Pixelated Faces

Here are four photos of celebrities or politicians, greatly degraded by pixellation. 

Can you recognize any of them?

Subject 1

Subject 2

If you're having a hard time recognizing them so far, you might try making the displayed images smaller.  On a Mac, you can do that by pressing Command and - at the same time.

Subject 3

Subject 4

Ready for the answers? Here are higher resolution photos, together with the pixelated versions.

Leonardo Di Caprio

 Scarlett Johansson

Anne Hathaway

Vladimir Putin

If you recognized any of them from the pixellated version, consider how remarkable that is. The images are highly degraded, with no indication of the shapes of the features, just some brown squares where they eyes would be.

Blurring is another way to reduce the information in a photo and to make it lower resolution. Can you recognize these faces? (Answers below in fine print.)

Individuals shown in order are: Michael Jordan, Woody Allen, Goldie Hawn, Bill Clinton, Tom Hanks, Saddam Hussein, Elvis Presley, Jay Leno, Dustin Hoffman, Prince Charles, Cher, and Richard Nixon. 

Recognizing faces out of such incomplete information is a formidable achievement, which tells us something about how we process visual information about faces. Scientists found that "about half of the observers were able to recognize a face of merely 7x10 pixels, and recognition performance reached ceiling level at a resolution of 19x27 pixels."

Researchers have drawn some conclusions from experiments like this:

• "Unlike current machine-based systems, human observers are able to handle significant degradations in face images."*

• "Pigmentation cues are at least as important as shape cues."
• "Fine featural details are not necessary to obtain good face recognition performance."

• "The ability to tolerate degradations increases with familiarity."  

Detail of a painting by Frank Duveneck

As painters, this is a good reminder that the broad, simple, tonal lay-in stage is at least as important as the finicky details and the linear relationships that we obsess over. 

Here's a practice idea for students: If you can take a big paintbrush and accurately translate it into a few spots of tone, you're well on the way to painting good likenesses.

Studies Referenced:

—A. Yip and P. Sinha, B. Role of color in face recognition,[ Perception, vol. 31, pp. 995–1003, 2002.
—V. Bruce, Z. Henderson, K. Greenwood, P. J. B. Hancock, A. M. Burton, and P. I. Miller, B Verification of face identities from images captured on video,[ J. Experimental Psychol.: Applied, vol. 5–4, pp. 339–360, 1999. 

—V. Bruce, Face recognition in poor-quality video,[ Psychol. Sci., vol. 10, pp. 243–248, 1999.
* Machine learning systems are getting much better at recognizing people despite pixelation (see comments).

If you liked this topic, you'll love these previous posts

Albert or Marilyn?

Eyebrows and Face Recognition

Ghostly Gaze Illusion

Planning Stages

Here are three stages in planning Dinosaur Boulevard for Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time. 

The first one is a grisaille study in oil, about 3 x 6 inches. I wanted to organize the values of the scene— a very light sky, a pale row of buildings, and then deep darks unifying the foreground elements.

The purpose of the second study is to work out the perspective and overlapping.

For any scene this complex, it's a big help to break down the planning stages into several discrete stages, with the goal of solving a different problem with each sketch.


The original painting is on its way to Athens, where it will be on exhibit as part of the big science fiction exhibit that was most recently in London (link to video overview).
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The painting appears in the book Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time
Signed from my website store and Also available from Amazon

New Book: The Color of Pixar

A new visual book called The Color of Pixar by long-time Pixar artist Tia Kratter presents color schemes used in the Pixar movies.

The book presents hundreds of stills taken from all the Pixar films so far, including Cars 3 and the upcoming Coco. The stills are chosen for their predominant hue, and arranged by color. 

As you flip through the book, you proceed through the rainbow, making it easy to compare related color schemes that appear on adjacent pages.

Each image is presented singly, surrounded by a full-bleed colored border. The captions tell you the movie that the still came from, but there's no text explaining why the sequence was rendered in that color scheme. 

It's really a purely visual book that will appeal to artists looking for inspiration on color choices. It might also appeal to teachers who want to explore the subject of color with students.

Kratter says: "Color doesn't just make things beautiful—it makes things emotional."

The book invites speculation about how Pixar uses warm, glowing colors to evoke happiness, and dull, cool blues to suggest sadness, or green-grays to convey fear or alienation.

Sample page from The Art of Pixar: The Complete Color Scripts

If you're more interested in how color is used to enhance the particular story arc of each film, another fascinating book is The Art of Pixar: The Complete Color Scripts, which presents each of the films in terms of the color thumbnail plan called the color script.

