In quotations because different folks seem to have different ideas regarding the definition of the term “Digital Art”.  There are quite a few debates raging amidst artists regarding the validity, legitimacy, authenticity, or something or another of this comparatively new format.

The thing is, this comparatively new format is not very well defined.  Computers do two thing exceptionally well.  Store & retrieve data.  And compute.  This is usually utilized in two major ways.  First, to make, and maintain a list of numbers.  Second, to run mathematical formulas using numbers.  That’s all a computer does.  Really.  When this list of numbers is sent to the video processor, it generates pixels based on the numbers to produce an image.  If the same exact numbers were sent to an audio processor, it would create a sound.

In essence, an image, any image you see on a digital display device (computer/laptop screen, cellphone display, handheld videogame consoles, ebook readers, iPod, HUD enabled Contacts, etc.) is a list of numbers.  It could be a photo.  It could be a cartoon.  It could be state of the art polygonal “3D” graphics.  It could be a still image.  It could even be a video, which is essentially a collection of still images.  And the only way to manipulate and/or modify these lists of numbers is to run them through mathematical formulas.

This, in essence is digital art.  A series of formulas to modify a list of numbers.

The problem is different programs try to cater to different groups of artists from different backgrounds.  So programs like Photoshop & Painter use easy to understand names like “Canvas” & “Paint Brush”, instead of “List of Numbers” & “Mathematical Formulas to Modify the List of Numbers Based On A Given Set of Variable”.  A traditional painter sees a name like “Paint Brush” and automatically expects the mathematical formulas to act like a real paint brush, which it doesn’t.  So you end up with a traditional painter complaining about how/why the “Paint Brush” of a given program doesn’t quite stand up to the expectations of the painter.

The digital medium, in an attempt to be more intuitive & user friendly end up unintentionally misleading the people it’s trying to cater to.  The people trying to work with these programs, in turn, end up comparing lists of numbers to the physics & chemistry of the intricacies of pigmented fluids and it’s interaction with processed cellulose & gravity.  It’s like comparing apples to jellyfish.  With one side arguing the apple to be superior because you can’t just bite into a fresh jellyfish, while the other side argues the apple lacks bio-luminescence.

Care to guess what any 2D/3D Animation Software does?  Lists & formulas.  Video Editing?  Lists & formulas.  Your web browser?  Lists & formulas. 

At the end of the day it is just a medium.  Like ink & paper.  Like the newspaper on the table in front of me, or an issue of Action Comics #1.  What sets today’s newspaper, a hundred dollar bill, or a the first issue of Action Comics apart from one another isn’t so much the limitations & advantages of processed cellulose & pigments, but what their respective producers decided to do with the medium.

The exact same principle applies to lists of numbers & mathematical formulas used to manipulate them.

As I mentioned before, one of my little pet peeves revolve around the ideas of skill & talent.

Now, while there’s nothing wrong with either, a lot of people seem to misinterpret/misunderstand the ideas behind skill & talent.  And, unfortunately, with the best & sincerest of intentions, end up insulting the folks they are trying to complement.

To recap, talent is something one starts out with.  Like a kid starting out 1 yard ahead of everyone in a 10 yard dash.  It’s a starting point.  However if the kid decides to rely solely on his talent, he’s never going to move past that 1 yard mark.

Skill, on the other hand is the result of time & practice.  In the aforementioned 10 yard dash, skill is what moves the runners forward.  To the extent that the kid with the most skill, the one who moves the fastest, might be able to out run the kid with the talent.

Now, this is where my Pet Peeves comes in.  First and foremost, a lot of people, with the best of intentions, use the term “Talent”, without realizing they’re essentially crediting the results of time & dedication to some kind of genetic lottery.

Second an equally foremost, talent seems to give people an excuse to not do things.  Play the guitar?  You gotta be talented.  Paint?  You gotta be talented.  Program?  You gotta be talented.  Mulch?  You gotta be talented.  Speak a foreign language?  You gotta be talented.  Cook?  You gotta be talented.  Play the bamboo flute?  You gotta be talented.  I mean, REALLY.  Why?

You want to learn something?  Get the equipment.  Start.  Do whatever the hell you can.  Repeat.  (Provided it’s not a strenuous and potentially dangerous physical activity, like bull wrestling.)  With practice, things start making sense on their own.  With even more practice, you’ll get to where ever you you want to go.

Hell, if Willie Nelson can continue practicing Tae Kwon Do (with a black belt, to boot) , anything should be possible.

Some of my more avid followers might recall my attempt at giving up atleast one of my vices… err… by not giving it up.  (Detailed in an article ingeniously titled Kickin’ Chicken.)

Well, as I walked into a fried chicken place today, it kinda’ hit me to post an update of sorts on my continuing struggle to not-give-up eating fried chicken.  I not-gave up eating fried chicken roughly three and a half years ago.  The next time I went in was roughly two years ago.  I headed of to a fried chicken joint for a third time today, so I’d say my plan of not-giving-up fried chicken is working pretty well.

Too bad it still doesn’t work with chocolate. -_-’

**EDIT**
One of the points I neglected to explicitly declare was that the whole thing was about fried chicken from fast food restaurants.  I make & eat fried chicken at home once every few months, but then, I don’t have to worry about overdoing it because it’s too time consuming to prepare.  Plus I know it’s made in a comparatively better environment.

So on my way back home, I’m thinking it’s been a while since I’ve actually posted something at Xanga.  Maybe I can post something about the humidity here and how I can say I’ve literally sweat a liter & a half.  (Drank an entire bottle of water, sweat profoundly & found my self thirstier…)  Or stumbling across a free & opensource tabulation program called TuxGuitar, which supports GuitarPro files.  Or maybe even something about stepping into the larger world of pure AS3 coding, thanks to the combination of an opensource swf compiler called FlashDevelop and Adobe’s Flex SDK.  Or that one otherwise insignificant “thing” of great personal importance I’m really excited about, but can’t talk about it without looking like a self centered douche bag.

As usual, the moment the editor loads up, my mind draws a blank.

But not today.  Today, I decided I need to blog for the sake of blogging.  If my mind draws a blank I blog about my mind drawing a blank.  So…  err… here we are.  And I can’t think of anything to write. >_<’

In a word: Nothing.

In more than a word: Absolutely Nothing.

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A bit late, but anyways, enjoy.

A little more than two years ago, I went to the hospital to give blood.

Were the usual check ups.  I was called into a room.  I lied down.  The doctor  found a vain.  But before it registered in my head, the man gave me a quick injection.  Caught off guard, and somewhat unpleasantly surprised, I inquired what that shot was for.  “Anesthetic” the man replied, “So you don’t feel the needle prick.”
-_-

Thank you Toplessrobot.com.
Enjoy.

In no specific order:

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