Daily Art Post July 18, 2011

Summertime! banner created with InDesign and Photoshop CS4

      Today I played with a photograph I took of some of my Dianthus flowers last summer. I wanted to make a banner in Adobe InDesign, so I started with the flowers, since I wanted to create letters with the Dianthus image as the "color" of the text. I am posting the process in backward order just to be difficult.

The InDesign piece before I imported it to Photoshop

     The very top banner is the finished banner, cropped in Photoshop and with two borders added, also in Photoshop.

Filters: Paint Daub, Posterize, Cutout

 
   
     The second image is the "Summertime!" lettering
and background created in InDesign. I converted the type to outlines so I could put the Dianthus image into it. After I added a fun yellow stroke detail to the letters, I added the bright and sunny yellow background. I saved as I went along, nothing like losing all your work because the program quit, which has happened before, maddening is putting it mildly. After I saved it as an InDesign file, I exported it as a JPEG file. I closed out of InDesign and then opened up Photoshop! I wish I had CS5 or CS5.5, but I am still very happy with what I can do using CS4.      

Filter order: Paint Daub, Posterized

   

     Photoshop filters are so much fun, I could spend hours playing with them and never getting off just one image, they are addictive! I started with the first
Dianthus image at the bottom of my post here. I
cropped it and then adjusted the red color intensity and it created this cool rainbow effect. I think I used the "paint daub" filter after that, which softened it all up, but might have been another filter, I forgot already, big surprise. I really liked the softened rainbow look a lot and will probably do something else with it later, maybe use it in a ATC.       

Red hue adjusted all the way to the right

     Once I had the softened painterly image, I decided it needed a bit more of an edge,

so I used the "posterize" filter. It added a black edge and made the flowers "pop" a bit more. You can see that it also darkened the image, which is more of what I wanted to use to fill in my lettering. If you click on the photo, you will see a larger image with more detail. After using the posterize filter, I decided to use one last filter to take a little bit of the edge off the posterizing results. I chose the "Cutout" filter, which simplifies the image. It did cause the loss of the rainbow effect that I liked so much, but I decided I was happier with the cutout filter effect and that is what I went with.

My original photograph

     My last steps were to save the image as a JPEG file and then

"Place" it into the InDesign file I had already started. I selected it and "cut" it from the place where I had placed it and then selected the lettering outlines and selected "Place into." I moved the image around and resized it a few times to get it right where I wanted it.
     Let me just say (not again!), creating art everyday is more time consuming than I thought it would be, I am not meeting my own personal quota of one piece everyday. But I feel wonderful every time I create something new, especially when I get a chance to use those programs I spent so much time learning over the last two years in school. It makes me happy. Really happy.
     So if you are itching to make something yourself, anything at all, I have just one thing to tell you..."do it!"

Daily Art Post July 16, 2011

Mushroom House pencil sketch B

     Again, a bit behind on the art posting. I'm not going to throw out any excuses though, just going to post a couple images of my "Mushroom Houses." I love to draw these for some strange reason. One of my Flash animation projects included a mushroom house I drew and then brought to life. I love miniature things, I always have. I know kids love miniature things, mine always did. My son liked micro machines, those tiny little cars and my daughters both like the Polly Pocket and Littlest Petshop toys. I have never outgrown my fascination for miniature things, and I can actually remember when my fascination began, believe it or not. I was pretty young, maybe seven or eight years old. I saw an episode of "Land of the Giants," and was so taken with it, I dreamed of having little people to "play" with for a long time after that.

Mushroom House pencil sketch A

     Maybe that seems strange, but ever since then, I have loved the idea of little houses and little people. There was also a series of books illustrated by Cyndy Szekeres, with small animals that lived in homes that included cast off things from the world of people. Anyway, I have made miniature fairy cottage beads, "dress" beads and many other miniature things out of glass as well. You would think that with my love of all things small I would be into doll houses and all that, but I am not. I appreciate them, but I think I like the idea of making the small things myself instead of buying them already made with perfect details. I'm funny like that, ha ha.

