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Posted on 31/07/08 4:52:19 PM |
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GKB
Magical Montagist Posts: 3733 Reply  |
Re: Contest 208: Escher's stairs
I've got brain-ache after that one! 
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Posted on 31/07/08 7:01:15 PM |
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GKB
Magical Montagist Posts: 3733 Reply |
Re: Contest 208: Escher's stairs
Everlasting Money anyone? 
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Posted on 31/07/08 7:02:05 PM |
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GKB
Magical Montagist Posts: 3733 Reply |
Re: Contest 208: Escher's stairs
Sorry - bad post |
Posted on 31/07/08 9:58:36 PM |
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Tony A1
* Posts: 3 Reply  |
Re: Contest 208: Escher's stairs
This one was really hard.  |
Posted on 31/07/08 11:58:38 PM |
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Eva Roth
Luminous Liberator Posts: 269 Reply  |
Contest 208: Escher's stairs
just back in London, couldn't possible miss this awesome challenge, so here's a very last minute attempt. Reminded me of that castle in the Loire valley with the double helix staircase. Must spend a few more hours on this one in a future life... Nick, your picture is absolutely beautiful!  |
Posted on 01/08/08 01:27:05 AM |
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Steve Mac
Grunge Genie Posts: 539 Reply  |
Re: Contest 208: Escher's stairs
Thanks James. Yes, I used the technique in How to cheat 4, pg 328. |
Posted on 01/08/08 08:00:38 AM |
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Nick Curtain
Model Master Posts: 1768 Reply  |
Contest 208: Escher's stairs
Thanks Eva. I think youve created a great illusion. Gordon, your on the money with that one! Great work everyone. Nick |
Posted on 01/08/08 08:21:41 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 6842 Reply  |
Re: Contest 208: Escher's stairs
This turned out to be a rather tricky Challenge - but, with no starting image, it's produced a wide and varied range of entries. First up was an excellent example from Steve Mac, with the deceptively simple concept of interwoven piggy banks. It's a highly effective image, but I'd have chosen a different background: with no perspective in it, the effect is to flatten out the image more than is necessary. Tricky decision about where to place shadows! I like the simple illusion in the second entry, although I'm glad you're a stair builder rather than a net maker. An infinite staircase, of sorts, from james, which uses rotation and duplication to achieve its effect. It's the second entry that really wakes us up, with a dazzling sense of motion. Trying to hypnotize us, James? An entry from tooquilos that owes more to Archimboldo than Escher - still, it's, you know, a potato head among the potatoes... There's a strong film noir feeling to Mick Malkemus' entry, helped by it's being in black and white. A fine selection of sinister characters here, and a series of twisting staircases that adds to the nightmarish quality. A very appealing scene altogether, Mick. And I like the joke in the second entry! An infinite staircase from Andy L, with 'the book' stretched to fit the sides. Tricky perspective, Andy! Still, I'll certainly suggest this approach to the publishers for the next edition... Gorgeous work from Nick Curtain. This image has everything: the angles, the cast of characters (I especially like the repeated woman) with a perfect painter, and the tightrope walker is an inspired addition. The angle of the image, with the door punctuating the scene bottom left, is fantastic (although I wonder if the edge of the door should be at the same angle as the bannister spindles). This must have been a huge amount of work: but absolutely worth it. Fabulous. A brave attempt by dikidee to reproduce the famous elephant illusion - and I think you can see why the original was drawn in black and white! The front leg, by the trunk, is the most convincing: but to make this one work properly, I think, requires the elephant to be disassembled and put back together limb by limb - probably on a background that's much closer to the elephant texture. A very graphic approach from Ben Mills, and it's one that produces strong results: this is certainly a snakes and ladders board I wouldn't want to get stuck on! A very entertaining, strong image. And your recreation of the classic Escher image in the second entry is a great idea: would we need some more shading on the sides of my head, though, to make it appear as if the ribbon is curving around? What makes gaoxiguo's reflected tree work so well is the fact that the sky and ground are not reflected - it's an interesting illusion. The second entry is excellent, reproducing one of Escher's most famous works in true Chinese calligraphy style. (gaoxiguo's text, incidentally, translates as "China gathers money the saveing money pot, likes very much! Egyptian shed is very great, is the visual optical illusion interest creativity. I on-line searched for several pictures, played with ps, hoped that everybody looked will think interesting from now on." An excellent image, Gaoxiguo, and well worth a title for you. I think it has to be 赤土陶器战士. Most intrigued by mguyer's entry: is this an Anish Kapoor sculpture? A wonderful image, and it must be fascinating to see this one close up. Tell me - if I get out my magnifying glass, will I see you in there with your camera, Marty? A pure illusion from dave.cox, and it works well: the choice of characters is just right for the perspective of the views, and the ladder is an inspired choice to reach over the edge, just as the ball on rope hangs down the other way. I like the few pebbles on the ground, which add a link to the path at the bottom. There's a nightmarish quality to brewell's fire escape, with some tricky perspectives: I particularly like the two sideways doors right at the top. Some "interesting" brickwork here, but overall a very good approach to an extremely difficult subject. A view that's more Magritte than Escher from Neil O, with the cosy scene interrupted by a sky floor. Er... just what kind of contractor are you, Neil? Good to see you back - hope things are working out for you. A rather ghostly image from misa, which uses the Find Edges filter to good effect - a tricky one to use sensitively. There's a real menace to this image that gives it great power - good work! Another double-hand Escher classic