Yay, an art rant! I love these! Are Poser renders art? I say YES. Unfortunately, far and away the majority of them are BAD art.

This is not a slam. It is the nature of the process. How many photographers have there been since the invention of the camera? Millions surely. How many Ansel Adams-level artists have we seen? A much, much lower number.

Most art, of ANY genre, is pure dreck. We get a very distorted view because we study art HISTORY, which of course takes only the most outstanding work of a given medium and era, and holds it up as representative. Did the Renaissance produce great art? SURE! But was most of the art produced then great? Consider that in any city of moderate size, all across Europe, you had one or more full-time artists shops producing work for the local nobility and mercantile class, for the entire duration of the Renaissance. That's a lot of art! Where is most of it now? Not hanging in museums or decorating art textbooks. Lost and forgotten because it was not worth keeping and rememebering. This is true of all art forms.

As for what art really is, it will never be agreed upon. One definition I read said "the artist has an idea." And that's it! No work even has to be produced. The concept is the art. Sour bread dough dumped on a mountaintop? Molten lead drizzled in the corners of an otherwise empty room? A near-life-size sculpture of Michael Jackson and his chimp, done in gilded porcelain (sculpted, poured, painted and fired by someone other than the "artist")? All these are considered art - by some. Some people just don't consider modern, non-representational art as art at all.

Jan_scrapper, your post really touched a nerve as well. I'm glad you are finding Poser to be the kind of outlet you so desperately sought. However, I would like to pass along the words of artist and art instructor Betty Edwards: "Anyone of sound mind can draw." I'd urge you (and everyone) to pick up a copy (if you haven't already) of her landmark Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain. My wife (who was studying figure drawing at the Art Student's League in NYC at the time) did a small workshop years ago for me and a couple of friends, based on this book. A few years later, I was filliping through my sketchbook from the class and said, "Oh, here's a sketch you did in my sketchbook." She looked at it and said. "No it's not. It's the one you did in the workshop." I could hardly believe it, but she was right! Unfortunately, because I haven't practiced since then, my drawing skills have dropped back to stick-figure level. :-P But getting them back and taking them farther is one of my resoultions for this year!

Adding traditional artistic skills to your toolbox can never be a bad thing, it can only improve your work. If you look at the work done for many awesome 3-D works, they almost always start with concept sketches - just pencil on paper. (Check out the "Giving Chest" site over at DAZ3D for a good example.) Plus, think of it as the ultimate way to shut up those "you're not a real artist" nimrods! "Oh yeah? (whipping out sketchbook) Check out my nekkid Vicky in a temple concept sketches!" :-)

-Jimdoria ~@>@

Message edited on: 01/12/2006 13:28

• Jimdoria  ~@>@