Fairy Cottage Lampwork glass bead

    I am also posting one of the fairy cottage beads I made a couple years ago, long sold on Etsy as well as some of my mushroom houses created with Illustrator and Photoshop, both CS4 for my Flash animation class last fall. Notice that one of them is a "morel" mushroom house. I created the tall, plainer mushroom in Illustrator and the other

Mushroom Village for Flash animation class project

two in Photoshop, playing around with photographs and simplifying them with the "cutout" filter, one of my favorites. But they did start out with initial drawings, just so I could get my ideas out of my head, you know? I'll see if I can find the original drawings for the mushroom village and post them at a later date, maybe a follow-up mushroom art post?

Daily Art Post for July 10

Time to Celebrate!

     I was inspired to create this piece after my oldest son called me yesterday to let me know my daughter-in-law was in labor and they were on their way to the hospital. It was very exciting, he called and sent messages throughout the day and evening. Being so far away (he is in Texas), I wanted to do something to celebrate the impending birth of my new grandson. I used Photoshop CS4 and traced an old image of myself and used brushes and filters to build a colorful and layered piece. However, my son called after midnight to let me know that the contractions had slowed and they were sending my daughter-in-law home...again! This is the second false start they have experienced, so I think my new grandson is going to keep them jumping through hoops once he finally arrives. Sooo, no grandson yet, but maybe today? Or tomorrow? I have a good feeling about today...

Drive-by post: Daily Art

     A textured gradient created in Photoshop CS4. I just love color and filters. Might play around with In Design tomorrow or modify some of the fireworks photos I took tonight. Once I open up Photoshop, In Design, Illustrator or Flash, I just want to spend hours playing around. Fun stuff...

Drive-by post: Art for July 8, 2011

Cut out filtered Ferris Wheel (Click for larger view)

     Today's art work is the result of using filters in Photoshop CS4 with two of my favorite images from the Midway during Cherry Festival yesterday. The first image is of the ferris wheel, shot from below, my husband and daughter were about to get on when I took this one. I used the "cut out" filter to simplify the image and give if more of a painted feel. The "cut out" filter is one of my favorites, it can distill images in my opinion, and these often, but not always, appeal to me.

Stamp filter Swing Ride (Click for larger view)

     The second image is the swing ride, changed with the "stamp" filter. This renders the image in black and white, a stark contrast to all the original color of the
image, but no less appealing to me. Each of the filters I used includes multiple controls to adjust the levels of this or that (a technical term), including sharpness, so it takes a while to play with them and get them just right. Of course, I could use quite a few other filters for dramatically different results, but this is about me and what I am in the mood to create at any given time each day, so this is what I came up with today. I love them, hope you do too.

A New Pledge: Create at least one piece of art everyday

art Everyday!

     So here I am, heading towards the middle of the summer and I have hardly created any art, outside of artful food! I admit, I have spent many hours on Facebook and Netflix, but in my defense, I had a lot of catching up to do. But as the summer is coming into full swing, I am feeling the loss of art-making time. Sooo...I have decided that I need to prioritize and move "creating art" to the upper echelons, where it belongs! I have also decided that any medium is allowed here, including food, but only in a pinch, or as a bonus. My goal is to take a photo of each piece of work and post it here. I am hoping that this declaration on my blog, for all the world to see, will further cement my personal commitment to creating art everyday. (But I really don't need that, do I?)
    I will have to sacrifice some other, not-as-important things, like facebook time and TV time, but I'm ready to do that. My first piece today is the "art Everyday!" image above. Created with Photoshop CS4 using

gradients, filters and brushes. And, I did make strawberry freezer jam today, which is a form of foodie art to me. If I get my new projects done soon, I can add them to the day they are completed, or is that cheating? Anyway, I feel like I might be on a roll here...

