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Clouds Are Not Spheres: A Brief History of Fractals

Fractals: A Real-Life Application of Art Introduction From the trees outside your window to the blood vessels in your body, fractals exist all around you. Clouds, lightning, and coastlines – they are all fractals. Even we are composed of fractals. Fractals are a part of everything. For centuries, people have recognized nature’s tendency to repeat itself. Take Hokusa’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa for example. In the woodblock painting, you can see the repeating patterns at the tips of the giant wave as it crashes down on the boats. Although people noticed these patterns, they had not a clue what they were really looking at: a fractal.

Fractals: A Brief History Antennas, fractal compression, understanding the stock market, and designing more efficient computers—these are all possible because of our understanding of fractals. Before French-American mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot invented the branch of fractal mathematics, our understanding of how things function and why things repeat was limited. Without his discovery, we would not live in the world we live in today. Mandelbrot was contemplating algebra one day when began seeing vivid, geometric images in his mind. He soon realized that he had actually transformed algebraic formulas and equations into the pictures he was seeing. However, he kept this discovery to himself, for he figured it would not help him in the long run. Enter Georg Cantor, a Russian mathematician. In 1883, he created the first mathematical monster: He formed a straight line and broke it into thirds, erasing the middle portion. He repeated this process many a time, trying to fathom the mathematical mystery. He soon discovered that the length between the lines grew infinitely small and appeared to approach zero. However, the length never actually shrank to zero, and the pattern continued to repeat itself. Mandelbrot realized that these were types of fractals. He also saw different uses for them other than just “mathematical mysteries.” How Long is the Coastline of Britain? There was a long-standing issue in the cartography world: it was impossible to determine the length of a coastline. People knew that measuring a coastline with a yardstick for several miles would give them a rough estimate for its length; however, it would not be a very accurate measurement. They knew that the smaller the units of measurement, the more and more accurate the length would become. Mandelbrot took notice of this and wrote an article titled "How Long is the Coastline of Britain?". In it, he stated that coastlines were self-similar—that is, he could not measure the distance, but he could measure the roughness. This publication illustrated his first thoughts on fractals. Julia A short while later, Mandelbrot stumbled upon another monster: Julia. Julia was named after the French mathematician Gaston Julia who studied it during the First World War. Gaston Julia tried numerous times to iterate an equation in a feedback loop; however, each time he plugged a number into the formula, he would get a new number. Unable to create an image, he gave up; it was too much for one man to accomplish. Luckily for Mandelbrot, he had computers to aid him in his problem solving and was able to graph Julia using an IBM computer. It was a breathtaking image. Mandelbrot Set It was time for Mandlebrot to create his own equation. In 1980, he took all of the Julia sets and used them to create one iconic image. He named this image “The Mandelbrot Set.” Little did he know that it would become the most famous of all fractals. The Mandelbrot set and fractals were embraced by artists but not by mathematicians. His peers criticized and ridiculed him, claiming he was no good at math and that his fractals were merely nothing. His friends did not even speak to him. They called his fractals “artifacts from the computer” and called them utterly useless. Ignoring the responses from his colleagues, Mandelbrot created his soon-to-be-famous book, The Fractal Geometry of Nature. In it, he demonstrated how to measure things in nature and provided more ideas on the applications to his newly-discovered branch of mathematics. Soon afterwards, fractals were everywhere. Fractals Today In the early 1990s, fractal antennas were introduced. One of the very first of these was in the shape of the infamous “Koch snowflake.” It worked extremely well and had the advantage of being far smaller than a normal antenna. It could also receive more frequencies. The self-similarity of the fractal enabled it to work far better. Cell phone companies were also having similar issues at this time: every single portion of the phone ran at a different frequency. Luckily for them, the use of fractal antennas enabled them to all run on one single phone, thus enabling the cell phone revolution of today. Fractals are not only used in technology, but they are also used to understand the human body. For example: our heartbeats do not actually act like metronomes; instead, they fluctuate to several extremes, forming familiar patterns exactly like fractals do. These fractals also show up in blood vessels and have been used by doctors to help further comprehend tumors. Fractals are also used in movies. For example: one can create nature-like scenes such as mountains and even entire planets using only iteration. Believe it or not, the first film fractal came up in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, where a planet was made entirely from a fractal. Even the last Star Wars movie had fractals. In one of the scenes, the protagonists and antagonists fight in a lava chamber. That lava was created purely with fractals. The artists added swirls to the 3-D model and shrunk them. They repeated this until the entire lava background was made of fractal swirls. As you can see, throughout several different fields, fractals have initiated revolutions of all kinds. We are fractals, and fractals are our future as well. Who knows where they will take us in the next twenty five years? We have gone from days where phones were the size of bricks to ones that can fit in the palm of your hand. We have even gone from days where film scenes were literally painted on film, now they're made on computers. Fractals have lead us this far, and who knows where they will lead us next?

Celtic Knot: Fractal Tutorial

Welcome to my fifth tutorial in this series! Today we're going to make this fractal: As you can see it has elaborate details, I call this one Celtic knot because it somewhat reminds me of one of the knots. Anyways, refer to the earlier sections of this tutorial for basic information. Before we begin, your transforms will not look exactly like mine till you finish the entire fractal, I have messed with the xaos settings in the images below. You won't mess with the xaos settings till the rest of the fractal is formed.

The first step is to create a new blank flame. On the first transform set linear to 0, and Mobius to 1. That's it. As you can see the fractal looks like nothing so far, this won’t really change until the fourth transform.

Create a second transform, leave the linear setting alone. What you need to do here is go to the triangle tab, scale the triangle down three times on a setting of 125. Move this small triangle to the left by one unit. This is how it should look so far:

Duplicate transform 2. Now move this new triangle to the right two times. This is how it should look so far:

On transform four set linear to 0, blur to 0.05, and squarical to 1. Flip this triangle vertically. As you can see the fractal is finally becoming complicated looking: On transform five set Mobius to 1 and linear to 0. First flip the triangle horizontally, and then flip it vertically. Set the weight to 1. Here is how the transform should look: For transform six set linear to 0, and rectangles to 1.5. Flip horizontally. Here is how it should look like: Now for the last transform set linear to -100. Now the next step is messing with the xaos tab. I really can't explain to you what xaos does because I really don't fully understand it myself. I occasionally fiddle with it until I'm happy with the result. Only transforms 1, 4, 5, and 6 will have changes made to their xaos settings. Refer to the images above for the correct settings. Your fractal should look like this: Remember, this summer I will be releasing the full version of this tutorial. Inside the full version will be the information on how to make the following fractal: And many other alternative fractals! If you have any questions feel free to comment. I'll do my best to answer your questions, thank you and good luck!

