#slowly filling out a sketch page of recent session stuff

[heybiji]

[zeroviraluniverse-blog]

The Simple Optical Illusion That Makes an Image Look Like It's Drawing Itself

Visit Now - http://zeroviral.com/the-simple-optical-illusion-that-makes-an-image-look-like-its-drawing-itself/

The Simple Optical Illusion That Makes an Image Look Like It's Drawing Itself

iStock

iStock

Artist James Nolan Gandy invents robot arms that sketch intricate mathematical shapes with pen and paper. When viewed in real time, the effect is impressive. But it becomes even more so when the videos are sped up in a timelapse. If you look closely in the video below, the illustration appears to materialize faster than the robot can put the design to paper. Gizmodo recently explained how the illusion works to make it look like parts of the sketch are forming before the machine has time to draw them.

The optical illusion isn’t an example of tricky image editing: It’s the result of something called the wagon wheel effect. You can observe this in a car wheel accelerating down the highway or in propeller blades lifting up a helicopter. If an object makes enough rotations per second, it can appear to slow down, move backwards, or even stand still.

This is especially apparent on film. Every “moving image” we see on a screen is an illusion caused by the brain filling in the gaps between a sequence of still images. In the case of the timelapse video below, the camera captured the right amount of images, in the right order, to depict the pen as moving more slowly than it did in real life. But unlike the pen, the drawing formed throughout the video isn’t subject to the wagon-wheel effect, so it still appears to move at full speed. This difference makes it look like the sketch is drawing itself, no pen required.

Gandy frequently shares behind-the-scenes videos of his mechanical art on his Instagram page. You can check out some of his non-timelapse clips like the one below to better understand how his machines work, then visit his website to browse and purchase the art made by his ‘bots.

And if you think his stuff is impressive, make sure to explore some of the incredible art robots have made in the past.

[h/t Gizmodo]

Tessa Angus

Surprising Sculptures Made From Fallen Feathers

Kate MccGwire, Orchis, 2012

Tessa Angus

Kate MccGwire is a British sculptor with an unusual medium: feathers. Her surreal, undulating works often take the form of installations—the feathers spilling out of a drain, a stove, a crypt wall—or stand-alone sculptures in which antique bell jars, cabinets, or trunks contain otherworldly shapes.

MccGwire developed her obsession with feathers after moving to a studio barge on the Thames in 2006, as she explains in a video from Crane.tv recently spotlighted by Boing Boing. The barge was near a large shed full of feral pigeons, whose feathers she would spot on her way to work. “I started picking them up and laying them out, collecting them,” she remembers. “And after about two weeks I had like 300 feathers.” At the time, concerns about bird flu were rife, which made the feathers seem “dangerous as well as beautiful.”

When not supplied by her own next-door menagerie, the feathers for her artwork come from a network of racing pigeon societies all over the UK, who send her envelopes full every time the birds molt. Farmers and gamekeepers also send her fallen feathers from birds such as magpies, pheasants, and roosters.

The cultural associations around birds are a big part of what inspires MccGwire. “The dove is the symbol of peace, purity, and fertility,” she told ArtNews in 2013, “but it’s exactly the same species as a pigeon—which everyone regards as being dirty, foul, a pest.”

The same duality is present in her own work, which she frequently shares on her Instagram account. “I want to seduce by what I do—but revolt in equal measure. It’s really important to me that you’ve got that rejection of things you think you know for sure.”

You can see some pictures of MccGwire’s work, and watch the video from Crane.tv, below.

Amazon

13 Stunningly Beautiful Coloring Books for All Ages

BY Alvin Ward

February 7, 2018

Amazon

The rise of adult coloring books comes with a similar, exciting trend: extremely ornate and beautiful coloring books. These tomes make aesthetics the first priority by utilizing the work of extremely talented illustrators. Check out some coloring books with unusual and stunning artwork, perfect for when you’re looking for something a little different.

Mental Floss has affiliate relationships with certain retailers and may receive a small percentage of any sale. But we only get commission on items you buy and don’t return, so we’re only happy if you’re happy. Thanks for helping us pay the bills!

1. DOODLERS ANONYMOUS EPIC COLORING BOOK; $13.21

Doodlers Anonymous is a collective of artists that works as a home for eccentric and unconventional illustration art. For this unique coloring book, 90 contemporary artists from all over the world came together to lend their illustrations. Each page features a different artist and a different style.

