Many years ago I had a personal website. It had a really cool graphic that somehow I did not save to a hard drive. Then the site where I had my page went dark and I lost my cool morphing graphic. It was a little bit like this one:
The shapes it made were a lot cooler, although the colors weren’t as fancy. I chose it because my page was called metamorphosis. The changing of one thing into another. A caterpillar metamorphoses into a butterfly.
In artwork, as in writing, there are times when the creative ideas seem to be dammed up and there is no flow. One method for breaking the dam is to practice playing and one of those practices is combining two or more things together that really don’t normally go together…to morph them until they create an entirely new something.
There is some great software out that allow for morphing of photographs and images. One online site that focuses primarily on celebrity faces is Morphing. Here you can take two faces of famous people and create an entirely new look. For example, today I morphed Prince William with Marilyn Monroe. Surprisingly, they morph into a very interesting “rock star” or artistic looking person. Reminds me ever so slightly of Prince Poppycock or David Bowie. Maybe the teensiest bit of Madonna or Lady Gaga.
I’m sorry to report that Cameron Diaz and Mel Gibson do not make such a lovely picture (just slightly disturbing):
But I especially liked the Yoger I made out of (can you guess?)
Yoda and a Tiger. Actually looks pretty cool. Like Yoda dressing up for Halloween or something. Or getting ready to be an X-Man. (What the world needs…a Jedi X-Man.)
These are simple examples of morphing two items into one. But the creative process works equally as well with ideas and totally non-related items. Case in point: Transformers of all types.
The point is, that if you are stuck, you’re possibly thinking too much, too married to a specific idea or outcome, or just expecting too much from yourself. To lighten up, play with ideas.
What would be the outcome if Politics and Religions could actually agree? How about Science and Religion? Science and Politics? How about the Democrats and Republicans?
What about if we took a portrait by Van Gogh and did it Andy Warhol style? Or Vice Versa.
What would happen if a television could also serve as a microwave oven? or a lamp could double as a stereo system?
How about if we could make a product that resembled wood but wasn’t wood by somehow altering the molecular structure of…trash? (ok, this is a steal from Star Trek and their replicators)…but seriously, if we can think about such ideas, isn’t this where new ‘stuff’ comes from? Someone gets a “crazy idea” and figures out a way to make it so. Just think of salted chocolate chip cookies, or fried Twinkies. Crazy ideas. But some would say…marvelously delicious.
What doesn’t go with another? Is there a way to make them work together? What idea from one can I borrow and add to the other? Let’s morph our old thoughts, our old ideas and unexplored combinations into new forms, art, books, and “stuff.” Get creative.
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| I'm sorry to say that I do not know who created this to give them due credit. I discovered it on an image search. I use it for education purposes to explain morphing. |
The shapes it made were a lot cooler, although the colors weren’t as fancy. I chose it because my page was called metamorphosis. The changing of one thing into another. A caterpillar metamorphoses into a butterfly.
In artwork, as in writing, there are times when the creative ideas seem to be dammed up and there is no flow. One method for breaking the dam is to practice playing and one of those practices is combining two or more things together that really don’t normally go together…to morph them until they create an entirely new something.
There is some great software out that allow for morphing of photographs and images. One online site that focuses primarily on celebrity faces is Morphing. Here you can take two faces of famous people and create an entirely new look. For example, today I morphed Prince William with Marilyn Monroe. Surprisingly, they morph into a very interesting “rock star” or artistic looking person. Reminds me ever so slightly of Prince Poppycock or David Bowie. Maybe the teensiest bit of Madonna or Lady Gaga.
 |
| Morph from morphthing.com of Prince William and Marilyn Monroe (c) MorphThing |
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| Morph from morphthing.com of Cameron Diaz and Mel Gibson (c) MorphThing |
 |
Morph from morphthing.com of Yoda and a Tiger (c)MorphThing |
These are simple examples of morphing two items into one. But the creative process works equally as well with ideas and totally non-related items. Case in point: Transformers of all types.
The point is, that if you are stuck, you’re possibly thinking too much, too married to a specific idea or outcome, or just expecting too much from yourself. To lighten up, play with ideas.
What would be the outcome if Politics and Religions could actually agree? How about Science and Religion? Science and Politics? How about the Democrats and Republicans?
What about if we took a portrait by Van Gogh and did it Andy Warhol style? Or Vice Versa.
What would happen if a television could also serve as a microwave oven? or a lamp could double as a stereo system?
How about if we could make a product that resembled wood but wasn’t wood by somehow altering the molecular structure of…trash? (ok, this is a steal from Star Trek and their replicators)…but seriously, if we can think about such ideas, isn’t this where new ‘stuff’ comes from? Someone gets a “crazy idea” and figures out a way to make it so. Just think of salted chocolate chip cookies, or fried Twinkies. Crazy ideas. But some would say…marvelously delicious.
What doesn’t go with another? Is there a way to make them work together? What idea from one can I borrow and add to the other? Let’s morph our old thoughts, our old ideas and unexplored combinations into new forms, art, books, and “stuff.” Get creative.