#fractal tutorial apop

The Artist's Palette: Deadly Emerald

The Artist's Palette: Deadly Emerald Source: Chris Goulet, Wikipedia Back during the Regency Period (the early 1800s) the chemical industry was in its beginnings. Often this industry produced pigments. Prior to the chemical revolution paint hues often were not as vivid as the colors you see today, only the best most expensive paint was incredibly vivid. These new chemical pigments were easily manufactured, and made widely available, but it came with a heavy price. They did not consider though the consequences of some of the chemicals they used to achieve these vivid hues though. To be blunt, it made the lead paint problem we have today look like child's play.

I've mentioned the process of making the color white before in this series, if you remember it was literally made out of lead. Lead is deadly enough. Arsenic is even more deadly. Hint, it was used as rat poison during the time. Arsenic is also infamous for its vivid hue; it’s a bright emerald green that definitely appealed the art world. The producers of the hue knew they had a hit with the color, thus they did not tell anyone what was producing the color. The color became extremely popular for all sorts of uses in the mean while, it was used for wallpaper, for dying clothes, and even for food! If you used wallpaper dyed with the substance you were likely to become ill or even died. If the wallpaper became damp it would give off this weird odor. That odor was the arsenic escaping into the air of the room; it would enter your lungs. The wallpaper was a major hit, in 1870 there was 30 million rolls sold just in Britain alone. Green was also quite popular for a time in clothing. Until people started to notice that people who wore green usually were more likely to die. In France, those who are in theater avoid the color because of this tradition. Later once they figured out why people were dying satirical cartoons like this one were published. Source: Fashion Plate from La Mode, 1848, webexhibits.com In food the color was used in the decorations of baked goods. For example, sugar leaves were a really popular food. The girls who produced these leaves often had arsenic poisoning. What was even worse is diners at meals took the leaves home for their own kids. Sadly enough this would sometimes produce fatal results. Once a chef decided to dye a blancmange green, three of the people who ate the dessert died. It was not until the 1870s the pigment started going out of vogue, when synthetic dyes started encroaching on emerald green's market. By that time four out of five wallpapers in Britain contained this deadly poison, it had also taken a large dead toll. The moral of this story? Just because a pigment is beautiful, it doesn't mean that it’s a good idea to use it. Be careful with your tools, even today several of the paints you use could be deadly. Keep them out of the hands of the wee ones in your life (this means keep the kids out of your art studio), and use common sense while painting. Source: Jane Austen's World Source: http://janeaustenswo...-regency-paint/

Amalthea - A Fractal Tutorial

Welcome to my fourth fractal tutorial in this series. Today we are going to make this image: This type of fractal is called a Mobius. If you don't know exactly what you're doing its difficult to create this type of fractal from scratch. Most people thus use baseforms. If you want to, you can use baseforms. I'm not sure if I used a baseform or not in this fractal since it’s from a year and a half ago. I'm going to give you instructions on how to make it completely on your own. Thus begins my dissection of a really old fractal. Anyways, I'm going to trust that most of you are not basic Apophysis users. If you are a basic user, please read my first tutorials in this series. If you wish to download the best baseform's pack, download Penny5775's Mobius Design Pack located here: Penny5775's Mobius Design Pack Your are also going to need the Mobius plugin, and the spherical3D plugin. The plugin pack is downloadable at The Aposhack Plugin Pack Also, I wrote this tutorial using Apophysis 2.08 3D. Sometimes there are differences in the locations with different versions of Apophysis. If you have difficulty with this, eyeball it from the screenshots please. If you cannot eyeball it, note me. I'll try to convert it in 7x.

The first step is to create a new blank transform. Set linear3D to zero, and set Mobius to 1. In the variables, you will see a series of funny letters, here are the possible variables listed: Re_A Im_A Re_B Im_B Re_C Im_C Re_D Im_D Don't ask me what they mean. Most of them will be set to zero, here are the three that will be set differently. Set Re_A to 1, Im_C to -1.1, and Re_D to 1. Now go to the weights area and set the weight of transform 1 to 50.

The last thing you need to do is to change the location of transform 1. This will only be a slight change, go to the triangle tab. Move the triangle up by 0.1. Move the triangle right by 0.05. The fractal should look like:

Create a second transform, set linear3D to 0, and set linear to 1. Set the weight to 40. Transform 2 will remain in its default position. Go to the transform tab, under where it says Reset post-transform enter in these coordinates: X: -1, 0 Y: 0, -1 O: -0.05, -0.1 This is how your fractal should look: Transform 3 is an extremely adaptable transform; you can get plenty of different effects just by changing this transform just slightly.

On transform three set linear3D to 0, linear to 1, spherical to 2, disc to 1, blur to 1, and spherical3D to 5. Set the weight to 6. Move the fractal to the right by one unit. Here is the transform editor. This is how the fractal should look so far: Create a new transform, set linear3D to 0, set linear to 1. Set the weight to 6. Move the triangle to the left by one unit. Here is the transform editor. This is how the fractal should look so far: Create a new transform. Set linear3D to 0. Set linear to 1. Set the weight to 2.5. Flip the Triangle vertically. Go to the transform tab and under where it says Reset post-transform set its coordinates to: X: 1, 0 Y: 0, 1 O: 0, 3

Here is the transform editor. This is how the fractal should look so far:

Enable a final transform. Leave linear3D set to 1, set curl3D to 1. Here is the transform editor. Your fractal should look like this: The final thing is to set the colors. The gradient I used was 99 in my gradient pack titled Silvers. Download Here If you want the same colors go to the color tab. You see the word symmetry? Each transform has their own symmetry setting for this gradient, here are the settings: Transform 1: 0.9 Transform 2: 0.9 Transform 3: 1 Transform 4: 1 Transform 5: 0 Final Transform: 1

Now go to Flame, and hit Randomize Color Values (or hit ctrl + n). The colors are still not the same, but they are balanced appropriately due to the symmetry setting.

Now go to the gradient window. Pull the gradient bar around slowly until you see the correct color scheme in the small preview window. Now you're done!!!

Remember, this summer I'm going to release the entire tutorial. I'll give you the link then. Good luck! Feel free to leave a note if you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer them!

#Fractal tutorial apophysis fractals tutorials tsukinohikari20 planetrenders tokyo rose

The Artist's Palette: The Jōmon Period

The Artist's Palette: The Jōmon Period The artist's palette series is now going to move into studying different periods of art. We're not going to covering something as large as renaissance art, but instead we're going to cover smaller art periods with a specific culture in mind. For the first part we're going to study the Jōmon period. You're probably asking right now, what the hell is a Jōmon and what is this crazy person is talking about. Well Jōmon is referencing a time period in Japan from around 14,000 to 300 BCE. Jōmon means cord-patterned, this is referencing the markings on clay art from this time; these marking were made with sticks that were wrapped with cords. The people who made this art are called the Jōmon; they are the ancestors of the Ainu people (northern Japanese).

