TAO LIN'S DRAWING STYLE RE "2006-2010"

QUESTIONS STRONGLY ENCOURAGED, "SIMPLY" RAISE YOUR HAND





TWO STYLES

1. MINIMAL (CURRENT STYLE, TO A LARGE DEGREE)



2. DETAILED ("PHASED-OUT"/"ABANDONED" TO A LARGE DEGREE, WILL NOT BE ADDRESSED IN THIS PRESENTATION)








TIMELINE

2006 - 2010






TOOLS

MICROSOFT PAINT (MSPAINT)

Favored re convenience/speed/user-friendliness MSPaint has since been "phased-out"/"abandoned" due to its lower resolution, unavailability on Macs, smaller variety of tools/features/fonts (such as layers/Helvetica).





PEN/MARKER

Used often for works that do not require large areas of solid color. Used when 'personalizing' books for people at readings. Used for some things to be sold on eBay.





CONSTRUCTION PAPER (CONSTRUCTION)

Useful for "pieces" requiring large areas of solid color, especially ones with multiple layers of different colors. Creates a mildly 3D-seeming "piece," even when scanned. Seems easy/satisfying. I like doing this calmly in my room while listening to music.





PHOTOSHOP

Preferred non-"IRL" method. "Fill-all" tool is not as easy-to-use as MSPaint's.


FLICKR

Useful for organizing one's "pieces," can order prints from them at what seems like a low cost. Has a built-in "Statcounter." Seems satisfying.

ART ORGANIZED INTO A 'SET'

SUBSET FEATURING PHOTOSHOP HAMSTERS






REOCCURRING CONTENT/THEMES

CONVENTIONALLY CUTE OR "PRETTY" THINGS

THE "CAN'T CONCENTRATE" MANATEE (PHOTOSHOP, 2008)




CONVENTIONALLY UGLY/WEIRD-LOOKING THINGS WEARING CLEAN/"PROFESSIONAL"/COLORFUL OUTFITS OR WITH COLORFUL SKIN OR FUR.






PROFESSIONAL OCTOPUS (MARKER, 2007)





ANIMALS DOING CONVENTIONALLY HAPPY THINGS WITH A "DEPRESSED FACIAL EXPRESSION" OR WHILE "CRYING"





ANIMALS BEING EXPLOITED BY HUMANS

[something like 'a cow on a conveyor
belt moving toward a machine that
will turn it into beef' with the
cow displaying a neutral, confused
or 'ambiguous' facial expression]

ANIMALS SUFFERING WITHIN A COLORFUL/"AESTHETICALLY PLEASING" CONTEXT





"SEX MONSTER" SEARCHING FOR SEX "IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES" (CONSTRUCTION PAPER, 2010)





MONA LISA-LIKE (AMBIGUOUS/"COMPLEX") FACIAL EXPRESSIONS











SOMETHING CONVENTIONALLY VIEWED AS "UNFORTUNATE" PRESENTED IN A NON-PITYING/NEUTRAL MANNER (OR IN A MANNER LIKE IT IS AN ADVERTISEMENT FOR CLOTHING FOR YOUNG PEOPLE)





ANIMALS DOING INTERESTING THINGS, OR SEEMING "IDLE" IN INTERESTING SITUATIONS, WHILE DISPLAYING AN "UNCERTAIN FACIAL EXPRESSION"






PRIZE-WINNING HAMSTER (MSPAINT, 2008)




FISH-SNIFFING SQUID (CONSTRUCTION/MARKER, 2007)





UNICORN MOTHER THINKING ABOUT EATING HER DAUGHTER TO GET RID OF IT (PHOTOSHOP, 2007)





ANIMALS SEEMINGLY "NOT DOING ANYTHING" WHILE DISPLAYING A "NEUTRAL, CONFUSED, OR DEPRESSED FACIAL EXPRESION"

PERUVIAN JUNGLE PIG (MSPAINT, 2007)




SASQUATCH SITTING AT BENCH AT NIGHT EXPERIENCING THE FULL EFFECT OF THE LONELINESS OF EXISTENCE (MSPAINT, 2007)




OKAPI (PHOTOSHOP, 2007)




"SCREAMING IN AGONY"

