Stereograms set up flat, still images in such a way that they appear three dimensional to the viewer. In the mid to late 19th century photographers would shoot scenes using a camera equipped with two lenses a few inches apart. This would simulate our binocular vision and, when viewed through a stereoscope, would appear deeper and more lifelike.
Author Archives: Jay B.
Celso at Carnegie Hall
I went to Carnegie Hall a couple weeks ago with my daughter’s 2nd grade class and drew some of the performers in their Musical explorers program. No photography allowed, but I slipped in my drawing pad. You can view the whole set on my Flickr site.
Changing Education Paradigms on RSA Animate
The RSA was founded in England in 1754 as an “enlightenment organization” dedicated to bringing new ideas and debates to a mass audience. To aid in that mission they have been creating animations of talks given by academic and intellectual leaders and philosophers. Rather than using the TED technique of the PP slide show, RSA creates fun animations of doodles on a whiteboard to visually explore the concepts of the lectures. The animations has gotten more and more sophisticated over time, going from still drawings in the first videos to complex assemblages and animations recently.
Above is a recent animation of a talk given by education and creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson. He covers such topics as standardized testing, ADHD and arts education.
LINK: The RSA
LINK: Sir Ken Robinson
Minecraft in Education
The education potential of the game Minecraft is immediately apparent when you first start dividing wood and constructing a crafting table in the game. MinecraftEDU.com has a mission to help educators bring the game into the classroom and to engage learners in what the game has to offer:
The game is being used to teach more than just computer skills. It easily lends itself to science, technology, engineering and math explorations (STEM). But beyond that, language teachers are strengthening communication skills, civics teachers are exploring how societies function, and history teachers are having their students recreate ancient civilizations. It is not an exaggeration to say that the only limit is imagination!
They are creating a custom mod with features specifically designed for the education community and are making the game available at a discounted rate for schools.
LINK: MinecraftEDU.com
The Doodle Revolution Manifesto
A page from my sketchbook drawn while watching TV coverage of Hurricane Irene this fall. Click image to see full set.
Drawing Tangents
Cartoonist Chris Schweizer has an informative overview of composition problems that can pop up when drawing. The Schweizer Guide to Spotting Tangents defines tangents as
…when two or more lines interact in a way that insinuates a relationship between them that the artist did not intend.
Chris follows with a delightfully illustrated list of ambiguities that often appear when composing pictures. They apply as much to photography as they do to drawing and cartooning and can often be overlooked when making an image.
Build Chrysanthemums in Kikka
The web game Kikka contains a very simple set of puzzles: what actions do you need to take to bring 12 flower petals together and form a full flower? It offers 16 levels of very short interactions in a beautiful, minimalist interface.
LINK: Kikka
BONUS: Time 4 Cat
Working in a Coal (and Redstone) Mine
Minecraft is a relatively new game for PC and Mac that allows users to build their own world out of virtual cubes that are 1 meter in volume. It differs from traditional first-person shooter games in that the environment the player inhabits is constructed on the fly when the player starts the game. The player “spawns” into a randomly generated world of mountains, lakes, deserts and caves which construct themselves based on programming algorithms. This means each player’s experience is unique, and as they explore the environment the landscape builds itself out of thin air.
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Can You Draw Through the Blipskrieg?
Here’s another online game that depends on drawing with your mouse to navigate through levels. Unlike Sugar, Sugar, however, Blipskrieg allows you to directly interact with the path of your player. You draw a trail for your “blip” to follow to the goal, dodging lasers and accumulating decoys as defense.
BONUS: Metallica “Blitzkrieg”
Material for Instruction: John Ruskin’s Elements of Drawing
19th century artist and instructor John Ruskin founded a drawing school at Oxford University in 1871. Oxford has now posted his collection of images, notes and instruction into an immense online catalogue. While much of the physical work has been dispersed around the world, the web allows the collection to be seen in its entirety, with information cross-referenced for ease of browsing. Oxford has also added contemporary interpretation of Ruskin’s teachings, as well as short drawing instruction videos.
From the site:
He intended it not for the training of artists, but of ordinary men and women, who, by following his course, ‘might see greater beauties than they had hitherto seen in nature and in art, and thereby gain more pleasure in life’. His method required the student to master the rudiments of technique – outline, shading, colour – through a carefully directed course of lessons in copying both works of art and natural specimens.
Link: The Elements of Drawing