An early example of their pottery. Notice the lines? They were made by rope. Source: Wikipedia The Jōmon were hunter-gatherers, and creators of the first actual useful pottery. The earliest of the pottery dates back to 14,000 BCE, these pieces are called Jōmon doki. Jōmon doki means "patterns of rope." This is because ropes were used to decorate the clay. Like I said, these clay pots were useful, they used them to store or eat food out of. These vessels are the earliest known in the world for this purpose. They also made clay heads. Source: Wikipedia So, what is important about this? Hunters-gather cultures really don't need pottery, mainly because they're constantly on the move and living a very nomadic life style. This means that the culture was at the very least a semi-sedentary culture. They had tools, they could fish, and they also practiced some of the first agriculture in the world as well. Thus, studying them is important. That they also took time to decorate their pottery also indicates that they had enough time to do so as well as the inclination to make art. This is from the middle period, the decor on the pot is described as flame like. This is highly characteristic of works from the middle Jōmon time period. Source: Wikipedia There was not much change in the artworks till a population explosion occurred about 10,000 years after the first works were created. The climate was warm and more hospitable for island life, the works started to become more artistic. This meant that since there was a bigger population, more people could be dedicated to making art. Sadly enough this came to an end rather quickly and the population declined, they were later invaded the Jōmon culture ended. As you can see their works became far more complex towards the later time periods. Source: Wikipedia Contrast and compare this image of a clay head and the first one that I posted, as you can see there is a drastic difference. Source: Wikipedia Source: Jōmon Period

Vesper: A Fractal Tutorial

Vesper Welcome to my third fractal tutorial for Identity Studio! Today we're going to explore the 3D aspects of Apophysis! The fractal we're covering today is an offshoot of my main fractal tutorial Exploring Apophysis 3D This fractal is for moderate to intermediate users of Apophysis. Thus, I will not cover every little step; you guys should know how to create a blank flame, and how to enable a final transform.

Now let us begin!

Note: Before we begin, you guys should know that a few of these images might appear a tad bit warped. This is due to how I'm compressing the dimensions of the images so it'll fit on the page more nicely.

Go to the adjust window and set the pitch to 75. Set the x position to 0.9, and the y position to 0.74. The adjust window is a grand thing; you can zoom, rotate, use some depth of field, and even change the pitch of the fractal all in one place! You can also do several more things like changing the gradient. On your first transform set linear3d to 0, and set crackle to 0.5. Go to variables and set crackle_cellsize to 0.5, and crackle_distort to 1. Transform One’s Variations Transform One’s Variables Your image should look like this: Transform one should look like this, see how clear the crackle is? This is also the most versatile of the transforms; you can change the fractal quite a lot with this transform by your choice of variations. Create the second transform, set it to the following: linear3d 0 pre_blur 0.001 pre_ztranslate -0.456 zscale 1 Julian 5 Transform Two’s Variations On the variables make sure they are set to julian_power 3, and julian_dist 1.

Transform Two’s Variables Go the triangle tab, set the rotation angle to 45, and rotate the transform counter clockwise. Make sure the triangle scale is set to 125, click the small triangle icon FOUR times in order to downscale this transform.

This is how the fractal set up should look like. Remember to rotate and downscale this triangle. Your image should look like the following:

This is what your fractal should look like so far, do you still see the crackle? Create the third transform and set it to the following: linear3d 0 zscale 0.421 Julian 0.5 Transform Three’s Variations The variables should be set to julian_power 2, and julian_dist 1.25. Transform Three’s Variables Go to the triangle tab; once more make sure your rotation angle is set to 45. Click the counter clockwise button THREE times. What transform three’s set up should look like. Your image should look like this: This is what your fractal should look like so far. As you can see, the crackle is now topping the towers. Your fractal is also starting to take shape. You can stop here now and have a basic fractal, but why not go even further? On the fourth transform set it to the following: linear3d 0 Bubble 0.01 pre_blur 1 pre_zscale 1 curl3d -5

Transform Four’s variations (bubble setting is not shown) Double check that the following Variables are set correctly: curl3D_cx -0.48750 curl3D_cy 0 curl3D_cz 0 Transform Four’s Variables Go to the triangle tab once more; rotate the triangle 45 degrees counter clockwise. Set the move triangle area to 1.2, and move transform 4 down.

Transform four’s set up should look like this. Your image should look like this: Your fractal should look like this now. The crackle is still there! Enable a final transform and set it to the following: zscale 1 Julian 0.75 Final Transform’s Variations The variables should be set to Julian_power 1, and Julian_dist 2. Final Transform’s Variables Go to the triangle tab and repeat the directions I gave you for triangle four, the final transform should go exactly over transform four. The final transform’s set up should look like this. Your fractal should look like this: What your final fractal should look like! Do you see the crackle? If you use other variations on transform one and you’re lucky, you should be able to see them in the final fractal. Remember, by this summer I shall publish the finished full version of this tutorial. I will link you guys to it once it is online. If you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments and I'll do my best to answer them. Good luck and have fun!

#fractal tutorial apop #Fractal tutorial apophysis fractals tutorials tsukinohikari20 planetrenders tokyo rose

The Artist's Palette: The Cultural Aspects of Purple

The Cultural Aspects of Purple To put it simply, purple is a secondary color. Traditionally you achieve this color by mixing blue and red. It is somewhat separate from violet and magenta. In this article, we shall discuss a bit about the cultural aspects of purple. Let's begin by looking at the word itself, purple after all is quite a strange word. It comes from the Latin word purpura which was the Latin name for a very special dye. This dye was the dye that the nobility used to get that noble purple color that was infamous in antiquity. This dye produced the color Tyrian purple. The dye was created from mollusk shells, and was produced by the Phoenicians. The mollusk which produces Tyrian Purple Source: Luis Fernández García

It was not cheap at all, the dye itself sometimes even cost its own weight in silver, and thus it was a very early status symbol. There were laws on the books that forbade commoners to wear the color, it was meant solely for the most important people in ancient society. Both the expense and the imperial elements were probably due to the fact that 12,000 snails would only yield about 1.4 g of dye; or one garment's worth. The great empires especially loved the color; it was worn by Alexander the Great, and even the last pharaohs of Egypt. Even the Roman emperors wore clothes dyed this color. Their robes would be dyed purple, with a gold trim; Roman Senators also had the distinction of a purple stripe on their own robes. This color of purple was seen as more red violet than true purple. An example of Tyrian Purple. Source: Wikipedia. In medieval Europe the color purple shifted again, it became more blue violet. Blue dyes were incredibly rare, so a blue violet color became the new "royal" color. Tyrian purple had disappeared by this time, mainly because the Roman Empire collapsed in 476. When you hear of a king wearing purple, its blue violet they are wearing. Purple also is very cultural, most people think of royalty when they think of purple, but there are other associations. In the US and UK militaries purple is used as the symbol of joint programs, (for example a program that has both the army and navy working on it). Also, the Purple Heart is purple because purple represents courage. During half mourning in traditional mourning practices, purple is worn, being that it is a deep color close to black. Purple also has symbolism in our political system; a purple state is a state that's 50% Republican, and 50% Democrat. Another aspect of the color is that it’s the currently pride color in the LGBT community. Also, symbolically in the world's political system, purple represents monarchies. As you can see purple is an extremely powerful color culturally.

