Right Brain Redux: Day 17 of 30-day Creativity Challenge

Right Brain Redux Day 17: You want Catch-Up on that?

Just to recap for those who have joined us recently: Jessica and myself are just over halfway through a 30-Day Creativity challenge. We randomly choose a single project for each of us daily. Each chooses from their own Challenge Jar. We call this Right Brain Redux, for the old saw that creativity is a function of the right brain, and Redux from the Latin meaning "to bring back, revived". If you have any suggestions for challenges, leave them in the comments and we might add our favorites to the jars.

Today we are still working on catching up. Catching up on sleep (a sick toddler will put you behind on it fast) and catching up on projects. Those of you keeping tally will realize we are actually a day behind, even though we made a post yesterday. I'm also feeling much better after the major surgery I had back in July, so I am also trying to finish the house now (as I have the energy. Better, but still not fully recovered). Our projects for today took us to some interesting places.

For today, Jessica pulled "Color a coloring sheet" while mine was "Draw a Superhero".

Kev: For my challenge to "Draw a Superhero", I decided to go outside of my box a bit. When I do superheroes, I prefer to draw my own characters. I rarely draw ones belonging to anyone else, except for maybe in a doodle. So I elected to draw someone else's character for today's project.

It took me a little while to decide who to draw. Right off, I knew I didn't want to draw a big time super-popular ten thousand pieces of fan art character. No Deadpool (sigh), no Wolverine, no Bats or Superman. I tried to think of an obscure character from Marvel or DC. Even looked at some lists. I couldn't make up my mind. Then I started thinking about that small stack of comics I had when I was a kid. Now, I'm not trying to tell a sad story, but up until I was about ten, we were let's say, less than affluent. I didn't get to go get comics all the time. Mostly, I read other peoples' comics. When I did get one of my own, it got read and reread until it fell apart.

One of those treasures was an issue of the 60's comic "Dr Solar, Man of the Atom". In this issue, Dr Solar is invited to some sort of scientific unveiling and realizes that the hi-tech floating city this guy has built is in fact a giant nuclear bomb. The villain turns out to be King Cybernoid, Solar's arch nemesis. They fight and the human face gets torn off cybernoid to show he is a robot underneath. Now, this was pre-Terminator, so my seven-year-old mind was blown at the thought that a human could be a robot under the skin.

I read this story so many times, I can't even begin to guess how many. But one thing about the comic is when it was handed down to me, it was sans cover. I used to draw covers for it all the time in those years. I still have the comic somewhere. And it hit me; I would, for the first time in probably twenty-five years, draw a cover for that issue of Solar.

Pencil on Canson Bristol Comic cover sheet. 11"x17"

Jessica, for her challenge of "Color a coloring sheet", chose a printable adult coloring sheet with a geometric pattern. She had heard from a number of people that these "Adult Coloring Books" were fun and relaxing. Not for Jessica. She found that while she might find it fun if she was already relaxed, coloring the sheet did nothing to relax her. Quite the opposite, in fact.

First, she had to choose between crayons, markers, and pencils. Then once she chose colored pencils, she had to choose between three set of those. Then, she started counting blocks in the pattern to decide on a sequence of colors. The set of pencils she is using is a 36-piece set. After several false starts that included reprinting the sheet at least four times and starting over, she finally narrowed the color palette down to eight pencils. Then she told me that she'd like to be painting some watercolors. She did finish the center of the pattern, but it definitely did not make her feel relaxed. She thinks that perhaps a new twist on something she already knows she enjoys would be more calming or relaxing after a long day of not feeling well following a night of little sleep. Something as rigid as the geometric pattern is more stressful than relaxing. She feels it might have been less so if she had chosen a less rigid, more organic design.

It wasn't a bad project. Turned out rather nice. I t just wasn't "relaxing".

Source: "Don't Eat the Paste" Blog  by Shala Kerrigan

Share |

Right Brain Redux: Day 13 of 30-Day Creativity Challenge

Right Brain Redux: Day 13

It's T-shirt Thursday! Ok, so that's how it turned out, anyway. Today, both of us drew T-shirt design projects from our Challenge Jars. Jessica pulled "Design a 'Dr. Who' inspired t-shirt that a fan will recognize, but you can't use any character's name or face." I drew "Design a t-shirt based on/ inspired by a Bible verse."