Throughout Pixar's history, these color scripts evolved from little pastel studies to a digital plan that expresses not only the color schemes, but also the shape language of each sequence.
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Books
The Color of Pixar by Tia Kratter, currently $20.36 on Amazon.
The Art of Pixar: The Complete Color Scripts, currently $28.49 on Amazon.

Previously on GurneyJourney
Pixar supercut arranged by color (video)
Resource for movie screenshots (website)

Fantin-Latour's Charcoal Self Portraits

The young Henri Fantin-Latour (1836-1904) experimented with charcoal in a series of painterly and atmospheric self portraits.

He applied directional hatching of short, parallel strokes on top of broadly applied tones to convey a painterly impression of light.

Some of his drawings also combine pencil, chalk, and whitening to the charcoal.

He was one of the fusainistes (charcoal draftsmen), who, in addition to using oil, explored the possibilities of charcoal.

Charcoal was central to the practice of all the artists in the École des Beaux-Arts, but it became especially popular after the development of an improved fixative.
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Read more about fusainistes in Noir: The Romance of Black in 19th-Century French Drawings and Prints
Visit my Pinterest page

Atmospherics in Watercolor and Gouache

In this video demo, I use watercolor and gouache to capture the smoky atmosphere of an Irish-American street festival. (Link to video on YouTube)

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Materials:
Jack Richeson Watermedia Pocket Plein Air Brush Set
Pentalic Aqua Journal
How to Make a Sketch Easel
Holbein gouache
Schmincke watercolor

Sargent's Preliminary Pencils

How much preliminary pencil drawing did John S. Sargent do before launching in with watercolors in his famous "Muddy Alligator" painting of 1917?

Analysis of a related work "Alligators" (below) provides a clue. The 15 x 20-inch painting appears to be abandoned after a few washes were laid down, perhaps because the subjects moved.

Using the technique of infrared reflectography, Marjorie Shelley of the Metropolitan Museum was able to peer through the layers of paint to reveal the preliminary drawing in graphite. Sargent only drew the alligators at the top of the page, the ones in the extreme distance. 

Then, possibly sensing that the animals were on the move and he had to speed up, he evidently shifted his strategy, constructing the forms with the brush directly and dispensing with the pencil.

Sargent's normal practice in watercolor was to draw the main lines of the subject first in graphite. This was attested by observers, including Newton Phelps Stokes, who said: "fine and correct drawing was the foundation on which all his work was built." Sargent's biographer Evan Charteris said that his "general habit was to make the lightest indications in pencil to fix the relative position of objects."

Spanish Fountain, by John Singer Sargent, watercolor

So how much pencil is there under the Spanish Fountain painting? 

The infrared reflectogram assembly confirms that Sargent drew the main contours of the sculpture, the path of the water, and dots for the eyes. But he didn't draw the far tiles or the water ripples. Those he left for the brush.

The practice among early 19th century watercolorists in Britain was to erase the graphite lines with a piece of bread or India rubber after the main washes had been laid down. But by later in the century, it became more acceptable to allow the construction lines to show through the final paint. 

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Some images and quotes are taken from the chapter "Materials and Techniques," by Marjorie Shelley in the publication American Drawings and Watercolors in The Metropolitan Museum of Art: John Singer Sargent, 2000.

More books by Marjorie Shelley: 

The Care and Handling of Art Objects 

American Drawings and Watercolors in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: A Catalogue of Works by Artists Born Before 1835

Storefront Challenge Results

Thanks to everyone for entering the "Paint a Storefront Challenge." We had about 70 entries from all around the world, and many of you overcame impossible odds: heat, cold, rain, cars parking in front, and strange pedestrians. There were some cheery stories of friends painting together, and some sad stories of stores closing. It was incredibly hard to choose the winners, but here they are:

Grand Prize Winner: Laurie Foster

"Aziz and Company is a wonderful family-run business that is closing in September after 53 years. It has been an institution in Ottawa (Ontario), and will be very missed. I sketched and painted this (in watercolours) from across the street in the comforts of the Bridgehead Coffee Shop."

"The owner of Aziz and Company really liked the fact that I was painting her store, though she found the "For Lease" sign sad. However, for this painting challenge, it helps tell the story."
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Heather Martin

"I tried to paint several storefronts that each had their unique challenges and appeal, but the Pegasus Bookstore in Rockridge/Oakland was my favorite."

"I love bookstores so much, and I've spent so many hours in them as a kid, but this one felt extra special! I loved the quirky feel, and the shadow that the tree was casting on the building was so beautiful! After the bright sun started to leave, they pulled up the shades and I was tempted to start all over again. Gouache on mixed media paper."
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Michael Anthony

 "This quaint little shop and gallery is called Church St. Arts and Crafts/Gallery."

