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Some pondering on props in art scenes
10 years ago
Pardon me being quiet on here of late. Been a sidetracked with things since there's an upcoming trip. Also been staying out of the recent site drama as much as possible. ^^;
Anyway, something I've noticed and thought I would discuss is how much the decorations in a drawing can say about the person who either commissioned it or the artist themselves. While I admit that I'm not always the most observant, when I do look for things I can notice some, what I think are, neat little details. And when a scene in an image is decorated, there are times it's possible to see either what the artist sourced or the location involved without a place being named at all.
There's a phrase with writing to "write what you know". If you live a suburban life and commute, it's much easier to relate that to the page than a place the writer has never been. For me, I've lived in smaller towns much of my life, so I couldn't write about, say, Berlin, Germany, as easily without a lot of research. Fiction with made up places is easier because the location is much more well known in the writer's mind by default since they likely created it all within their own mind. To use an example with myself, the city Vaid and Rachel live in is a decent sized city that doesn't exist on any map, yet still feels grounded in its details when I use it in my works. That brings me to my next point, alluded to earlier.
I will freely admit that by looking at the props in my art, you can pretty well tell that I'm from the United States. Now, while I could completely make stuff up (and do when more sci-fi or fantasy stuff is involved), the day-to-day props of electrical outlets, road signs, and such are easier to just use what I know unless I want or need to go for something different for the sake of it. I'm far from the only one to do that. For example, an artist from England will likely use UK-style outlets for the same reason. It's what s/he knows and it's easier. Nothing wrong with that at all and it can even make for some neat little nuances and details to pick up on in an image. We're basically into the visual art version of "write what you know", in this case the word "write" being replaced with the word "draw". And it's not just scene details, either. There're also running gags and easter eggs that can show up. I can think of several artists off the top of my head who do stuff like that, and it's just as fun to find in their images. I've even commented a number of times when I see such things, such as "Oh, hey, that's a cute little plushie sitting back there". I have a number of such examples in my gallery as well. X3
Anyway, those are some thoughts of mine. Feel free to comment, discuss, whatever. I'm curious to hear thoughts about the topic. ^^
Anyway, something I've noticed and thought I would discuss is how much the decorations in a drawing can say about the person who either commissioned it or the artist themselves. While I admit that I'm not always the most observant, when I do look for things I can notice some, what I think are, neat little details. And when a scene in an image is decorated, there are times it's possible to see either what the artist sourced or the location involved without a place being named at all.
There's a phrase with writing to "write what you know". If you live a suburban life and commute, it's much easier to relate that to the page than a place the writer has never been. For me, I've lived in smaller towns much of my life, so I couldn't write about, say, Berlin, Germany, as easily without a lot of research. Fiction with made up places is easier because the location is much more well known in the writer's mind by default since they likely created it all within their own mind. To use an example with myself, the city Vaid and Rachel live in is a decent sized city that doesn't exist on any map, yet still feels grounded in its details when I use it in my works. That brings me to my next point, alluded to earlier.
I will freely admit that by looking at the props in my art, you can pretty well tell that I'm from the United States. Now, while I could completely make stuff up (and do when more sci-fi or fantasy stuff is involved), the day-to-day props of electrical outlets, road signs, and such are easier to just use what I know unless I want or need to go for something different for the sake of it. I'm far from the only one to do that. For example, an artist from England will likely use UK-style outlets for the same reason. It's what s/he knows and it's easier. Nothing wrong with that at all and it can even make for some neat little nuances and details to pick up on in an image. We're basically into the visual art version of "write what you know", in this case the word "write" being replaced with the word "draw". And it's not just scene details, either. There're also running gags and easter eggs that can show up. I can think of several artists off the top of my head who do stuff like that, and it's just as fun to find in their images. I've even commented a number of times when I see such things, such as "Oh, hey, that's a cute little plushie sitting back there". I have a number of such examples in my gallery as well. X3
Anyway, those are some thoughts of mine. Feel free to comment, discuss, whatever. I'm curious to hear thoughts about the topic. ^^
