Making the Animated Short 'KaBoom!'

Stop-motion animator PES shares how he created his short 'KaBoom!' (Link to video)

He explains how he associates one object with another, both visually and conceptually. Everyday objects and toys found around the house stand in for the elements of a sequence of aerial bombardment.


As with all PES productions, the final film relies on a rich soundtrack to extend the impact of the visual. (link to video)
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PES's website includes his 'haul videos,' where he scours the Long Beach Flea Market for used stuff and makes a taco out of a baseball glove.

In the children's picture book world, these visual puns have been perfected by Walter Wick in his Can You See What I See? and I Spy Fantasy series.

Anathema

Actor Vasily Kachalov wore this startling makeup prosthetics as the lead character of the play "Anathema" in 1909.

The play was written by Leonid Andreyev, who we met in a recent post about early Russian color photographs compared to portraits by Repin.
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More info and photos about Kachalov at Flickr

Repin portraits vs. color photos of the same model

Color photograph of Andreyev

Leonid Andreyev was a Russian writer who experimented with early color photography, taking selfies between 1910 and 1914. 

These are true color photos using the Autochrome method, decades before Eastman Kodak's process.

Oil painting of Leonid Andreyev by Ilya Repin

Andreyev was also a friend of the great artist Ilya Repin, who painted several portraits of him. 

So we have the rare treat of being able to compare color photographs of one of Repin's models with some painted portraits. 

They're not in the same poses, not taken at the same time, and Repin didn't use these photos as reference.

But it's remarkable to see how Repin stayed true to the essential character of the sitter, clarified the structure of his face, and presented him in an interesting way.
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Book: Photographs by a Russian Writer Leonid Andreyev: An Undiscovered Portrait of Pre-Revolutionary Russia
Leonid Andreyev - his Autochromes, and two portraits by Repin
Previously: How Sargent Interpreted Carolus-Duran

Should you paint landscapes from photos?

Laurent Guétal (French, 1841-1892) used a combination of photographs and plein-air studies to push his landscapes to a higher level.

Laurent Guétal, Lake Eychauda​​, oil,
182 × 262 cm (71.7 × 103.1 in)1886, Grenoble Museum

According to the Grenoble Museum, Guétal discovered a photograph of Lake Eychauda, ​​located in the French Alps. He went to the scene, at over 8200 feet in elevation, where he painted a plein-air study from the same point of view as the photo. Using the two sources of reference, he completed the painting in three weeks.

Laurent Guétal, The First Snow, oil, 1885

Other images by Guétal seem to be based on photos. Depending on your taste, the photographic influence either adds conviction and truth to the image or it makes it seem more mechanical.  

The plein air studies have all the verve and invention of anyone facing changing light with a paintbrush.

Laurent Guétal, The Bérarde en Oisans, 1882

The water in the foreground of this painting seems to match up with landscape painting conventions of the day, but I'm guessing he used photography to help with the far mountains.

To answer the rhetorical question in this post's title, I would say that photography can be a helpful supplement to—but not a substitute for—direct painting from nature. As Ivan Shiskin said:

"... Let me give you one major piece of advice, that underlies all of my painting secrets and techniques, and that advice is — photography. It is a mediator between the artist and nature and one of the most strict mentors you'll ever have. And if you understand the intelligent way of using it, you'll learn much faster and improve your weak points. You'll learn how to paint clouds, water, trees — everything. You'll better understand atmospheric effects and linear perspective and so on...----

Read the full post about Shishkin and Photography 

Other related posts: Zorn and Photography

Using Photo Reference

Arkansas River: Observation vs. Photo

Book: Trois maîtres du paysage dauphinois au XIXe siècle : Jean Achard, Laurent Guétal, Charles Bertier

Halsman's philosophy of portraiture

Photographer Philippe Halsman snapped his picture of Einstein just after the scientist had recalled his regrets about contributing to the development of the atomic bomb.

Photo of Albert Einstein by Halsman 

Halsman created hundreds of portrait photos for Life Magazine. Each one was a different challenge.

