Simply Creative

The Principles of Design by Efil Türk

Turkish graphic designer Efil Türk created these paper crafted posters series entitled 'The Principles of Design' that illustrated 10 principles (balance, hierarchy, pattern, rhythm, space, proportion, emphasis, movement, contrast, and unity) for her senior thesis at the Dokuz Eylul University of Fine Arts.

"I wanted to question what are the fundamental elements of design besides creativity."

“My technique is to merge the typographic explanation that I design digitally and the handmade paper composition. I usually preferred to use paper as a material in my projects in college.”

Typewritten Portraits by Álvaro Franca

Brazilian graphic designer Álvaro Franca creates incredibly detailed portraits of his favorite authors using a vintage typewriter, titled 'Typewritten Portraits'.

Franca begins the process by creating reference images on his computer to plan out the areas of light and dark shading on the portrait.

Franca has finished 5 portraits so far, include: J.D. Salinger, Jack Kerouac, Clarice Lispector, Jose Saramago, and Charles H. Bukowski, and has plans for five other portraits to be finished this year.

Check his website: https://www.behance.net/alvarofranca

Sketching with a Band Saw by James McNabb

Pennsylvania artist James McNabb created a beautiful collection of architectural shapes using discarded wood as an interpretation of making something out of nothing entitled 'The City Series'.

Each piece is cut on a band saw which he describes the process as “sketching with a band saw.”

"In the preliminary stages of a project, I often feel exhausted from thinking about design and the hyper-technical nature of woodworking. For me, I find relief in turning the machines on, and turning my brain off. During one of these moments, I picked up a piece of scrap wood from the trash, turned on the band saw, and started making a few cuts. It didn’t matter what I was making, but I was working through my frustrations in the material. The object I made looked strangely familiar. Rather than thinking too much about what I just did, I grabbed another piece and made more cuts. In about an hour, I made 15. I enjoyed what I was accomplishing, so I stayed up through the night that evening and made over 200 by the next morning. When I stood them next to each other, I realized I had created a small city of unique ideas."

"I compare hyperrealistic painting to fine woodworking. Both are slow, tedious, detail oriented process that require great care and consideration through every stage of making. In contrast, I compare my style of rapid bandsaw mark making to the fast paced nature of spray can art. It’s my attempt at “urban woodworking”.

Check his website: http://www.mcnabbstudio.com

Source: thisiscolossal, catesthill

Gaia, The Birth Of An End by Kirsty Mitchell

UK photographer Kirsty Mitchell (previously here) created this phenomenal portrait of an interpretation of a Greek goddess called 'Gaia, The Birth Of An End' that marks the beginning of the final chapter in her Wonderland project.

Gaia wears a grand golden handmade headdress that took her over two and-a-half months to finish.

"I was heavily influenced by Inca gods, and my trip to Tibet in 2012, during which I had specifically collected traditional bells and tribal necklaces. I began by building up an entire new lower level to the piece, that would help surround the face and balance the enormous proportions of the top section."

"The headdress was entirely hand painted, dyed and beaded by myself and weighs so much, that it had to be wired to a wooden beam in my studio to take the weight off the model's head."

The base is made from solid plaster with metal mesh embedded into it for extra strength.

The photographer worked with make-up artist is Elbie Van Eeden to transform model Marianna Toka into the goddess.

"Wonderland is in its final phase. It has been running for four and a half years and is entirely self funded. The project's purpose is to create a extraordinary storybook without words."

"The characters are all my own creation; the costumes props and sets. I construct them like mini film sets in the woodlands around my home. Everything is real and real scale, and can take months to make."

"The characters are not based on anything that already exists - they are the result of my faded memories of the stories my mother read to me as a child, the original book illustrations, poems, paintings mixed up with dreams. I wanted to create pictures that people will project their own ideas on to, and lose themselves in."

"The project currently has 69 pictures in the collection, with another 10 coming. All the new pictures, the last 10, have been made and shot over the last 9 months, and we are now retuning with them, as well as the films. Each picture has a five-minute behind the scenes film made by FX Media. But we are also working on a full-length documentary about the whole series which will be released online at the very close of the series. I hope to complete everything by March next year."

"I named this first portrait Gaia, The Birth of An End, as it about the last seen character Gaia's transition from a mortal to her true goddess form. I named her after the Greek equivalent of our Mother Earth, and this picture represents her incarnation, (birth) surrounded by an explosion of vibrating, shimmering energy. Her character affects everything. As she changes so to will the landscape, creating a butterfly effect that sets in motion the end of the story."

"It was heavily influenced by how I see the human spirit; after losing my mother people often ask me what I imagine comes afterwards, and my only answer is my belief in an endless energy, the circle I feel we are all a part of. My mother is with me always, she is the earth, the rain, the wind in my hair was I walk to work. The body may cease, but I feel the vibrations of people continue, like ripples from a stone cast in a lake, and it was this power of spirit that I have tried to express within the picture."

Check her website: www.kirstymitchellphotography.com/

All images are © Copyright of Kirsty Mitchell

Source: dailymail

Japanese Anime Latte by Sugi

Twitter user Sugi created these detailed latte portraits of famous Japanese anime characters, using only toothpicks, chocolate syrup for the dark areas and cocktail syrups for the other colors.

"I’m able to draw latte art by using an espresso machine, a pitcher for pouring milk, a spoon for drawing the pictures, chocolate sauce and caramel syrup, and lastly a cup."

"Next, I create the art. I First use the espresso machine to make the espresso and foamed milk. I create a caffe latte by pouring the foamed milk onto the espresso. As for the latte art, the technique of cutting through the foamed milk to create the pattern is widely used, but I use an etching technique to create my art and things like chocolate sauce and syrup for bringing color to it. If I have black, red, blue, and yellow chocolate sauce and syrup, I can create the color I want. It’s quite convenient."

"When the bubbles are rough, it’s easy for the drawing to collapse, so the consistency of the milk is extremely important. Because of that, I’m constantly buying and replacing machines (laughs). I constantly went through trial and error with finding one that foams the milk better. Next, I create the latte art by looking at a picture that someone else drew. I choose pictures that will transition well to a round cup, and I carefully think about the composition."

"Basically, I create things that others request. I make three to four per day, but even going at that pace they are neverending. I get lots of requests (laughs). A lot of different things are requested on Twitter, but anime and manga characters are often requested, so much of what I make is character latte art."

"I create latte art because I enjoy making people happy. I even make latte art for my friends and relatives on the weekends. Also, I’m happy to receive positive comments from all kinds of people as soon as I put something on Twitter. Until recently, I had primarily drawn landscapes, which my friends were surprised by, and I enjoyed doing it because it made them happy."