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General Art Majora's Cat's Official Art Thread

Majora's Cat

How about that
Joined
Sep 3, 2010
Location
NJ
I have shown an adept ability at writing and street dancing here on the forums, and today I would like to shine some light on one of my lesser-known and long dormant hobbies. Drawing has always been one of my strong points, for I spent my early school days from kindergarten to the 7th grade being regarded as the school’s artist. But I eventually grew weary of my own manga style of drawing and decided it was time to pursue different forms of art. After an eye-opening trip to the Princeton University Museum of Art (near the university I one day wish to reside in), I decided it was time to revive my love for art. However, I would go about this in a different manner than I had originally...

I believe that true art must not only impress, but it must leave an impression on those who view it. Whether a piece sticks in one’s mind due to its beauty, hidden message or style, the world’s finest art will always inspire others. This is exactly what Princeton University’s fine array of paintings, sculptures and pen drawings have taught me. Thus, I present to Zelda Dungeon a thread of art that comprises of original works that are not based off of photos or fictional characters (unless I decide to draw up some Zelda fan art).

Stop Sign Men

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The concept for this piece is quite simple, and it was inspired by a stop sign I saw on the road one day. These stop signs are in a hexagonal shape, I know, but stop signs are hexagons in Europe. And I think that the picture reflects Europe more than America. “Stop Sign Men” was the first drawing I had created in over a year (and to my surprise) it turned out pretty good. I like the idea of repetition, so I found a way to repeat a pattern in the drawing. It all starts with one half stop sign, half man. In his right hand he holds the tie of another stop sign man, and that stop sign man holds the tie of the last stop sign men. The pattern was halted at four simply because it was impossible to create another stop sign man with a ballpoint pen - doing so would require a much smaller and slimmer pen (and not to mention artistic skills far beyond mine).

While I generally dislike the idea of perfection in art, I felt obliged to draw the stop signs and pedestals to scale. The first stop sign would have one side length of one inch, and so would the pedestal. The next set would be three-fourths of an inch, then one-half of an inch, then a quarter inch. I always aimed for the idea that no matter how you rotated the picture, everything would seem to either decrease or increase in size and stature according to scale. Rotate the picture ninety degrees to the left, and the torsos and legs of the stop sign men form a road (which would normally converge at a point on the horizon). Rotate the picture ninety degrees to the right and the torsos and legs, including the stop signs and pedestals around the bodies, look like a valley.

McDonald’s Headquarters

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The inspiration for “McDonald’s Headquarters” came from a visit to a very popular fast food restaurant chain. After finishing my fries, I stuck the crumbled wrapper from my chicken sandwich into the fry container, and the result was more or less what is seen in this picture. I took the liberty of adding the McDonald’s logo and transforming the empty french fry container into a building the likes of which has never been seen before.

But why, instead of french fries, is the container filled with trash instead? That obviously wouldn’t be very pleasing to the eye if the building were to actually exist. The notoriety of McDonald’s french fries was revealed to me when I watched the documentary called “Super Size Me”, a daring film made to demonize the fast food chain McDonald’s and let the public know how unhealthy their food is. Their french fries, when placed in a glass container, did not deteriorate for more than ten weeks. The experiment went unfinished, as the smell was too putrid to stand. The burgers started growing moldy after only a few days, while the french fries looked in mint condition even after a span of two and a half months.

For the reasons above, I have replaced the french fries with trash - after all, the two are just about equivalent.

The Last Leaf

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“The Last Leaf” may just be my favorite drawing of mine. While it isn’t too impressive, I find that its beauty lies within its simplicity. I always did like the saying “simplicity is bliss”. No shading, no fine-tuning, no background, nothing. All the drawing depicts is a tree, a frail tree, being worn down by the frostiness of the coming winter. Only one leaf manages to hang onto the tree, and this can symbolize one of two things: it is the last to fall off the tree, therefore it has been left behind by its peers. This leaf can also represent perseverance and willpower. Since it is able to hang on the longest, the leaf can also be seen as the “last man standing”, which surely isn’t as negative a way to view this leaf.

Notice that there are not any leaves on the ground. I decided not to draw them, since (once again) keeping the piece simple was my main objective. It really paid off, and even the wind looks rather sloppily drawn - but perhaps that’s what makes it look more realistic. “The Last Leaf” certainly isn’t the type of work that I normally do, so I’m ultimately glad that I experimented with it.

Utopia

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Irony is one of my most-loved literary devices in writing. But in “Utopia”, I decided to take irony to the next level. A utopia is supposed to be a perfect world. In other words, it has no flaws. I took the meaning of the word very literally and made the three-dimensional shapes in “Utopia” as imperfect as possible. Nothing about the picture is right! Shadows lean the wrong way, some of the shapes defy gravity, and the shading is all over the place. One would expect there to be only a single source of light, and therefore all shadows should lean in the same direction. Not in “Utopia”.

The creative process for creating this piece was just the opposite of “Stop Sign Men”. While I strived for perfection in that drawing, I did just the opposite in this. Without a doubt, I spent more time with a pen in my hand working on this picture than the other ones, but it was all worth it. I must admit, the cross-hatching in this piece of art is more refined than in other pieces... and cross-hatching is my favorite artistic tool. All other remarks of significance having already been said, the magnificence of “Utopia” lies in its ability to both make a person a think and impress that person, which is exactly what I try to do with every piece.

The Troll

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Ah, “The Troll”. Now I know that many will take an interest in this, for trolls are one of the most talked about topics on the internet. I think I was able to somewhat skillfully shed some light on what my representation of a troll is: a tall, stately man wearing a Guy Fawkes mask. There are several ways to express the appearance of a troll, but I think that “The Troll” captures that the general idea of what a troll should look like quite well.

The man appears to be one who should be reckoned with, a dignified man, but supercilious all the while. The Guy Fawkes mask is to hide his identity, for that is the way trolls are on the internet. They wear a mask to hide their true selves, oftentimes because they are afraid of what others might think of them in reality.

Behind the Guy Fawkes Mask

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Contrary to “The Troll”, “Behind the Guy Fawkes Mask” views trolls in a completely different light. The Guy Fawkes Mask, spiffy coat and tie and his fancy pants are all either on the coat rack or on the ground, and we get to see the troll’s body. As you can see, he is frail, weak, and trying to make a small castle out of cards. The naked troll has nothing better to do and bides his time by building the cards up, then waiting until they fall down.

On the opposite side of the spectrum of “The Troll”, this pathetic figure is as beautiful as any other person. It is its vulnerability, its exposed, weak body that makes it more meaningful than the “The Troll”. I believe that simplicity is beauty, but I also believe that seeing the so-called powerful and unconquerable troll as this pitiable creature is beauty.
 

Ronin

There you are! You monsters!
Forum Volunteer
Joined
Feb 8, 2011
Location
Alrest
Mister Kitter, what can I say? You are a superb member who makes amazing posts, while verbose but brimming over with a prodigious amount of thought and clarity. And now this. These works of art are incredible, to say the least, perfectly angled and breathing life...most of all the tree. Needless to say, I am impressed, and intend to say that whichever course you choose to follow--writing or artistry--you are bound to succeed. Excellent work. :yes:
 

MikauIncarnate

Hero of the Zora
Joined
Nov 5, 2010
Location
U.S.
Wow. I love "The Last Leaf" and the abstractness of "Utopia." I also love just how much detail you put into everything. Like the McDonalds one; that really looks like a wadded up paper ball. These are awesome.
 

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