ART TECH – a smart way to use your smart device to understand values

BY MARILEE JACOBI-POPOVICH
​Dale and I wanted to include technology in our rebranded newsletter format -- CLICK HERE to get on our newsletter mailing list. Our lives are surrounded by it nowadays and it's nothing to be scared of but embrace it! There is so much useful information, places to see, and a community to explore. They say that today's iPhone has more muscle under the hood than the NASA computers that put the man on the moon. In fact, my old iPhone 6s could be used to fly 120,000,000 Apollo-era spacecraft to the moon!

On any given day Dale uses his iPad to display the image he paints from, does correspondence, stores his portfolio, and photo adjustments. He AirDrops the images he shot with his iPhone via AirDrop. Want to learn about Airdrop? Check out this video. http://bit.ly/airdrop-popovich. He uses Photos to color correct, crop, and adjust the lighting. I know the Androids have similar apps. I handle Dale's social media, design his marketing, and even layout this newsletter. That's just for starters.

VALUES
I found an app to help you understand values called NotanIzer. Sometimes a scene can be so colorful with textures you lose sight of value. Well, this app will help you see and understand values better. Whether you are in the studio or out doing a day of plein air painting. Easy to use on the fly, sitting at the doctor's office, or at your drawing table. I like it because it gives you flexibility allowing you to save your options in your camera roll. The app costs $1.99.

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HERE'S HOW THE DEVELOPER 
DESCRIPTION THEIR APP
Notan is a Japanese design concept involving the play and placement of light and dark elements next to the other in the composition of art and imagery. The Yin Yang symbol is an example of this design philosophy. The use of Notan in art composition
is a powerful tool to help the artist 
identify the structure of the light and dark portions of the image they want to incorporate into their project.

The app is available for iOS and Android operating systems.

The first function (diagram A) simply divides the image at an average of all the colors in the image. You can then use the slider to move that line to enhance detail that may otherwise be obscured.

The second (B) and third (C) function displays the image in either a three or four grayscale palette so the artist can focus on the structure and design of the image.

The last function is Levels (D.) Use the slider to set from 3-10 preset levels for even finer grains of the different light/dark areas of your image.

And of course, you can share your final image in many ways.

Here’s a video link by Inspired To Paint. They share a simple way to use  this great app. 
​http://bit.ly/popovich-Notanizer 

Any artist will benefit from seeing their work in a different light. NotanIzer is that light.
 
The app is available for iOS and Android operating systems.