Okay so let me start off by saying that there is no real "trick" to art school, except hard work.
...
And of course, making ritual sacrifices of pigs and goats to the Sumerian Art Gods.

Kidding.

But recently it's come to my attention that there are "tricks" to assignments that make things LOOK like they're better than they might actually be or at least more interesting than they may deserve to be. So I've compiled a list of what I believe to be cheap resolutions to otherwise unresolved artworks. Most of these have been experienced first hand, multiple times, in not only this semester. Keep in mind that good works of art can be created using these tricks, but only if they are not used as an easy way out (because it's so obvious when you realize it.) The process of making artistic visual decisions can be a complex one, and if you figure out a way to make a piece more effective, and you want to do it, then it should be done!

However, it should be said that some people use these methods as easy ways out of actually thinking about whether or not it's effective in their work. The effectiveness is often built-in to these things, and does not come from the work itself. Anyway, read on if you understand what I'm talking about. xD

1) For drawings, using an opaque media on a black paper.
This gives the effect of "neon", and emphasizes line work and areas of bright value.
Drawing teachers squeal when you use toned paper in the first place, so using it to this extreme degree is always fun for them. EVERYTHING looks more interesting if you're using bold colors on black, because everything pops. You could draw a half-assed penis with mauve on a black paper, and I can almost guarantee we would spend more time critiquing it than a similar work that took twice as long on white paper.


2) Using overly wide mats to accentuate small pieces.
This gives a small piece more presence on the wall, perhaps letting it compete with larger ones although it is much smaller. And if the mat is black, this is even more true.
This one happened a lot in my Illustration class. People don't like drawing large formats, or upconverting images to be larger formats. It just takes them too long. So they draw it smaller than 8 x 10 inches and then put a 5-7 inch (often black) mat on it. This gives it presence equal to other, larger works because it's at least as big as they are. In one instance I remember, someone did a very simple cartoon and then put a huge mat on it, and we talked about it longer than some of the ones that had much more complex work with little to no mat. I just feel that putting big mats on things to make them appear larger is kind of a cheap trick if a smaller mat could have been more effective. Which leads me to...

3) Making a work REALLY LARGE, for no reason.
This makes any work monumental because it's larger than life, or larger than we are. Even if the content is small and simply placed at an edge or proportion, the work is effective because of the large space.
BLARGH! I hate when people make a really big painting and then we critique it for 15 minutes on how "monumental" and "larger than life" it is. And I'm like "DUH. It's fucking 4 feet tall!" There are a lot of possibilities for large format works, but it should not be a cheap way to get an effective work. Painting one object at the top third of a tall, narrow canvas does not make a good painting. And for the record, I am so tired of GIANT FACES. It's like "LOOK! An expressive face the size of a giant! I FEEL SO TINY, SO THIS MUST BE GOOD!"
Giant faces outshined many at regional art shows when I was in high school. Recently someone did one for an assignment and I was so bored with it. It wasn't really original content or an original approach to the content. It was just big and dirty looking.

There are other "tricks" but they're less tricks than things you learn in college and should use at some point, because they make for more interesting artwork most of the time. Like arbitrary color/unusual color palettes, adding "shine" to drawings (small bit of light to balance lots of varying mid-tone and a little bit of dark in the same fashion, and there is a similar approach to color), using varying types of marks, etc. These are just decisions you would have to make anyway, and don't usually result in what I'm talking about here.

It can be really frustrating to have to critique works that aren't necessarily interesting, they just did one of the things above to make it SEEM like it's interesting. I'm not saying that there is no place for these "tricks", just that they can be abused and I hate critiquing them!
There is a place for giant paintings and black paper and big mats. But it's mostly in interior decorating, to tell the truth. Giant paintings look good in houses because they are often simple and reflect color palettes well. Big mats can share widths with parts of furniture, and then lines and shapes are repeated throughout a room. Non-objective work on black paper with bright markings looks edgy and modern, and goes with similar, unusual color schemes.


It takes a lot of work to be in art school sometimes, and it's really upsetting to see people trying to "cheat" at it. Not everyone does it, and some people can use the things I've said effectively, and well. But too many people get credit where it just isn't due.

This semester has been less stressful, but work is harder to get started.

Illustration is killer. In a bad way and a good way.
I'm really interested in most of the assignments, which is good. And I have Mark as my prof, so I know I'll get good feedback that isn't brutal as hell and he cares about us as artists AND people.
But each time we have a critique, I can't help but think like "Why am I doing this, there are so many more awesome ideas and mine is just not that awesome."
Like there are these guys in my class that kick FACE at illustrating, and I can't compete with them. I just can't draw the same way they do (which looks really good.) Mine ends up looking childish by comparison.
It's really discouraging.

