Nature Video Challenge: TOMORROW!

Tomorrow begins January’s Nature Art Challenge, which will focus on exploring the natural environment through video art! For those of you wishing to participate with me in this weeklong challenge, I will be posting daily suggestions for subjects and techniques to explore. As always, regardless of whether or not you participate in the art making process of this challenge, I invite you to participate with me through your comments and viewing of my posted videos!

Although not directly specific to Nature Video Art, Cameratim.com offers some helpful tips for video production. Here are a few of their tips…abridged:

1.) Get physically close to your subjects. The visual perspective and sound is better when you physically get closer to your subject, as opposed to using the zoom. Although the sound may not be AS important when filming nature, the effects of physical proximity to your subject might be interesting to explore.

2.) Film scenes using more than just one shot. Showing the same objects from multiple perspectives and magnifications can make a video a little more interesting–though this style should not be overused.

3.) Film more than just your subject. This adds interest to your film as well–and makes editing a little bit easier as well. Just make sure that what you use as a “cut away” from your subject relates in some way to the overall theme of your video.
4.) Film at the same height as your subject. This provides a much more natural look for your subject. Experiment with different heights and angles as a way to create dramatic effects in your filming.

To check out the rest of these video tips, click on the link I’ve provided above! Just to give you a little head start in brainstorming for tomorrow’s challenge, here’s my suggestion for tomorrow’s video:

Choose one subject to explore from multiple perspectives and magnifications. If you have video editing software, try creating a moving collage of sorts, by piecing together short video segments from different perspectives and angles of your subject.

As always, my suggestions are just that–SUGGESTIONS. Feel free to film whatever and wherever the wind may take you!

Till tomorrow…happy explorations!

Nature Sketch Challenge- DAY THREE!

Onto the third day of my nature sketch challenge! If you didn’t get a change to try drawing flowers with only ONE type of mark, give it a try sometime! I found it to be incredibly frustrating and difficult, as I naturally wanted to use more than one type of mark in order to better record my observations. That being said, today’s challenge is what I was begging for yesterday!

Drawing a Flower From 5 Different Perspectives

Select a flower, or some other type of LIVING plant to be your subject. This time, draw your subject from at least 5 different PERSPECTIVES (side view, bottom, top, etc). You may use several different types of marks for these drawings.

The goal of this exercise is to study the shapes and forms that you observe in your subject and to learn how to effectively use combinations of mark making techniques.

Happy Sketching! I will post my sketch later this evening!

Today’s Sketch:

Nature Sketch Challenge: DAY TWO!

For those of you who participated with me in Day One of the Nature Sketch Challenge, I hope your observation skills now feel a little sharper than they were! I know I enjoyed taking a moment out of my day to really LOOK at a little piece of the natural environment—something that frequently goes overlooked in the hustle and bustle. By the end of my sketching, I felt like I knew the ins and outs of the little clover-like plant that was the subject of my study.

And now for today’s sketching suggestion:

Exploring a Flower Through Mark-Making 

Select one flower to be the subject of your study. Draw the flower at least five different times–each time exploring it using only one type of mark per drawing. (example: you might draw the flower using nothing but short, straight lines…or perhaps you’d like to use dots or circles). The idea with this exercise is to study the shapes and forms you see within your flower. You’ll also get a better idea of what types of marks work best for certain parts of the flower. (For instance, you don’t normally see many straight lines or perfect right angles in nature).

Enjoy the exercise! I will post my sketches later this evening.

Happy Sketching!

Today’s Sketch: