JealousyBot

I have greenish eyes so I've always felt a little insulted by the phrase "green-eyed monster." How did jealousy acquire that moniker, I wonder? Ah well, I gave into the cliché for this week's AlphaBot anyway! Now I'm part of the problem, I guess.

I'm not very happy with the results either, but I ran out of time to tweak. I'm jealous (or more precisely, envious) of people who have plenty of time for everything they want to do. Luckily I don't know a single one of them!

IreBot

I’m actually in a pretty great mood these days– even running late with my AlphaBot didn’t bring out the ire– maybe because this one didn’t need gradient mesh!

HappinessBot

Yippee! It’s nice to have a positive emotion to illustrate again. I think this AlphaBot is happy for me because I have a much-needed new computer, all speedy & uncrashy & made-to-order & everything! Thank you, James!!

Guilt Bot

It's a scientific point of contention whether dogs can feel guilt.
What do you think?

I'm sure there would be similar questions raised about this AlphaBot.
But looking guilty is another matter. That's definitely in its programming, & I suspect dogs' & humans' too.

Speaking of which, I'm feeling a bit guilty for taking extra shortcuts this week (I cadged a bunch of gradients & blends-- and even an eye-- from CuriosityBot for this one) but I'd feel even more guilty if I missed my work deadlines, so something had to give!

FrightBot

This week's AlphaBot is a bit of a Fraidy-bot. I have a hyperactive alarm system myself, so I can relate.

I was working on a bunch of projects this week so I didn't have a whole lot of time to experiment with new AI techniques, but I did figure out that I could use the inner glow effect to make a nifty inner shadow in the eyeballs & head-bulb.

EmbarrassmentBot

I blush very easily & whenever I'm the least bit embarrassed, or emotionally stirred in any way really, I begin to resemble this AlphaBot, glowing ears & all. Unfortunately I can feel it happening & that just makes me more embarrassed.

I had fun doing all the radiant gradients though! I'm starting to hate gradient mesh just a tiny bit less, though it's still weirdly unpredictable. It does allow for a lot of subtle mixing!

I also experimented with multiple strokes on a path here, to create a fake gradient for the fingers. It sorta works!

Earling

It's been forever since I did a painting for Illustration Friday, & I almost didn't make it this week. The prompt was "whisper."  I started thinking about the kind of creature that would be adept at hearing whispers... hence this little fellow. Can you see the hidden message? It's kind of a giveaway. ;-)

Acrylic on text scanned from The Reason Why, a natural history book of questions & answers from 1860. It features a quote from Shakespeare: "Give every man thine ears, but few thy voice." Also an engraved diagram of the human ear that turned into a form of vegetation.

DisgustBot

Here's the latest in my Artificial Emotional Intelligence series for AlphaBots. I'm learning quite a bit about emotions in researching this project. Except that I'm ending up with more questions than answers.

For instance, disgust to me seems absolutely fundamental & visceral, more physical than mental at least in its roots, yet some think it's an emotion that must be learned. I suppose that's true in some cases, but if you've ever seen a baby eat something bitter, this robot's expression will look quite familiar.

I recently read an article about people with trypophobia--  extreme revulsion at the sight of clustered holes. I found most of those images appealing actually, but I love all sorts of patterns in nature. On the other hand, hair in a bathroom drain gives me the major creeps, beyond all reason.

There does seem to be a fair degree of variability & irrationality involved in disgust. What disgusts you that others don't mind? What do you find tolerable that grosses others out? Do you think these reactions were "hard-wired" or did you acquire them over time? Do you find context important? Do you think disgust is always related to fear?

I tried to make this robot look something like a bitter pill, or perhaps a bacterium of some sort... luckily a shape that Illustrator's gradient mesh seems to comprehend a little bit more easily.  That gave me time to get a little carried away with a rivet effect using the dotted line stroke.

My Illustrator interest may have crossed the line into obsession. The other night I dreamed I was trying to control my husband's snore volume using Bézier curve handles, & getting very frustrated with Illustrator when it didn't work! Perhaps that's my subconscious telling me that I'm asking too much of this program? In this case an old-school poke in the shoulder was much more effective. ;-) At least I woke up laughing, which isn't always the case when the snore volume goes to 11!

CuriosityBot

Recently I was listening to the Brain Science Podcast, & the subject just happened to be The Origin of Emotions.

Jaak Panksepp was talking about the evolution of emotions, & to my surprise, he proposed that the very most fundamental emotion was the "seeking instinct"-- he didn't use the word "curiosity" but of course that's what jumped into my head. I hadn't even thought of this as an emotion per se, but it makes perfect sense! The same essential impulse that sends any animal out into the world in search of food extends to send me in search of interesting podcasts & new program skills,* for instance, or the Curiosity Rover to Mars, or this robot in search of odd little green thingies!

It was a fascinating podcast in general, & if you're not the podcast type there's a pdf transcript of the interview available here.

*For this Bot I learned how to use the star tool (for the pattern in the irises-- super-easy) & the object blend tool (for the goose-neck & arms-- quite a bit more complex but fun & amazing)!

And don't forget to check out all the other C robots over at AlphaBots!

BlissBot

Well, I'm mighty late with my AlphaBot this week, but at least I'm in time to wish you all a blissful Valentine's Day with Oddment 200!

In case you missed the last post, this is the second in an alphabetical robot series I call Artificial Emotional Intelligence. The BlissBot's wires tend to get a bit disheveled when in the throes of his eponymous emotion. But it's all part of his programming. ;-)

Speaking of programs, I'm using this series to teach myself how to "paint" in Adobe Illustrator. In this piece I made extensive use of the gradient mesh, which partly explains why it's so late! It's an amazing tool, but it can drive one a bit nuts, especially as a newbie. And of course I'm still not really satisfied. I hope one shining day to figure out how to make AI gradients tamely do my bidding. For now they definitely still have my knickers (& often my Bézier curves) in a twist. So much for my hope that I'd be as blissful making this bot as I was angstful for the last!

In further adventures in technology with Leah, I have a (sort of) complete new website up! It's supposed to be all mobile-responsive & sharp & fresh & stuff, but I'm still adding images & I'm sure there are still a few snags to work out. In any case I invite you to have a look over there & report back to me with any problems or concerns. I'll be keeping this blog going here for a while until I'm sure I have the hang of things over there!

AngstBot

Here come the AlphaBots!!

I decided my theme would be Artificial Emotional Intelligence. Each bot will represent an emotion. Should be fun!

I also decided (probably very foolishly) that AlphaBots would be the perfect opportunity to teach myself Adobe Illustrator. (AI for AI, get it?) I've used it now & again for some type/lettering work, but I've never tried to make an image with it before. It's a whole new world & cranking out this simple little bot nearly drove me crazy! I'm still not at all happy with the gradients & such. I hope when I learn the ropes a little more I can touch him up, poor fellow.

Appropriately enough, I started the alphabet with angst-- I certainly felt enough of it as I was attempting this effort!

The background text/texture is imported from Photoshop, as is the little belt buckle ornament, but everything else is AI. Wish me luck with this project! I hope the next one doesn't take this long!

Winged 8sy

Here's another of the 8sy BITsy Monsters! This one goes out to Lewis Carroll whose birthday was on the 27th. I meant to post it then but life intervened.

One of the many things I have on my plate these days is a website redesign... it's not quite live yet but when it is, I'll probably be migrating all my blogs over there. Just wanted to give y'all a heads-up! Of course I'll post a formal announcement when it happens.

Also, remember that AlphaBots begins next Monday, so if any of you would like to contribute, it's time to get bottin'!

Prepare for the Invasion of the AlphaBots!

I promised you another alphabet project & it's almost here, yippee! I'll be a co-admin this time along with Christian Sager & Gabriel Reyes, & we'd love to have any of you join us!

Christian explains it all so well on the AlphaBots site, I'll just quote his wording here:


"Who doesn’t like drawing robots?!? Now’s the time to break out your tools and show us your best robots. For 26 weeks artists from all over the world will be contributing to the collaborative social media art project AlphaBots!

AlphaBots will be the fourth Alphabet Press project since beginning in 2011. These efforts previously included Animal Alphabet, AlphaBeasts and AlphaBooks. Participating is a great way to share your work and meet other artists. We even had our own table at the 2012 Small Press Expo, selling books, prints, postcards and original art from the project.

Every Monday you can submit unique robot art, whether it’s from fiction, reality or your own imagination. Everyone is welcome, from professional artists to beginners looking to share their creativity. We begin our A–Z journey by drawing robots that begin with “A” on Monday, February 4.

Visit the AlphaBots Tumblr for more information on how to participate and submit your robots!"

Photoshop robot with imagery from Scientific American Handy Book, 1918, & Dietzgen Catalog, 1938.

8sy BITsy Monster

Andrew Neal recently introduced me to a great new art challenge called 8sy BITsy Monsters. It was created by Bec of Ginseng & Honey, & quickly adopted by a whole bunch of Tumblr artists because really, it's just too much fun!

Bec created a bunch of 8-bit monsters, then set the challenge to interpret them in full-res illustrations. This one (below) caught my eye because it made me think of Edward Lear. So here's my first contribution-- I feel sure there will be more!

Photoshop with text from The Practical Standard Dictionary.

The Old Man Arrives!

At long last The Old Man & the Cat is available in the States! It may take awhile longer to make it to physical bookstores, but it's now up on Amazon. See, I wasn't making the whole thing up! ;-)

Farewell to 2012!

Apologies to all for my long absence from this blog. When I said I was over-stretched in that last post I didn't know how much more stretched I could get! Suffice it to say that I needed some yoga & meditation to make it through the last month.

But I'm back! This is just a silly little Photoshop piece I did as a joke for a couple of friends on Twitter who were talking about the art trends/memes they'd noticed in 2012. We decided to mash up a few just for fun. Of course they got theirs done by New Year's Eve, while I'm limping in a week later. See paragraph one. ;-)

Stay tuned to this spot for an exciting announcement coming soon! Hint: it involves the alphabet. (Yes I know that's not much of a hint in these parts.)