Artist Interviews: Shynobi

Artist Interviews: Shynobi Wendy: Can you tell me about yourself? Shynobi: My name is Sean, I'm 19, and I was born, raised, and am currently living in central Alberta, Canada with my family. I took a one year course in communication design, but I'm currently working full time so I can have enough money to move to and continue my studies in Vancouver. Wendy: Are you looking forward to going to Vancouver? What are you plans there? Shynobi: Going to Vancouver is going to be a pretty big event in my life, considering that I've never moved before. But it will definitely be a nice, warm, clean place to go to university. I'm going to be soooo poor though. Here's hoping that the high living prices will be worth it.

Wendy: What is it like to live in Canada? Shynobi: I can't tell you what living in Canada is like, because it's so diverse. It really depends on where in Canada you live (west coast, the plains, mid-eastern, east coast). In Alberta, we have nice summers, but very cold winters, and I'm OK with that. I'm not much of a fan of some of the "redneck-ish" character, however. Wendy: Ah, the rednecks, I live in the midst of their home nest. Are they anything like the ones from Tennessee (the type of redneck you'd usually see depicted in movies)? Shynobi: Hah, no, not to that extent. It's not that easy to distinguish the redneck Canadians between the regular ones. It's more about the general country atmosphere (country music, rodeos, mass conservatism) that's not my cup of tea. Wendy: What drew you to art, particularly digital art? Shynobi: I honestly had very little interest in art as a child. I liked to doodle a lot, but what kid doesn't like to doodle? I was, however, extremely fascinated by computers. I learnt how to use my family's first computer on my own, and this process of toying around with programs and computers (that continues on to this day) led me to various applications like GameMaker, 3D Studio Max, FL Studio (music production), and of course, Photoshop. After experimenting in Photoshop, I figured that I could use it to make forum signatures at my friend's forum. Like many others these days, I began to take signatures further by expanding to a larger format. Wendy: Can you show me some of your earliest signatures? Shynobi: Wow, that pretty much sums up my obsession with ninjas. Wendy: Why are you obsessed with ninjas? Shynobi: I used to play Revenge of Shinobi for the Sega Genesis when I was a kid, and it was an awesome game. Maybe that's why? Wendy: Is Revenge of Shinobi where you got your user name? Shynobi: It sure is. Wendy: What is your dream job after you graduate? Shynobi: A successful designer. Maybe the creative director of my own established design studio. I'd rather not be specific, because ultimately, my goal is to design, and to be successful. Wendy: How did you find PR, and why did you decide to become an active part of the community? Shynobi: Google. No really. I was looking for renders to use in my signatures at my friend's forum (was called GamerzHeaven), and found PR. After downloading several renders, I decided to just join the forum, hoping to meet other signature designers. Wendy: How does it feel to be a staff member? Shynobi: It definitely feels like a duty. I feel guilty when I let members down, but I get a feeling of gratification when I help members out. Unfortunately I've been slipping away from this duty, but I still wish the best for the site and its community. Wendy: What sort of changes do you think Planetrenders should make due to the current trends in graphics? Shynobi: I haven't been that active lately in the graphics area of PR, so it's difficult to suggest any kind of change. From what I have seen, though, the current trends have been pretty static for last year or so. Members who enjoy making signatures continue to do so, and members who are interested in a larger format have the option to progress in that way. I think the changes PR currently needs will just be created naturally by the members. Wendy: What inspires you? Shynobi: Of course I'm inspired by those who influence me, like other artists and designers, such as Alex Varanese and Grzegorz Domaradzki. My first and strongest inspiration, however, is the former studio, The Designers Republic. Their designs have a huge influence on my work, sometimes aesthetically, and sometimes conceptually. On a deeper scale, however, I'm inspired technology and its effects on mankind, as well as the existence of a separate reality. Wendy: Can you tell me more about The Designers Republic and why it was such an inspiration? Shynobi: I used to constantly play a game called WipEout XL for my Playstation, and I loved its aesthetics and interface. A bit of research led me to tDR, the studio that designed not only WipEout's art, but also covers to albums I owned and loved. This created a sense of relationship between me and tDR, and introduced me to the existence of graphic design. I couldn't help but be intrigued by their commentary on modern society and consumerism, and their aggressive tech style (which has been losing popularity the past few years) has made a lasting impression on my taste in design. Wendy: What's WipEout XL? And why did it inspire you, can you give me some images for examples? Shynobi: WipEout XL (aka WipEout 2097) was a sci-fi racing game for the Playstation, where you pilot extremely fast, armed, anti-gravity vehicles. Really, everything about the game inspired me. The cyber-punk setting, the shape of the vehicles, the electronic music, and most of all, the aesthetics designed by tDR. tDR's work on this game really opened my eyes to design. They even managed to create complete brands and logos for each team. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0Xkikk6IRI&feature=player_embedded Wendy: What was your proudest moment as an artist? Shynobi: It's hard to pinpoint one moment, because I always feel proudest when I complete my latest artwork. But the one moment that had the greatest effect on my pride as an artist was the day my first shirt design, Maelstrom Cyanide, was printed at Design By Humans. Wendy: How did it feel to get your shirt printed? Shynobi: When I saw the e-mail in my inbox, I really felt euphoric. It made me realize my potential to make money off of my art. I'd like to say that I was surprised (and I'll probably come off a cocky by not doing so), but I had almost 100% expected it to print, ever since I had begun designing Maelstrom Cyanide. Wendy: What inspired Maelstrom Cyanide? Shynobi: If you can see similarities between it and the cover for Massive Attack's album "Collected", it's no coincidence. I was amazed by the album art and I wanted to translate it in my own personal way on to a shirt. Wendy: Any tips for future shirt designers? Shynobi: Always remember your medium. You're not designing a poster, or a wallpaper. You're designing a shirt, so you need to ask yourself "Would I wear this with pride?", "Who would wear this in public?", and "Is it worth printing?" A lot of shirt designs I've seen have been well executed, but I would feel silly wearing it. Don't be influenced by other shirt designs and art, but also fashion and the shirts themselves. Wendy: Any suggestions for artists who are starting out in general? Shynobi: Don't try to force your style in your art. Your style develops on its own. You can search for inspiration, but influence comes to you. Also, artist blocks are an illusion. If you're physically capable of creating something, you can, so do it. Wendy: What is your favorite piece of art you've made? Shynobi: That's a very tough question to answer. I'm usually most attached to my latest art, but I'm always charmed by my earlier art, despite my lower skill level at the time I made it. If I had to choose one, though, it would be Under the Water. Wendy: Why do you love Under the Water, what draws you back to that piece? Shynobi: I'm not too sure. Maybe it's the fact that it's stylistically different from what I usually do. Maybe it's its asymmetrical composition or its combination of vector and textures. It just appeals to me. Wendy: Who is your favorite artist and why? Shynobi: As of now, Alex Varanese is my favorite artist. He manages to flawlessly combine four of my favorite things: Geometry, technology, typography, and red. Wendy: Can you show me some of your favorite pieces by Alex Varanese? Shynobi:

