time, again, to tip my hat to other creative efforts. This time, it's the movie Fireproof with Kirk Cameron.

It's a wonderful message well presented. It is a very direct Christian-based message about love. The main relationship was about a marriage, but it also exhibited parent/child interactions, love for friends, love for strangers, and did so without apologizing for taking the messages from the Bible.

It was most decidedly a message about having Jesus Christ and his love be the center and basis for one's life. Yet the theatre was packed--on a Tuesday evening no less. And, at the end of the movie, the audience broke out in applause. That doesn't happen often.

If you get the chance to see the movie, it is well worth the time and money. 

--KH

Everyone's An Artist: Color Palettes

RGB, CMYK (also called PROCESS), SPOT, INDEX, GRAYSCALE

If you have been thrust into the world of desktop publishing simply because your computer can make pretty documents, you will be able to get the output you want if you understand how the different color options are defined and when to use them.

RGB = Red, Green, Blue

CMYK = Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black

SPOT = numerous options here, most popular with printing is the Pantone Matching System (PMS)

INDEX = mostly associated with GIF files

GRAYSCALE =  as the name implies, shades of black 100% to 0%

PC's do most of their work in RGB in an office environment. (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Web Browsers--RGB files work fine.) Desktop printers can print RGB files with little or no surprises.

If you take your documents to a commercial printer, they will want files in CMYK, SPOT or GRAYSCALE. Converting RGB to CMYK will most likely change the way some of the colors look. That's just the way it is unless someone REALLY skilled does the color conversion.

SPOT colors are the most difficult to create when using standard desktop publishing software, especially if you mix bitmapped files with vector files created in different programs, which they most likely will be. (see previous tip about file formats). If you must print in spot colors, make sure the printing firm you choose has the correct software to redefine the colors as needed.

If you are creating something that is a single spot color, you can actually create it in grayscale and it will work just fine at a commercial printing firm.

Web colors have so many different types of computers and displays that interpret the intended color, it is almost impossible to get consistency. That's why the web safe colors were defined. Monitor adjustments are still subjective so even then, the limited palette you use is not a guarantee match. For the most part, a well compressed JPG will work fine. 

--KH

Native American Art Market Show

It has already been a year since Mike Spears gave me the VIP treatment as he took me through the Native American Art Market, introducing me to anyone and everyone. He passed away a few months after that.

He founded the show many years ago so it was only fitting that, this year, a dedication to Mike was displayed at the entry way to the exhibit hall. I saw some really beautiful art and had some great discussion about the Native American culture.

It's a culture worth restoring. That was Mike's goal--help Native American children take pride in their heritage. I've been trying to do a portrait of Mike commemorating his efforts but have trouble getting my drawing to measure up to the man. Perhaps my fourth attempt will just have to do.

--KH

Portrait Tip #3

Alignment is key to a successful portrait.

When you draw a face that is tilted or at an angle other than straight on, it is easy to misalign the features. Why? Our brain wants to standardize the image we are viewing--eyes straight across, nose vertical, mouth horizontal, etc.

Plus, we seldom consciously put the face on a curved surface. Ask anyone to draw a face and it usually is straight on.

Heads are basically round, not flat. How that round shape is distorted is actually what gives us our visual identity. If you are struggling with a likeness, check your structure and see if something is misaligned. A quick way to see if you subconsciously made leveling adjustments is to hold the drawing up to a mirror. When you see the reversed image, misaligned parts really stand out. 

-KH

Busy Times

The last few days have been filled with a variety of art. It's been fun but keeps me away from logging onto the blog.

Saturday was a nice art show/wine and cheese gathering at a friend's house. Sunday, worked on some art production before the Bronco game. (Charger fans--would enjoy hearing your side of the story.) After the game, matted 3 submissions for the Walt Disney Hometown Toonfest. Monday, started going to life drawing sessions again.

Tomorrow, will be working on 6 portraits (OK, I have 6 portraits to do, probably won't get them all done.)

-KH

Everyone's An Artist: File Formats

Common desktop publishing/web file formats are: JPG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, EPS, PDF, BMP, DOC, PUB, ZIP. 

