ROYAL CABINETS
In an age of progressively automated manufacturing and fabrication processes, the Royal Cabinets are an aggressive expression of labour. Assembled from a contractor led design approach, the cabinets draw on highly skilled local craftsmen and artists to produce the fantastical. Staged within the proposed baron ‘facadescape’ of a financially fragile Canary Wharf, the Cabinets are programmatically charged with the loss of yet another great British labour force, Royal Mail.

ROYAL RE-FORMATION
The film attempts in part to graphically abstract the construction of the Royal Cabinets, In a dream-like labour of love. This abstracted reformation is a metaphor for this labour as well as representing the ‘architecture of pieces’ nature to the project. With the obsession for the object the film focuses on an assemblage of immense intricacy as the material slowly clusters to form the sculptural mail markets. Once formed the focus stays with the object, now in the form of the ornamentally re-branded building parts, before the nocturnal mail markets come to life, transforming into red jewels in the urban cityscape, becoming misplaced curious objects in themselves which have a strange visual balance of fragility and aggression.

thnks to Paul Nicholls

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

[vimeo width="600" height="500"]http://vimeo.com/12082308[/vimeo]

Illustrations of detective stories

Marinina was born in Lviv, Ukraine to a family of lawyers. She studied the personality of criminals with anomalies of mentality and criminals who have committed repeated violent crimes. She resigned from the militsiya system to become a full-time writer. Before her resignation, she had the rank of the lieutenant colonel of militsiya.

Marinina has written over 30 novels, published in over 17 million copies and translated into over 20 languages. Most of her novels have a common central character Anastasia Kamenskaya. Marinina has received several awards. In 1995 Marinina received the prize of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the best book about the work of the Russian militsiya, for the books Death for the Sake of Death and Away Game. She was recognized as “The Writer of Year” by the 1998 Moscow International Book Fair, based on the sales of the books in 1997.

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

Night vision is the ability to see in a dark environment. Whether by biological or technological means, night vision is made possible by a combination of two approaches: sufficient spectral range, and sufficient intensity range. Humans have poor night vision compared to many animals, in part because the human eye lacks a tapetum lucidum.

A Fill or Adjustment layer can adjust the color, levels, or brightness and contrast of your image.
These changes are added as a separate layer placed in the layer hierarchy directly over the selected
layer. They are portable and editable. You can create layer masks for each one. You can use
Blending modes to change the way they affect other layers, and because they are full layers, you
can turn them into Smart Objects.

The best thing about a Fill or Adjustment layer is that it does not change the pixels of your original
image. This is the best of non-destructive editing. All the options available for Fill or Adjustment
layers can be applied directly to an image file by selecting Image Adjustments. These adjustments
are made directly to the image, however, and are not non-destructive.

Adjustment layers change the lightness or color of your image. All the best image adjustments can
be accomplished by adding an Adjustment layer to your image. When you add an Adjustment
layer to your image, you won’t see a dialog box; you use the Adjustment panel,
to make changes to each Adjustment layer. This is handy, because you can go back to this
panel at any time to make changes to your Adjustment layers.

Adding Adjustment layers goes beyond using a non-destructive layer to improve the look of your
photo. Using layers gives you the option to create masks that allow you to apply adjustments to
selected areas of your image, providing the ability to change the mask as well as the adjustment at
a later time, if needed.

For instance, the Exposure option is meant to correct exposure problems in your image. This is a
handy adjustment to use in conjunction with a mask that can cover correctly exposed portions of
your photo as you adjust areas that are too light or too dark.

BY: SUFYAN BIN UZAYR

Suppose you’re walking down the alley and you see that weird signboard which kindles your thirst to shoot. But then you realize that your mighty SLR isn’t with you (be practical, who carries that heavy piece 24×7).

Well, this is exactly where your cell phone comes in handy. Nowadays, the pocket sized all-so powerful mobile phone cameras have driven the point-and-shoot ones to near extinction (well, almost).  We take a closer look on some tips that can help you get the best out of your cell phone camera.

CHOOSING THE SUBJECT

Many present day phones offer megapixel counts above 5, but that doesn’t mean they are apt for every shooting scenario. For instance, if you are employing your phone to shoot a rock concert, more often than not you’d merely get dark blurry images. The fact is, camera phones are ideal for shooting still objects in well-lit scenarios, preferably in broad daylight. Even if your phone offers Xenon or LED flash, night photography shouldn’t be its cup of tea.

