http://www.cracked.com/personal-experiences-2060-were-professional-furry-porn-artists-6-on-the-job-lessons.html
This is one of the very first articles I've seen dealing more or less respectfully with furry artists and their job - a breath of fresh air after dozens of mainstream articles focusing only on internet gossip or fursuiting while giving only a passing mention the the true foundation of the furry fandom, that is anthro art and the fandom's commissions market.
I appreciate that the article doesn't try to hide the most common kind of anthro art (that is porn) behind a wall of awkward disclaimers and safe-for-work stuff. They writer didn't pick the best possible examples of furry erotica but that's hardly surprising given that furries are usually busy hiding their best artwork and the most interesting aspects of furry culture for fear that outsiders won't understand.
I also appreciate the choice to interview, among the others, Arania, an artist whose works full of body transformations and unbridled sense of wonder are closer to the roots of furry imagination than the more polished works of the most popular artists.
We are still a long way to go from a good rational analysis of anthro art, but it's a start.
Showing posts with label artists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label artists. Show all posts
Sunday, March 27, 2016
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Artist notes: Blotch
"Blotch" is the pseudonym used by anthro artists Kenket (Tess Garman) and BlackTeagan (Teagan Gavet) during their very fruitful collaboration period which ran from 2006 to 2014. As a general rule BlackTeagan was responsible for the linework and Kenket for the coloring which was usually watercolors. Kenket has since become an extremely skilled painter while BlackTeagan is focusing on comics and ink drawing.
For simplicity I will refer to Blotch as a male since that's the gender of the fictional character they estabilished as the author of the pictures, a male anthro leopard.
Even though the two artists already had some visibility on their own, Blotch appeared on the furry fandom scene out of nowhere and quickly rose to become one of the most popular furry artists of the late 2000s and early 2010s, if not the most popular. This led to quite a lot of controversy as he was the first highly skilled artist to feature anatomically correct genitals on characters - and quite prominently so.
If this had been only a distasteful gimmick it would have died out quickly though. Porn sells, but not consistently and certainly not for the price tags which have been consistently associated with Blotch's art. In spite of silly internet myths there is only so much that impulse buying can do.
Blotch's art has been dismissed as mere porn by some anthro fans unwilling to admit that erotic artwork could be a credit to the genre, but it has other qualities which make it stand out as iconic anthro art, well worth of being presented as one of the most important achievements in our little genre.
Blotch's erotic art in particular could come across as kitschy because of its open sentimentality, but I would argue that that is a superficial impression and that the novelty of what it tries to express about same-sex relationships experienced by young people is more important than such academic criticism.
Does sex in art need to feel gritty, smug, overwhelmingly physical and/or openly political all the time? One would think so looking at the works of recognized masters of erotic art. I'll be using male gay artists as an example here just because Blotch's subjcts are mostly male-on-male love scenes, but the situation is pretty much the same for all flavors of erotic art. There are notable exceptions like Tom Bianchi or Charles Demuth, but in most cases, from Tom of Finland to Gengoroh Tagame, from Robert Mapplethorpe to Harry Bush, power relationships are the most common underlying theme. Dominance, submission and hardcore physical sensations seem to dominate, and so does (in Western artists at least) a visual language which acknowledges and openly encourages political readings.
On the other end of the erotic gay art spectrum yaoi art leans towards more romantic tones, but power relationships are still a very prominent theme. There's apparently no escape from same-sex relationships being associated with power struggles, even if only in the imagination, whether the art in question is aimed to a male, female, gay or straight audience.
And yet Blotch's art has seduced the furry audience by focusing on something else entirely: playfulness and day to day affection.
In spite of their idealized settings the best works of Blotch are gay slice-of-life art, and not of the absurdly contrived kind brought forward by some other furry artists. It is slice-of-life in that it attempts to capure ordinary moments of affection. Any couple of lovers with an open mind and an appreciation for animals and nature can't help but smile in front of the simple and yet hard to express truths found in those images.
One has to look at Far East art from centuries ago such as Ukiyo-e or Indian sacred art in order to consistently find similar light-hearted portrayals of male-on-male sexuality.
This, I believe, is why Blotch's pictures have reached iconic status in furry art even though most of them don't depict specific characters (as is usually the case in the commission dominated market of furry art). They clearly answered a need for representation that a huge number of furries shared. Sentimentality is not a flaw if it's brought out where it had been unjustly excluded and underestimated before.