PANDA "SCREAMING IN AGONY" (MSPAINT, 2007) (BY 'ELLEN KENNEDY,' AN INFLUENCE, MORE INFO RE 'INFLUENCES' SOON)




EXTREME EMOTIONS IN EXTREME SITUATIONS (DEPICTIONS OF BEING "OUT-OF-CONTROL")

TREE-SWINGING SASQUATCH (PHOTOSHOP, 2008)




OBESITY

OVERWEIGHT MOOSE (PHOTOSHOP, 2008)




SASQUATCH OBESE FROM EATING TOO MUCH PASTA TO CONSOLE HERSELF FROM BIRTHING A BABY OF A DIFFERENT SPECIES SOMEHOW (CONSTRUCTION PAPER, 2010)





DEPICTIONS OF EMOTIONAL THINGS HAPPENING FOR SEEMINGLY "NO CONCRETE REASON"

PANDA CRYING FOR "NO CONCRETE REASON" (PHOTOSHOP, 2008)




SATANISM

HARRY POTTER (MSPAINT, 2007)




UPSIDE-DOWN CROSS FRIENDS (PHOTOSHOP, 2007)




RELIGIOUSLY CONFUSED LEMUR (MSPAINT, 2008)




168-IQ MOOSE (PHOTOSHOP, 2007)




TEN-YEARS OLD (MSPAINT, 2008)








WHAT LIN'S ART STRIVES FOR, GENERALLY

To always be a parody of itself, to some degree (to a ~30-70% degree, ideally). To always be "self-aware," to some degree.

To never be a parody of something else. Unless its parody of itself, as a parody of something else, is more evident than its parody of something else.

To convey a functional self-mocking tone where the "mocking" component functions to relieve negative feelings by accommodating "more perspectives," in an effort to have a "more accurate, or comprehensive," perspective, which, in times of despair will relieve the despair for some people.

To view extreme misfortune or "unfairness" as humorous in order to (1) prepare for extreme misfortune (2) be able to view the misfortune more accurately and from more perspectives and (3) perhaps "enjoy" the extreme misfortune on certain levels. While always having the view, firstly, that it is desirable to avoid the misfortune and to do so, if possible, without inflicting misfortunes onto others.





WHAT IT STRIVES TO AVOID, GENERALLY

UNIRONIC "GROTESQUE" DEPICTIONS





Violence without a kind of humor that functions as an ameliorative (against pain) mechanism. For example the below drawing seems created not to lessen one's pain via humor or something else, but to either simply display violence or to promote, to some degree, violence against a certain type of person or thing or specific person or thing, to incite violence.





Abstraction without indication to the viewer that the artist is self-aware or self-mocking of the abstraction (i'm 'okay' with this, and everything else i strive try to avoid, it 'simply' isn't what is strived for in this certain style)





Unself-conscious (on the level of the artist) anger, jealous, distrust, disapproval





Direct sarcasm, irony, or rhetoric—a drawing of someone winning on Wall Street making a lot of money with an exaggerated happy facial expression with a title that is against capitalism or 'the bourgeoisie' or something, a drawing of someone eating non-organic meat while talking shit about their wife treating their dog badly with a title like 'hypocrite'

DAVID SHRIGLEY



[UNKNOWN]





Expression of "negative" emotions without irony, on some level, or the opposite of what is conventional—a drawing of someone with a sad facial expression walking in rain with the title "sad, rainy day" (someone doing that but smiling would be okay). "Cr[ies] for help."










INFLUENCES

1. ELLEN KENNEDY

CHEESE BEAST GOING THROUGH CHEESE WITHDRAWAL (MSPAINT, 2006)




COWS DROWNING (MSPAINT, 2006)




HAMSTER (PHOTOSHOP, 2006)




GRENDEL (PHOTOSHOP, 2006)




DECAPITATED BEAST HEAD FLOATING IN OUTER SPACE HUMILIATED AFTER JET LI BEAT IT IN TENNIS MATCH AND CUT OFF HEAD WITH RACKET THEN KNOCKED IT INTO SPACE TO SHOW OFF (MSPAINT, 2006)
'




2. DANIEL CLOWES









3. SMALL CHILDREN

[DRAWING BY 2ND-GRADER (I think) IN TAIWAN ON DISPLAY IN SUBWAY] (MISC., 2009)




