Mental Waltz Art

A Thousand Ways to Die

2006-09-17T00:49:00.000-06:00

While attempting to come up with ideas for a new website design (that is, a design for a new website, which I later abandoned), I came up with an interesting image of different Photoshopped apocalyptic disasters all taking place simultaneously on Earth. Click the below image to download a zipped wallpaper version (1280x1024).

Art Reviews - 8/17/06

2006-08-17T17:13:00.000-06:00

Metallic Dreams by obselete-angel

Well, I am amazed by the quality of this, to say the least. The detail is amazing, the concept is abstract, grunge, futuristic, and overall hits pretty much all the bases I like with art. Futhermore, it reminds me a lot of another favorite artist of mine whom I've mentioned in a previous article, Almacan. In any case, it's an excellent piece. 8.5/10 (I try to avoid ratings of 9 and above, else I make this system too easy).

You Can Tell Me by opalseadragon

It's a very neat piece, with a good concept behind it. However, the execution is a bit lacking. First, the dragon is a bit low-poly (or at least is lacking in detail), the textures could be clearer, a more apparent bump map would help, and the image itself could use some depth as well as something to make the two figures stand out. The woman, however, seems to be very well-modeled, and from what I can see, quite realistic as well (aside from her legs being in a pose that is physically impossible). Overall, I give this piece a 5.5/10 - good effort and a neat idea, but execution is a bit lacking in finishing details.

Memories of a Martyr by ayamefataru

This is a very compact and emotion-driving piece (see the below poem). The shading is not necessarily realistic or consistant, but being the emotion-driven piece that it is, that can be ignored. Futhermore, it doesn't appear to be completely finished. In any case, it has quite a bit of detail, and a very well-defined concept behind the post/objects/abstracts within the picture. For this, I give it a 7/10. See the below poem written to accompany the above art piece.

By vampyre-stuart:

Long dark lashes lock up tight,
A symbol of this patron's plight.
Bright blue eyes control the pain,
Discharging guilt, issuing blame.

Death and solace intertwined,
Piercing twin daggers in his mind.
Feathered wings of light chastise,
And shield him from hurt, he devised.

Drifting aimless, through the void,
Filled with despair, his faith destroyed.
Dignified gowns and filigree,
Turning sombre, eternally.

Mislaid teardrops form and shine,
Are frozen there, in space and time.
Cringing from his unseen fears,
Of worthless faith and unshed tears.

In the twilight of defeat,
Where sunlight wanes with subdued heat,
Bandages and rags still bind,
These Memories of a Martyr's mind.

Borrowing the Mental Waltz Template

2006-08-16T23:12:00.000-06:00

Apparently, the s0ultak3rz clan has borrowed the Mental Waltz template for use in their own website. I'm glad to see they like it, although I do hope they fix it soon, because right now it's messy and there is code all over the place - it was meant to be a Blogger template, after all. Seeing it as disorderly as it is makes me cringe the way I would if I saw an old person with a big booger hanging out of the guy's nose.

Featured Artist - shimoda7

2006-08-14T09:32:00.000-06:00

In this post, I will display a few various works of art by the extremely talented artist, shimoda7 from DeviantArt.

Prisoner of My Own by shimoda7

The first thing that one notices is his incredible talent for drawing with photorealistic accuracy, especially when it comes to hair and skin tones. Then there's the surreal side to it all, adding a lot of detail to the mood of the drawing as a whole. His main tools are graphite on paper, with a reference (in this case, his own hand). This piece reminds me of another I saw at one point (a classical piece of artwork, I believe) that has a hand drawing a hand, which in turn is drawing the first hand (can't remember the actual title of said art piece).

Can't Turn Back Time by shimoda7

This is another one of those pieces that has the surreal qualities similar to the work of Leonardo Da Vinci. It, like the previous one, was made using graphite on paper, but while the previous one was made in about 12 hours, this one was made in about 25 hours, and it's easy to see why, judging from the amazing amount of detail packs into it.

Spash by shimoda7

This was one of his shorter works (7 hours), as can be seen by the focus more on the water and less on the skin tones (although the realism is still very impressive). He claims he was trying to test whether or not he could properly draw water here, and I think that he succeeded magnificently in achieving his goal.

And finally, another very photorealistic parting shot. Take note of the astounding detail in the hair and fur scarf.

Oriental Beauty by shimoda7

Deviant to the Core

2006-08-10T13:49:00.000-06:00

With my new intention of posting some kind of artwork/mentioning some kind of artist every day or two, I'll start by saying that there are four kinds of art I enjoy - Photography, Painting, Drawing, and Digital Art. Sculptures and the like are alright, but they don't hit me like a detailed canvas (digital or non) does. Furthermore, I am not a big fan of abstract art, although I admit I do enjoy some (if it's done right), and some of my own art has a bit of an abstractness to it (i.e. the images posted with chapters in the story section). To go a step further, I am sick of Anime. There's just far too much of it. Sure, the eyes are pretty and shiny, and the hair is long and clean, and the characters' faces/bodies are perfectly formed and beautiful and all, but it's becoming all the same to me. Now, I am not afraid to give credit where it is due. If I find Anime-like art that is very well-done, I'll review it, but if it's just normal Anime stuff, I won't even bother mentioning it.