Of course, there are numerous others but these are used most often in a typical office environment. Here is a very basic overview of when to use each:

JPG--web graphics with continuous tones (i.e. photos), usually 72 dpi and in RGB color

PNG--a newer web graphic format for either photos or graphics with solid colors such as a logo, usually 72 dpi in RGB color

GIF--web graphics with solid colors and/or simple animation, usually 72 dpi in INDEXED colors

TIFF--used for print graphics, usually at 300 dpi in CMYK colors, many times used for layered files so elements can easily be edited

EPS--the usual format for what are called vector-based graphics built in Adobe Illustrator usually for print or sign applications, the term "vector" indicating mathmatical formulas build the art at whatever size and resolution the output machine uses

PDF--Portable Document Format developed by Adobe can be pretty much anything and is a pretty safe format for sending files to a printer

BMP--a PC-based art file not built for commercial printing, usually in RGB colors

DOC--a PC-based page layout file not built for commercial printing, would be better to save a Word document to PDF format if sending to a commercial printer

PUB--file from a PC-based program called Publisher, which many printers/designers won't have since they work on Macs, better to save as a PDF when sending to a commercial printer or graphic artist

ZIP--a compression format used to combine art and layout files into one, usually smaller file for sending over E-Mail or FTP

Everyone's An Artist is an effort to assist office personnel who have been thrown into the creative production world simply because they have a computer. For professional results, one should still hire a creative professional. My analogy: it's like throwing a hammer and nails at someone then expecting him/her to be a carpenter--sure, they can work the tools, but will the structure do what it needs to do? Hmmmm.

Sioux Falls Arts Festival

Spent quite a bit of time today walking downtown Sioux Falls looking at all the art booths and wondering why I have never taken part in an art show.

Sounds like a goal brewing...

My wife and my daughter both thought I should have a booth where I draw realistic portraits on the spot. Seems like a good idea. 

My style is pretty tight realism but to draw a portrait in 15 minutes or so would require a looser style. It would be a departure from the way I currently do portraits but it my be more expressive--which would be good for me.

Cast your vote for what type of art I should sell at an art booth by posting a comment.

In other words, what kind of art booth would you like to see at an arts festival that you think would be a cool edition to the standard stuff you usually see.

Hope to hear from you.

–KH

Cartoonist Picnic

Yesterday, I had the privilege of joining the Sioux Falls Cartoonists Group for a little picnic before scooting off to LifeLight.

Though not a "cartoonist" per se, the group has kindly allowed me to hang with them and I really enjoy the creativity they bring to the table.

I'm a BIG Gary Larson Far Side fan so I dabble with some one-panel "anything goes" cartoons.

I have some of them tucked inside one of the drawers on my website.

If you want to take a peek, here's the URI:

http://kurtholdorf.com/?15 then click on the cartoon in the bottom right drawer. (Note: you need the "?15" after my web address or else you'll reload the page way too many times for the cartoon to show up randomly in the drawer.)

-KH

Time to Appreciate Some Other Artists

Tomorrow begins Lifelight '08.

100 Christian music groups come together as 250,000 people descend on the Sioux Falls area. Should be fun! Always nice to enjoy the talents of other artists.

Hope to see you out there...

-KH

Website Hint

There's no Flash or 3-D renderings on my website. All the graphics are built in Photoshop and put into motion with Javascript. Flash would be smoother and offer more cool effects, so, in the coming months, I'll be learning Flash. Javascript can do some amazing things, though, so it has it's place. Javascript behaves so differently between browsers that it is very difficult to make "the cool stuff" with it. The airplane works very smoothly on a Macintosh running Safari but hangs when run on Firefox. PC's don't run that feature well on any browser. Flash is more consistent between platforms. We'll see if I can make the transition.

-KH

Portrait Tip #3

The eyes have it.

Most critical for capturing the likeness of someone you know well is getting the eyes correct. In general, people look at another's eyes the most when interacting with them. So, take extra care with eye placement, eveness, color, shape, and expression. Eyes can show emotion, intelligence, connection and other important interactions beyond the verbal.

There's not much room for error, either. The difference between eyes looking too close together and too far apart can be as little as 1/8th of an inch.

I find the eyes are a good place to start a portrait.

-KH

Website Hint

Did you see something fun on my website you want to show someone else?

Well, it may take a lot of reloads to get the random content to show what you want to share with your friend.

That's why I added a secret code that will provide a "key" to give you the ability to place any feature you wish inside the bottom right drawer.

Simply go to: "http://kurtholdorf.com/?0" then open the bottom right drawer and click on the "key" for more information. (That's a zero, not the letter O). My goal is 60 plus features so you see this is just the beginning of building a web "page" unlike any other. 

-KH

Everyone's An Artist: Spaces

One or two spaces at the end of a sentence?

Ever so long ago in the typewriter era, every good typist knew to put two spaces after a sentence. With computer typesetting, you only need one space at the end of a sentence. Here's why:

Typewriters used what is called monospace characters. Meaning each character took up the same amount of space. Computers use variable space characters. Each letter's space is determined by the width of the character.

