Congratulations to Aviary Artist extraordinaire, Meowza and fellow Aviary / Worth1000 member Brandien on their engagement! 
The whole Aviary / Worth1000 team and community is so happy for both of you!
As we all know, when Matt Groening developed the Simpsons, art critics everywhere hailed his new style as the pinnacle of humanity's artistic achievement. So great was Groening, that other art styles needed to be redone to conform with His superior vision.
So, I decided to draw a whole gallery of images created in Aviary's Phoenix, showing what famous works of art would look like had they been created by Matt Groening. 
Edvard Munch's The Scream - open the layered file!
Norman Rockwell's Triple Self Portrait - open the layered file!
Grant Woods' American Gothic - open the layered file!
Andy Warhol's Marilyn Monroe - open the layered file!
Vincent Van Gogh's Self Portrait - open the layered file!
Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring - open the layered file!
Leonardo Da Vinci's Self-Portrait - open the layered file!
The preceding images were created in Aviary, a suite of powerful creative applications that you can use right in your web browser.
Meowza Katz is the Artist in Residence and Chief Awesomelogist at Aviary, Inc. To read more of his discourses on bovine grazing behavior, cyclical tornado patterns and legos, please subscribe to the Aviary blog RSS feed or email newsletter.
Aviary is a powerful suite of browser-based design tools. Want to be as awesome as Meowza? Head on over to the Aviary homepage to try the applications out for free and learn more!
Roy Lichtenstein - open the layered file!
Matt Groening (creator of the Simpsons and Futurama)
Pablo Picasso
South Park
Andy Warhol
Random Manga artist
Camille Rose Garcia (modern day surrealist)
Nickelodeon
Jackson Pollock
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Meowza Katz is the Artist in Residence and Chief Awesomelogist at Aviary, Inc. To read more of his diatribes on faked moon landings, cheddar cheese and fine leather garments, please subscribe to the Aviary blog RSS feed or email newsletter.
Aviary is a powerful suite of browser-based design tools. Want to be as awesome as Meowza? Head on over to the Aviary homepage to try the applications out for free and learn more!
Editor's Note: Staff investigator Meowza Katz presents an ongoing investigation into the E! True Hollywood story behind the colorful cast of Aviary. We now present to you the second chapter in an ongoing series entitled, Behind the Nest.. In tonight's special chapter, fame goes to Phoenix' head. What will happen to the flock?!? 
Previous Chapters: Part 1
With the recent Presidential election, the American public has shown that they're ready for change. President-elect, Barack Obama, had spent his entire campaign promising these so-called changes. I guess, in a sense, he was saying we are entering the beginning phase of America 2.0.
The first step in the re-building process would be to start the country fresh with a new logo. As a nation, how are we to attract new, prospective citizens with the current one?
First off, there are, like, a hundred stars, which just mucks up the entire design off the bat. And what's with the dark, dreary, colors? When was this thing designed? 1992?
And the sharp corners? Everyone knows rounded corners are a lot more inviting to click-through, and that's what we want from a passerby who happens to come across America.
What better way to start re-branding the country than with a fresh new logo?
The economical crisis facing the nation is probably due to design, as well. I mean, who would put any value on such a horribly designed piece of currency?
First of all, it's just busy as hell, with "1"s plastered on every square inch of the thing, and signatures of everyone and their grandmother scrawled across the bottom. And who in their right mind thought that seaweed green would be an appealing color of choice?
This just will not do.
So let's revamp the nation's currency to get this economy rolling again.
I can hear the economy growing already. With our economy back on the right track, we'll be able to focus back on the real issues.
And that is, re-shaping America.
Well, I propose we start the process with the squarest states, such as Colorado and Wyoming.
And simply re-shape them to suit the new America.
And the final step would be to transform all of the national landmarks to suit the new country's brand, as well.
The first to go would be the Hollywood sign.
And re-create it using the friendlier, softer, more popular "today" font, VAG Rounded.