Find it: Amazon

2. OUTSIDE THE LINES; $14.70

If you’re unimpressed by 90 different artists, how about 100? All sorts of creative minds—like animators, cartoonists, fine artists, graphic artists, illustrators, musicians—offered their talents to make this incredible coloring book a reality.

Find it: Amazon

3. ANIMORPHIA; $11.93

You may know artist Kerby Rosanes from his Sketchy Stories blog. Rosanes creates mind-bending scenes of objects and animals bursting into tinier objects and animals. The wildly detailed illustrations promise hours of coloring enjoyment. For added fun, certain pages are intentionally unfinished and encourage the colorer to draw their own designs.

Find it: Amazon

4. MID-CENTURY MODERN ANIMALS; $5.17

Illustrator Jenn Ski has a flair for mid-20th century art and design. She created a series of coloring books in this style that ranges from folk art to botanicals. This animal-themed coloring book features simplistic but beautiful designs that are perfect for animal and design lovers alike.

Find it: Amazon

5. NATURAL WONDERS; $5.77

Patrick Hruby’s artwork is striking for its solid blocks of contrasting colors that pop right off the page. Now you can pick your own color scheme for his blocky, minimalist style. The 32 illustrations feature natural scenes of animals, flora, and landscapes. There’s even a guide in the back of the book that shows what each picture looks like with color.

Find it: Amazon

6. CHARLEY HARPER COLORING BOOK; FROM $6

American illustrator Charley Harper is also an artist known for his blocky and colorful artwork. These pieces are perfect to translate into black and white linework to put in a coloring book. The horizontal coloring book features Harper’s iconic drawings of birds and illustrations he did for Ford Times. When you’re done, you can peel the work right out of the book and stick on a wall or fridge.

Find it: Amazon

7. MANDALAS; $8.67

This book of 92 intricate, beautiful mandalas makes for a meditative coloring session. Pair with yoga to achieve maximum zen.

Find it: Amazon

8. SECRET NEW YORK; $10.87

Created by Paris-based artist Zoe de Las Cases, this coloring book focuses on the little things in New York City. Color your way through Manhattan to Brooklyn, one tote bag or sneaker at a time.

Find it: Amazon

9. WILD SAVANNAH; $9.48

Illustrator Millie Marotta creates extremely intricate coloring books that are so beautifully detailed, they almost don’t need to be colored. Her patterns of the savannah’s flora and fauna offer a great way to relieve stress and be creative.

Find it: Amazon

10. TATTOOS; $7.29

This book features classic images like anchors, skulls, and roses. Once you’re done coloring, you might be tempted to get the completed work tattooed on your arm.

Find it: Amazon

11. MAGICAL CITY; FROM $7.52

Illustrator Lizzie Mary Cullen takes cityscapes and deconstructs them into swirly abstract designs perfect for the creative colorer. Cullen took inspiration from cities like London, Rome, and Luxor when creating this unusual coloring book.

Find it: Amazon

12. THE ART OF NATURE; $8.35

For the budding scientist in your life: A coloring book filled with scientific drawings from the 18th and 19th centuries. There are 60 pages of vintage illustrations of animals and flora to fill in.

Find it: Amazon

13. ALEXANDER GIRARD COLORING BOOK; $9.93

Bring home the illustrative magic of Alexander Girard with this coloring book that transforms some of his work into simple line art to color. Girard, also known as Sandro, was an interior and textile designer who made some extremely charming and retro artwork.

Find it: Amazon

More from mental floss studios

‘); } else if (isMobile) jQuery(‘.in-aricle-video ‘).html(”); jQuery(”).insertAfter(“#myPlayerID”);

var s = document.createElement(‘script’); s.src = “http://players.brightcove.net/5121028900001/” + player_id + “_default/index.min.js”; document.body.appendChild(s); s.onload = callback;

var tags = jQuery(‘#article-1’).attr(‘data-tags’); var video_sponsored = false; var myPlayer; var isAdPlaying = false; var playerSeen = false; var playerHasShrunk = false; var startPlayingOnScroll = true; var addBorder = false;

function callback() videojs(“myPlayerID”).ready(function () myPlayer = this; myPlayer.ima3.adMacroReplacement = function (url) var parameters = ‘macro_tags’: window.parent.tags.substring(1, window.parent.tags.length-1), ‘macro_sponsored’: window.parent.video_sponsored, ‘macro_url’: window.parent.location.href, ‘macro_duration’:myPlayer.mediainfo.duration, ‘macro_separation’: window.parent.separation, ‘macro_id’: “531027”, ; for (var i in parameters) url = url.split(i).join(encodeURIComponent(parameters[i])); return url;

