Arts and Crafts

Logos & Beauty. Bridging The Gap Between Traditional Art & Digital Design

Published

4 years ago

October 8, 2020

Nero

Alphonse Mucha "Reverie" 1897 | Michelangelo Buonarroti "The Creation of Adam" 1512

Visual Creativity can be a powerful tool and whether you choose to create with nature, on canvas, or on your MacBook pro, it is all based on two foundational elements, Beauty and divine order, or Logos. Do we create as God does? No, but we strive to follow and emulate the path that he lay before us. No matter your skill level or understanding of these elements, we each have an inherent intuition to strive towards beauty and live in logos.

The visual arts are a way to express and illuminate something greater than ourselves.

No matter the tools you choose to use, visual creativity can become a way to better understand and express the Divine. Are there certain tools or mediums which get closer to Beauty or become a purer form of visual artistic expression? No, toolsets evolve over time, and Art is naturally embedded within Design. There are, of course, Art forms that do not serve Beauty and the Divine, but that is a rabbit hole for another time.

Just as Beauty is better understood through Logos, so too is Art through Design.

Beauty exists through logos. You can debate whether or not this statement is true but there is no denying nature and reality. The argument of whether you can equate Art with Design is the same. With all things creative, the argument is often stirred by the subjectivity of personal style or taste, but this will only lead to more ignorance and uncertainty. Pitting Art and Design against each other, or separating them independently is just as superfluous as the war on the traditional family unit. Yes, Art and Design serve separate functions but they are inherently embedded within the same system. Art often appeals strongly to emotion while Design serves a function. Design is reductionistic and relies on information to communicate whereas Art relies heavily on intuition and feeling to convey meaning. so how do these two realms of creativity connect? To help describe the relationship, let’s take a look at music.

Music is another realm of creativity that is often viewed as very subjective and polarizing. What sounds good to one person is often nails on a chalkboard to another, therefore all auditory sounds can be considered music, right? No, this is extremely wrong; there are natural patterns and structures which allow frequencies to vibrate harmoniously together. Personal perspective, style, or taste do not refute what works naturally. Just as the triadic formula of 1-3-5 creates a harmonious chord and subsequently leads to a progression, so do the natural principles of Design create a harmonious composition and lead to a beautiful piece of art.

Design is the inherent structure of art and allows it to function harmoniously.

The best way to bridge the gap between Traditional Art and Digital Design, and to better understand the relationship of the visual creative field, is to take a look at the underlying principles and elements of Design. There are four main Design principles that digital designers and traditional artists should utilize; Frame, Balance, Hierarchy, and Unity. Within these Design principles are elements. Each element can be used to achieve and ultimately strive towards harmony and Beauty. These elements are contrast, proportion, emphasis, and repetition.

First, let’s define the elements of contrast, proportion, emphasis, and proportion so we can better understand the overarching principles.

The Elements of Design

Contrast

Contrast is the state of being strikingly different from something else in juxtaposition. Some basic examples of this are light versus dark, vibrant versus subdued, or textured versus smooth.

Caravaggio | Flagellation of Christ | 1607

Proportion

Proportion is the comparative measure of scale between objects. Proportion is harmonious when the correct relationship between visual components is achieved.

Georges Seurat | A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte | 1884 / 1886

Emphasis

Emphasis is concerned with drawing attention to a specific visual component. When done correctly the eye naturally gravitates towards the component being emphasized.

Repetition

Repetition is the number of repeating components within a composition. Using the same or similar visual elements throughout your design can ultimately help to create a cohesive whole.

Claude Monet | Wheatstacks, Snow Effect, Morning | 1891

The Principles of Design

With the elements of Design in mind, let’s move on to the larger piece of the whole. Design principles can be utilized in order to create harmonious body of work.

Frame

Frame is the most important principle. All other principles and subsequent elements work within the frame. You must first identify the confines of your space and realm of which you will create. The size of your canvas comes before the paint medium, just as the paper size comes before designing a poster.

