Subsurface scattering with watercolors

While reading and experimenting with characteristics of watercolors, I realized it could be a good medium to demonstrate the effect of subsurface scattering in painted pictures. The transparent layer of watercolor will allow the scattering of light on the paper, which will be finally reflected back. However, this scattering will be at a 'macro' level as the roughness of paper will be much larger than what would be expected for the figure represented on the paper. Maybe we could use some medium to put in a 'finer' roughness on paper and then apply the transparent colors.

This may not be a new idea. I bet many artists must be doing something similar. This thought is just to marry the concepts in traditional art and 3d computer graphics.

Thought Buddies

While going through people with similar books on librarything and the profile details on blogger, a thought crossed my mind. Is it possible that two very unrelated people (genetically) would have exactly same 'set' of interests ?
I do know people with similar interests. These pairs are plenty. But what I mean here is two people having exact same set of books, with no single book held by a single person in the pair that is missing with other. Two people having exact same interests/hobbies, with none of them having a unique interest/hobby missing in another.
Well, there are such possibilities if you have limited interests and limited books, but it becomes very difficult if you have large number of interests & hobbies and a large collection of books.

So here is my list of interests.. is my thought buddy somewhere out there ?
[Note : to qualify as a thought buddy, you should have already written exactly similar article on your blog :-) or at least thought about it]

My Profile:
Very good skills/interests : Drawing, Sketching, Portraits, Pastels, Web Designing, Web Programming (AJAX like techs), Brain-storming, thinking creative ideas, Smart Ariel Mapping*, Scene Recall** .
Good Skills/Interests : Figure Drawing, Programming, Blog/Article Writing, Psychology, Book collecting (esp Art Books), Smart Browsing***. . Photography
Deep interests, but havn't yet developed good skills : Painting (Oil & Watercolor), 3D Modelling / Texturing / Rendering, 3D Scripting, Shader Scripting,
Extremely bad at : Music / Understanding Music, Understanding /Comprehending Lyrics of music.

These are my definitions of the skill names that I just invented :-)

Smart Mapping* : I would define 'Smart Mapping' as ability to quickly find a location from Ariel satellite maps (google maps) without reading road/place names. [For example, if you are landing/taking-off in an airplane, you are able to recognize your house/area/road very quickly in the brief moment that the plane passes over it]

Scene Recall** : Being able to view a half a second clip from movie *without* seeing the actor/actress faces (ie only seeing objects such as a cycle, a car) and being able to recall the movie name. This quality also creates lot of Deja-Vu moments in normal life. I frequently experience moments that I feel I have already experience. There is nothing paranormal about it, it is just that I am able to recognize a certain 'bite' of a moment and I recall a similar moment that happened earlier that had exact same 'bite'.

Smart Browsing*** : An ability to quickly find information on web, which cannot be easily found by google - OR - Being able to specify good set of keywords to search on google (or other search engine) - OR - Knowing information portal sites to quickly find info (like wikipedia, wikimapia) etc. Note: I would extend this to ability to quickly find an item in supermarket, without prior knowledge of where it is normally stored. Also, being able to quickly find a book in a huge library, without actually going through normal library systems/indexes etc.


....
To take the concept further, it might be a good idea to take this set of skills/interests and be able to create a unique code for it, and then post these codes somewhere on internet, where somebody is looking for exactly same set of skills.

For example, is there somebody looking for a good programmer, with excellent web designing & programming skills, who is also good at drawing and portraits and has lot of creative ideas ? If so, you could contact me :-)

--update on 29th Jan
Although not quite exactly the same as I want, I have found a similar way of classification that already exists :
http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes1.htm
This typography test is general, rather than about specific skills, interests and hobbies

Computers and Classical Art

Classical / Academic art has gone out of fashion while the abstract expressionism is gaining popularity. I do love classical art and appreciate the efforts by groups like ArtRenewal who are trying to revive it.
I was wondering how modern technology could help the classical art. What tools would Leonardo use if he would be brought in modern age through some time-machine.
Well here are my thoughts :
1. 3D modeling programs (eg Blender, Wings3D) could be used to learn form/light/colors better.
2. Complex 3D surfaces (Bezier surfaces, NURBS) used to create an ideal human form. Try finding the new magic numbers in NURBS for the perfect human form, just like the greek did use simple analytical geometry.
3. Better Sculpting through 3D programs. Use the sculpting modes of the programs to sculpt geometry just like in real life. However, the programs give more flexibility in terms of working only with surfaces (as opposed to volumes). No dependency on constant-volume of material, size etc.

While I think about this, I am sure that 3d programs and computers, would never match the possibilities, workability and complexity of real mediums. Painting in real watercolors gives a richer experience than painting on a PC using a tablet and Corel-Paint.
However, I feel computers could be used as teaching tools, initial study tools, and learning tools for the final art-work that will be done using physical mediums. They will just help us go one step ahead* of the great masters in understanding human form and finally painting / sculpting it better. If one can think of a human arm in terms of a mathematical complex surface, rather than a cylinder, it will give much richer experience.

Also, it might not be a bad idea to add 3d modelling programs as just another medium sitting beside pencils & pastels. Just like drawing is used as a study medium, as well as a final medium, 3d modellers could as well be used in similar fashion.

* Note : While I do see efforts by people to revive classical art, I don't see any mention anywhere about doing better than old masters. By 'better' I mean in the same classical sense, and I do not mean moving into abstract/modern art. I do see that some living classical artists have painted better than the old masters, but they are never appreciated in the same way as old-masters and recognized as being 'better'. This could be one of the reasons, why artists try to 'escape' into abstract medium.

Watercolors

I am doing a watercolor course right now. Here are some of my observations.

• Think colors : Knowledge of forms & volumes will make it difficult in the beginning to perceive in pure colors.
• Think 'Water' colors : Water is a major aspect of this medium. Should be used in abundance. The whole idea is to have a watery look.
• Simple blends to details : First put-in simple blends. For the techie type, this means, first pain in lower frequencies of an image (in terms of Fourier Transforms) and then go to higher frequencies.
  
• Controlled Chaos : Water colors are chaotic, but the end-result is also important. The chaotic brushwork should finally produce a well synthesized image.
• Give & Take : Its an error prone medium. The talent is to correct the errors or live around errors
• Shade in single color : Use a single color and create a gradation using more/less water.
• Shade in single strokes : When painting thinner elements like pipes/rods, a single brush stoke should show a gradation along the width of the pipe. The brush should have un-even paint on different sides
• Complex to simple : Any form of art is an effort to simplify/clarify/beautify/ a complex real picture. The artist makes a picture from reality 'easy to chew/digest' for a viewer and this gives the pleasure to the viewer. One way of doing this is to start with simple picture and add complexity to a required extent. Another way (possible with watercolors) is to start with complexity and simplify to required extent.