Atomic Art Apocalypse!

Hey People,

Hows it going? Now that my art is starting to fill up this blog, I have decided that I am going to expand to a website in the future. I have started working for a company which produces boardshorts! Hopefully in the future I can get a collection of my art of clothing going and possibly be able to sell it on my blog. As for now, enjoy the new art pieces! And Music!


ART

INSPIRATION

It takes me a good 2-3 hours to complete a piece this complex, although a lot goes into why I designed it the way I did. I started with pen and paper, drawing a very abstract looking composition of angles, lines, shapes, even machines. I then added a cityscape on the upper part and gemstone at the center. These represent the focus I took on this piece, which was abstract renderings.

MECHANICS

Drawing is almost as much fun as the part where I get to fill in the pencil markings with color. Little by little, I filled in each part of this picture until it was full of color. I also added a sun and my alias as a logo.

AESTHETICS

For reasons unknown, this piece looks a lot like another drawing I scanned. The direction of this particular piece is more skewed towards an abstract perspective. In doing this, I have created another grouping within my own art of pieces of this nature. I can now say that I have multiple pieces in my collection which are similar.

INSPIRATION

Upon looking through a list of Google images, I stumble across a nice looking red dodge challenger and a gorgeous picture of a mountain next to a road. Next thing I know I am assimilating multiple part of different pictures to achieve a realistic looking scene in which a can is racing through a stormy road.

MECHANICS

In order to achieve this idea of making different pictures all come together and look natural, I needed to gain insight as to what it looks like to drive in a storm. Well luckily for me the last week was full of rain.

AESTHETICS

Some of my more surreal looking artwork containing cars has been, well more fictional. In this piece I started to include the surrealism of driving in stormy weather with the realism of driving a fast car on a mountain road. The reflection of the landscape on the car and the rain bouncing off the car augment to the scene to that effect.

INSPIRATION

I've always liked the way that some digital artists will, without fail, create everything you see in their images from scratch. In most cases, something like this would take a long time to detail and perfect. However, I have taken it upon myself to find a faster and more effective way of doing digital drawing or painting without the use of a pen tablet or special tool.

MECHANICS

Occasionally I like to design plants, trees, simple foliage and bushes near and around houses and temples. As a factor in the over atmosphere of the picture, I feel that without these elements it would not be as convincing to view. What I have done is include textures and patterns of abnormal size and dimensions and attached them to some main parts of this piece.

AESTHETICS

In bringing this artwork to life, I was going for a more subtle look, not as abstract and random. I wanted to make the viewer feel as if they are standing in the midst of a small civilization not too far from nature and mother earth.

MUSIC

Leakage/Whiskers.mp3

Lo Fizzle.mp3

Tarantula Soufle

Hey, Whats up?

I'm doing a little more renovating to this blog, so please don't be surprised if one day you look and its completely different, with a new customized layout. But seriously, this blog is now hosting art for social media, networking for business and also small-scale advertising at a local level. I, of course am responsible for creating all of the art you see on this blog and I also need to mention that all pieces are copy written and not distributable without a license by law. Now, this is one of a network of blogs, all started by Writers, DJs, Musicians, Artists, Illustrators, Painters, the works. Please be on the lookout for new blogs entering this network as I am in the process of inviting new members on a monthly basis. As for now, there are about 3-4 blogs total, and in about 1 year's time I expect that number to exceed 20. Thanks for reading and enjoy the art and music.


ART

 

 INSPIRATION

I've always liked old photography from 1960-1970, its always fun to look at how it's aged. I was inspired by a photograph I viewed of Jimi Hendrix, and I decided to embellish his captured attitude and mindset.

MECHANICS

Starting with some intense colors with styles behind the cut out figure of Jimi Hendrix, I began to add effects as if this were a very surrealistic looking picture taking place in another dimension.

AESTHETICS

For purposes that reflect the Rule Of Thirds, I placed the figure on the left of the art piece. This gave me room available for rendering a wafting, puffy looking smoke effect in addition to making the figure more viewable by blurring its edges.

 

 INSPIRATION

This album cover was a short project I was convinced into completing at my friend's house. It was created in order to give an album cover art and to also create a mood or theme.