jQuery( “button.vjs-play-control” ).click(function(event) event.preventDefault(); if(jQuery( “button.vjs-play-control”).hasClass(“vjs-paused”) ) startPlayingOnScroll = true; ga(‘send’, ‘event’, ‘Brightcove In Article Player’, ‘Click on Play’, myPlayer.mediainfo.id + ‘else if(jQuery( “button.vjs-play-control”).hasClass(“vjs-playing”) ) ’ + myPlayer.mediainfo.name); );

jQuery( “button.vjs-mute-control” ).click(function(event) ’ + myPlayer.mediainfo.name) : ga(‘send’, ‘event’, ‘Brightcove In Article Player’, ‘Volume Change – Unmute’, myPlayer.mediainfo.id + ‘);

checkIfVideoInView = function () // check if we are in ad or content playback // and get reference to the relevant player var currentPlayer = !isAdPlaying ? myPlayer : myPlayer.ima3.adPlayer; if (isScrolledIntoViewVideo(myPlayer.el())) // the player is fully in the viewport if(playerSeen == false)’ + myPlayer.mediainfo.name); if(startPlayingOnScroll == true && overlay == false) currentPlayer.play(); // ensure the conent player is paused if (isAdPlaying) myPlayer.pause(); else // the player is not in the viewport if (!currentPlayer.paused()) currentPlayer.pause(); ;

function offScrollVideo($window, offset, $featuredVideo) $featuredVideo.toggleClass( “makeVideoticky”, (lockedFloatVideo == false && $window.scrollTop() > offset && ( ($window.scrollTop() + $window.height()) 0 && isScrolledIntoView(“#article-2 .article-body”))

if (jQuery(“#article-1 .article-body .brightcoveinlinemarker”).length > 0) jQuery(“#article-1 .article-body .brightcoveinlinemarker”).html(jQuery(‘#in-article-video-wrapper’)); else if (jQuery(“#article-1 .article-body > p”).length > 2) if(isDesktop) jQuery(‘#in-article-video-wrapper’).insertAfter(jQuery(“#article-1 .article-body > p:nth-of-type(2)”)); jQuery( function( jQuery ) var $window = jQuery( window ); // 1. Window Object. var $featuredMedia = jQuery( “#featured-media” ); // 1. The Video Container. var $featuredVideo = jQuery( “.videoElement” ); // 2. The brightCove Video. var top = $featuredMedia.offset().top; // 4. The video position from the top of the document; var offset = Math.floor( top + ( $featuredMedia.outerHeight() * 0.5 ) ); //5. offset. jQuery(‘.in-aricle-video .close_btn’).on(‘click’, function() ’ + myPlayer.mediainfo.name);

);

$window.on( “scroll”, function() offScrollVideo($window, offset, $featuredVideo);

);

$window.on( “resize”, function() offScrollVideo($window, offset, $featuredVideo); );

);

else if (isMobile) jQuery(‘#in-article-video-wrapper’).insertAfter(jQuery(“#article-1 .article-body > p:nth-of-type(4)”));

myPlayer.on(‘loadstart’, function () myPlayer.muted(true); currentVideoEyebrow = myPlayer.mediainfo.customFields.eyebrow; if (currentVideoEyebrow === “undefined”) currentVideoEyebrow = ”; else currentVideoEyebrow = ‘

‘ + currentVideoEyebrow + ‘

‘;

jQuery(‘#in-article-video-wrapper .overlay’).html(currentVideoEyebrow + ‘

‘ + myPlayer.mediainfo.name + ‘

‘);

if (!isMobile) var playlistData = myPlayer.playlist(); for (i = 0; i ‘ + videoItem.customFields.eyebrow + ‘

‘);

myPlayer.on(‘loadedmetadata’, function ()

window.onscroll = checkIfVideoInView;

myPlayer.on([‘ads-ad-started’, ‘adserror’, ‘ads-allpods-completed’], function (e) if (e.type == ‘ads-ad-started’) isAdPlaying = true; else isAdPlaying = false; jQuery(“.vjs-playlist.vjs-csspointerevents”).removeClass(“vjs-ad-playing”); ); );

});

});

} }