The only time you need two spaces at the end of a sentence when typing on a computer is when you use a monospaced font such as "Courier." 

Your printed materials will look more professional with only one space at the end of your sentences when using a variable space font.

"Everyone's An Artist" is a series of helpful hints for office workers who are thrust into producing graphics simply because the computer makes it possible to do so.

-KH

Portrait Tip #2

This tip works for photos as well as drawings.

When people look at a good drawing or photo of themselves, something may still not look right to them. There is a simple explanation for this and knowing it may help you understand what they see.

The right side and left side of most everyone's face is different from the other. People mostly see themselves in a mirror compared to a photo or drawing. Therefore, the image they see in a photo/drawing looks like them yet doesn't since they are used to the "backwards" image seen in a mirror.

Now here's something amazing...one side can look "happier" that the other. If you have image manipulation skills, try this little test: copy the right side of a face looking straight at you. Then make a complete face from that half by duplicating and flipping it. Do the same with the left side to make two new faces and see if there is a significant difference between the two images.

No need to point this out to your subject and make them selfconscious. Simply see if you can make their sad side SLIGHTLY happier and you'll be amazed how much better they will like their image.

-KH

NBCOlympics.com: Big Website Blunder

NBCOlympics.com, powered by DeltaTre, has a wealth of Olympic content waiting to be viewed. However, Macintosh computer users can only see video if they have an Intel-based Mac. Does this company not know how incredibly video-friendly a Mac is--even one a couple of years old? (And, do they not realize we Mac users don't have to trade in our Mac every year because these things just keep working?)

If you are NBC and flooding the market touting your web-based Olympic coverage, why not make an earlier version of the Safari web browser work for viewing videos? Especially if viewers enjoy some of the less popular sports such as table tennis. You just don't get to see much of that in prime time when Michael Phelps is zipping through the water (congrats, Michael!!!). 

My point to all this is a designer should never sacrifice its audience to make him/herself look good. That is just what DeltaTre has done. They put making pretty web pages a priority over getting those pages to their audience. 

Sure, you can do the math and calculate the loss of Mac viewers isn't that big of a deal, but the loss of the Olympic coverage to those Mac users is a big deal to them. 

So much to see and just an incompatible click away. It's just irresponsible, in my opinion. 

To DeltaTre: write the extra 10 lines of code and make an earlier version of Safari work.

-KH

Everyone's An Artist: DPI

"DPI" is an abbreviation for "Dots Per Inch". When creating, saving, transferring or proofing images built for meeting or marketing materials, knowing the correct DPI for the task can really make a difference.

For the average office person working with graphics, here are some typical screen resolutions. There are many exceptions, as with most guidelines, so start here if you really don't know what is correct:

72 dpi  -- web graphics 

100 dpi -- large format prints of banners

150 dpi -- onscreen presentation graphics

200 dpi -- fax resolution

300 dpi -- prints on ink jet printers

300 dpi -- bitmapped images printed by commerical printers

1200 dpi -- line art printed by commercial printing

2400 dpi -- typeset quality vector images for commercial printing

(In order to have the correct DPI, the size must be correct as well.)

"Everyone's An Artist" will be a collection of art production tips and tricks for the average office person who has been thrown into the world of desktop publishing. Send a question if there's something you would like to learn.

-KH

Website Hint

When you click on the link to my website, you are encouraged to explore by clicking on things. You just never know what is in one of the drawers or what something will do when clicked. Every time you load the page, things change. So you truly never know what you will find.

-KH

Portrait Tip #1

Next time you decide to tackle a portrait and you really want it to look like the photo you are drawing from, try this: Every once in awhile, turn both the drawing and the photo upside down and compare them. 

If you buy in to the "Left Brain, Right Brain" theories out there, which I do since I create art AND do programming (scripting for those who know the difference), when you look at a face right side up, your mind will fill in, estimate, react emotionally, etc. and make it difficult to OBJECTIVELY compare the two. When looking at them upside down, you are more apt to look at the spacial relationships of the different parts of the face.

Try it sometime! (Works with many other subjects besides portraits.)

-KH

Different Types of Creativity

Sometimes I look at other artists and marvel at their ability to stylize reality. I often wonder why stylization does not flow from me. Then I look at my drawings and realize I do have a similar feel visible in my work. None of my drawings are photographic, though they certainly are realistic. That sense of realism is my style. I wonder if other artists look at their work and don't see a style--they simply see their work.

-KH

Olympics 08

The Olympics always inspire me to push my creative abilities. Wonder what I could create artistically if I worked and trained as hard as they have.