Vectors and bitmaps~

So, for this week's session we have to explain the differences between vectors and bitmaps.
Vectors are made of objects while bitmaps are made of pixels. The basic difference is that vectors are scalable while bitmaps become blurred if the size changes. Vector images are suited for graphic advertisements or for spot-on illustrations. The effect is surely more convenient, but the vector illustrations result too cartoon-ish sometime; bitmap images can look quite realistic and beautiful. If you want to create a digital painting, the bitmap format is more appropriate.
On the contrary, if you want to create an image that could be resizeable and used by others, you should totally create a bitmap work.

It's easier to explain looking at pictures:

The first one is on Illustrator (using vectors)



The second one on Photoshop (bitmap)



They look pretty similar, right? But if you actually zoom in...






...you can see how different they are! Vector images don't blur, while bitmap do.

I used this BBC article for reference

Fonts and colour palettes

In today's lesson we talked a bit about fonts, texts and colour palettes. Since we have to add some kind of text in the illustrations, we looked at the meaning of different types of fonts (and colours)

I really like hand-written fonts, mostly because they seem more intimate, they communicate more to the viewer (to me, at least)

The website I mostly checked is called Font Squirrel and it has plenty of really nice fonts! 

Rock Salt

Tkachenko Sketch 4F

1942

CarbonType

ElliotSix 

These are some of the fonts I really enjoyed (and some of them will be probably used for my project).

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Regarding palette colours, we talked a bit about colours in general and then the different between RGB and CYMK. We had to search for a proper palette for the project so I came out with this:

I really like this combination of colours, I will probably use it!

Talking about colours, my favourite colour palettes are usually really warm. There is this website, Adobe Color, where you can see "themed" palettes created by other people and lots of them are quite good! 

There is another website called TinEye Labs and it's kinda amazing! You just set colour palettes and it searches images from the web with the same combinations. (it's not really relevant for the project, but it is really cool) 

And these are some of the colour palettes I usually pick for my drawings.

As I said earlier, I really like warm colours, so I use them pretty often. 

Favourite Characters

This post may be too general but I want to talk about characters I really appreciate.

I'll pick a character from TV series, one from animes, one from cartoons and one from videogames. 

I am a huge fan of animation (cartoons, animes, animated movies etc) and I admire the amount of time spent to realize it. One of my favourite animes is Hunter x Hunter. The story is very appealing and deep such as the characters. 

One of the characters I find interesting is Killua Zoldyck:

White-haired young characters are so aesthetically pleasing (lots of character I like are white-haired). Killua is a young assassin coming from a family of mercenaries. He seeks more from his "boring" life so he takes the "Hunter Exam" to become an Hunter (a well-paid, worldly recognised figure who can "hunt" treasures, creatures, people) and have some fun. He is a laid-back, annoyed kid who never had any friends (because of his family) and when he finally meets one, his character grows in a way that could be negative. The thing is, you should expect him to be a "bad guy" being an assassin and all, but he never wanted to be one and he really tries to be a better person. That's another reason of why I do like him! 

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TV series characters can be SO well done! I have a bunch of characters I really enjoy from TV series like The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, The 100, Heroes, Faking it, etc. Multi-faced people is intriguing, I usually try to avoid characters that are just good or bad; it isn't realistic. Everyone has a light and dark side, it's nice when you step out and look at the character in its whole. 

I could talk about Carol Peletier from The Walking Dead:

I LOVE how the character grows during the seasons! People change with time and events, that's the thing. She transited from being a weak, used and introverted woman to a strong, independent character capable of doing anything. Of course, this new side comes with negative effects too, but that's why she's interesting: she's not perfect. 

(I could quote other characters from the same show, such as Rick Grimes and Daryl Dixon, who both grow and change so much!) 

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I don't watch many cartoons, but I recently started to follow some of them! My favourite ones are Bridge over the Garden Wall, Steven Universe, Gravity Falls, Avatar: The Last Airbender - and its sequel Legend of Korra.

There are tons of positive things to say regarding these cartoons, but I'll stick with just talking about one of them. 

The most aesthetically pleasing, for me, it's surely Legend of Korra. That cartoon is very complex and intriguing!

The character I really want to focus on is Korra (the main character) 

As I said earlier, I love when characters grow emotionally and mentally. Korra is a blatant example of character growth. But, in contrast to Carol, her growth is from a loud, egocentric, physically strong woman to a mentally strong, quieter person who can sacrifice herself for the well-being of others. Of course Korra is still Korra (she can be a nuisance, and being upset about stuff) but if you follow her through the seasons, you can see how much she changes.  

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There are so many characters I love from videogames! Let me start saying that, particularly in games, I prefer characters who are engaging. The games I play are mostly from Nintendo DS (and are graphic novels). With this type of games, the story is essential because graphic isn't the most important part of the work. So they are usually well structured. My favourite titles are Professor Layton, Ace Attorney, Hotel Dusk and 999. These 4 games are very addicting and complex, a must-play if you are into these kind of things. I recently played a PC game called Life is Strange. I want to talk about that game and its character(s). 

