ARTHACKS
APPS GALORE
If youhavea smartphone,androidortablet,youcangeekoutwithmyriad
apps(somefreeandsomeforpurchase)madeespeciallyforartistsand
designers.Checktheseout:
●Coloridentifiersletyoudetermineanitem’sreal-lifecolorbypointingyour
deviceatit;however,everycolor-identificationappis limitedbythelibrary
ofcolorsit contains,andtheyalltendtoidentifycolorsingeneraltermsor
bybrandnames.Threepopularcolor-identificationappsareSwatches,Color
GrabandColorCapture.
●Usephoto-to-paintsimulatorstoseewhata photowouldlooklike
asa painting.Prismaisa leadingappthatpopularizedthistrend—but
someusersfindit defaultsheavilytomid-tones,whichflattensimages.
BeCasso,BrushstrokeandPortraitPainterareotherpopularchoices,the
latterspecializinginfiguresandpets.
●Forwatercolorartists, WaterlogueandAurynInkareleadingappsthatare
specificallyfocusedonpresentingphotosaswatercolorpaintings.Thepresets
inWaterlogueletyouchoosedifferentcolorandpenoutlines.Reviewsfor
AurynInkattesttoit beingclosesttothe“realthing.”
●Wanttoexperimentwithdigitalpaintinganddrawing? SketchClubis
hailedasoneofthemostversatilephoneappsforthispurpose.(Adobe
PhotoshopandIllustratoraretheleadersintermsofcomputersoftware.)
●Browseinspiringartcollectionswithoutleavinghome.Manymuseums,
includingtheMetandtheLouvre—haveappsthatshareimagesoftheir
artworks.WikiArtisa freeappwith250,000images.TheGoogleArts&
Cultureappoffersaccesstosome1,200museumcollections.Amongits
appealingfeaturesareanartrecognizeranda browse-by-colorfilter.
●Adultcoloringappsaregreatforcreativezoningout.ColorMehas
mandalaandzodiaccollections.GardeningColorBookisallaboutnature
images.TheLakecoloringappisa designaward-winner.Think Tech
What can the latest in technology do
for artists who love traditional media?
—COURTNEY JORDANBuild
50 Artists Magazine October 2019
GoOldSchool
Notalltechis new.Thecamera
lucida,patentedin1806,is
basedonthecameraobscura
phenomenon,firstdocumented
ca 400 B.C.Thecameralucida
allowsartiststoseetheir
subjectandsurfaceatthesame
time,whichhelpswithaccurate
renderingandperspective.
Earlierversionsofthistoolhave
beenlinkedtomasterssuchas
vanEyckandCaravaggio.You
canfindmodern-daycamera
lucidasonamazon.com.NO AMOUNT OF
SKILLFUL INVENTION
CAN REPLACE THE
ESSENTIAL ELEMENT
OF IMAGINATION.
—EDWARDHOPPER
“BY NATURE,
MEN LOVE
NEWFANGLEDNESS.”
—GEOFFREYCHAUCER
Find Your Channel
There’s a YouTube video about pretty much
everything—including painting and drawing. You can
fi nd videos detailing processes from underpainting to
color-mixing to varnishing. Best of all may be those
showing amazing artists at work. Did you know you
can fi nd a video of Claude Monet painting at Giverny?
Or Jackson Pollock action painting? Or Jamie Wyeth
at work? Search for them and and enjoy!
PHOTO BY PIXABAY