"While much of Downtown Mount Holly, NJ is abuzz with construction, this gallery provides some solace from the jackhammers." (Thanks, Madii Bee for posting)
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Thomas Ponzi

"Melabudin is a beloved local family run grocery store in the west part of Reykjavik, Iceland. This small shop is packed full of all the necessary essentials as well as loads of Icelandic and international gourmet produce."

"The sun was out when I found a shaded spot and started with pencil, but soon it got overcast and chilly. As often happens for me when using watercolors, I get the tonal values too light. My emphasis was on the entrance and flashy signage. No easel - pad on lap and watercolor set placed on a small wobbly canvas stool. Must improve setup for better results!"
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Annie Rodrigue

"On St-Laurent st. in Montreal, there is this little gem of a store with a beautiful and eccentric storefront called Kitsch'N Swell. I love shopping there myself and the owner is such lovely person!"

"When I saw the challenge, I thought right away of this storefront for my subject. The walls are painted pink and gold, so figuring out how to pull this off that was definitely an interesting challenge in itself. Because of it, I opted for a limited palette of turquoise, pink, greenish-yellow and black. Going for that limited palette also helped me not too get too overwhelmed with the details: it would have been easy to go all over the place with colors. In the end though, I still got carried away with all the items in the windows. I think this is the longest pleinair painting I have ever done. The painting is 9x7 inches and done using a mix of watercolor pencils and gouache."

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Diane R. Mannion

"Albritton Gallery, 5x7"gouache, 2 day plein air. Afterwards, found building was once post office and store of pioneer Cole family, my maiden name!" 

"Building in quant fishing village, the Fishery, Placida soon to be razed and become condos. Sigh, another vanishing spot in Florida."
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Multimedia Winner: Amber Maruszewski

(Link to video) "Hello! I grabbed a friend and my sketchbook and went to paint the storefront of my favorite record shop. this shop has a really cool retro neon sign and exterior architecture elements, with a friendly, well-worn and cozy atmosphere inside. in my painting, i wanted to feature warm and cool colors to reflect the outside and inside moods. the shop is located in downtown madison, wisconsin, on the busy (and loud...) state street. i made this video about my experience! watercolor/gouache/mixed media, 8.5" x 11" (ish) , 1 hour."
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Winners, please email me at gurneyjourney [at] gmail with your mailing address and which video download you would like.

Check out all 70+ entries in the Paint a Storefront Challenge on this Facebook link.

Gradations in Leaf Color

Here's a tip when painting plants: Look for color movement between the newer and older foliage.



Don’t paint the leaves all one color. Notice how the green shifts from emergent leaves to mature leaves to dying ones. In the case of the milkweed above, the older leaves at the bottom are lighter and yellower.



In this foliage, it's the opposite. The younger leaves are a lighter, yellow green, and the older leaves are darker.

Look for variations within the leaf, too, and try to convey the shadows cast on top of the leaves by the rest of the plant.

This is one of ten top tops for painting flowers outdoors in the magazine feature coming out in the next issue (#117) of International Artist Magazine.

It's also one of the tips I talk about in my new video, Flower Painting in the Wild. "Whether you are just starting out or have mastered your own technique, to behold a fresh alla prima painting in plein air is a treat for any artist."

—Michael Klein, East Oaks Studio

1080p HD download from Sellfy Buy now
1080p HD download from Gumroad
1080p HD download from Cubebrush
DVD available direct from the manufacturer
DVD from Amazon
Trailer on YouTube

Earl Mayan's World War II Drawings

When New York illustrator Earl Mayan (1916-2009) decided to enlist in World War II, he left behind his illustration career just as it was just beginning to take off.

He served for four and a half years as a camouflage engineer and reconnaissance photographer, flying through skies lit by antiaircraft rounds, and developing his photographs in abandoned farmhouses.

During the down time he drew litho-crayon portraits of his fellow soldiers, of kids in Panama and Trinidad, and of ordinary folks in France. 

He sketched guys from the 606 Engineer's Batallion waiting in a chow line at Camp Lucky Strike in France. Note the dog, and how each guy carries his own mess kit.

He carried the drawings around for years rolled up in his barracks bag. The drawings suffered through all sorts of conditions, but somehow they survived.

He returned to a successful career as an illustrator in the 1950s. The newest issue of Illustration Magazine (#57) features the work of Earl Mayan, with 81 examples of his artwork (including 9 of his WWII drawings) taken from originals and tearsheets, along with a biography written by his daughter.

The issue also features the work of Peter Stevens and W.E. Hill. If you can't find a copy of Illustration (#57) on your newsstand, you can follow the link and order from the website.
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More of Mayan's WWII drawings at Ron Glazer Fine Art  and at the Earl Mayan website
Wikipedia on Earl Mayan