Halo: Reach

Some may say a strange place to find inspiration, but the muse may descend from any number of unusual places, even from the realm of video games.

Halo: Reach is an Xbox 360 game developed by Bungie Studios and was released in September 2010. Depicting the struggle of humanity and the United Nations Space Command against the ferocious onslaught of a highly religious and technologically advanced alliance of aliens known as the Covenant, Halo: Reach takes us on a journey through some exotic and beautiful locations on the quest to save a planet from complete annihilation.

What bigger inspiration for a visual artist is there than the visual work of other artists? Perhaps that depends on the individual artist and how they draw on inspiration, but for myself, visual engorgement is a primary source of creative stimulus.

The team at Bungie Studios have lovingly crafted a rich and detailed world on which to set their tale of humanity's struggle for survival. From grand vistas of wide open plains to the closed in narrow canyons, lush green forests to wild rocky coasts and everything in between, I find myself really wishing I could visit these places myself, if it wasnt for the unfortunate neccessity of trying to dodge alien weapons fire of course.

What I truly love about the scenery we see in the game is that while it at times seems fantastical, it always retains complete believability (insofar as a computer game can show)

A few screenshots I captured from inside the game itself, I plan on adding some more soon.










All images are the property of Bungie Studios, 2011
The dedicated team who created this game can be seen here

http://www.bungie.net/Inside/teamindex.aspx

Luminism

Luminism is the term used to describe an art style that formed as a result of the work being produced by the Hudson River School artists. Characterized by the use of what I would describe as pools of light and an overall glowing aura, art of this style was highly stylized, evoking qualities of Romanticism as well.

DRAFT

Albert Bierstadt

Albert Bierstadt (January 7, 1830 – February 18, 1902) was a German born-American painter who was known for his beautiful and awe inspiring landscape painting work. Beirstadt was a member of the Hudson River School. (see my blog entry on the HRS for more information)

Albert Bierstadt


I chose to write about Bierstadt because his style of creating artwork, much like the other artists of the Hudson River School, was not neccessarily about absolute realism, but rather an idealised portrayal of nature intended to make an image more inspiring and grandiose.

During extensive travels in both Europe and the American West, Bierstadt was heavily inspired and drawn to the beauty of the natural landscape. Taking quick sketches and colour studies whilst on location, Bierstadt would later on, in the comfort of his studio, paint grand scenes on large canvases.

While painting, Bierstadt would emphasise certain natural elements of the scene, including the interplay of light and shadow, the vividness and hue of the colours, the formation of clouds and fog, and a glowing aura to the image overall (the main trait of Luminism, the name given to the art style created by Hudson River School artists). While doing this he would retain the other elements of the scene as he remembered them, such as the mountains, trees, rivers etc

I find this approach to image creation to be particularly interesting because it allows the artist to depict a realistic scene with a highly stylised approached that allows the viewer to bear witness to a scene that they would not have been able to see otherwise. Bearing much similarity to the way a photographer would take a portrait of a person, displaying the subject in their most ideal light, so Bierstadt wished to show the natural landscape at its very best.

Here are a few of Bierstadts artworks.


Storm in the Rocky Mountains (Mount Rosa) (1886)


Sierra Nevada (c. 1871–1873)


Looking Down Yosemite Valley (1865)

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Albert_Bierstadt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Bierstadt

Hudson River School

The Hudson River School was an art movement (not really a school, but a collection of enthusiastic and driven landscape artists) that existed in the United States in the mid 19th century. Founded by artist Thomas Cole, the work produced by HRS artists followed the themes of discovery, exploration and settlement.

Quite often, the scenes painted by HRS artists do not depict actual locations like the work produced by other landscape artists. HRS artists would often travel to many various locations and record their sightings, and paint from both memory and imagination upon returning home.

I see this kind of work as an early version of photomanipulation, however instead of taking photographs and merging them later on using computers, these artists would draw upon their memories and their own imaginations to create these wonderful inspiring compositions based upon what they had seen and what they wished to see.


The following is a few examples of work done by various HRS members


View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm—The Oxbow, 1836
Thomas Cole (American, 1801–1848)
Oil on canvas


The Heart of the Andes, 1859
Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826–1900)
Oil on canvas


The Rocky Mountains, Lander's Peak, 1863
Albert Bierstadt (American, 1830–1902)
Oil on canvas

References
(note to self, reference this properly)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_River_School
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/hurs/hd_hurs.htm

Dylan Cole

For a very long time my idol in the realm of digital imagery has been Dylan Cole. Cole is a matte painter working out of the U.S and has done work on a large number of blockbuster films including Lord of the Rings, Avatar, Pirates of the Carribean and 2012.


Dylan Cole

I find Cole's work to be so inspiring. While matte painting is traditionally used as backing imagery for films, the still image presented in these instances can still show us so much. I often find myself staring at an image of Cole's, exploring the nuances of each image.

I love the idea of an image that makes me want to be there. I know this desire has fueled my interest in landscape photography, and it drives my interest in matte painting type work because I know that these locations dont really exist, but I often can't help but think how interesting it would be to see these places with my own eyes.

Cole has stated on many occasions that his primary influence for his style is the work of artists of the Hudson River School, primarily Albert Bierstadt and Frederic Edwin Church (Blog entires on these will follow, I highly respect the work of these artists)

Here are a few examples of Coles work

Research Methodology

Section 1: Folio Development

1.1 Background

- Brief outline of my photographic interests.
- Outline of the work i chose to do this semester, and what led me to choose it.
- Discussion of where I think I will end up career wise.
- Establishing my Photoshop tutoring business.
- Benefits of being an A.C.E for my future career.

1.2 The Semester's Work

- Keep a record of shoots undertaken, document successes and failures
- Keep copies of in-progress Photoshop work, including unused versions of images
- Planning vs improvising and its effects.
- Adapatation and revision based on comments, advice and research.

1.3 Final Work

- Evidence of influences on my work.
- Self critique and evaluation processes.
- Evaluation of perceived skill with actual skill.

Section 2: Context

- Blogging of research undertaken. (inspiring photographers, artists, styles etc)
- Evidence of personal inspiration, factors in my life that have influenced my work.
- Compare and contrast my favourite artists, what I like about their work and what I dont.
- Blogging of any additional sources of inspiration - music, video games, movies etc.

Section 3: Industry

- Research photographers/artists who do this type of work.
- Summarise/discuss the outcomes of my work experience.
- Recap on interesting outcomes and discussions from workshops.
- Contact as many relevant photographers/artists as possible. This will include non-local photographers/artists to give scope to the potential for work.
- Reflect on the time spent at CIT and how prepared I feel to enter the industry.