[DRAWING BY 9-YEAR-OLD FROM INTERNET] (MARKER I THINK, 2010)




[DRAWING BY 3-YEAR-OLD] (PENCIL/PEN/MARKER, 2010)





4. NATURE

PINK/ORANGE FISH W/ "VAGUELY NEUTRAL FACIAL EXPRESSION"' (PHOTOGRAPH, 2010)




"DUDU" (PHOTOGRAPH, 2010)




"DUDU" REMAINING CALM IN STRESSFUL SITUATION (PHOTOGRAPH, 2010)




NEW GIRLFRIEND (PHOTOGRAPH, 2008)




OKAPI (PHOTOGRAPH, 2010)








TECHNIQUES, DRAWING

GENERAL




Always use imperfect lines, imperfect shapes. But always fill in space completely/perfectly, using only one color.







TEMPLATES

Any enclosed shape + 'facial expression' + 'appendages' ([any #] of lines connected to the enclosed shape, if the appendages are 'enclosed spaces' themselves always incorporate it into the initial enclosed shape, so that all the appendages and the initial enclosed space composes only one enclosed space).

Will always manifest, due to the facial expressions, as a sentient being. Only becomes a template when the facial expression is added.

Is a spectrum. View it as a room, and any coordinate, any atom in the room, can be a template. Those chosen, and named, are chosen arbitrarily, in the view of this style. Resemblance to actually existing animals is not relevant, as the mind will perceive whatever is there as representative of a sentient being.






TYPES

Types are "sub-templates" to be applied to templates, changing it in a manner that can be applied across all templates, without further knowledge, if one wants that.

May be metaphysical (to different degrees) in nature. For example "meta" can be indicated by a "dotted line" template. "MFA Student" can be inherent but not apparent unless stated in the title.






ACCESSORIES

Can be "applied" to any template of any type to any degree. May also be used themselves as templates (in a way that "types" cannot) in an infinitely progressing, two-way manner (a skateboard skateboarding on a skateboard that is skateboarding, etc., while wearing "adhesive antlers" that are wearing "adhesive antlers," etc.).






"PUMPKIN SUIT" ACCESSORY

ELLEN WEARING A PUMPKIN SUIT (MSPAINT, 2006)





"PAJAMAS" ACCESSORY

STAR BABY (MSPAINT, 2007)






FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

Eyes: two enclosed circles, each containing one smaller/filled-in circle.

Mouth: line or enclosed space.

Nose: use rarely, two lines that connect at their points or two curved lines with two filled-in spaces ("nostrils") between them.

Eyebrows: use rarely, one curved/straight line (or enclosed space) above each eye.

Ears: do not use unless it is part of the enclosed-space of the "template."

Place the "facial expression" within any area of the "template," to different effects.




Because it is generally accepted that eye-size/mouth-size do not vary much with age, using a "large facial expression" can indicate a "small body" (a technique in conveying the "baby" type) and using a "small facial expression" can indicate a "large body" (a technique in conveying the "obese" type).




(Large eyeballs can also indicate the "baby" type because eyeball-size seems to vary in size even less than eye-size/mouth-size re age).


FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

NEUTRAL

MOUTH: STRAIGHT LINE, NOT TOO LONG

EYES: EYEBALLS CENTERED WITHIN CIRCLES IN SIMILAR LOCATIONS, PLACING IN DIFFERENT

LOCATIONS CAN INDICATE VARYING DEGREES OF 'INATTENTION,' FROM 'STARING BLANKLY' TO 'SEEMS BORED' TO 'SEEMS MENTALLY IMPAIRED' TO 'SEEMS FUCKED UP'





HAPPY

MOUTH: STRAIGHT LINE W/ SLIGHT UPWARD CURVE OR UPWARD 'HALF-CIRCLE'

EYES: DETERMINES OTHER THINGS, WILL 'SEEM HAPPY' REGARDLESS OF EYEBALL PLACEMENT

AVOID EXCESSIVE CURVATURE, TOO LARGE A MOUTH





DEPRESSED

MOUTH: STRAIGHT LINE OR W/ SLIGHT DOWNWARD CURVE OR DOWNWARD 'HALF-CIRCLE'