I have a few favorite themes, mostly fantasy, sci-fi, or realism (as in a beautiful sunset). Other things I will very likely enjoy as well, but those two come to mind.

I will be doing the reviews based on random artists/artwork I find at DeviantArt, and with it's new upgrade to v5, it should be "easier than ever" to do so.

I would just like to announce now that, although I will take photos and save them to my desktop in order to upload them on ImageShack to show a version on my website (I don't use the embedded flash version from DeviantArt because it's not only too large for my current template, and as a result, stretches it, but it also shows a preview much smaller than the one I would prefer and doesn't open in a new window when clicked), I have no intention of stealing art, and I will give full credit (as well as praise where it is due).

With that said, here we go.

Pisces by cgplayer

Without a doubt, this is a very impressive piece. The skin tones are pretty much perfect, the hair is detailed with realistic highlights, the face looks quite real, the light is consistent, and overall is a very high-quality piece of work, and one that cgplayer should be quite proud of (and I'm sure is). The only issue I have is that the seashell top doesn't seem to have any depth (meaning it looks like it's just painted on the breast instead of having dimensions). All-in-all, I'd give it a 8/10 rating as a painting, although some areas could have a bit more detail (whether or not this is intentional isn't being considered here, since most of the painting is high-detail).

Tranquility by dilekt

Even if it is a photograph, I am very impressed by the eye of this artist. The contrast of the colors in the sunset against the silhouette of the forest is complimented not only by the smooth, soothing waves of the lake, but also by the bit of dock and foreground tree caught in the shot. Definitely the work of one with experience. The photographer managed to capture the entire scene without leaving either the foreground nor the background visibly blurred, so it all comes together into one large scene, instead of being a focused shot (which may suit some shots, but this one seems to be suited best by the sharp quality on all distances). I'd give it a 8.5/10 rating as a photograph. If the image were larger, I would make it my desktop wallpaper.

My First Smilie/Rank Pack

2006-08-10T12:50:00.000-06:00

Sure, it's nothing outstandingly amazing, but I'm still rather proud of it. I made it on a whim for the wappyCULT forums to match their nosebleed template for their phpBB forum. The smilies themselves are based off of the Invision Power Board smilie pack. Click the image below to download it, or click here if you cannot see the image.

iPod Ad

2006-08-02T10:48:00.000-06:00

Just something I whipped up in quarter hour or so after seeing a tutorial on how to make an iPod-like advertisement image. No real skill involved here, I just thought it was kind of funny.

Scent of a Woman - Redone

2006-07-27T08:38:00.000-06:00

I based this image I made off of the Scent of a Woman painting using similar Photoshop drawing techniques that I used for my Price of Perfection Chapter 2 image (drawing over body parts with certain colors and then gradually adding detail). Although the technique may seem very simple (and it is), this is merely practice in order to establish some futher knowledge on how burn and dodge effects should be used, as well as how a posing human body should appear.

High-Tech Sword - Now With Textures!

2006-07-14T18:30:00.000-06:00

Unfortunately my skill doesn't not range into the realm of orignal textures at this point. Thus is why I simply used 3D Studio Max default textures on the sword. I have yet to see whether or not it is satisfactory for Slipknot (the person, not the band).
As for now, I'm going to try a few attempts at polygon modelling and possibly even texturing thereof if the result is good enough.

3D To The Max

2006-07-11T01:48:00.000-06:00

3D Studio Max, that is. An old acquaintence of mine, Slipknot (I am not a fan of the band, by the way), has asked me to attempt to texture his AutoCAD sword model. I have never attempted anything this complicated before, especially not on request, but I had been planning to delve once again into the complicated yet vastly satisfying workngs of 3Ds Max. Hopefully this will give me some of the practice I've been needing and will give me the jumpstart I've been wanting.

I'd just like to say that I am very impressed with "Emma"(aka Slipknot)'s model. It is far better than anything I could currently make (or even imagine, for that case). Quite detailed and high-polygon (as the image shows), I must wonder why he would ever bring such a brilliant project to me. He claims he "liked my work", while the only real 3D art I've made was primarily based around a few mythical weapons (which didn't turn out to be very impressive) and the header of an old forum that I used to visit (which I'm still rather impressed at how well it turned out and I would probably call one of my artistic peaks, aside from the knox wallpaper/loading screen).

In any case, I have no idea what I'm going to attempt for the texture of said sword, but I'm sure that with some rest and lots of boredom, I'll come up with something that is at least satisfactory. Expect updates when that time arrives.

On an unrelated note, it would be nice if Blogger automatically (or at least fairly simply) added targets to links, such as _blank (which opens a link in a new window), instead of forcing me to switch between "Compose" and "Edit Html" mode to get things set up properly.