Wendy: What is your favorite piece of art? Shynobi: Slottet by moodSwing08 has always been the most influential single piece of art to me. Wendy: Why is Slottet your favorite? Shynobi: I love Slottet, because of the way it combines its contrasting elements. A texture filled floating landscape, would be one of the last things you think would compliment streamlined vector shapes. Yet, in Slottet, it's done amazingly well with eye-catching detail and dramatic colour. It's the style I've been trying to imitate for years. Wendy: Any last comments you want to make? Shynobi: Thanks for the chance to be interviewed, and thanks to all who read the interview!

#Shynobi #planetrenders #planet #renders #interview #tokyo rose

The Artist's Palette: Pre-historical Art

The Artist's Palette: Pre-historic Art The oldest surviving artworks are from 40,000 years ago. The most commonly found artworks from this period are cave wall paintings, open air paints (paintings on rock faces outside), little figurines, and things carved out of bone. Most of these early artworks are found in Europe, particularly in France and Germany. There are other old artworks found all over the world, but none as old as those found in Europe. So we shall concentrate our focus to that continent. Most of the early cave wall paintings depicted animals. These animals were meaningful and symbol, though we are not sure what they stood for. There was a prior theory that our ancestors painted them as a type of magic, so they could have a good hunt. The current theory is a bit more realistic; that they could have painted them to track their migration patterns or that they could have stood for the distribution of the animals that inhabited the caves. Some of the artifacts left at these sites suggest that there was also a ritualistic purpose for the paintings; some theories for this involve mythical spirits and the such. An example of a cave painting from Lascaux Cave, it depicts aurochs. Source: Wikipedia

Other types of art were small sculptures; the earliest ones were little female statues. These statues were carved out of stone and were clearly females, the oldest of which has been dated to 25,000 years ago. These were probably used as fertility symbols, sort of like a good luck charm. The features that are associated with pregnancy are prominent while other features are not there at all, which supports the fertility symbol theory. There is a theory that childbirth itself was a mystery to early man and probably seen as a type of magic. These sculptures could have played a cause and effect role in childbirth in the minds of our ancestors. For example, the statue was carved and a woman got pregnant soon afterwards. They might have seen this as how the pregnancy happened. Roughly at 9000 to 4000 BCE newer Stone Age tools were developed and the age of agriculture began. The artworks tended to become larger or show some glimpses of life from this period. For example, Stonehenge was built with its complex meaning and purpose. It showed an understanding of time and perhaps an early calendar. Some artworks showed how life was at that moment in time, the animals, and the people were drawn. Overall, these artworks showed something even more powerful. Man conquering the environment for the first time and the rise of human knowledge. It showed artists knew how to paint and depict animals in a manner that we can recognize today, that they knew what pigments would last, and how to make those pigments. Later arts showed domesticated animals and the such. It also most importantly shows that humans were progressing through the ages; from fertility symbols to Stonehenge in less than 20,000 years. Sources: http://en.wikipedia....Prehistoric_art http://en.wikipedia....per_Paleolithic Gilbert’s Living With Art by Mark Getlein, Seventh Edition

Artist Interviews: Blitz

Note: This interview is actually an interview of Daniel Ra, a name that should be familiar to you. It was originally posted on another site.

ARTIST INTERVIEWS: BLITZ Wendy: Can you tell me a bit about yourself? Blitz: My name is Daniel and I’m currently 21 years old. I’m attending the University of Washington Seattle majoring in cell and molecular biology; I plan on becoming a surgeon (UW is a top 5 international university for medicine and operates one of USA’s best hospitals). Born in raised in a Hawaiian Island, I became a sponsored skateboarder at age 12. I picked up graphics around age 16 and taught my own graphic design related course at age 17. At age 18 I also got my first magazine feature for Advanced Photoshop. At age 19 I placed runner up for the National Nvidia Competition, and at age 20 I was the only student to win the National Adobe CS5 competition twice. I also started my own design studio (Identitystudio) and clothing line at this age. Currently I have over a dozen magazine, blog, newspaper features and am working on my autobiography (which is set to publish in 2012) and my Wikipedia page (which should be up before the New Year). http://issuu.com/aba...nielra?mode=a_p

