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Posted on 11/11/11 01:32:19 AM

Artwel
Satire Supremo
Posts: 607

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Re: Challenge 376: A better Newton

Paolozzi's 'Newton' reminds me of Art deco design. He was also a fan of machines and robots so I've tried to reflect this in the picture.

Newton was a great visionary but William Blake, depicted Newton as "a misguided hero whose gaze was directed only at sterile geometrical diagrams drawn on the ground". (Blake considered Newton bad for religion!).

http://s1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee466/Artwel/PShop/

Posted on 11/11/11 03:32:01 AM

tissana
Thai Trickster
Posts: 29

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Re: Challenge 376: A better Newton

A better Newton

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Posted on 11/11/11 08:15:11 AM

Steve Caplin
Administrator
Posts: 7052

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Re: Challenge 376: A better Newton

First to polish the statue this week was Dejá_vu, with a cleaned-up and much brighter version - I like the signature carved into the side. I'm not sure about the planes, though: they seem to just make the image look more artificial.

A rather fine evening shot from Nick Curtain, with Newton almost entirely in shadow - but great recolouring where the light catches the bronze. Looking at the clouds, it seems to me that the light source is just behind the compass: in which case, wouldn't his face be lit up?

A nicely-drawn bronze apple from Ben Mills, well in keeping with the feel of the original. I find that mosaic background very confusing, though: I don't get how it fits with this image at all, even if it is another Paolozzi. Maybe it's just because the angles of the two are so much at odds with each other.

Evening lighting from Kathryn, too, with subtle colouring on the statue reflecting the orange glow of the clouds. But, as with Nick's entry, such a low light source would surely light up his face, I'd have thought. I like the bookend idea in the second entry, but it seems like a very large book for such a small bookend - and, please, put them both on a shelf!

Good to see GKB balancing Newton with Einstein, peering out of the clouds. I like the new gold plating, and the way he's playing with a Newton's Cradle is really clever. I'd like to see that text in the same perspective as the statue, though, rather than flat on the page; and is there perhaps just too much going on here for comfort?

Ingenious work from michael sinclair, mapping the colour and texture of the statue onto the toilet. The addition of the toilet roll stand is excellent - the pose does make him look very constipated. But the horizon in the background is way too high for the perspective view of the statue: and to make the sand blend in better, set the brush to Dissolve mode before painting on the layer mask. Oh, that's right, you don't like layer masks. Never did figure that out.

A novel twist from Jota120, who has turned the statue into a chess piece with a perspective twist that shouldn't have been possible. I like the apple, too - did you photograph this scene specially? I like the homage to Paul Dirac in the second entry, but there's a limit to how far you can distort a statue in perspective and I think you may have just overstepped it here.

I like the way joeysala has rebuilt Newton out of stone at the base of the pyramid - the perfect perspective fit makes this work all the better. Those strong horizontal lines, though, really need to curve around the arm and the head if they're to look like they're not just pasted on top. In cases like this, it's worth breaking the texture into pieces and curving each one as it wraps around the body.

Impressive work from brewell, cunningly incorporating a piece of differential calculus that was developed by Newton himself. Perhaps a touch more perspective needed, as it curves away behind the planet. I like the way the glow shines on the face and arms, but does it have to be such an acidic yellow?

I like the way Newton continues to ignore the apples falling on his head in tooquilos's animation - you feel that eventually he'll get the point. A good twitching foot, though, and the Dark Side of the Moon album cover on the side of the plinth is a great reference to his work with optics. But... oh, that perspective!

A perfectly chosen angle on the weights makes emanuelefrau's image work perfectly - very clever idea, neatly executed. Now, if you could just tint the weights so they look like they're made of the same bronze as the statue, it would be perfect.

Is Newton surfing the waves in laddition's entry? It's certainly the pose one might use on a surfboard, but if this is the case - I would like to see the surfboard! Very subtle blending, Véro.

The statue of Newton is ideal for use in Newton's Cradle, as envisioned by Jimbean. But with four strings holding each one, they wouldn't be able to swing back and forth: cut it down to just two, Jim. And perhaps this would be a great time to experiment with animated GIFs...

A really clever entry from Deborah Morley, incorporating not just Snowy but Tintin's face and quiff into the figure. Very fine texture on the dog, which reminds me of the dog from the Monopoly set. Er... what's the yellow disk, though?

James's animation makes a fitting solution to Tooquilos's - Newton finally gets the point. Excellent job building up the statue when he sits up, James: maybe he should look back down at the apple in his hand at the end?