(Kev) My first thought was to draw an "Armor of God" picture. I've imaged that in several different ways over the years, and I actually enjoy drawing it. But then again, that is a passage of Scripture, not a verse. Since this is a challenge, I elected to select a single verse to interpret. I went with Philippians 4:13.

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. " (KJV)

The original image in my head was of the letters outlined in white with black and white images of people doing things inside. But it just didn't look right. So I went with the text instead. The tough part of these challenges is getting them done in a short time. The nice part is that we are getting something down as a design, but we intend on revisiting the good ideas and refining them to completed designs after the challenge is over.

The thought of "DO" has been on my mind for the last while, especially when I think of that verse. "Do" puts action to something. It is also a command or instruction. "Do this." We say "I AM a Christian." To me, I just keep thinking about "Being" verses "Doing". Are we "Doing" Christianity for the world to see? When "I am", it is a statement. When "I do" it is action visible to the naked eye. Just my thoughts.

Go Do.

(Jess) When I read my challenge, the first thing I thought of was the "Bad Wolf" graffiti because I love graffiti. And that's my favorite season of the The Doctor anyway. Then I realized that there was already a lot of those designs out there. After thinking a bit, I chose to do "Bad Wolf" in Gallifreyan. I found several sites with the alphabet and showing you how to read and write it. There seems to be a couple of different versions out there, but I settled on one and turned the words into this design. How you write it and form words is very interesting. It's far from just being a simple substitution alphabet. I found myself lost in studying how to read it, and I had to make myself stop in order to finish the project.

And as Kevin mentioned, the good ideas we will revisit and refine later. This is one I definitely want to give a second (and third and fourth and...) go over. I really like the concept, but I want to spend more hands-on time with this design and the writing itself. Most likely with my own hands instead of digitally, so I can give it my style. I like... need that control when it comes to design.

Share |

Right Brain Redux: Day 8 of 30-day Creativity Challenge

Right Brain Redux: Day Ate

Eighth day of the challenge. Gone all day long for Dr appointments. But that's life. So today, Jess pulled "Recreate a childhood art project" while I drew "Create a piece of art inspired/ based on an everyday object".

Jessica told me that when she was a kid, she'd take a ruler or an object, place it on the paper, and draw around it to fill the paper with geometric shapes. Then, she'd take out the crayon box and her self-imposed design parameter was to use every single color to fill in the shapes she'd made.

Tonight's project is a recreation of this using circles and restraint (hey, it's supposed to be a challenge, right?).  Four different sizes of circles were overlapped to create a series of curves. Color was applied with watercolor pencils and brushed smooth. Some arcs were left white for negative space effects. Personally, I love the end result she came out with. I want to keep it.

Now, for myself (Kev), I actually had an idea for what I would do for this project when Jess drew it a few days back. I would have preferred to create this digitally, but Photoshop isn't a current option. So I went with gouache and pencil. I haven't worked with gouache much, but I think I like it. I laid down my shapes in pencil, then painted over and tightened back up with watercolor pencils. I actually agonized over my color choices for a while, knowing that once I put it to the paper there was no going back. Digital doesn't have that sort of commitment. It was sort of fun to just go with it, knowing that there was no turning back. Kind of like jumping off the bridge into the river (don't tell my mom I did that when I was 12... 30 years ago and I'd still catch it for that).

Oh yeah, my inspiration was a fork and plate. I had the thought of them so close up, they were just curves. This is another project I'd like to revisit later on. Maybe in a medium I am more experienced/ familiar with.

22 more projects to go. Ain't this fun? (Big grin goes here)

Share |

Right Brain Redux: Day 6 of 30-Day Creativity Challenge

Right Brain Redux: Day 6

Today's Challenges were for Jess to draw something left handed and for myself to create a timeline of significant events in my life.

For my challenge, I decided to jot down a quick list of events that stand out in my mind. Things that happened to me, not historical events. I eliminated a few items from the timeline as being too personal to share online, but the ones that I left are memories that, I feel, helped shape who I m now.