I believe America is ready for change. Change is nothing to fear. After all, the country was built on change. It's as American as baseball.
Besides, a country can't be held accountable for it's actions and behavior. As long as we remain in beta.
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Meowza Katz is the Artist in Residence and Chief Awesomelogist at Aviary, Inc. To read more of his discourses on comparative literature, leather tanning techniques and pre-Mayan civilizations, please subscribe to the Aviary blog RSS feed or email newsletter.
Aviary is a powerful suite of browser-based design tools. Want to be as awesome as Meowza? Head on over to the Aviary homepage to try the applications out for free and learn more!
Editor's note: We've been asked by so many of our fans for the story behind the birds. Why did we choose an avian theme? How did we choose which birds would make the cut? Why is it dangerous to walk under a flock of birds without an umbrella?
Staff investigator Meowza Katz presents the first in an ongoing investigation into the E! True Hollywood story behind the colorful cast of Aviary. We now present to you the first chapter in an ongoing series entitled, Behind the Nest.
This week's question comes from Vijay S., 14, Toronto, Canada. He asks:
"Do you think certain people are born natural artists? Or do you think anybody can draw awesomer with practice?"
Thank you for your question, Vijay.
Yes, it is a fascinating, ongoing debate among those with no lives. Just for you, I set out on my path to discover the true answer, whether or not "awesomer" is a learnable trait. Personally, I believe almost all of us are born with the inherent ability to draw.
From the early cave paintings to the hieroglyphs in Egypt, there is evidence showing that man has always had a fascination with creating. And as with anything, we have the need to perfect everything we do. So it only stands to reason that throughout the history of humankind, throughout generation to generation and culture to culture, we've spent our entire existence on Earth trying to discover the secrets of true beauty in art and form.
So what is it that makes certain art... awesomer than others? Does it have to do with composition? Aesthetics? Color? "Overlay" blend mode?
The correct answer is none of the above.
It's actually very simple. Think of it this way:
If you want to make food saltier, what do you add? Salt.
So, if you want to make a drawing awesomer, what do you add? You add awesome.
How to Draw Awesomer
I'm going to paint a portrait of a woman for my tutorial example.
Step 1. As with a lot of drawing tutorials, I start off my figure by drawing the basic skeleton for the woman. I draw in an oval shape for the head, with a line to indicate her spine drawn out from the woman's neck area. I then mark off where the shoulders will be, and include the woman's hands into the image. I now have my basic composition ready.
Step 2. The next step is to start fleshing out the figure. Using thin sausage shapes, I add in the woman's bicep and forearms. Then I start to outline around the figure, giving me the general shape of the woman.
Step 3. Fairly simple so far? I thought so. Now that we have the outline for the figure drawn, it was time to color the woman. I began painting over the woman using a skin tone, following my guidelines.
Here's the important part.
Step 4. This is the final step, the step where people often deviate. A lot of people choose to add crap to their image at this point. But I find you get a much nicer image if you decide to add awesome. And anyone can do it! Simply add awesome where there wasn't any. I went back to my partially colored example figure and proceeded to add awesome to the image. And after adding about a 67% dosage of awesome, I decided my image was complete. Feel free to add your own desired level of awesome. (Tip: The more awesome you add, the awesomer your image will become.)
There you have it, a simple way for anyone to make their art awesomer.
Had this secret been known earlier, the landscape of art may be completely different today.
For example, nobody knows why Picasso was heralded as an art genius. In this example by Picasso ("Tete de Femme of Dora Maar"), we can see many glaring flaws apparently not noticeable to the easily impressed art public of the 1930s.
Examples:
A) Picasso uses two completely different perspectives for the woman's eyes. (Human eyes don't do that. Feel free to check a mirror to confirm.)
B) Picasso lazily draws a figure eight for the woman's nasal cavities.
C) Apparently, this was supposed to be the woman's hand.