And again, genuinely positive depictions of sex in art are so rare that they certainly cannot be considered a stale subject.
Even Blotch's more whimsical pieces are full of the same playfulness and positivity which are the hallmark of good erotic anthro art. Whatever the subject an observer always gets the feeling that the characters are having a great time no matter their exact relationship to each other (or lack thereof), and that sincere feelings are never entirely absent from the sexual act.
Will this kind of art ever be recognized as the achievement it is outside of the anthro art niche? It's hard to tell, because even inside its niche there are people who would never take erotic art at more than face value. But I really hope it will, because what anthro artists like Blotch have done really is new and interesting in the landscape of Western art.
For simplicity I will refer to Blotch as a male since that's the gender of the fictional character they estabilished as the author of the pictures, a male anthro leopard.
Even though the two artists already had some visibility on their own, Blotch appeared on the furry fandom scene out of nowhere and quickly rose to become one of the most popular furry artists of the late 2000s and early 2010s, if not the most popular. This led to quite a lot of controversy as he was the first highly skilled artist to feature anatomically correct genitals on characters - and quite prominently so.
Big Bad Wolf, 2008
If this had been only a distasteful gimmick it would have died out quickly though. Porn sells, but not consistently and certainly not for the price tags which have been consistently associated with Blotch's art. In spite of silly internet myths there is only so much that impulse buying can do.
Blotch's art has been dismissed as mere porn by some anthro fans unwilling to admit that erotic artwork could be a credit to the genre, but it has other qualities which make it stand out as iconic anthro art, well worth of being presented as one of the most important achievements in our little genre.
Speaking of Love, 2010
Blotch's erotic art in particular could come across as kitschy because of its open sentimentality, but I would argue that that is a superficial impression and that the novelty of what it tries to express about same-sex relationships experienced by young people is more important than such academic criticism.
Does sex in art need to feel gritty, smug, overwhelmingly physical and/or openly political all the time? One would think so looking at the works of recognized masters of erotic art. I'll be using male gay artists as an example here just because Blotch's subjcts are mostly male-on-male love scenes, but the situation is pretty much the same for all flavors of erotic art. There are notable exceptions like Tom Bianchi or Charles Demuth, but in most cases, from Tom of Finland to Gengoroh Tagame, from Robert Mapplethorpe to Harry Bush, power relationships are the most common underlying theme. Dominance, submission and hardcore physical sensations seem to dominate, and so does (in Western artists at least) a visual language which acknowledges and openly encourages political readings.
On the other end of the erotic gay art spectrum yaoi art leans towards more romantic tones, but power relationships are still a very prominent theme. There's apparently no escape from same-sex relationships being associated with power struggles, even if only in the imagination, whether the art in question is aimed to a male, female, gay or straight audience.
And yet Blotch's art has seduced the furry audience by focusing on something else entirely: playfulness and day to day affection.
5 More Minutes, 2008
In spite of their idealized settings the best works of Blotch are gay slice-of-life art, and not of the absurdly contrived kind brought forward by some other furry artists. It is slice-of-life in that it attempts to capure ordinary moments of affection. Any couple of lovers with an open mind and an appreciation for animals and nature can't help but smile in front of the simple and yet hard to express truths found in those images.
Don't Stop, 2014
One has to look at Far East art from centuries ago such as Ukiyo-e or Indian sacred art in order to consistently find similar light-hearted portrayals of male-on-male sexuality.
Surge, 2011
This, I believe, is why Blotch's pictures have reached iconic status in furry art even though most of them don't depict specific characters (as is usually the case in the commission dominated market of furry art). They clearly answered a need for representation that a huge number of furries shared. Sentimentality is not a flaw if it's brought out where it had been unjustly excluded and underestimated before.
And again, genuinely positive depictions of sex in art are so rare that they certainly cannot be considered a stale subject.
Minimum Security Prison, 2011
In dog we thrust, 2007
Penis party, 2013
Even Blotch's more whimsical pieces are full of the same playfulness and positivity which are the hallmark of good erotic anthro art. Whatever the subject an observer always gets the feeling that the characters are having a great time no matter their exact relationship to each other (or lack thereof), and that sincere feelings are never entirely absent from the sexual act.
Will this kind of art ever be recognized as the achievement it is outside of the anthro art niche? It's hard to tell, because even inside its niche there are people who would never take erotic art at more than face value. But I really hope it will, because what anthro artists like Blotch have done really is new and interesting in the landscape of Western art.
