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The
evolution of art
by
The Upright Man (Tum) (As
appeared in Tyrone #02)
Hi,
I hope you've liked Tyrone so far. Heh hah hoh.
I was
just looking through some late ascii packs, and I was noticing
that people were laying claim to a "style" and, using their
"style" as a cover up to introduce stuff that was not of
a very high caliber. In my logos, I usually try to make
something that has a unique tinge to it each time. Try and
keep a style while still making your ascii's unique in themselves..
not just like block copies.
History lesson: the Chinese empire prior to western infiltration
could have easily surpassed the then primitive Europe. Only
problem was, they were generally closed to the outside world.
Western civilization was viewed as barbaric and inherently
flawed. In effect, nothing new happened. They were content,
but their creativity stagnated. In a couple centuries, the
"barbarians" came in, dominated them (using improved versions
of their own inventions) and guided the course of human
events for centuries.
There was a president (maybe Roosevelt, I'm not sure) who
said "The only new stuff is the history you don't know."
What he was saying was that history is like a loop. World
Wars I and II; the fall of Rome and the fall of Russia;
the Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution; TUM having
sex with his dog and then with his cat. All of these historical
events occurred because someone didn't learn from their
past mistakes. If there's anything that'll cause the downfall
of the ascii scene, it's living in the past. Refusing to
experiment, to explore, to see what you can do rather than
hide comfortably in the road more taken is always a tragic
and fatal mistake.
If you "find a style", good for you. Advance it. Experiment
with it. Deviate from it. Dont push it up the ass until
it loses its innovative aspects. As long as we're speaking
about innovation and stuff, I want to talk about something
that is generally frowned upon in the ascii scene -- the
use of color.
What are some of the reasons that people say we shouldn't
use color because of? Uhh.. I'll tell you.
cons to using color:
newbies use it to cover up what they lack in skill,
truly good ascii looks good without color (maybe even better)..
and last, but not least: mrk :)
Some of these points are valid. For example, I wholeheartedly
believe that people who are new to ascii should not use
color. It corrupts and disillusions the person and almost
always ultimately ends up in an undeveloped and immature
style. However, the con saying that truly good ascii looking
better without color is not quite as sure. Color is another
way to enhance the art. Some ascii looks better without,
but alot more can be expressed in terms of shading and depth
as well as realism with color.
If you dont experiment, you wont improve. Basically, once
you are good at ascii, you can use color as another challenge
to overcome in expressing your art. Another talent and another
medium. Perhaps a good way to judge if your ascii's are
ready for color is to view your finished ascii in gray scale
as a test.
In #ansi, a common argument I hear is that ascii is easier
to excel at because it involves shaping only. Hey people,
lets try color. inverse, mixed, whatever you want, as long
as it looks nice. And if you're not sure about the quality
of your finished piece, send it to me, I'll tell ya :).
Think about it, the ascii scene is already by far superior
to the ansi scene in terms of shaping, if we could shade
our asciis succesfully the scene would be completely different.
There are a few artists (drax, khz, msd) who do color well,
but they are pioneers. A full scale venture into this field
would be revolutionary, and undoubtedly would aid the ascii
takeover :).
Thats enough for this issue, stay tuned for future rabid
sesssions filled with my inane ravings in the future. Maybe
next time I'll talk about something else.. (whoa, really?).
Anyways, catch me on irc and enjoy the rest of Tyrone :).
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