And then there's this Drawing class. Ugh.
The prof is like...SO proud of her Native/Spanish/whatever heritage. So we end up looking up these Hispanic poets for no reason. And she gives all these shitty outside assignments that no one does well on because we have other shit to do, and they take too long to do well. And she makes us draw LANDSCAPES, uggghghhgh. Get out of my face.
And she's all like "You need to take more risks." but I've already tried out two media that are entirely new to me, plus I never draw landscapes, plus I never worked in color with drawing media before! What else do you want?!

Bleh. And Art History is shitty as usual, and she's making our final exam cumulative. Whatever.


Overall, I just feel like a shitty artist some days. I'm good at a certain type of thing, and it's really hard to expand sometimes, and other people seem like they're awesome at everything. -__-; Sounds mopey but I don't care. I think lots of artists feel that way.

So lately I've become fond of the idea of going to pastry school after art school.

I don't want to be part of the cupcake boom, but I doubt I would be, because that bubble is due to burst soon, and I don't like cupcakes as much as I like cookies.

I don't get the idea behind cupcake-eries. Well, I do sort of.
People don't have a lot of money to spend on big luxuries so they buy little ones, like cupcakes, right?
They don't want to buy a lot of cupcakes because then they'll get fat, so they buy one really nice one. And then promptly start discussing how bad it is for them and how they're trying to be on a diet but it's been hard since blah blah blah.
That's where cupcake boutiques come in, and sell you $4 or $5 cupcakes with beautiful designs and exotic flavors.

Now, the problem comes when more and more people get the idea that they could start a cupcake boutique/specialty bakery, too. So they do, and they make some money, enough to get by or even make a profit. And the cupcake bubble inflates.

What I don't understand is why people like cupcakes so much. Too much icing, and I don't like paying much for a 9th of a sheet cake.
Cupcakes are kind of like tiny, more mobile cakes, but messier because you eat them with your hands.
What I like about cookies is that although you eat them with your hands, you can often just wipe the crumbs off, unless they're covered in powdered sugar, in which case you're SOL because you'll inevitably get it on your clothes even if you're careful.
And cookies don't REQUIRE milk to keep from getting that cakey-chokey feeling in your mouth.


Moral of the Story: Cookies > Cupcakes

Anyway, on an art-related note, I made my own Oreos the other day and I was going to take a nice macro shot, but I ate them all.

So I was looking through my old art and I got sad because I like it better than any of the work I did in school so far.

I'm getting ready to go back to college again so I won't submit anything for like 6 months and then I'll put up like 2 things I'm okay with.

I guess I'm just not enjoying the work I'm doing in school. I'm not going to whine and say that I'm not learning ANYTHING and it's all stupid and pointless (even though it feels that way sometimes.) But I feel like I'm not allowed to even go back to that happy art-making place I was in before I went to college. That kind of art is something they've all "seen before" apparently, thereby making it instantly non-unique and therefore worthless to the "art community" that we're all a part of. I don't feel like I've seen it before. I can't say that there aren't artists that are similar in the world but that's okay. If there weren't, we wouldn't be able to expand our interest in art. There would be probably 30 artists ever. Nothing would ever evolve.
Right now the typical artist in my classes at school does weird indie art that looks like a mix of creepy caricature and shitty Adult Swim cartoons. I feel very separate from that crowd at least, which is something I'm proud of. There's nothing unique about that art scene, and it's become disgustingly popular to make "weird cartoons" that make everyone feel uncomfortable (and therefore you should like them, phht.) The buck stops at Flapjack, okay. Flapjack is uncomfortable animation at it's best. Next to Ren and Stimpy and Rocko's Modern Life.

I like to make people laugh.
And think.
And feel good.

I like for people to think about things like the kids they played with when they were little and the weird games you played. I like for people to think about their stuffed animals and action figures.

It's not as if my childhood was this great, glorious thing to me. I just envy the ability to carry around a blanket or a stuffed animal. I wish we could all dress how we wanted without people thinking "Well how strange is that. I wouldn't be caught dead in that! That's out of season! That isn't appropriate!"

Things that make us feel safe or good are called "dependency issues" all too often these days.
Of course, there are boundaries. Just as with everything else, you must have it in moderation. Anyone who NEEDS something to feel alright may have a problem. But snuggling a stuffed animal or the corner of your blanket at night is simple comfort. It feels good to have something soft and snuggly because it's natural to feel comforted by it. Some people become violently embarrassed by that kind of thing.

If I could carry a stuffed animal into the doctor's office every time I need a booster shot or tetanus or whatever, I would feel a lot better about the whole thing. But we have this social expectation to show no fear of being stuck with things and poked and prodded and have essential fluids taken out of our bodies!

It's all just so ridiculous. I'd rather keep my blood INSIDE my body, thanks.

I forgot about this Pillows song until it popped up on my iPod. I didn't even realize I'd put it on there.

This song has gotten me through some rough times, and counts as one of my top 10 favorite Pillows songs.

And it has a fun little electro version of Advice on the end, which was my favorite song for a long time.