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Three good art blogs
Wow, I haven’t posted here in a while! This blog started as a sort of studio journal as I was getting serious about learning the basics of paintings, but now that I’ve made some progress I think there are better uses to it than documenting errors and work-in-progress stuff. There is a lot of stuff I’m interested into (books, art theory, other artists’ works, etc.) and a lot of material I’ve gathered while learning painting which I think is worth reviewing. So that’s the blog’s new goal. I’ll be posting WIPs too from time to time but they won’t be the main focus any more, also because I already post them on my Tumblr when they are worth showing.
I've also changed the blog rating to NSFW so I can safely post and discuss erotic art, one of the topics I'm most interested in.
I’ll start simply by mentioning the three other art blogs which have taught me the most about art in the last few years. Hopefully they may be helpful to other self-taught artists and painting enthusiasts.
Gurney Journey
This one is very famous but it can’t be recommended enough. It’s the blog of James Gurney, one of the best realist illustrators in the world and author of excellent books about the basics of painting. The books draw heavily from his blog posts so a wealth of complementary information can be found browsing past posts. Plus it’s updated almost daily and there’s always something interesting being discussed. If I had to name a single must-read art blog it would be this one.
Stapleton Kearns
Blog of the eponymous landscape painter. No longer updated but well worth reading from the start if you’re interested in oil painting. It discusses in depth many painting materials and techniques which I couldn’t find discussed anywhere else on the web, in addition to giving clues for beginners, explaining basic principles of composition and commenting on great landscape painters of the past.
John K. Stuff
Blog of animator John Kricfalusi of “Ren & Stimpy” fame. This one needs to be taken with a grain of salt. The author is quirky to say the least and has some very strong opinions against modern animation which I don’t always find agreeable. Nevertheless he knows his stuff from a technical standpoint and makes a lot of interesting points when criticizing the design of 80s cartoons and CG characters. The blog revolves mostly around the topic of composition in comics and cartoons, often analyzing Disney, Warner Bros and Hanna & Barbera classics. It’s still updated although now it’s just a WIPs blog and promotion tool for the author’s new projects, the streak of educational posts ended somewhere in 2012. Still the first six years or so of archives are worth browsing. A few links to images and Youtube videos are broken but that doesn’t hurt the explanations too much.
There are several other blogs I followed and follow but I’ll leave them for future posts. I always appreciate good art blogs, so if you are reading this, please feel free to suggest me any that you find interesting! Thank you.
I've also changed the blog rating to NSFW so I can safely post and discuss erotic art, one of the topics I'm most interested in.
I’ll start simply by mentioning the three other art blogs which have taught me the most about art in the last few years. Hopefully they may be helpful to other self-taught artists and painting enthusiasts.
This one is very famous but it can’t be recommended enough. It’s the blog of James Gurney, one of the best realist illustrators in the world and author of excellent books about the basics of painting. The books draw heavily from his blog posts so a wealth of complementary information can be found browsing past posts. Plus it’s updated almost daily and there’s always something interesting being discussed. If I had to name a single must-read art blog it would be this one.
Blog of the eponymous landscape painter. No longer updated but well worth reading from the start if you’re interested in oil painting. It discusses in depth many painting materials and techniques which I couldn’t find discussed anywhere else on the web, in addition to giving clues for beginners, explaining basic principles of composition and commenting on great landscape painters of the past.
Blog of animator John Kricfalusi of “Ren & Stimpy” fame. This one needs to be taken with a grain of salt. The author is quirky to say the least and has some very strong opinions against modern animation which I don’t always find agreeable. Nevertheless he knows his stuff from a technical standpoint and makes a lot of interesting points when criticizing the design of 80s cartoons and CG characters. The blog revolves mostly around the topic of composition in comics and cartoons, often analyzing Disney, Warner Bros and Hanna & Barbera classics. It’s still updated although now it’s just a WIPs blog and promotion tool for the author’s new projects, the streak of educational posts ended somewhere in 2012. Still the first six years or so of archives are worth browsing. A few links to images and Youtube videos are broken but that doesn’t hurt the explanations too much.
There are several other blogs I followed and follow but I’ll leave them for future posts. I always appreciate good art blogs, so if you are reading this, please feel free to suggest me any that you find interesting! Thank you.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Durer's other hare
The one who rented him the workshop rooms and sold him paints. Sometimes she also agreed to pose for him, as he seemed to have a peculiar fixation with leporids.
Having some fun to warm up after a chaotic month.