MECHANICS

After finding a picture of a red panda online, I decided to overlay it with some grunge brushes and layer styles. I also used some blend modes to add more fluency. I made the brushes black to instill a dark sort of atmosphere, as if this picture took place during an apocalypse.

AESTHETICS

 I enjoy the simplicity in this piece. It is a basic yet concise message, sent to the viewer from the artist. I wanted to convey the simple fact that wild animals can be more dangerous than they look from afar.

 INSPIRATION

This piece was inspired by a list of different books, movies, posters and music, all currently unnameable. I can tell you, however that I picked up an interest for city skylines over the past 3 1/2 years of being a graphic designer.

MECHANICS

I attempted to construct a double layered city, with an intense explosion emitting outward from behind. I gave the building layers colorful attributes as well as a glow to add to the atmosphere around them. It is supposed to look as if the explosion has not completely taken effect.

AESTHETICS

 I wanted the piece above to appear as if it were a snapshot in time of the moment before the immense city is destroyed by a fictional nuclear blast. I have toyed with this type of image from time to time, creating shocking and bleak scenes before incredible disasters vaporize unreal civilizations.

MUSIC

Deadly Tea

Ghetto Rasta Dread

Lo-Fizzle


PEACE.

Russell Xavier

A.K.A.

Abstract Thought

Wombat University of California

Continued as promised...

Konichiwa,

After about a week of getting this Culture Afficionado Magazine, Issue #2 off the ground, I'm finally ready to post a bunch of prototype artwork. Get ready for a sneak preview of the world's most prestigious non-subscription magazine!


ART

 

 INSPIRATION

I was inspired to let the art flow through me and not to put as much emphasis on how exactly the piece looks.
Do not ask what it took to make me create this, instead ask in what state of mind was I in (during midterms; Stressed, with my girlfriend; content, at a friend or relative's house; inventive). I chose to improvise and generate random vectors and gradients until I came up with something I enjoy looking at.

MECHANICS

One by one I used a lasso tool and gradient tool to depict large spiky vectors surrounding the colorful background I started with. I was going for a very Modern approach and I feel like I accomplished the shock-inducing look of many modern art pieces in today's galleries and art dealers.

AESTHETICS

Why did I choose so many pastels, yet place that shiny lightning next to all of the intense colored vectors? Because I can, in addition to wanting to know what it looks like. In every art creation I make I experiment, through trial and error and eventually settle on something I am satisfied with. In this case I wanted to view a multiple layered version of a 2D painting done by Pablo Picasso or Jackson Pollock, deriving from its minimal appearance but also maintaining that unique Modern Art integrity.

INSPIRATION

I was looking online at some used cars for a friend when I got this outrageous idea to Photoshop some burnt-down and broken, smashed and/or wrecked cars. I tested the look of many different samples until I came across this specific car, played with the levels and colors a bit and tagged my name to it underneath, along with some gritty looking bits of debris and shrapnel.

MECHANICS

Cutting things out in Photoshop used to be a pain in the ass, until I learned how to stop using the lasso and magnetic lasso and graduate to quick masks and selections via channels. This made things way easier to extract out of photos, drawings and magazine scans. The car I cut using the quick mask tool and I colored it blue and yellow with bits of red to match the name "Abstract Thought" below.

AESTHETICS

The car throws kind of a curious, "I want to know more" element to this piece. I feel like when I first placed the car on top of my alias I wanted it to look clean and painted like a new car, but I've done that so many times it has become rather monotonous and mundane. Follow the laws of physics and make everything look as convincing and real as possible? How boring! That is the main reason as to why the grimey, rusty looking paint on the car is almost absorbed by the debris floating under the text.

BONUS

Tell me what I was thinking when I made this last piece by posting a comment of your choice below!

 

Examples:

Was it after eating fast food at a certain hamburger food chain?

Was it after paying $17 dollars for a ticket to see a movie in 3D?

Was it after a trip to Las Vegas?

YOU DECIDE...

Russell Xavier

Graphic Designer/Artist

Part-time Chef

Member of Standard Deviants

Redoing this Blog

Hey whats going on?