It's disheartening that such an amateur can be as successful in the art world as he was with his skills (or lack thereof). It's even more sad to realize that his weakness in drawing humans could have simply been remedied by adding more awesome where the awesome was lacking. If only I were around back then to teach him the ways.
Here's a rendition of the painting, had Picasso decided to add more awesome.
Picasso's original "Tete de Femme of Dora Maar" portrait was estimated worth 13-17 million dollars. To think how much more it could have been worth today for his estate had he decided to be a little more generous with the awesome during his time, boggles the mind.
Of course, we here at Aviary are on the ball when it comes to innovation, as an "Add Awesome" filter is already in the works for Aviary's image editor, Phoenix.
Here's a demonstration of the filter in action.
And there you have it, how to draw awesomer.
It's so simple it boggles the mind that the secret wasn't discovered earlier. To think that all the wasted generations of crappy art didn't have to be so. But no time to dwell on our losses now! Onward with your new found knowledge and spread awesome art throughout the world!
Meowza Katz is the Artist in Residence at Aviary, Inc, makers of the most awesomestest suite of design tools available in your browser. Before joining Aviary, he had no skill whatsoever and used to rent out his hands for second-graders to make Thanksgiving hand-turkeys. Then he discovered Aviary and became awesome. (It's all in the tools, baby.)
You can preorder his new tutorials book on Amazon.com and check out some of his more helpful Aviary tutorials online.
Have an art query or image you want to discuss? Feel free to drop him a line.
Almost all of us have our own weaknesses when it comes to illustrating particular subjects. I, personally, can not draw a horse to save my life. I can't imagine a situation where the difference between my life and death depends on my ability to draw a horse, but still, it's haunted me for years.
I've talked about my lack of ability to draw horses to many of my artist friends and peers. To my surprise, many of them recounted me their own secret, shameful inabilities to draw all sorts of subjects including hands, proportions, machinery etc...
I then realized I was not alone in this. We all have our Achille's heel, and I wanted to help all of us.
So a while back, I asked users here to email me illustrations they just could not finish due to their own personal weaknesses, or to send me any illustrations for general critique on areas that could use improvement. So that maybe I could find a common thread in all of our inabilities.
And it dawned on me. All of our problems could be solved with one simple technique:
Practice? No.
How To Draw Anything in One Step
You may be asking, "How could you possibly learn how to draw anything and everything in just one step? Are you a moron?" And if you are, there is no need for childish name-calling. Let's be civilized adults here.
Follow along as I teach you how to draw everything, in this tutorial.
Step 1. Draw a dog covering the thing you can't draw.
Don't believe this works?
Remember how I asked users to send me their problem illustrations? Well, let's test it out firsthand, shall we?
Brandon Kobayashi from Burnaby, Canada sent me this email and his illustration of a woman sitting on a tree stump:
"I often find myself having difficulties drawing human feet. Do you have any tips on how to improve my ability (or lack thereof) in that department?"
Sure there is, Brandon. Just follow my tutorial and you will be set.
Step 1. When finding you can't draw feet, conveniently enough, a dog decided to rest at the woman's feet the day the portrait was painted.
Melanie Goode of Auburn, WA, wrote me asking for help on this particular image:
"I don't seem to have problems drawing bodies, but I am mystified when it comes to getting the proportions of a human face just right."
Well, Melanie, I see you're off to the conventional start by adding in the guidelines for the facial features. Most art instructors teach this very method. But I find it's a lot easier if you follow my tutorial.
Step 1. Pretend a dog ran across the woman's face the day she decided to lay in the grass.
At this point you're probably wondering, "Wow, this is great! But will this technique work in different illustrative styles, as well?" Why, thank you for the compliment! And yes, it will work in all illustration styles.
For example, Ken Tanaka from San Diego, CA sent me a cartoon image of a solider he wanted depicting an M-16 machine gun.
Step 1. I have never personally been interested in drawing weaponry, but even with my lack of experience I was able to use my own tutorial to complete the image of a soldier holding an M-16 machine gun. (Who just happened to be walking along the direct path of a leaping golden retriever.)