What he said about the portrait photos applies equally to painted ones:
"If the photograph of a human being does not show a deep psychological insight it is not a true portrait but an empty likeness. Therefore my main goal in portraiture is neither composition, nor play of light, nor showing the subject in front of a meaningful background, nor creation of a new visual image. All these elements can make an empty picture a visually interesting image, but in order to be a portrait the photograph must capture the essence of its subject."

Woody Allen by Philippe Halsman, 1969

"Herein lies the main objective of portraiture and also its main difficulty. The photographer probes for the innermost. The lens sees only the surface. Most people hide behind a socially attractive mask. Others lose their composure in front of a camera. Lighting and photographic equipment are less important for the portraitist than psychology and conversation. If he uses them effectively, sometimes in the short span of a sitting a miracle happens. A fragment of evanescent truth is captured and instant eternity (simply add hypo!) is born. The end result is another surface to be penetrated, this time by the sensitivity of the onlooker. For it is now up to him to decipher the elusive equation between the flat sheet of photographic paper and the depth of a human being."
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From the book: Halsman: Sight and Insight
Wikipedia on Halsman
Previously: Dalí and Halsman capture a moment

Dalí and Halsman capture a moment

"I have an idea for a photograph," Philippe Halsman said to Salvador Dalí. "In it, you, the easel, and the subject you are painting...in short everything—is in suspension."

Using invisible wires, Halsman suspended a chair, an easel, and a print of Dalí's painting Leda Atomica. Three assistants stood ready to toss their cats in the air. A fourth assistant held a big bucket of water.

Halsman counted to four. At "three" the assistants threw the water and the cats in the air, and at "four," Dalí jumped. Flash bulbs froze the action. Halsman quickly developed the film and announced that the composition was not perfect. 

They must try again.

They kept trying for 26 attempts, each time wiping the water off the floor, catching the cats, and drying them off with towels in the bathroom. 

But each time there was something wrong with the composition. This was 1948, long before the era of Photoshop. So, as Halman's daughter said, "Everything had to be done in one shot."

Five hours later, totally exhausted, Halsman declared they had a success, a photo he called Dalí Atomicus. The only thing added was the painting on the easel, which the artist painted on a small piece of paper that was pasted in.

The photo was published in Life and has made Time magazine's list of most influential photographs.



Recently, photographer Karl Taylor recreated the photo setup, sans cats (link to YouTube).

More
From the book: Halsman: Sight and Insight
Dalís Halsman's daughter recalling the photoshoot.

Zorn and Photography

On a recent post about Swedish artist Anders Zorn, blog reader Tyler J observed: "Beautiful work but there is a photographic quality about some of it. I couldn't find anything about his methods in the internets but I'm wondering if anyone knows what his workflow was like?"

Tyler, there are a few direct examples of paintings that have reference photos associated with them. Like most artists of his period, Zorn was fascinated by the visual effects of photography. 

However, these examples date from early in his career, and the overwhelming impression I've gotten is that Zorn very rarely painted directly from photos, and went to great lengths to paint from living models on location. 

Read More:

There's a fuller discussion of Zorn's use of photography at the blog of Leo Mancini-Hresko, and that's where I got these scans. 

A Swedish book called "Fotografen Zorn" collects Zorn's photos. Here's a video flip-through of it.

Previously on GurneyJourney: Menzel and Photography, Shishkin and Photography, and my thoughts on Using Photo Reference

Detailed Photos of Insects

Photographer Levon Biss came up with a way to photograph insects in extremely high resolution.

Biss teamed up with the Oxford University Museum of Natural History to record some of the best specimens from their collection.

The process overcomes the problem of shallow depth of field inherent in all macrophotography by taking thousands of exposures as the camera moves in tiny increments through the Z dimension. The focused layers are then stacked digitally in the computer.

In addition, the insect is shot in as many as 30 sections, with different lighting setups for each section. 

