Traditional Art
Sakana AI drops image models to generate Japan’s traditional ukiyo-e artwork
Remember Sakana AI? Almost a year ago, the Tokyo-based startup made a striking appearance on the AI scene with its high-profile founders from Google and a novel automated merging-based approach to developing high-performing models. Today, the company announced two new image-generation models: Evo-Ukiyoe and Evo-Nishikie.
Available on Hugging Face, the models have been designed to generate images from text and image prompts. However, there’s an interesting and unique catch: instead of handling regular image generation in different styles, these models are laser-focused on Japan’s popular historic art form ukiyo-e. It flourished between the 17th and 19th centuries, and Sakana hopes to bring it back to modern content consumers using the power of AI.
As the confident smile and refined dance movements of 19-year-old Chinese breakdancer Liu Qingyi were recorded in history at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the cultural inclusiveness and innovative capability of Chinese youths stunned the world once again.
From street dance, music festivals to stand-up comedy and animation, “Don’t follow, create” has become an attitude maintained by Chinese youths as they face diverse forms of modern trendy culture, particularly some introduced from overseas.
Read more: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202409/1320443.shtml
Traditional Art
“I’ve always preferred creating art traditionally”: first impressions with concept artist Mike Butkus
Mike Butkus is an award-winning concept artist who has worked on over 5,000 games, films, TV series, books and toy designs for the likes of Netflix, HBO and more. We caught up with him to discuss his artistic career, from drawing Annie Fanny comics in sixth grade to working with his daughter Amelie on his latest book.
If you’re inspired by Mike’s art and want to upgrade your kit, check out our guides for the best art supplies and sketchbooks for artists. For a more portable option, take a look at the best drawing tablets for artists on the go.
Read more: https://www.creativebloq.com/creative-inspiration/first-impressions-mike-butkus
To depict the rich traditions of life through art forms is no mean feat but an exhibition at the India International Centre in New Delhi precisely manages to do that. The exhibition “Lengkhawm: Lamka Remembered”, pays homage to the rich cultural tradition of Lamka, which is the second-largest town in the Churachandpur district of Manipur. This exhibition showcases a diverse collection of art forms, including photography, paintings, and traditional textiles, with each piece telling a story of its own on the town’s history and creative spirit. At the exhibition, visitors experience a unique opportunity to view the artistic expressions that define Lamka, which provides insights into the customs and craftsmanship cherished over generations.
