Squee! Christmas Movies!
And that leads us to Artsy Craftsy Goodness! Somehow…
I’d seen great costumes in movies before and every now and again some neat statue or sword would stand out but I’d never really put much thought into those things from an artist’s point of view until I was listening to a knitting podcast a few months back and the Caster was talking about new Spock’s knit sweater in the Star Trek Reboot movie.
For some ridiculous reason that was a complete boot to the head.
So I’ve started trying to pay more attention to the little things in movies – both new and old – in between the Bey-splosions (if you don’t get the reference, watch Robot Chicken).
This weekend, my family and I watched Sherlock Holmes (with Robert Downey Jr & Jude Law) and James Cameron’s Avatar.
Avatar was absolutely visually stunning. The jewelry was heavily African inspired (or at least it looked that way to me – maybe with Amazon influences?) with the addition of lots of twisted and braided leather. I can’t wait for it to come out on DVD just so I can freeze frame it and sketch my little heart out. The female spiritual leader had a beaded top that was stunning – I believe I’ve seen a real world version but this one was a pure red that made me want to run out and bead my fingers off.
The leather headbands also made me itch to try macrame – not sure if that’s what they based the design off of but that’s what it brought to my mind. Everything was very natural and organic and – once again – absolutely beautiful.
In contrast, Sherlock Holmes was all about the Steampunk. Not to an extreme but there were definite influences. The female lead (I can’t remember her name) had some great boots (they flash on those towards the end) and had a jacket that was long in front and cut up and over the bustle of the dress in back. This was especially nice because it highlighted the contrast between the bright color of her dress against the grainy/moody surroundings.
I’m sure there were more things but with all the running, jumping, climbing trees it was a bit hard to focus (plus, you know, the Bey-splosions!). Again, this is another one I’m looking forward to owning simply for the freeze frame/sketching value.
So if you’re feeling stuck for inspiration – Hollywood may be the cure!