Just writing out a list was a little clinical, so I decided to represent it with a cartoon infographic. It's just a quick ink and marker doodle timeline due to today being crammed again. I am going to list out each event on the timeline just in case you can't read what it says.

First, Here's the whole thing:

1973: Issue #1, First appearance and Origin of ME!

1976: Broke arm, got first sister

1977: Watched a massive flood from my bedroom window. We lived up on the hill. I watched trailers go down the river.

1979: Started school. Principal's office on first day of kindergarten

1982: Got saved

1984: Transformers! Life would never be the same.

1988: Pawpaw Bill died

1989: 2nd sister, 1st car

1992: Graduate HS (Valedictorian)

1994: Bad wreck, wrecked truck

1996: Started Working first full time job

1998: Grandmaw died

2003: Appendix ruptured, died, came back (am I a zombie, then?)

2004: Met Jess online

2008: Broke leg, Met Jess for real, Married Jess, my Mini-Me called me "daddy", Move to GA

2013 Little arrives! (Name loosely translates to "Peaceful Builder"... answers to "Hurricane")

2014 Moved back to WV

2015 Children's' Pastor FWC Kid's Church "Spark Kids"!

Good start, eh?

Jessica selected a very detailed close-up of a dandelion scattering its seeds as her left handed art project. It's done on plain copier paper with a #2 mechanical pencil. Totally freehand and done completely with her left hand. She felt it was unfinished, but her hand was cramping too badly to continue (carpal tunnel). I think it is beautiful. Art is often like raising a child; you may not feel you are done shaping them, but there is a time they are mature enough to stand on their own. And this piece definitely is. She has set the bar quite high for me when it comes my turn to do this challenge.

Share |

Right Brain Redux: Day 4 of 30-day Creativity Challenge

First off, we want to tell Aunt Dorothy: Say hey to Pawpaw Bill for us. We love you. You got your healing when you crossed the river.

Monday. All day. So today gifted us with the challenges of Kev creating a set of inkblots (like an inkblot test) and describing what he saw in them. Jess drew out "Draw a friendly robot". Which immediately caused her to ask "Is there truly such a thing as a friendly robot? They all have ulterior motives." I submit to you Transformers G1 Bumblebee (cartoon version). So friendly you might get diabetes if you hang around him too long...

Anyways.

For my (Kev) challenge, I created about a dozen inkblots using plain printer paper with India ink and some of Little's finger paints.  I pre-folded the papers then opened them back up and applied drops of black ink and in some case some blobs of colored paint. Then I folded the paper and smoothed it out to spread the pigments and unfolded it to dry. A couple of them ended up so full of paint they were almost useless, but I came out with ten really nice ones. Some of them I think made such nice patterns they are practically art and I may explore this as a method/ medium in the future.

That much said, I selected  6 blots to describe. I have numbered them 1-6 and will flip through them and give my immediate first impression of what I see. I will not spend time studying them or seeking patterns, just what jumps out at me.

 #1. Alien woman in a black lace collar and a blue dress with pink ruffles and black shoes.

#2. Hammer-headed lobster

#3. Wolf's head

#4. Pelvis with a vertebra above it

#5. Mothra flying over islands

#6. Blue man with warthog/ elephant head

I give no analysis. Take what you will from what I see.

When I (Jess) pulled out "Draw a friendly robot", my initial thought was cutesy robot. But then I gave it a second thought and mulled over the idea of a robot that was friendly/ helpful but didn't necessarily look friendly. My first thought after that was of the terminator in T2. But even that character, though he was a father figure, wasn't really friendly. Picture an endoskeleton holding a balloon. Then I thought of Handles. Yes, we watch Dr Who. A lot. Cybermen are very very bad. But handles started out useful and even though we didn't get to see but the beginning and end of his story, he spent a long time with the doctor. At the end, he was clearly counted a friend and not just a tool. So without further ado, I give you "Handles." Well done, Mate.