EYES: DETERMINES OTHER THINGS, WILL 'SEEM DEPRESSED' REGARDLESS OF EYEBALL PLACEMENT

AVOID EXCESSIVE CURVATURE, TOO LARGE A MOUTH





CRYING

MOUTH: DETERMINES OTHER THINGS, WILL 'SEEM TO BE CRYING' REGARDLESS, TO CREATE A 'CRYING IN AGONY' TYPE OF CRYING USE A 'LOPSIDED,' ENCLOSED-SPACE MOUTH

EYES: FILL IN BOTTOM 1/2 TO 1/6 OF EYE WITH THE COLOR YOU'RE USING (OR BLUE, IF IT'S IN COLOR), IMPLEMENT BELOW THE RIGHT, LEFT, OR BOTH EYES A CONVENTIONALLY-SHAPED 'TEAR DROP,' COLORED IN WITH THE COLOR YOU'RE USING (OR BLUE, IF IT'S IN COLOR); A SQUIGGLY LINE IN THE GENERAL SHAPE OF THE BOTTOM OF THE EYE CAN BE ADDED TO ENHANCE THE EFFECT VIA VAGUELY CONVEYING A KIND OF 'QUIVERING' IN THE EYE AREA (SEE 'EGGPLANT' BELOW)

AVOID LOCATIONALLY SIMILAR PLACEMENT OF 'TEAR-DROPS' BELOW BOTH EYES, PERFECTLY DRAWN 'TEAR-DROPS,' WATER IN EYES HAVING A PERFECTLY STRAIGHT OUTLINE





DECEASED

MOUTH: DETERMINES OTHER THINGS, WILL 'SEEM DECEASED' REGARDLESS, FUN TO EXPERIMENT WITH

EYES: SINGLE LINE X'S INSTEAD OF EYES

AVOID DEPRESSED MOUTHS

COLOR

AVOID USING SO MANY COLORS THAT THERE IS VAGUELY A 'RAINBOW EFFECT'

A 'FULL-ON' 'RAINBOW EFFECT' IS ACCEPTABLE AS IT THEN BECOMES SELF-AWARE, AND CAN FUNCTION IN WAYS UNCONVENTIONAL TO THE NORMAL 'RAINBOW EFFECT' EFFECT

OFTEN THE MOST SATISFYING CHOICE WILL BE TO USE ONE OR TWO COLORS

BRIGHT COLORS ARE ENCOURAGED

USE ONLY ONE SOLID COLOR PER ENCLOSED SPACE

DO NOT USE COLORS IN A 'STRAIGHT-LINE' MANNER OR IN ANY STEP PRIOR TO THE 'ADD COLOR' STEP

'ellen wearing out-of-control dragon suit on halloween' (MSPAINT, 2006)



'tricolored fish' (MSPAINT, 2006)






SCENERY

USE SPARINGLY, SEEMS TO BE CONSISTENT WITH THE STYLE ONLY IF THE BACKGROUND IS RELATED DIRECTLY IN SOME MANNER TO THE TEMPLATE'S FACIAL EXPRESSION, THE TITLE, OR THE 'PLOT' OF THE 'PLOT-DRIVEN' TITLE

'marital problems' (CONSTRUCTION/PEN/MARKER, 2007)






MOUTH (INTERMEDIATE TECHNIQUES)

FEMININE, OR "HAS LIPS"



OPEN



CLOSED




'LOPSIDED' (ENCLOSED SPACE, CONVEYS 'ACTIVE' EXPRESSION OF STRONG EMOTION, EVEN W/O TEARS OR 'WET EYES,' SEE CLAIRE DANES)

EYES (INTERMEDIATE TECHNIQUES)

LASHES



'AUTHOR PHOTO'





'MESSED UP'





'QUIVERING' (SLIGHTLY 'SQUIGGLY LINES BELOW EACH EYE, CONFORMING TO SOME DEGREE TO THE BOTTOM SHAPE OF EACH EYE, CONVEYS 'ACTIVE' EXPRESSION OF STRONG EMOTION, SEE 'CLAIRE DANES')







'AUTHOR PHOTO' EYEBALLS + 'DEPRESSED' MOUTH = 'STRONGLY UNCERTAIN'