Wendy: How was it like growing up in Guam? Was moving to Washington a shock to your system? Blitz: Guam was very entertaining place. Imagine a miniature Las Vegas, seeing as how their economy was centered on tourism. I spent most of my years in the private schools, but even then it was a relatively corrupt place. I never did really well, just mostly skateboarded all day and every day. I moved to Washington over the summer of 8th grade, I had just taken my entrance exam to be placed into a private high school with my mates; unfortunately I was not aware that I would be moving. After I came to Washington, I realized it was very cold. The school systems were a lot cleaner, and there wasn't much action or entertainment. Wendy: Why did you start skateboarding? How was it to be a sponsored skateboarder? Blitz: All the kids were doing it. Lots and lots of skating and nothing but some free clothes and gear and etc. I was 12; I probably got suckered out of better deals. Wendy: Why did you decide to become a surgeon? Blitz: My sister is currently attending the UW dental school. I have to live up to the family name. Wendy: How did you get started making art? Blitz: Tagging in late 2005. I was a part of this gaming forum where the leet tagger refused to make me a tag. So I made it my goal to start design and beat him. A friend of mine guided me throughout this process and later on introduced me to tagmonkey. I spent my earlier design years with people like Wong, Timoz, and Cycloid Beta. Unfortunately my friend passed away in 2009. Wendy: Can you show me some of your earliest works? I'm sorry to hear about your friend Blitz: http://fc00.devianta...by_Abablitz.png ^Tagging days when I was at TM. I was mostly known as a smudger, back then there were relatively few smudgers (this was before glorious time). http://www.deviantar...by_Abablitz.png ^For an art group called Broken Eden, basically the IN of today in comparison. Wendy: How was it like starting out at tagmonkey with people like Wong? Blitz: It wasn't anything spectacular in honesty, tagmonkey was our start, and then we moved on to brokeneden which was lead by Timoz. Overall everyone was around the same level at that time, no one really stood out much. However, I quit for about a year due to school and came back to find them all doing large pieces with Evokeone. Wendy: Who is your favorite artist and why? Blitz: I don't think I have any, none that comes to mind. No one really wows me anymore, but if there was it would probably be someone from DC. Wendy: What brought you to Planetrenders? Blitz: Endless, Gilen, Smiling Demon, other luminarium and s3 artists. Wanted to see what was so cool about the place Wendy: How did you get involved with SlashTHREE? Blitz: During the earlier stages of S3, exile and street invited me to join. I have known them before S3 started so yea. Wendy: What inspires you? Blitz: According to Deviant Art, I upload a new deviation every 240.2 days. So I don't really get inspired much, I usually just design to increase my technical skills, but when I do get inspired it usually happens during night, with music, and a piece that I found stunning. So essentially an amazing piece usually does the trick. Wendy: Can you show me some of your own favorite works? Blitz: http://abablitz.devi...2F10072344&qo=0 ^because I won my first major competition with it. http://abablitz.devi...Chaos-110567576 ^because it is my most publicized and talked about piece till this day. Wendy: What was your inspiration for the Mother Nature piece? Blitz: To take my technical skills to a higher level using my new tablet. Wendy: Can you tell me a bit about this project I keep on hearing about? Blitz: 12months, 2 full functional sites, 2 branches, 5 staff, 12 sub contracted designers, one physical location, thousands of dollars and several hundred hours spent developing this project. The project is set to release on Jan 1st in celebration of the New Year's. Identity is a design studio as well as a clothing line/shop. Wendy: How did you come up with the idea of Identity? Blitz: "What if all the online digital art groups actually formed a design studio?" and so it began. Wendy: What art groups are involved with Identity? Blitz: Revuh, SlasthTHREE, Luminarium, CMS, Digital Flow. Wendy: Can you tell me a bit that's planned for the launch? Blitz: The official launch of both studio and shop. Originally the studio was launched prematurely and due to the influx in jobs and etc, we could not close it. However, in preparation for the official launch we have finished our shop site, got our products, revamped the studio site works as well as its structure, contacted our affiliates, and basically started working with our charity in California. Wendy: What sort of charity are you helping out? Blitz: Bright future alliance located in California, they are mostly focused on drug trafficking and helping youth in the slums stay out of trouble. Wendy: Why did you decide to help out a charity with your business? Blitz: The owner of bright future alliance is actually a friend of mind, thus I decided to help him because I liked his cause. Wendy: How could one go about donating to this charity? Blitz: Potential donors can go on their site, http://www.brightfut...e.ca/index2.asp or to their various locations to donate. Wendy: What do you plan for the future of Identity? Blitz: I'm hoping that the studio branch becomes a major player within the city of Seattle within the next 3-4 years. As far as the clothing line and shop goes, we are planning on becoming more exclusive and centered around designer casual tees and jeans. Wendy: How can an artist become involved with Identity? Blitz: Identity studio is invite only. Designers can be invited if they get enough recognition from the others on the team. The shop is a selective process open to any designer/artist; however the designs chosen are few and go through a tough screening process. Wendy: Is there anything you could tell an artist about the selective process that could help them along? Any suggestions or tips? Blitz: Study the market, trends, and practice your technical skills. Design is different from art; make sure you pay attention the quality of works we offer before submitting. Wendy: Do you have any tips for a new artist? Blitz: Work hard, try to stay up to date with equipment, learn multiple programs. Try to brush up your traditional pencil and paper drawing skills. Network a lot, get involved with art groups. Surround yourself with good artists and designers alike, it will rub off. Wendy: Do you have any last comments or advice? Blitz: Design takes time, lots of practice, and perseverance. Don't give up because you don't get it the first time. Important links to check out: http://www.identityshop.net/ http://www.identitystudio.net/ http://www.brightfut...e.ca/index2.asp

Signum: A Fractal Tutorial

Today we are going to learn how to create this fractal:

This is an extremely easy fractal using a method that is not commonly used, though this method produces extremely interesting fractals. So let's begin!

Remember to start with a new blank flame. This flame should already have a transform. Duplicate this transform FOUR times. How to Duplicate a Transform Find transform two, move it down 1 unit. How to move a Transform On transform three, move it up 1 unit. On transform four, move it to the left 1 unit. On transform five, move it to the right 1 unit. The transforms should be in a diamond pattern, like this: Tiling Pattern This is called tiling, this enables your fractal to form repeat patterns, and this is an extremely powerful set up. Add a new transform, set the linear3D to zero, and set polar to -0.25. Transform Six Variation Make sure to keep transform six in its default position. As you can see, it’s a continuous pattern without any fade out. Transform Six You can try other variations that will produce interesting effects, like bubble set on 0.5 or bipolar set on 1. Transform Six Alternatives Now enable a final transform. Take a look at the picture below to learn what button to push in order to enable a final transform. How to Enable a Final Transform Set linear3D to zero, set julia3D, and julia3Dz to 1. Final Transform Variations Go to variables and set julia3D_power to -12, set julia3Dz_power to -4. Final Transform Variables You should have this result: The Completed Fractal Remember, in the summer I will provide you the link to the full version of all these tutorials. In the full version not only do you learn how to make a main alternative fractal, but you learn how to manipulate each individual transform.

#Signum A Fractal Tutorial apophysis fractals tokyo rose planetrenders tsukinohikari20

The Oscillons of Ben Laposky, the First Digital Art

Digital Morphogenesis is the story of the history of digital art. This is going to be a reoccurring series running beside the Artist's Palette which focuses on the history of traditional art. The origins of digital art are not extremely clear; it’s murky, odd, and unusual. It’s not cataloged in the traditional historic ways just yet. Thus, it tends to be hard to write about, you won't find many sources. Let us begin with a person I randomly ran across one day in a google search; Ben Laposky.

Ben Laposky with his oscilloscope. Source: Wikipedia. Laposky was relatively an average man for his time; he worked as a sign painter before WWII. During the war he was injured and received a Purple Heart. Because of his war injuries he could not continue working at his job so he turned to learning mathematics.