A very apple-themed entry from Vibeke, with Newton sitting on a Mac G3 and tinkering with an iPad. I'd tuck either the thumb or the fingers behind the iPad, though, to make it look more like he's grasping it. In fact, Apple made an early PDA which was actually called the Newton - this would have been a good piece of kit to get in here!

A blonde wig and sunglasses? Is this Newton on holiday? I can't place the setting of Garfield72's entry, although it does seem to be a rather find cathedral. Would lightning strike from such a calm sky?

A beautiful image from puffin31939: sometimes the simplest approaches are the most effective. There's a consistency of tone and shading here that just makes this one work - no gags, no frills, just a great-looking picture. And while I like the idea of the second entry, I think it would be much stronger if the books were in the same perspective as the statue.

An extraordinary horse-riding Newton from munchonu - I suppose it is, more or less, a jockey's pose. Good texture mapping on the horse, but Newton could really do with a big of shadow to seat him more comfortably. And perhaps he should have stirrups, and rise out of the saddle a bit more?

A very entertaining image from Emil, with terrific lighting and a very fine composition. As you say: where does the inspiration come from? Who knows?

A fantastic art deco interpretation from Artwel, who has combined 1930s graphics with a very 1960s superhero costume. It's a beautiful piece of work that's completely original. Just one thing: I'd have put the beam from his eyes in front of the hand with the compass, not behind. Otherwise - very clever stuff!

A rather grand setting for the statue from tissana, perched atop a pavilion. It's nicely integrated into the image, but is the colouring just too dull for the location? Try tinting it gold: I think this would fit the position rather better.

Posted on 11/11/11 09:35:37 AM

munchonu
Horror Master
Posts: 277

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Re: Challenge 376: A better Newton

Cheers Steve, I'm never gonna get those shadows right! Too impatient to finish the job I think.

Posted on 11/11/11 09:38:05 AM

munchonu
Horror Master
Posts: 277

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Re: Challenge 376: A better Newton

Cheers Steve, I'm never gonna get those shadows right! Too impatient to get the job finished I think.

Posted on 11/11/11 10:40:13 AM

puffin31939
Montage Mariner
Posts: 383

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Re: Challenge 376: A better Newton

Steve Caplin wrote:
A beautiful image from puffin31939: sometimes the simplest approaches are the most effective. There's a consistency of tone and shading here that just makes this one work - no gags, no frills, just a great-looking picture. And while I like the idea of the second entry, I think it would be much stronger if the books were in the same perspective as the statue.

Wow! Thanks, Steve. I am glad I opted to enter both images.
I will have a tinker with the second entry and see if I can improve it.

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Posted on 11/11/11 11:42:10 AM

brewell
Pixel Pentagrammarian
Posts: 752

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Re: Challenge 376: A better Newton

Steve Caplin wrote:
I like the way the glow shines on the face and arms, but does it have to be such an acidic yellow?

Inspiration is not all that rare. What's rare is the ability to recognize when inspiration hits and hold it still long enough to understand (it).

And then it burns
An acid yellow
And Blake was a ass

The real story is the glow was my first practical use of the Vivid Lighting mode, so I guess my inspirational glow is vivid enough. I think I'll keep it.

The bending of the equations around the Earth is a fantastic suggestion. It will look like Einstein's Gravity waves. Thanks!

The following is an unsolicited rant:

Newtonian physics is all we need. Everything from Einstein on is in the realm of Imagine this.... Quantum Physics was born in an atomic bomb. Newtonian Physics is practical. I use it all the time, especially when I move furniture.

B'e Well.

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Posted on 11/11/11 7:12:09 PM

Deborah Morley
Makeover Magician
Posts: 1319

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Re: Challenge 376: A better Newton

Thanks Steve - that er yellow disk is a sort of main part of the tintin images. Not that I've got all the books or anything like that!

Posted on 11/11/11 10:02:47 PM

Jota120
Ingenious Inventor
Posts: 2615

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Re: Challenge 376: A better Newton

Thanks again Steve. No not a special image and by chance the apple came too.
Agree 2nd one could have been better, ...it was going bas-relief/basso-relief/low-relief (I might try it again later if have time).

Posted on 12/11/11 00:46:19 AM

Jota120
Ingenious Inventor
Posts: 2615

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Re: Challenge 376: A better Newton

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Posted on 12/11/11 06:58:58 AM

Nick Curtain
Model Master
Posts: 1768

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