3 Shocking facts about Art that you should know

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Did you know that Art can completely change your life?

Not many people are aware of this as most of us do Art just for fun. But according to various studies, Art can bring huge changes in the life of a person. We will be listing down some facts related to Art today.

  • Students who study art are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement.
  • According to studies, Art can promote creativity, social development and self-worth.
  • Drawing develops hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness- abilities that engineers and architects use

Not only these, Art is mandatory for children in countries that rank highest for maths and science. So if you are not trying out art, it is about time you spend some time for it.

Here is an interesting fact about caricatures that you should know

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Caricatures are probably something that we come across every day. While it never fails to amuse us, did you know that caricature is much older than you think?

Some of the greatest artists in history even practice it to develop their skills. Eileen Owens, curator of “Biting Wit and Brazen Folly: British Satirical Prints, 1780s–1830s” once noted that Leonardo Da Vinci was one of the first artists to use caricature.

In 17th century also, caricatures had a place in the society as Italian artist Pier Leone Ghezzi used them to make fun of Romans and tourists. So next time you see a caricature, remember that it has an illustrious and deep-rooted history.

Here’s what motivated mini food artist Jay Baron

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Food miniatures might not match up to the real food when it comes to size or taste, but they are a visual treat for anyone who sees them and is indeed an art. YouTuber Jay Baron is banking in on this fact.

Starting a YouTube channel was what Jay Baron wanted. He, however, did not have an idea until he found the mini cast iron stove.

Baron started creating miniature food art with his stove and has garnered some love from the YouTube community. And his motivation or vision is probably the best part about his channel.

“I try to look at it as a piece of art work. It’s not extremely symbolic or in depth, it doesn’t need to be overly complicated — I’m just trying to make other people happy with these videos.” He said.

He is now known as the Mini food guy and had more than 13 million views last year. You can check out his channel here.

Coloring with Crayons: Here are three tips you should know

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If you thought crayons are only for kids, think again. Crayons can be handy for budding artists as well as it can give an entirely new feel to the artwork. But at the same time, there should be some things that need to be kept in mind while using crayons for colouring.

We will be listing down three such tips below.

  1. Colour in uniform direction: This is a no-brainer. Colouring in uniform direction will make the picture look neat compared to non-uniform colouring.
  2. Apply same pressure in all areas: If the amount of pressure you apply on the crayon while colouring varies, it can lead to differentiated dark and light shades across the image. To avoid this, make sure that you apply the same pressure throughout the image.
  3. The usage of pressure for emphasis: While the last point stands tall if you want uniform shades across the picture, you can use the pressure to put emphasis on certain points of the picture. For instance, if you want a portion to stand out, you can put more pressure on the area and in turn give it a dark shade.

These are just some of the tricks that will come handy when you colour with the crayons.

Shading: How to use pressure control

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One of the major challenges that beginners face while starting to draw is the process of shading. While it might not sound like a big deal, it can decide how your final output looks like.

Pressure control is something that you should keep in mind while shading as it holds the key.

Realistic shades are made by creating shades from light to dark. This depends on the pressure you apply on the pencil. The harder you press, the darker the shade will be.  To practice this, take a paper and shade from one end to another while pressing harder and harder until the values get darker gradually.

Another way to practice is to draw a long rectangle and split it into four squares. Shade the rectangle from left to right and increase the shade intensity as you move from one square to another.

Practicing these two techniques can help you get a better hold of the whole shading process.

3 Films that every art student should watch

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Films have a huge impact on the society. And no matter which area you work in, you are bound to have a film related to it.

Art is no different. There is a long list of films related to artists and most of them are quite stunning as well. We will be taking three such films today that every art student must checkout at least once.

  1. Frida: Frida is a biopic about Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. The film stars Salma Hayek and she was nominated for the Academy Award for this film.
  2. Andrei Rublev: This film which came out in 1966 talks about themes like artistic freedom, religion and art under a repressive regime.  It is also loosely based on the life of Andrei Rublev who was a painter in the 15-th century.
  3. Lust for Life: Vincent Van Gogh needs no introduction but this film explores his excessive obsession with art. It came out in 1956 and tries to capture the journey of Van Gogh through his life.

What are some of the other films that should be in this list? Let us know in the comment section below.

Do you doodle dots and flowers? Here’s what it means

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Most of us doodle and scribble when we get some free time. Most of these doodles might not have a final output but did you know that there is a meaning to whatever you scribble down?

For instance, if you scribble down dots and spots, it means that you are a great organiser. On the other hand, if your dots are linked with lines, it shows that you are probably frustrated about something.

Similarly, if you are someone who doodle flowers, it also means something. It suggests that you are romantically inclined. Most of these work unconsciously without us knowing. So next time you scribble down something, keep an eye out as it could give you indications about your unconscious mind.

Why are most pencils yellow? Here’s the reason

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Pencils are an integral part of one’s drawing habits. In fact, we use it so much that we barely give attention to the characteristics of pencils.

Have you ever noticed that most of the pencils out there are yellow in colour?

There is a reason for this. The Pencils were painted yellow since 1980s. The idea was to give the users an indication that Chinese graphite is used in the pencils. Back in China, yellow indicated respect and royalty. And the manufactures in the United States wanted to convey this feeling to the customers and thus went out with Yellow colored pencils.

So next time you use an yellow colored pencil, remember why it is yellow in the first place.

Here is a shocking fact about Art that you should know

Renjith RavindranLeave a comment

How well do you know about art?

It is a hard question because no matter how much you learn, something interesting and new pokes up every day. And this is why, today, we will be listing down one such interesting fact about Art that you probably didn’t know. So without further ado, here goes.

Art used to be an Olympic Event.

The original founder of the Modern Game, the Baron Pierre de Coubertin had the idea that a true Olympian should be a talented sportsperson as well as an artist. As a result, between 1912 and 1948, medals were given out for sport-inspired artworks. This included artworks such as architecture, music, painting, sculpture and literature.

The Olympics, however, evolved over the years into a sport-only event and artists no longer received medals.

Drawing Tips: Trick your analytical brain

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One of the biggest hacks you can do while drawing is to trick your analytical brain. Our brains are wired to treat the problem in one way and this is one of the reasons why we get stuck while drawing.

In one of the experiments done to prove this, some art students were asked to do a Picasso drawing upside down. They improved significantly when drawing the upside picture as their brains treated the problem differently. Rather than seeing the objects in the picture, the students saw shapes with which the picture was made of.

It was also found that while brain participates as a whole in certain activities, some activities like drawing require just one mode without the significant interference from the others.

So if you are struggle to draw a picture, try approaching it in a different perspective.