Photo Cubism

Edward Hopper: Woman in Maroon Dress (in-progress):


Edward Hopper x Eric Kim: Office Building

Detail:


Photo Cubism

2-side by side eric kim cubist

Using Photoshop to make cubist photos (inspired by Pablo Picasso):

Why?

For me, I don’t think photography is the most important thing. Rather, making art is.

For me, I see photography as a way for me to be creative, express myself, and find more connection in the world. It is a lot faster (and easier) than drawing, painting, or sculpting.

I feel like PABLO

I feel inspired by Picasso. To me, he was like a big-ass kid his entire life. He painted for fun, but he also distorted reality with cubism.

To me, CUBISM is all about seeing the world in a different and unique way.

PHOTOCUBISM

cindy cubist 3-side-by-side

Which made me wonder– what if I combined photography and cubism? The result: PHOTOCUBISM.

I liked making this ‘Cubist Cindy’ — because Cindy becomes a concept, not just a person. Perhaps it can encourage other people to make art of their own loved ones.

The reasons why I like photo cubism:

1. Analyzing your own photos

Using Photoshop to create layers, to use the lasso tool, the eye dropper tool, to ‘reconstruct’ my photos helps me better analyze my composition. It helps me analyze my light, and colors in my photos.

Not only that, but I learn from my mistakes, and also what is good about my photos.

2. Fun

It is just fun to do — especially when you want to be creative, and don’t have the time or chance to go out and make photos.

So if you’re bored at work or on a rainy day, have a nice cup of coffee, listen to some beats (you can download some of my favorite beats for free here) and have fun.

3. Reality

The last thing: I think the human soul is more than our skin, our external bodies, and our faces.

I liked making a cubist version of myself– because it made me realize that my body is mortal. I will die. And my appearance is not important– it all becomes a distorted, cubist concept. Rather, I believe in my soul.

How to make your own Cubist Photos

You have to learn how to use Photoshop, which is very complicated (unfortunately).

My workflow is simple:

  1. I use ‘Gaussian Blur’ to abstract the photo
  2. I look at the image, use the eyedropper tool to choose the colors
  3. I use the ‘Polygonal lasso tool’ to choose an area, then I fill in a certain color.
  4. I keep building new layers on top of one another
  5. I zoom in and make small edits at the end

I’ll try to make a more in-depth guide later on.

For fun, I included some Photoshop .PSD files you can download to learn here:

And of course, make sure you have Photoshop to actually edit the files (or for free, download the open-source Photoshop Counter-part, called GIMP).

Conclusion

Yo Gotti Music Video2

Never stop exploring, creating fun art. Be a grown-ass kid.

Have fun,

Eric


Cubist Cindy

Cubist Cindy: Download Photoshop .PSD File

Cubist Eric

eric kim cubist photo

Cubist Eric: Download Photoshop .PSD File

Cubist Laughing Lady

eric kim laughing lady cubist

Cubist Laughing Lady Download Photoshop .PSD File