Balance

Balance is the visual distribution of weight. Each shape, brushstroke, or visual component takes up a certain amount of space and carries weight within the frame. Where you choose to distribute these components determines the balance of your work. Contrast, size, and shape can be used to achieve balance, as well as utilizing various forms of symmetry. A good example of this found in logo design. The visual relationship between the icon and the name will create a balance of the final mark.

Hierarchy

Hierarchy is concerned with order and value. The visual components that are emphasized most will translate to the top of the hierarchy, whereas the components that are de-emphasized will support those at the top. It can be as simple as using proportion, shape, or color to establish a hierarchy. A great example of visual hierarchy is how any generic website is set up. The most important elements, the logo, navigation, header image, and call to action, are all at the top of the browser while supporting content is below.

Unity

Unity gives your work a sense of cohesion and coherence. You are ultimately achieving completeness and connecting everything together. All other principles and elements work together in order to achieve unity. Creating an underlying grid can help achieve a sense of unity. Using natural geometric shapes and ratios to create an underlying grid allows you to work within patterns that naturally make sense. How will you tie the composition together in the end? This is what you should ask yourself while iterating and moving towards your final piece.

Utilizing these underlying principles and elements will help you create a cohesive and complete body of work. With anything creative, iteration, consistency, and practice lead to discipline and understanding. Whether you are naturally talented or have an interest in Art and Design, utilizing these principles will also help you get closer to Nature, Beauty, and Divine Logos in your work.

You will inevitably serve someone or something through your work, so choose to serve the Good, the Beautiful, and the True.

If you have any questions or insights on the matter of Art and Design please reach out directly to arts@beartariatimes.com.

MC-Bear

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Arts and Crafts

Announcement: Beartaria Times National Festival Poster Contest

We want to announce a fun and friendly contest for a poster design for our National Festival this year.

Published

1 year ago

August 14, 2023

The Beartaria Times

Calling All Artists!

We want to announce a fun and friendly contest hosted by BudBear, for a poster design for the Beartaria Times National Festival this year.

BudBear will accept submissions until August 24th.

Twelve finalists will be selected, and their designs will be printed and sold at the festival. Whoever sells out of 100 copies or sells the most by the end of the festival will be the grand prize winner with bragging rights and could allegedly receive a copy of their design signed by the Big Bear himself.

Designs should be digital renderings, 12×18 inches vertical, and 300 dpi. As always, please keep it to the clean and family-friendly standards of The Beartaria Times Community.

All proceeds will be donated to Beartaria Ozark Campground at BeartariaCampgrounds.com

Poster designs can be submitted to bearposters33@gmail.com for consideration.

Arts and Crafts

Too Many Mittens

My mom has always loved seeing her children be creative, so she was thrilled when I showed interest in learning how to make mittens. So, in 2016, she taught me how to make wool sweater mittens.

Published

2 years ago

January 1, 2023

Guest Writer

By: Charity (@trailerparkgirl on BTA)

My mom started making wool sweater mittens sometime around 2014. She got the idea from visiting a local Mennonite-owned store. She found patterns online and started out just making them for the family. We’re a family of ten, so there are plenty of us to make mittens for.

In 2015, at eighteen, I became her right-hand businesswoman and began photographing her mittens and selling them on Etsy. My younger sister, Madeline, drew the mitten in the shop logo.

My mom called her shop “Too Many Mittens.” She may or may not have gotten the idea for the name from the 1958 children’s book “Too Many Mittens.”

It’s one of a few books she remembers from her childhood. My mom grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and the story takes place in Michigan.

My mom has always loved seeing her children be creative, so she was thrilled when I showed interest in learning how to make mittens. So, in 2016, she taught me how to make wool sweater mittens. I found them to be pretty simple to make. Very fun, too. I already had some experience with sewing, so it didn’t take long to get the hang of mitten-making. The excitement of pairing different wool sweater fabrics together and adding cool buttons to the cuffs was enough to get me hooked.