So what is the remedy? Well, look into your camera’s settings. You will find a number of scene modes (even with the most basic VGA ones) such as ‘night landscape’, ‘portrait’, ‘sports’, ‘fireworks’, etc. These presets automatically choose the ideal shooting options for the given scenario. Experiment with each and you are sure to see your photographs improve drastically. In the newer breed of Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot phones (and in some of the Samsung phones too, though features on Samsung are country-specific most of the time), you will come across an option called Slow Sync Flash. Don’t hesitate to use it. Basically, Slow Sync tells the camera to shoot with a slightly longer exposure time thereby giving the Flash an enhanced duration of exposure. Bluntly put, it helps to lessen the dark.

KEEP IT STEADY

If you are getting blurry images with your phone, don’t fret because you are not alone. Most of the phones’ cameras have slow shutter speeds with no feature to vary the exposure settings. The best thing one can do is to hold the phone as steady as possible, preferably with both hands while shooting. It is not difficult but does require some practice.

KNOW THE ‘CLICK’

Another key to getting sharp photos is to know the camera’s shutter release. In simple terms, how long does it take for the camera to accomplish the task after you press the shoot button? If there is a lag, you will need to account for that. And if the shutter release is on a touch screen (such as on the Apple iPhone), the shutter probably gets tripped after you lift your finger, not when you press down. Either way, you will need to hold the camera steady while the picture is actually being exposed. This does not mean that you need to get a tripod for your phone. Just keep your hands still (or at least as still as possible).

OPTIMIZING THE CAMERA SETTINGS

Most camera phones today provide a few settings that you can use to optimize your exposures. All the standard rules and terms from digital cameras are applicable. If there is an ISO setting, take it off Auto. When you are outdoors in daylight, you should set the ISO to its lowest value to minimize the digital noise in your picture (which can be pretty grainy with a camera phone). In lower light settings, bump the ISO up as high as it will go (which normally should be at least 400 in a decent phone).

For instance, look at the two images. Both are of the same landscape taken at around 5:30 PM using a Sony Ericsson C510. Image 1 uses 200 as ISO value while Image 2 uses 400.

Likewise, the phone may provide you some control over the JPEG image quality. Always go for the lowest compression/best quality option available. After all, camera phone pictures are already compact enough to begin with – do not compound the problem with needless photo-damaging compression.

If you are the owner of handsets with good optical zoom ratings (such as Sony Ericsson C903, Samsung Pixon or the newly released Nokia N8), use the zoom to the fullest. You will find zooming in at 3x or 4x on the object a better option as compared to yourself moving forward. However, be warned: this is fruitful with OPTICAL zoom only. If your phone is one of the 20x DIGITAL zoom types, bother not. Digital zoom won’t be helpful much and is at best used sparingly.

GET THE RIGHT TOOLS

Your photo editing software – whether it is Adobe Photoshop Elements, Corel Photo-Paint or even something like Google’s free Picasaweb – can help improve most of your camera phone photos. If you have an Android device or an iPhone, you are in good hands as there are numerous applications and softwares available that put most of the image editors to shame. For iPhone users, the plethora of options from the Apple stable includes Free Photo Filters, SP Photo Fix Lite, Photobox and iRetouch Lite. If you are an Android user, well, the galaxy is filled with apps for you. Check out Picsay and FxCamera. Both of them, along with many other apps, are freely available from www.androlib.com

FINAL WORD

When cameras where first incorporated into mobile phones, they were something of a gimmick, providing very low resolution and poor quality images. Today, cameras are an indispensable part of the phone and the features just keep going higher. Even though your phone will stand nowhere in comparison to a mainstream camera, with some effort and implementation of the above said tips, you are sure to get great results. Happy shooting!

1

Hi Kevin, thank you for this interview and welcome to Digital Art Empire, please tell us about yourself, your background and your work.

My name is Kevin Roodhorst. I’m a 20 year old self taught graphic designer from Holland with 6 years of experience.
I’m following a graphic design education in Amsterdam, when I’ve finished that I want to work for an
advertising agency or putting more time into my one work as a freelancer.