Share |

Right Brain Redux: Day 3 of 30 Day Creativity Challenge

Sundays are busy days for us, so time for the challenge was definitely part of the challenge. My (Kev) Jar pull for today was to write a poem (length and type unspecified) on a subject chosen at random by Mini-me. He chose for me "Spider-Man". I debated for a while over what kind of poem to try. Now, I'm no poetry aficionado. I do enjoy a limerick every now and again, and I can appreciate good poetry. As far as writing goes, I'm merely a dabbler. So here you have it:

Superhero when he crawls the walls

Peter Parker when he walks the halls

Intent for evil brings his attention

Dumb crooks in police detention

Extra headlines for Triple J

Really makes for big payday

May never knows where he's been

Always honors his Uncle Ben

Never lets evil doers win!

C'mon, Monday! Bring it on!

Kev

Jess // Day 3 Challenge: Take a Photograph of Something Intriguing

I had originally thought I'd try to ride around to find my photography subject. I had an idea of something involving old bricks, unexpected pops of color, and/or something you'd most likely pass by with no second thought. Those subjects will surely find me another day though as I'm always looking for them. Like Kev said, Sundays are our busiest days, and by this evening, I was also feeling rough... that sinus infection is coming for me. So I grabbed my camera and headed outside before I lost the daylight. Hope for a couple of pics, probably macro shots, I had, but what I didn't expect was later choosing 1 of 80 shots.

I find unattractive things intriguing. I'm obsessed with rust and chipped paint. Algae, moss, and rotting things make for perfect subjects. Maybe it's drawing out their intriguing qualities that makes me feel like I've redeemed them in some way. I'm sure I could analyze why that's so, but to make this blog entry a little more succinct, I'll move on. Here's the picture I finally decided to post (no small task due to incurable indecisiveness.)

Here's where that indecisiveness hits again... what I like about it: color, rust, paint chipping, something you'd likely pass by or not notice, a bonus spider web, and even a hidden spider to find. Do you see it?

I might get this one printed, and I'll probably post a few of the other 79 shots at some point too. Day 4, I'm ready!

Jess



Share |

Right Brain Redux: Day Two Updated Projects

Right Brain Redux: Day 2

Today was one of those days. You know the ones: those days where everything comes up and goes haywire (especially the toddler) and by the time that you've done all the errand running and putting out fires and hidden the matches (Jess, not really, this is a hypothetical situation) from the toddler again and maybe chased down a bite to eat (that the toddler carried through the house) there just doesn't seem to be any time left for, well, anything. Well, that's where we found ourselves today. Between the errands and getting ready for Kid's Church tomorrow, there really didn't seem to be time to squeeze in a creative project this evening.

We started this little experiment as a way to kick start our creativity after it's been idle for so long, but today it has also shown us that you CAN find time to create. You just have to want to. Maybe you give up something else for it. The relaxing bath. Another episode of Dr. Who. Part of your sleep. You just decide which one is the most important to you.

Today's challenges were:

Jessica: Create a piece from/ inspired by an everyday object.

Jess took her inspiration from something most of us see every day, and incidentally our studio name. She began with a stove burner/ eye from an electric stove and stripped it down to its basic shapes and curves.  Framing a portion of the eye in the image and stripping out the colors, she added some old-fashioned halftones and created an image that I would almost swear was a domed city from one of my old Buck Rogers comics I had as a kid. I love it.

Kevin: Design a T-Shirt based on a visual pun.

I actually thought this one up yesterday without having any idea I would draw this particular challenge today. The phrase I punned was the title of the old hymn "Power in the Blood". I took the image of a blood bag and simply placed a universal style power button in the middle of it. I had thought of doing a blood splatter with the button in it, but I just didn't have time. I went old-school in the creation of this image. Light pencil sketch, inked over and the pencil erased, then colored in with some Twenty-year-old Prismacolor markers I bought way back in art school. The red one gave me its last I think. After coloring in, I went over the red with alcohol on gauze to feather it out a bit and blend.

Neither of these pieces took and extremely large amount of time to create. In fact, I'd guess about an hour apiece. Proof that you CAN find time to create. They may not be perfect design, but they are perfect imperfection. And that's art.

See you tomorrow for Round 3!

Kev

Share |