What he did with his knowledge though was highly unusual for the time. He ran across an article in the magazine Popular Science that suggested using things like oscilloscopes (they were used to test televisions) to create art. After thoroughly conducting research he started to use an oscilloscope to create the world's first digital art. He created these artworks on an oscilloscope that was connected to some sine wave generators and other various electronic circuits; these were used to create the art. These patterns would show up on the screen of the main unit, the oscilloscope, Laposky then would take photographs of the screen. Laposky's first work; Oscillon 4 1952. Source: Wuzine. After manipulating these patterns on the oscilloscope, he then would photograph them. He used a variety of different photographic techniques to capture these images. It was necessary for Laposky to use high speed film, because the images flicker extremely quickly. He also used special lenses and even color filters in order to add additional beauty to his images. If one thinks about it, he was in a way using his camera as one would now use photoshop. An example of a filtered work. Source: Highlight of my Day. It wasn't until 1952 that his art started to gain attention. Scripta Mathematica actually published his photograph. He hit the big time soon afterwards, and ended up having his work published over 250 times. He did not stop there; he continued to advance his art form, which included figuring out that Oscillons and music are connected. He figured he was playing a type of visual music in his artwork. He was in the mainstream art world until the mid 1960s. It was at this time that real computer graphics came to the forefront, leaving Laposky behind. Laposky died a quiet death in 2000, leaving behind his Oscillons exhibit which is maintained by the Sanford Museum. It is said that he has hidden away over 10,000 pieces of art in the form of film negatives, which ten years after his death have yet to be found.

Coronae Borealis: A Fractal Tutorial

I have been writing fractal tutorials for a small magazine for the past few months. I thought I would share them here. All of the fractals in this series were made with the program Apophysis. Anyways, welcome to my first tutorial article! Today we're going to learn how to make this simple fractal. This tutorial is simple enough that a beginning Apophysis user should be able to make this. I will also be releasing the full version of this tutorial in a massive 200 page + tutorial this summer. I'll make sure to give you guys the link to it when I finish it.

Our first step is creating a new blank flame, go to the transform editor and hit the white icon with the triangle on it. This will create a new blank flame. Creating a New Blank Flame On our first triangle set linear 3D to zero, and set blur3D to 1. Blur3D forms our foundation for this fractal. You can also use other variations to give form to your fractal like crackle. Transform One Add another triangle, set linear 3D to zero, set rectangles to 0.9. Duplicate this triangle three times. Rectangle is providing our framework. You can use other variations for different effects here as well. How to Duplicate Transforms You should now have five triangles. Enable a final transform. Right click on the black portion of the transform editor. Choose the show variation preview option. This enables you to see the effects of your variations on your fractal. This will greatly help you on a pattern fractal like this since you can see what the pattern will twist your fractal into. How to Activate Variation Preview On this final transform set linear 3D to zero; set Julia3D and Julia 3Dz to 0.5. Final Transform Variation Settings Go over to variables, set the Julia3D_power to 4. Set the Julia3Dz_power to -6. This is the most versatile area of the fractal. You can get several different looks here by experimenting! Final Transform Variable Settings As you can see keeping things simple can produce beautiful results. Remember, I will be releasing a massive tutorial this summer with the full version of this tutorial included. Here is an example of what I'll teach you to make:

#Fractal tutorial apophysis fractals tutorials tsukinohikari20 planetrenders tokyo rose

The Artist's Palette: Color Theory

Imagine in the time between Reformation and the Enlightenment, the same year as the Great London Fire, that a young man was performing one of the most important experiments in history in a darkened room. The year was 1666, and Sir Isaac Newton was about the make one of his greatest discoveries... Sir Isaac Newton. Source: Wikipedia

Newton positioned two prisms in front of a shutter; he had previously drilled a whole into the shutter so that a concentrated beam of light was shining through. He already knew what would happen if the light shined through one prism; all the colors of the rainbow would shimmer throughout the room. The scientists of the day had an odd theory on color; they thought that colors were a combination of both dark and light. They thought the rainbows that shot out of prisms were due to the prisms coloring the light. Newton was about to discover that this odd theory was not right at all. Newton then decided to do something quite simple, but something that had never been done before. He turned the next prism upside down, as the rainbow aligned with the second prism a different type of light shined through the other side. Newton had recreated the original sunbeam. An example of the effect. Source: Wikipedia Newton spent some time thinking about this odd occurrence, why would a sunbeam break into the colors of the rainbow? Why would it revert back to its natural state when passing through a second prism? What was the nature of this light? It took thirty eight years for Newton to finally publish his answers; he did so in his infamous Opticks. Opticks. Source: Wikipedia In Opticks, Newton wrote about the color spectrum. He explained that each color is on a spectrum, and each bends at a certain angle. These bend form the color spectrum, from red to violet. Newton named the seven colors of the rainbow as well. You see white light is made up of all the colors on the color spectrum. Without light there would be no colors in our world, no object really possesses a color. Colors come from the way a particular object reflects light waves. For example, when light strikes a green eyed person’s eyes, all colors but green are absorbed. Isaac Newton was also the person who invented the color wheel. He arranged his colors in a circular pattern; he made the primary colors opposite of the complementary colors. This was to make each color seem more enhanced. He made this disc into a rotating disc, he was able to make it spin so quickly that the colors blur into white. Newton's color wheel. Source: Opticks This is only the beginning of the story of color theory, next time we explore this topic, we shall examine the color wheel and its properties.

The Artist's Palette: The Color Wheel

We left off on the previous article when Sir Isaac Newton had first developed the color wheel. We shall start here today with a discussion on what exactly is a color wheel, and what purposes it serves in art. A color wheel is a tool artist's use to show relationships between certain types of color schemes. This wheel usually consists of three primary colors; typically these colors are red, yellow, and blue. The colors are spaced equally apart on a wheel. Between these primary colors lay intermediate colors, these intermediate colors are determined by the hues their two adjacent colors would make combined. The Color Wheel. Source: Valdosta.edu