Insects are covered with finely textured microstructures, and the function of those tiny structures is still not completely understood.

According to Dr James Hogan of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, “It’s thought that microscopic structures alter the properties of an insect’s surface in different ways, reflecting sunlight, shedding water, or trapping air. The evolutionary process of natural selection should account for all this wonderful diversity of microstructures, but for many species their specific adaptive function is still unknown. By observing insects in the wild, studying museum collections, and developing new imaging techniques we will surely learn more about these fascinating creatures and close the gaps in our current understanding.”



After compiling the huge image files, he printed them out in a large format for museum exhibitions (The show is currently in Basel through October 29, 2017).


Here's a behind-the-scenes video (link to YouTube). On Biss's website, you can zoom deeply into the surface textures, like a drone flying over an alien landscape.
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Book: Microsculpture: Portraits of Insects
Microsculpture website

Day to Night Photos

Unlike plein-air paintings, which take hours or even days to complete, photographs are usually the product of a fraction of a second. 

Paris. Photo by Stephen Wilkes

An exception among photographers is Stephen Wilkes, who has documented a series of famous destinations in what he calls "Day to Night" photos.

Coney Island, Photo by Stephen Wilkes

Locking the camera in a fixed position, he takes photos over a period as long as 30 hours, the light shifting gradually from nighttime to daytime illumination. He then combines them later digitally. The effect works best in urban environments, where artificial light defines the nightscape.

Link to the 'Day to Night' photos of Stephen Wilkes

Sambourne's Reference Photos

Edward Linley Sambourne (1844-1910) was an English illustrator and cartoonist who discovered the benefits of photo reference.

He joined the magazine Punch in 1871 and eventually became its principle cartoonist, replacing John Tenniel. 

Many of his cartoon illustrations for Punch can be associated with photographs of figures in costumes.

For models he enlisted the help of friends, servants, family members and local characters. At first he used Edwin Austin Abbey's studio as a place to do his photos.

Sometimes his wife or kids posed, and he often posed himself. He also recruited professional and semi-professional models, such as the local policeman.

Later he took an interest in photographing nude women, and amassed a large collection of photos of women undressed or partially undressed, though he only rarely used those photos for illustration reference.

His well preserved house in London is a fine example of Victorian style. 

It includes many of his original reference photographs and is open for touring.

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Edward Linley Sambourne on Wikipedia
Article in the Camera Club
Related previous posts: 
Charles Keene's cartoons about artists
Using Photo Reference

Camera Technique Stretches Time

An unusual camera technique developed by Jay Mark Johnson combines multiple viewpoints and moving objects into a single image with a stretched background. 

The slit-scan camera technique, which he calls "photographic timelines," freezes and compresses moving objects. The faster they move, the more they're compressed.

This is the reverse of what we're accustomed to seeing, namely detailed, stable backgrounds with blurred moving objects.

Johnson's technique also works wonders with dancers, distorting their forms like melting glass or taffy.

Via Singularity Hub
Explanation of the method on Design Boom.
Jay Mark Johnson's website

Shot List for Art Videos

Peter Culos says, "I'm experimenting with video now and I was wondering what you use to produce video."

Peter, I shoot all the videos by myself while I'm painting. Sometimes I ask Jeanette to take a couple of shots, but she's usually busy painting. Shooting while you paint is a little distracting, but kind of fun once you get used to it.

My gear is pretty basic, nothing fancy or expensive. Here's some info, broken down into 1. Shot List, 2. Camera Gear, 3. Audio, and 4. Editing.

SHOT LIST
You don't need all this coverage, of course. This list is just a memory jogger. A variety of shots makes editing fun later.