I decided to update anyone following this blog that the format for posting art and mixtapes has been changed. I will now include a paragraph describing Inspiration, Mechanics and Asthetics. I will also be introducing more classical styles of art to my audience, including Pointilism, Comic Book, Modern, and also Impressionist styles. Be sure to check in monthly as I will have much more art to display in addition to new tracks and beats. This blog is geared towards my artwork and is covered by a copyright, protecting any and all infringements.


Russell Xavier


Enjoy the first selection:

Art

Inspiration:

I was originally beginning to work on this project after a request from a friend and fellow musician of mine, Butterknife Beats. He explained to me how he just finished constructing and mixing a track he produced by the name of Ghost Toast. He gave me a detailed description and after a couple proofs and re-makes I came up with this design.

Mehanics:

After just recieving my Netbook I ordered off the internet, I installed Photoshop onto my new computer and composed a rough edit of what I wanted the picture to look like. I drew some ghost-shaped figures with effects and placed them above a high-exposure picture, tinted blue of Great Hall. Making the ghosts look "classy" was my true goal in this piece as I satirically added a monical, top-hat, gold teeth and sun glasses on each of the party guests depicted above.

Aesthetics:
I attempted to recreate a spooky, gloomy yet sophisticated and classy function in which there happen to be a group of apparitions enjoying some ghoulish cocktails and listening to experimental trip-hop.The fact that I was going for more of a cheesy as well as comical attitude was what I feel that I actually demonstrated.

To Be Continued...

Continued soon!

50 Cows Starring at you

Whats good?
Got some new gear, new art and tunes for you to check out.

Life is good! Got a new netbook and been working on projects with Standard Deviants. What do you think today's post is going to feature? How about another serving of abstract art, brought to you by Abstract Thought AKA DJ GenerRuss?!?!!?



ENJOY!



PEACE!


ART

 

Flaming Artifacts, twisted orange stylizing with gradients and layer styles intertwined over a brushed background.

 

Made this one on my new netbook, took about 6 1/2 minutes to compile, only I didn't realize that Photoshop CS5 requires a 1280x900 screen resolution. Fuck em, CS4 will do.

 

An older background designed on a friend's PC for his desktop. Originally I put his name over it, then I decided to change it and keep the new copy.

MUSIC

Counter Stricken.mp3 DJ GenerRuss


Late Night Coffee.mp3 DJ GenerRuss

What it don't do?

Sup,

I am living it up in Santa Cruz, practicing djing and making graphic art and media all the time. I have yet to establish a solid line of communication with my bandmate(s), although things are going great for Standard Deviants. The team of producers (DJ Adsynth, DJ GenerRuss, DJ Prescription, Butterknife Beats) have been working hard on a new mixtape, due this March. It should feature MC Cydah, Phraction Kontraction, LBizzle and possibly a guest appearance by MC Checkmate, but I'm not making any promises. Here is some art from past, present and future:


ART

Ghostly trails of commets and meteors, with gaseous pillars and nebulae.

Good background for cell phones, iPod Touches, PSPs, etc.

Funny story: this took only 15 minutes

MUSIC

Noisia- Groundhog

Blakroc- Dollaz N Sense (feat. RZA and Pharohe Monch)

Devin The Dude- Zeldar

Living Legends- Anything You Want

Jurassic 5- Canto De Ossanha

PEACE OUT WORLD.

ABSTRACT THOUGHT



Bhudda's sekund cuzin

Hey what's up?

It's been almost 3 months since the last post, although I do have a bunch of new art to upload. I moved to Santa Cruz just recently and am no longer living in an overcrowded house. My new roommates are way chill and my sister and cousin live nearby. I have been experimenting with some new ideas lately, sop let me know what you think. Check out some fresh new art pieces:



NEW ART

This is a piece I made the last time I visited LA, on my cousin's macbook.

I like to make space art and this one in particular I attempted to recreate some nebulae. I like to use color conjugates as well as parallel hues.

Just recently I made this piece for my girlfriend Salena, I included pieces from forests, waterfalls and bamboo gardens. She really likes it!

MUSIC

As of mixtapes, right now I am working on a new series of beat tapes I like to call "Kutz Volumes 1-3". Expect some new music in my next couple posts!