The color wheel also features three main groups of colors, primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary colors are the base group; this group often features red, yellow, and blue. The reason behind the choice of these particular colors is that it is impossible to create these colors by mixing other colors. A painter must buy these colors in order to use them in his work, with white and black paint; he can create infinite colors using just the primaries. In the olden days primary colors were known as the primitives, because they could create most of the colors. The Primary Colors. Source: worqx The second color group is secondary colors. Secondary colors are orange, violet, and green. These colors are created by mixing two of the primary colors. For example, orange is created by mixing red and yellow. Remember, if you do not mix the colors proportionally you may get a tertiary color instead of a secondary color. A secondary color has to be equal parts of two primary colors. The Secondary Colors. Source: worqx The third group is tertiary colors. There are six of these, yellow orange, red orange, red violet, blue violent, blue green, and yellow green. These colors are created by mixing a primary color and a secondary color. There is one rule though, the primary and secondary color have to be next to each other, and only a mixture of those next to each other is a tertiary color. For example blue violet is created by mixing the primary color blue, and the secondary color of violet. The Tertiary Colors. Source: worqx The color wheel also features many color schemes, for example, complementary colors and analogous colors. Complementary colors oppose one another. An example of this is that red and green are directly opposite of each other on the color wheel. They contrast beautifully together, which is probably one of the reasons why they're Christmas colors. Colors that are complementary are determined complementary by a process of mixing the two colors together. If the resulting color is a grey, white, or black then the colors are indeed complementary. Complementary Colors. Source: worqx An example of complementary colors used in painting. Source: Hall Groat II The second relationship, analogous colors, is colors that are extremely close to one another on a color wheel. For example, red, red violet, violet, and blue violet are an analogous color set. When grouped together they make up a fourth of the color wheel. Analogous Colors. Source: worqx An example of analogous colors used in painting. Source: Hall Groat II I hope you learned plenty about the color wheel today, for more information consult sites like Worqx.com, and Handprint.com.

Madder and Cochineal

The knowledge of colors and their origins is an important section of knowledge often ignored by digital artists. Historically it was not until the 19th century that artists could readily buy paint. Up until that point they usually had to make their own pigments. Often times each color had a unique recipe. For example, to get a white paint an artist would follow an elaborate set of instructions. They would separate out two sections of clay pots; one section for vinegar, one section for lead. Next, a secret ingredient was added... They would pile fresh manure around the pots. The manure produced enough heat to transform the lead to lead carbonate. The room would then be sealed off for three months. After the three months were over one would find the brightest white formed upon the surfaces of the room. It is important to know where the colors you use come from. Now that the paint box is largely chemically derived or digitally created, the art of creating natural pigments is largely forgotten. This is a sad because it is always good to know the beginning. In this series we shall learn the origins of just a few colors. We shall begin with two types or red pigments; madder and cochineal.

Rubia tinctorum. Source: Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz.

Madder is a rich pigment; it can produce several different colors, reds, oranges, vivid pinks and even violet. It is the root of the Rubia tinctorum. The root itself has a pencil like thickness, though it is quite long. Holland was the leader in the production of madder a few centuries ago. The roots were so long that the farmers were required to harvest the crop every two years. They were afraid the roots would get away from them and burst dykes. After harvest they would dry the root in the sunshine, it made the color richer. After drying it would then be pounded out, the first pounding would produce cheap madder, the second average colors, and the final third pounding would produce the best colors. What happens next depends on the color; make it into paint and its hot pink, and add alum into a vat full of it and it'll come out red. We are going to concentrate on the process of using madder to make Winsor & Newton's famous "Rose Madder Genuine" color. First, according to Victoria Finlay, they wash the madder root, after crushing it, in oak barrels. Then they add alum and water to the mixture. The mixture ends up looking like watermelon juice with foam on top of it. Then the company uses linen to strain it out. They do this for five days until the mixture becomes creamy. The company then presses this cream until they get most of the water out of it. Then it is placed in an oven. Finlay was not allowed to see any of the additional process due to trade secrets. The company did tell her that the paint would not have metal anywhere near it. Metal can change the color that madder produces. As you can see the process of creating paints is extremely complex and arduous. This process has been made easier with mass production. Imagine being a singular artist having to somehow repeat this process at home. Now let’s look at a source of pigment that was for centuries a mystery.

Male and female cochineal insect. Source: The Household Cyclopedia.

Cochineal was long held as a mysterious pigment. Not one knew of its origin other than the Spanish. The Spanish found cochineal in the new World and kept it a secret for centuries. No one knew what cochineal came from; plant, mineral, animal, or insect? Today we know the Spanish secret. Cochineal is made from a tiny bug. The cochineal bug is found on the prickly pear; on a cochineal farm thousands of these little bugs can infest a single cactus. The bug itself is tiny and white. One can pop the bug and its blood reveals its secrets. Cochineal blood is a powerful pigment, it’s a rich scarlet naturally. When the Spanish arrived in the New World they fell in love with the pigment. Soon they were exporting it back to a color starved Europe. This business soon bloomed into a trade that would require several trillion worth of insects each year. The Spanish kept cochineal's source a secret due to the fact that cochineal was rather expensive and was holding up the Spanish Empire in their declining years. It took until the late 1700s for the rest of Europe to find out the Spanish secret. During that time cochineal's scarlet color was very in vogue in the wealthy circles of Europe. It was mainly used to dye clothes, and was also used in women's cosmetics. Cochineal held on to its popularity until the advent of chemical dyes. It’s still used though as a color additive, it’s the color that gives cherry coke that reddish tinge. It’s also one of the few red dyes used in women's cosmetics. Yes girls, that red you put on your faces is bug blood.

Portrait of a Man by Jan van Eyck, depicting a cochineal dyed turban.

It is important to understand where the colors we use come from. The artist's palette has been enriched by these colors over the centuries. Some colors could not have even been imaginable prior to their discovery. They have influenced the art world as well, their brightness and richness inspired generations of artists and art lovers. It’s important to never forget our origins, how else can you measure how far we’ve come? Recommended Reading: Mauve: How One Man Invented a Colour that Changed the World by Simon Garfield Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire by Amy Butler Greenfield

#Madder and Cochineal

United by One

The phrase, “United we stand” has been used numerous times in history to rally people together; it can make the cries of impoverished and hungry heard, voice the desires and dreams of a new generation, and show the support of a community. This unity reveals an asset in human beings that is so powerful yet so easily overlooked due to our inability to physically grasp it: connection. With unity accumulating the masses towards a mutual goal, it is easy to overlook the fact that such an assembly can originate from one single person.

So how does one become hundreds? Thousands? Millions? Although intangible, an idea can leave a strong influence on people; it can change or reinforce a person’s beliefs. But as influential as an idea can be, it is simply just that: an idea. That’s where that one person comes in, to take this idea and take action to find others to connect with it. That one person tells another person about it, then those two people tell two others, then those four, etc. creating a chain reaction that is almost impossible to stop from spreading; soon the whole city will know about it.

This idea of uniting others to one idea through one person is not a recent discovery. Think of a major historical event around the world and more than likely you can put a face to it. Those people probably weren’t the first to think of the ideals they stood for but they certainly were the ones that helped unite others to fight for it alongside them. I’m sure you have a lot of ideas running around in your own head, some just waiting for you to take action. So my question to you is this: Are you that one person?

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