from Ellen, with the self-drawing hands reproduced as graphics tablets. A great hand drawn style here, and an interesting technique: but the hands look fully drawn, rather than in the process of being created. A great Moebius strip from katew, and the cars certainly add an extra dimension to it. I'd have added more shading in the ribbon's turns, though, and I think shadows beneath the cars would have helped greatly here. Intriguing work from Josephine Harvatt: hard to see how this one works, as it's all so small, but I like the reversal of the child climbing the play frame. Does it benefit from so many repetitions, though? Very neatly interlocking stairs from Deborah Morley: this must have taken some time to get right! As you say, though, a person climbing or descending would really have brought a focus to this image. Maja has had a go at one of Escher's famous tesselations, in which groups of animals reveal other animals in the spaces between them. It's an incredibly difficult style, and Maja's version shows a lot of thought and effort - tricky stuff, indeed. A couple of Moebius strips from GKB, the first a self-referential sentence, with a strip of twenty pound notes for the second entry. A great idea, executed with some panache - this can't have been easy to do. But I fear the everlasting money might just run out when you start spending it, Gordon... A drawn recreation of the Escher original from Tony A1, using a single staircase with railing replicated in different positions. I like the graphic, stark quality of this one: but why so small, Tony? Surely you didn't create it at that size? A complex staircase from Eva Roth - and I like the way the figure has been positioned at different positions within the flights of stairs. A little too much fuzziness in the joins, perhaps! This has been an incredibly difficult challenge, but one which does go to show what a meticulous, twisted (ha!) genius Escher really was. Next time you look at one of his pictures, remember that he started with a blank canvas - and no Undo key! |
Posted on 01/08/08 08:47:35 AM |
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Nick Curtain
Model Master Posts: 1768 Reply |
Re: Contest 208: Escher's stairs
Thanks Steve As said, I very nearly gave up and aborted at least three attempts using different images before finding the combination I did. My thanks go to my wife for her patience, because she knew that from Saturday morning to Sunday lunchtime my mind was churning with ideas and could not understand why I was looking at everything with my head tilted to one side. I think she was delighted to hear 'what do you think of this?', to know it was nearly over. Secondly, to my daughter, who willingly perched on the garden table, so I could photograph her from the correct angle. With no starting image, this was not easy and if I looked at that lego staircase once I must have examined it a thousand times! Nick |
Posted on 01/08/08 08:48:38 AM |
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GKB
Magical Montagist Posts: 3733 Reply |
Re: Contest 208: Escher's stairs
Thanks Steve. The warp tool definitely has a mind of its own when you do such extreme warps. Gordon |
Posted on 01/08/08 09:45:42 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 6842 Reply |
Re: Contest 208: Escher's stairs
Aha! I wondered where you got those photos from. Outstanding work - she really makes the montage come alive. |
Posted on 01/08/08 11:52:11 AM |
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tooquilos
Wizard of Oz Posts: 2805 Reply  |
Re: Contest 208: Escher's stairs
Thank you Steve. Good to know his name, Archimboldo. Ive seen that image but never knew who did it. I was totally stumped this week. Ive come to realise that Im illusional/perspective challenged 
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Posted on 01/08/08 12:27:06 PM |
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josephine harvatt
Gag Gadgeteer Posts: 2596 Reply  |
Re: Contest 208: Escher's stairs
A fantastic set of images everyone - I have to confess mine was cannibalised from some earlier work and I got a bit carried away with playng with the patterns rather than creating a proper optical illusion  _________________ I'm not really bad - I just draw that way |
Posted on 01/08/08 12:30:44 PM |
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Steve Mac
Grunge Genie Posts: 539 Reply |
Re: Contest 208: Escher's stairs
Thanks Steve. I had questioned where to place the shadows myself. |
Posted on 01/08/08 12:58:14 PM |
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katew
Virtual Virtuoso Posts: 676 Reply  |
Re: Contest 208: Escher's stairs
Thanks Steve. Yes, some more shading would have helped - I wondered what was missing! |
Posted on 01/08/08 1:04:09 PM |
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Neil O
Cartoon Contractor Posts: 389 Reply  |
Re: Contest 208: Escher's stairs
Thanks Steve, I'm a site contractor, ie bull dozers, excavators, dump trucks, etc. Hence my original name of Dirtdoctor! Does this question have something to do with my image this week?  _________________ "If I find 10,000 ways something won't work, I haven't failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is often a step forward".... Thomas Edison |
Posted on 01/08/08 2:41:29 PM |
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Maja
Dewey Decimator Posts: 66 Reply  |
Re: Contest 208: Escher's stairs
Thanks Steve, how exiting to see ordinary things in a new light (pardon the pun). With so many interpretations everybody here makes it very interesting. Congratulations Gaoxiguo |
Posted on 01/08/08 6:15:52 PM |
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Ellen
Fire Queen Posts: 102 Reply  |
Re: Contest 208: Escher's stairs
Thanks Steve, I wasn't sure how much to mask out the drawing. As you said it makes one appreciate Escher all the more. There were indeed great interpretations this week. |
Posted on 01/08/08 7:48:35 PM |
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dave.cox
Marquee Master Posts: 518 Reply  |
Re: Contest 208: Escher's stairs
Thanks Steve, This one was a lot of fun, as well as informative.  |
Posted on 03/08/08 9:33:55 PM |
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Eva Roth
Luminous Liberator Posts: 269 Reply |
Re: Contest 208: Escher's stairs
Thank you Steve! Yes, it's far too fuzzy in many parts, should have spent a lot more time on it, but it was already Thursday evening... |
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