Besides the mannerism inspired to work of Durer's period the pose is a bit unnatural, but I had this specific pose and composition with the Celestial Globe so clear in mind that the all tests I did of alternative poses felt wrong - either the hare was too tall or didn't show the right curves. This happens a lot to me and I always wonder whether it's intuition at work or lack of observation. I admire a lot artists like Ingres who managed to harness this tendency to disregard anatomy and physics in favor of composition and yet produced very refined works.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Beksinski and monumental buildings
What exactly makes the buildings in Beksinski's paintings feel so imposing?
The masterful perspective, the point of view from below and the composition are surely part of the reason, but there's more. He could make buildings look imposing even when seen from above and even when they are tiny in the background.
In the last picture above there is the clever detail of the window light, which is very small, suggesting the tower is very large. But in all the picture I think the illumination plays a major role. His most impressive buildings are stuck by light and better defined in the top part, while the building's base is often blurred, hidden in shadows or smoke. In the real world such an effect is most visible on mountains and huge buildings like skyscrapers when they cast shadows over each other.
To some extent we have an innate perception of natural facts like these, as part of our ability to keep orientation and recognize landmarks. As a consequence, I think that the fuzzyness in the lower part of his buildings suggests they are as imposing as mountains because they are stuck by light in a similar way. But because the shadows are also large and imposing, it also suggest the presence of other structures of similar size in the vicinity, right outside of the visible area. These paintings create the feeling that the viewer is surrounded by immense building and huge masses of clouds, even thought most of them are implied and not part of the scene.
Vertical structures surrounded by clouds, symbols of death, weird lights, desaturated colors etc. also remind of a very specific icon of the XX century... but this connection (of which I think Beksinski was well aware) is mostly symbolic and not as obvious as that with the behavior of light on mountains.
The masterful perspective, the point of view from below and the composition are surely part of the reason, but there's more. He could make buildings look imposing even when seen from above and even when they are tiny in the background.
In the last picture above there is the clever detail of the window light, which is very small, suggesting the tower is very large. But in all the picture I think the illumination plays a major role. His most impressive buildings are stuck by light and better defined in the top part, while the building's base is often blurred, hidden in shadows or smoke. In the real world such an effect is most visible on mountains and huge buildings like skyscrapers when they cast shadows over each other.
To some extent we have an innate perception of natural facts like these, as part of our ability to keep orientation and recognize landmarks. As a consequence, I think that the fuzzyness in the lower part of his buildings suggests they are as imposing as mountains because they are stuck by light in a similar way. But because the shadows are also large and imposing, it also suggest the presence of other structures of similar size in the vicinity, right outside of the visible area. These paintings create the feeling that the viewer is surrounded by immense building and huge masses of clouds, even thought most of them are implied and not part of the scene.
Vertical structures surrounded by clouds, symbols of death, weird lights, desaturated colors etc. also remind of a very specific icon of the XX century... but this connection (of which I think Beksinski was well aware) is mostly symbolic and not as obvious as that with the behavior of light on mountains.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
A small Gauguin parody and study
Still studying color theory and making color tests like crazy. I did a small painting for the friends of the FurryMania forum based on Gauguin's "Spirit of the Dead Watching (Manao tupapau)". The colors are based on a photo which is probably quite different from the original (most other photos are not so green and less saturated), but I liked the photo's green/sienna contrast so I used that. The hoopoe Greta is a character by Sans Souci (take a look at her cool sketch blog!).
On the girl's head the bed's border becomes very thin, shifting the viewer's attentio to the figure's face. I tired to keep this effect along the hoopoe's crest.
In the original the shape of the bed sheet is broken by the orange cushion. This is a detail I omitted but it was a mistake because it was very important: it connected the girl's dark shape with the dark background by breaking the bed's border and this adds a lot of depth to the bed, balancing the effects of the loose perspective and shading. In my version the sheet is too striking and the hoopoe looks almost floating in the void. I realized it before finishing but the cushion area was already cluttered because of the boar and there was little room to fix the mistake. A lesson learned.
As seen in the grayscale version the orange cushion is an intermediate value between the light and the dark shapes around it, resulting in a very harmonious values map.
The animal on the background of the original is probably an ox with an oxpecker on top of it - I couldn't find any information about it - but at first glance it looked like a boar with a long ear, and since the forum has a boar mascotte too I turned it into a boar. The curves on the far right of the original may also be the backs of other oxes grazing.
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