We make the mittens out of wool sweaters from thrift shops. And we line the mittens with fleece. My mom and I have had a blast sifting through thrift shop clothes racks in search of funky wool sweaters. We’ve gone through hundreds of wool sweaters in the past several years. Sometimes I see a sweater that I love so much that I’m tempted to keep it for myself to wear. But then I think, “Nah, that’ll make some really cool mittens.”

A few years ago, I invested in an embroidery sewing machine and lots of machine-embroidery thread. It’s been lots of fun to play around with different designs on mittens. They really give mittens extra character. The machine was definitely worth it. And it was fairly affordable. I use a Brother SE625.

Now, in 2022, my mom is far too busy for making mittens. She’s focused on helping raise some of her grandchildren. So, my mom decided to let me take over Too Many Mittens. I’m planning on adding other handcrafted goods to our shop in the future, like cold-process soap. I’ve been playing around with soap-making since 2018. I’m currently working on perfecting recipes. My goal is to have soap available by Spring 2023. I’m even trying to get my younger sister to design the labels for the soap. After all, it is tradition.

One day, I hope my mom will have some extra time on her hands so that she can get back into making mittens. She really enjoyed it, just like I do. Together, we have sold over 350 pairs of mittens. I’m grateful for the time we’ve been able to bond because of our mutual love of mitten-making. If I ever have a daughter of my own, I plan to teach her how to make wool sweater mittens and so many other wonderful things.

Visit my Etsy shop, Too Many Mittens, Here!

Bears get 15% off with the code: TRAILERPARKGIRL

Arts and Crafts

A Pointed Pen Calligraphy Tutorial

The fun thing about calligraphy is that there are many scripts, many pens, and many styles to learn.

Published

2 years ago

November 3, 2022

Guest Writer

By: Snow White Bear

Pointed pens have pointed tips. They come in straight and oblique holders.

Some pens can do both. Choose whichever is more comfortable.

First, clean your nib by putting it in your mouth for a few seconds (older calligraphers still do this), or get a potato from your garden and stick all your nibs in it (a minute should be enough, but some do this overnight) or my favorite using up all the unnatural toothpaste the dentist gives you to clean your nibs. If you skip this step, I’ll get a message from you saying, “Snow White Bear, I tried to write, but the ink won’t come out.” For ink, any calligraphy ink will work. Thinner ink is easier to work with; slowly add distilled or filtered water. Walnut ink can be made at home or bought and is easy to work with. Iron gall ink is tremendous but slowly eats at the nib. “Dinky dips” are popular for pouring ink in.

Don’t use printer paper. Any paper that is 32lbs or more (Hp 32lbs is popular) and smooth will work. Some like resume paper even though it has a slight texture. I print calligraphy guidelines I find online on these papers then I’m ready to practice.

Pointed pens are great at Copperplate script. Here are the basic strokes:

Always write using guidelines. Traditionally Copperplate is written at 55 degrees. Practice the basic strokes until you can do them at least 80% consistently. Now it’s time to move on to letters. Letters are made up of basic strokes. The basic strokes usually group the letters they are composed of.

Practice and practice writing letters and practice writing them slowly. You know when you’re going too fast when your pen keeps scratching or skipping on the page. Clean your pen with water and a paper towel every once in a while when writing after letters are mastered, and practice many words with attention to letter connections (I’ve seen this be a whole course) and spacing. Traditionally calligraphers are taught to practice pangrams like “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” Writing long phrases can help master spacing and words more quickly. Next, majuscules and capital letters are learned, and unfortunately, they use different basic strokes and spacing than the minuscules or lower cases letters.

There are other scripts one can write with a pointed pen. Spencerian, a script invented in America by Platt Rogers Spencer, is the second most popular. My favorites are Engrosser Script, Italian Hand, and Open-Shaded Script.

Modern calligraphy is based on traditional calligraphy but stylized differently. Although you don’t have to learn traditional calligraphy first, many calligraphers recommend it. What’s fun about modern is that after you practice hard and learn the rules, you make your own style.

The fun thing about calligraphy is that they are many scripts, many pens, and many styles to learn. I only mentioned a few. It’s technical art that is limitless, and you keep improving your script every time you practice.