And people of all ages can do it, too.
Wendy Lee of (address undisclosed) sent me a drawing by her 6 year old son and told me how he loved to draw dinosaurs and wants to learn to draw them more realistically.
Well, first off, dinosaurs do not talk, smile, nor has there ever been (in any official documented report) a dinosaur that existed labeled a Kevinsaurus.
So how will my system work on a 6 year olds drawing? Very well, actually!
Step 1. As we can add multiple dogs to cover the child's numerous, major technical flaws.
So, there you have it: The be-all, end-all of illustration tutorials.
With my method, I guarantee you'll find yourself with a newfound ability to draw anything and everything you can imagine on this big, round Earth. Including the Earth.
Q: "What if my weakness IS drawing dogs?"
A: It's time to change hobbies.
Hi! My name is Meowza and I love cartoons.
Almost everything I've learned and love about design stems from my background in drawing comics and cartoons. Trying to establish character, mood, and still convey my message all within the limited space of a comic panel (and with a split second of a reader's attention span to do so) is a daunting challenge.
So as a cartoonist, you tend to find yourself resorting to thinking in basic shapes a lot. I know that if I design a character that's instantly recognizable as a silhouette, that character will work once we go in and add the facial features, attire, etc... Everything within this basic skeleton are accessories, but the base is paramount.
For example, I don't need to tell you who any these characters are for you to recognize them.
Our eyes strip down everything we see into its most basic elements on a daily basis without even thinking about it. Mickey Mouse isn't a mouse who wears red shorts. Our mind remembers him as a circle with two smaller circles on top. Just to visualize, we can dress him up in any colors or attire we desire and nobody would ever mistake him for anyone else.
But if we were to alter the base of his foundation even slightly...
Like magic, he is no longer Mickey Mouse.
Human beings are extremely lazy creatures when it comes to visual association. We have difficulty consciously remembering details and ultimately recollect most of our visuals through basic shapes.
To put this theory to the test, look at the following images and ask yourself a couple questions:
a) What's wrong with Yosemite Sam?
b) To which popular cartoon character does this eye belong to?
Answers:
a) I've changed the color of Sam's handkerchief from the usual yellow to green.
b) Woody Woodpecker.
Okay, some of you may have gotten the first one and a few may have even gotten both. But out of context and had I not asked, you probably wouldn't have given either images a passing glance even if we've all seen these characters a million times before.
So, what has all this got to do with anything?
Well, the very same principles in cartoons relates directly to the world of design. Any good design, like cartoons, reduced to its most basic framework will remain a good design. A prospective customer is fickle. They are not going to stick around to look at the great little flower incorporated into the background of an advertisement if they're not immediately hooked. And even if they do, chances are they may not remember it tomorrow. They care as much about minute details labored over in a design as you care about the color of Yosemite Sam's handkerchief.
Although a solid foundation can be enhanced with flashy details, flashy details cannot save a poorly designed foundation. Spending that extra time in the initial compositional stages of a design is of utmost importance. It's the "Mickey Mouse ears" from which all other elements of a design will work off of.
So a lot of those very same principles mentioned above, we tried incorporating into the Aviary branding and design.
We know that if our fine feathered friends you see here work in their most basic form, they'll still read once we add the details:
As a comparison, would the toucan have worked had he looked like this?
Why not? We used the exact same colors and general idea of the other toucan. But one look at his silhouette gives us the answer. It just does not read.
So, the next time you come across a great logo or a beautiful design, ask yourself what made that design appealing to you. Chances are it's not the beautiful flower in the background or your love of a particular color they used. Ask yourself how the design read compositionally. You just might find your answer there.
Now, I'm sure there are plenty of designs and logos out there that break this general "rule." Funny enough, I just can't recall any of them off the top of my head.
Well, that's my belief anyways. Or maybe I just wanted to draw Mickey Mouse today.
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