TECHNIQUES, TITLING

'ONE WORD' TECHNIQUE

A DIRECT, TONELESS DESCRIPTION OF WHAT THE DRAWING LITERALLY IS OF

CONVEYS, VIA ITS TONELESSNESS, A KIND OF VAGUELY HUMOROUS 'DEADPAN' DETACHMENT, WEARINESS, DEPRESSION, OR 'BLANKNESS' IN TERMS OF THE ARTIST

CAN ENHANCE SOMETHING CONVENTIONALLY NOTABLE ABOUT THE DRAWING BY RENDERING IT NOT-NOTABLE, AS BELOW RE 'CRYING' FACIAL EXPRESSION

'EGGPLANT' (MSPAINT, 2006)



'ass-eater' (MSPAINT, 2006)



'fucked' (Applicable, with satisfying results, to almost any drawing)








'CATCH-PHRASE' TITLE

Often, AND surprisingly, applicable (to satisfying results) to almost any drawing.

'severe depression'





'crippling loneliness'






'[name of template] friends]'

'upside-down-cross friends'




'PLOT-DRIVEN' TITLE

'network card's raft ride to freedom realizing it's fucked' (2006)



'jet li jumping across logs blind-folded being watched by jealous obese tree'




'REALLY LONG' TITLE

'ugly fish baby still able to feel happiness because not yet really ugly because it's a baby still'





APPLYING THIS STYLE OF TITLING TO PHOTOGRAPHS (OR 'REAL LIFE')

'binky pondering the mysteries of existence hamster' or 'fucked'



'blue truck suffering from severe loneliness' or 'crippling loneliness' or 'fucked'



'unable to express true feelings due to immaturity' or 'coconut water friends'






STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS (THINGS IN PARENTHESIS ARE OPTIONAL)

AUTODIDACTIC/EXPERIMENTAL MODE

1. DRAW AN ENCLOSED SHAPE
2. DRAW TWO IMPERFECT CIRCLES INSIDE [1.]
3. DRAW ONE FILLED-IN CIRCULAR SHAPE INSIDE EACH [2.]
4. DRAW A LINE OR ENCLOSED SHAPE ANYWHERE BELOW [2.]
5. (ADD THINGS IN A MANNER THAT SEEMS CONSISTENT WITH [1. - 4.]

TRADITIONAL/ACADEMIC MODE

1. CHOOSE A TEMPLATE
2. APPLY, IN YOUR MIND, A TYPE (IF YOU WANT) OR SPECIFIC FACIAL EXPRESSION (IF YOU WANT) TO YOUR TEMPLATE
3. DRAW THE TEMPLATE AS INFLUENCED, OR NOT, BY THE TYPE OR SPECIFIC FACIAL EXPRESSION, IF ANY, YOU'VE CHOSEN
4. (ADD ACCESSORIES)
5. (ADD SCENERY)
4. (ADD COLOR)
5. (TITLE IT)

ABERRATIONS/'PHASED-OUT'/'ABANDONED STYLES/FORMS

A LOT OF THINGS IN ONE DRAWING





COMICS

'MUFFINS' (MSPAINT, 2007)



DRAWINGS CONTAINING NO FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND/OR NO ENCLOSED SPACES

'SQUID HOUSE' (MSPAINT, 2006)



DRAWINGS CONTAINING NO EYEBALLS

'SQUID FUCKING A POTATO ON RAFT IN DELAWARE RIVER' (MSPAINT, 2006)






OTHER THINGS OF NOTE

TATTOOS

'unwanted pregnancy' OR 'kangaroo and joey' (2007)



'3x fish' (2008)






REMEMBER: ALL TEMPLATES ARE ON A "SPECTRUM," EACH "NAMED" ONE IS ARBITRARILY CHOSEN AND GIVEN A NAME






[TALK GENERALLY ABOUT WHAT I REMEMBER ABOUT EACH PIECE IN THE 'HIHIHIHI' SITE WHILE TALKING QUESTIONS]



[DRAW SOME THINGS ON THE DRY-ERASE BOARD AND SPEAK ABOUT THINGS AS I REMEMBER THEM]



[HAVE PEOPLE DRAW THINGS TOGETHER AS PART OF THE LEARNING PROCESS]



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