This game is TOTALLY incredible. Not only the characters, the whole design is amazing. The best game I played in years, surely. 

The backgrounds are astounding, and the attention to details is amazing. I just have positive feedback for this incredible work. Anyway, beside that, the characters are on point.

Characters do not have just to "grow" to be interesting: if they are constant but well-shaped it's fine too. The main character of the game, Max Caufield, is just a normal geek girl who likes to take selfies and would like to become a photographer. Lots of people can see themselves looking at her, this helped people to create a connection. 

Okay, these are the characters I wanted to talk about. I'll update the blog as soon as I can!

Week 4

I didn't update the blog these weeks, and I feel really bad about it. I still have a lot ongoing at home (as I said in the previous post, I still have to move somewhere else) so my mind isn't totally focused. Anyway, I've done my research in the meantime! Today we had a sort of informal meeting to have and give feedback each other. Everyone was really open minded and glad to help and share ideas! For my project I have more clear thoughts now. I mentioned the Escape Room theme. I kept that and decided to focus on the "Prison Break" scenario. Here's some of the mood-board I've done

Since the theme isn't actually light, the colours and the atmosphere will be dark. I have some studies of the characters, but after today's talk I decided to change them a bit. So here's the before:

And the after:

I changed the design because someone let me notice that they were all too similar and.... clean? They didn't scream "prison" at all (maybe just the first guy) so I kinda thought about what they did to be in prison. I prefer these design, so I'm quite happy for now :) 

About the prison itself, I want to look up at some TV series and horror movies/videogames. The colour pallette for rusty old prisons is usually blue/orange, so I'll use these colours in addition to the Logo ones (yellow/black/white) 

Anyway, I'll update soon!

First Assignments

I started uni just this week, because I was busy moving to Bolton the one before (I actually have to do more stuff yet).
Thursday's lesson is about Employability and Enterprise. This blog was created for the purpose of showing my progress during the weeks. Since last week I couldn't work on it, I'm trying to do what I didn't before. I created a Twitter account along with this blog, where I'll post sketches and drawings... basically what I post here!

Today we talked in more depth about the proper assignment, so I was doing some research! I decided the theme I will use, and it's the Escape Room. I love this mystery/puzzle-solving genre and I can't wait to sketch something!

Here's some images I found on the internet:

This are some of the scenarios in the Escape Room games! I also thought about a Nintendo DS game that's about escaping rooms (and possibly not dying). The game is called Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (999) and I was thinking of taking inspiration from that art style

I was also thinking about what kind of font to use. I searched "mysterious and dark" fonts, they are suited for the task. 

And I took a look at the colour palette of the Escape Room logo:

It's yellow, black and white. These are the main colours I will use for my illustrations. 

How can creative people benefit from social media & blogs?

This question is interesting. Internet is nowadays an essential tool if you want to be seen by the majority of people in a fast way, It's a pretty straight-forward method to look for creative contents.

More and more creative people (illustrators, musicians, actors, animators) decide to create a social account to share their thoughts and opinions about everyday matters (or to show their works and works-in-progress).
It makes it feel like they are more approachable by the others, since everyone can see, comment and share.

In any case it's easier to "talk" to strangers behind the screen; there's an invisible barrier that can really helps insecure people.

It's so easy to just search your favourite artist, look at his works, videos, interviews. I totally think this potentially is the most creative period we had in years.
Today the artist can actually earn money by selling his works online; there are many websites (like Kickstarter or Patreon ) where people can support you by giving you money for your ongoing projects. This is called crowdfunding.

Here's an interesting article by Leanne Regalla about 49 Creative Geniuses Who Use Blogging to Promote Their Art 

Interests

I have a variety of interestes: I love to play my guitar and videogames, to watch movies/tv series/cartoons and animes. In my spare time I draw characters from my favourite shows just for fun.

Computer Skills

I can use the computer relatively well. It's the main tool I use to draw since 2012. My main skills include

- Character design

- Good use of Paint Tool SAI

- Digital Colouring 

- Digital Painting 

- Basic knowledge of Adobe Flash

Education

I attented an art high school in Italy for 5 years and studied animation for 3. Afterwards I started my animation and illustration course here in Bolton. Now I'm attending my second year at the university.

Skills Overview

Hi to everyone! I just created this new blog to share with you my animation and illustration course progress. 

I am mainly a digital artist. My main style is a mix of anime and cartoon, but I can variate. I have a good knowledge of some art programs such as Paint Tool SAI and Adobe Flash.

I can also draw traditionally, but I reserve this process to quick sketches and doodles. 

Other than drawing, I spend my free-time playing my guitar, listening to music or playing videogames.