ARRIVAL / MOTIF CHOICE
• Walk into scene (watch 180 rule)
• Motif framed with hands + POV
• Reaction, explaining thinking
• Decision; Set down stuff

Painting in Wyoming with separate camera tripod

ESTABLISHING SHOT
• Walk-on, walk-off
• Shoot the local signage
• Overall shot of setting
• Master shot of easel / setup
• 2-shot if I'm painting with a companion
• Super far away in crowd, talking

POV
• Closeup shots of parts of scene
• Long hold of comparison for split screen (be sure action is center frame)
• Steadicam into scene
• Over the shoulder

GENERAL COVERAGE
• C/U of hands and feet for cutaway
• Artistic focus pull (use sparingly)
• Super-closeups of motif (LOCK-OFF)
• Tubes of color chosen
• Paint squeezing
• Paint mixing
• Choosing brush
• Brush POV (specialized shot with camera mounted on brush)

LOCATION COMMENTARY
• “Here’s what I want to do”
• “My first step is to...”
• “Now I’m closing in on the finish..BUT”
• “I’m using this tool (show).”
• “I’ve got a problem…HOW TO FIX”

REACTIONS
• Passersby
• Expert
• Reaction of owner
• “Tell me about this place”

REVERSE ANGLES
• Looking over easel
• Looking up and down

CONFLICT / CHALLENGE / STAKES
• Who might stop me
• Time pressure
• Doubts
• Forgot materials
• Banter with painting companion

TIME LAPSE
• POV of scene during painting
• Set up or takedown
• Dynamics of light, clouds, people

AUDIO
• Extended “room tone" of environment
• Selected sound cues: doors, etc.
• Lavalier mic clipped to drawing surface

STILLS
• Location
• Step by step

Clockwise from upper left: camcorder, single-lens reflex, 
GoPro action camera, and point-and-shoot

GEAR

CAMCORDER
I use a Canon Vixia camcorder for most of my videos, which gives me the necessary manual controls. If you get one video camera, a camcorder is the most versatile.

1. Focus lock.

2. Manual exposure.

3. Custom white balance. 

4. Fold-out LCD screen.
5. Input port for external audio. 

SLR
I also use a Canon EOS Rebel Digital SLR camera with the kit zoom lens, plus a 50mm f/1.8 lens (for bokeh) and a Canon 10-18mm wide angle lens. I use this camera for stop motion and occasionally for time lapse with an intervalometer.

ACTION CAMERA
I use a GoPro Hero mainly for time lapse. I combine those stills into a video clip using a free program called Time Lapse Assembler.

POINT-AND-SHOOT CAMERA
Canon PowerShot Elph pocket camera in a belt holster when I’m in the field. I rely on it for shooting stills and for getting extra video coverage when it’s not convenient to bring out the other cameras. In a pinch I often use this handheld and apply stabilization in post.

TRIPOD

Ideally I put the camera on its own lightweight tripod, held out to the side on an extension bar, which keeps the tripod from getting in my way.

AUDIO
• Zoom H2n digital recorder
I use this both for field recording and for studio voiceover.
• Wired Lavalier microphone

Necessary for any on-camera talking. Don't rely on the camera's onboard mic.

• DIY Knitted Deadcat Windscreen

Cuts wind noise. Better to make your own than buy an expensive one.

EDITING TIPS

• WORKFLOW: 1. Visual edit, 2. Color correction, 3. Background audio, 4. Foley if necessary, 5. Voiceover, 6. Titles and Transitions

• Whenever possible, conceive of the piece as a 3-act story: Articulate goals, grapple with challenges, and figure out solutions.

• Use authentic sounds instead of music under time lapse. Use music only at the beginning and end if necessary for mood. Don't use music as an acoustic floor throughout.
• Edit to match the speed of viewer's mind, not real time.
• If you change speed in a shot, tell the viewer that you're doing it in VO.

MORE RESOURCES
• Check out my painting tutorials on Sellfy
• You can also get my videos on Gumroad
• Link for all my videos on DVD at Kunaki.
• You can also get my DVDs at Amazon
• Longer post on GJ: How to Video Your Art (goes into more detail about gear)
• Helpful filmmaking tutorials on the older uploads from Indy Mogul (YouTube channel)
• Also some good tutorials on Film Riot and Frugal Filmmaker