I started to work with Adobe software when I was 15 years old. What I did most of the time was follow
tutorials on the Internet and check out other designers. I started with making some CD covers and posted
them online on some websites, where I received a lot of positive reactions. At the age of 17, I got
my first paying assignment, a poster for a kick-boxing competition.
Now I’m 20 years old and I’ve worked for 22 different nightclubs. Flyers, posters and banners etc.
I’m featured in four Design Magazines: Advanced Photoshop, Digital Arts, Publish and  Computer Arts Magazine.
I also took part in creating labels for tobacco and drink companies.

2

Digital art being a big part of your life, where do you find all this time and energy? How do you balance your family and work life?

Just like you said its a part of my life! it isn’t difficult for me to make some time for designing. Im always designing. offcourse at school and
at home freelance asignments.

3

What are your tools of the trade and which software do you use?

I use a wacom bamboo tablet and a fast computer. The software I use is the adobe CS5 master collection and cinema 4d for 3d objects etc.

4

What project are you currently working on? Which project have you found most enjoyable and why ? What would be your dream project?

currently I’m not working on a personal project. Right now I’m really busy with some school projects. My favorite project is called ‘History’.
Because in this project I worked with typography for the first time. I dont really have a dream project, maybe a dream client? discovery,
National geographic, clothing of car brands.

5

I know you have a lot of influences, which are the designers who have given you enthusiasm and which blogs spur you on the most?

These are 2 designers who have some great art works:
The Hejz

Shinary Binary

inspiring websiteS:

inspiration 1

inspiration 2

6

What are your favorite areas in graphic design? And what do you look forward to the most?

Digital art is my favorite type of graphic design because the ideas are endless. I like to combine photographed objects with 3d renders.

7

What do you believe are the most important skills an aspiring designer needs to have?

I think the most important things are: composition and use of color, light and shadow.

8

Are you a self taught designer or have you been to a design school?

I’m following a graphic design education right now, but you dont learn such things as digital arts etc.
so you can say I’m self taught. I’m following a graphic design education because that is the best thing
to do if you want to work for am advertising agency.

9

Kevin thank you for this interview with Digital Art Empire, have you got any advice for up and coming digital creatives?

Keep practicing a lot and stay motivated. Focus on what you want most ! Thank you very much for the opportunity, really appreciate it !

Kevin Roodhorst featured in

- Abduzeedo Wallpaper Of The Week #110
- Abduzeedo Wallpaper Of The Week #117
- TutorArt.com Beautiful Works By Kevin.Roodhorst
- IT Plus Magazine – A Collection of Beautiful Designs by Kevin Roodhorst
- Itsdesigned.com
- Onlycreative.com.au

- Fourfifthsdesign.com
- Psd.tutsplus.com Interview
- Abduzeedo.com Interview
- Dailyinspiration.nl
- Designmodo.com
- Topdesignmag.com
- Art-spire.com

- Computer Arts Magazine Issue 180
- Advanced Photoshop Magazine Nr.23
- Publish Magazine Nr.2
- Digital Arts Magazine August Issue 2010

Please also check out Kevin’s Folio Here

[youtube width="625" height="544"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHD8Xf5Rnvo[/youtube]

The products utilized were 3DS Max 2008, Mudbox, After Effects, Sound Forge, Photoshop, and Vegas Total animation working time was approximately 5 days. Rendering time took roughly 110 days

Interview with Pantural

Questions

When did you first realize that you were an artist?

When I was in my first grade at school.

What famous artists have influenced you, and how?

I don’t really have any favorite artists. I was always trying to create my own style. However ,
I get my inspiration from Gennady Kremko who is really great in car designs.

How long did it take to develop your own style?

I took me about 3 years to find my own way in 3D industry.

What’s the best and worst parts of being a full time, working artist?

The best part is that I can develop my skills and knowledge in art.
I feel really comfortable and relaxed, when I am doing my works.
The bad side is, that I start getting sick often,
because I spend the most time next to the monitor.

Do you pay attention to art critics?

It depends what kind of critics are. Sometimes they are useful, sometimes useless:)

What other interests do you have?

Films, cars, modeling. My main interest is still 3D.

What advice would you give to an artist just starting out?

I would suggest to get in your job fully with your head.
If you don’t want to spend all your life doing it – don’t even touch 3D software

Why you hate the render time?

I get used to work without any stops. And render time just kicking me out from my way.
But there is nothing you can do about it, but wait.

PANTURAL