A Favorite Movie

     Thinking about one of my favorite movies today. One I haven't seen in a long time. "Impromptu," with Judy Davis, Hugh Grant and Mandy Patinkin. The first time I saw it, I was just enthralled! Loved the story, loved the acting and I am a sucker for British period pieces. Then I found out it was based on an actual story, I was really intrigued. Judy Davis was just incredible as Madame George Sand. I intended to find a biography on her at some point, but have not gotten around to it. Not high enough on the ol' priority list, apparently. Hugh plays a very sickly yet supremely talented Chopin, the pianist. George falls for Chopin through his music and is relentless in her pursuit of him. But there are twists and turns along the way. Oh, the whole thing is such a soap opera, but so well done, it is one of my favorite movies. I won't give it all away, but you can find the story by just googling it if you are really curious. I plan on getting it soon, in time to watch before Valentine's Day. It's been too long. Maybe I'll even track it down and try to add it to my DVD library, who knows. But definitely worth watching if you haven't seen it before.
  
p.s. The heart displayed was created in Photoshop CS4.

Too Early for Valentine's?

Valentine ATC

     With most of my homework finished, I had some time to play with photoshop and create a new digital ATC. My mom and I have a thing for hearts, so this holiday always has a lot of meaning for me and all the hearts make me think of my mom. I'll have to make another ATC just for her with lots of red, her current favorite color. Perfect for the holiday, too. This was created with several photoshop brushes and a couple of my own photographic images. I dropped the opacity on one image to let the other details in the background show through. I placed a color overlay effect over the other image, the blue flower, which I duplicated a couple times. Photoshop is so much fun, I do hope to take the Photoshop II class someday, or maybe I'll just work through the other half of my Photoshop Classroom in a Book.

     I should mention that if it were not for the current weather conditions, I would probably have been out and about today and yesterday. But it has been close to 0 degrees and windy, so the windchill is well below zero, no thanks. I'd rather stay home, in front of a lovely fire, enjoy the fabulous brownies my daughter made, and cocoon with my family. And I also get to play Scrabble and Lexulous online with my Facebook friends, my biggest guilty pleasure. I am addicted to word games. However, my family refuses to play with me. I feel like a junkie sometimes, I need my word games, need! If you are one of my Facebook friends and like to play, I'm always up for a new game...
 
And just for the record, I feel creative and I feel wonderful!

"Potential" Digital ATC

Potential ATC 2011

     The day started with a bit of anxious insomnia, but that was to be expected. I was still up and raring to go at 7:15 a.m. I left early to get my books, and holy moly, my C#, aka C sharp, book is the size of a metropolitan area phone book! Only slightly intimidating...and of course it was full price being new, as were all my books, sheesh, no breaks this year. I meant to order them all on Amazon, but ran out of time. Live and learn, again.
     It was nice to have just one class today, especially considering that it was my C# class. The instructor is very knowledgeable and has a great syllabus along with a solid timeline for the class. I enjoyed it, even though I am so taken aback with the size of the text. Overall though, I think this is going to be a great class, learning to write programs in C#, using Microsoft Visual Studio. I'll keep you posted...
     I actually had time to create an ATC tonight. Using Photoshop, I  built it in layers, using several brushes along the way. I made my virtual stitches blurry somehow, so I will have to go back in and figure out what I did and undo it. Troubleshooting is a good thing though, I need lots of experience.
     Can't wait for my new classes tomorrow, so exciting!

Strawberry Patch

Here is my new Summertime Strawberries patch created with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. Just a little fun to keep me from losing my Illustrator beginner skills. Processed lots of strawberries and made 12 jars of freezer jam. The kitchen smelled heavenly, full of that fresh summer strawberry fragrance. All  but one jar in the freezer now, can't wait to try it tomorrow morning. Up later than I should be, caffeine is always a mistake for me, what was I thinking? That I had developed immunity? Ha, lol...still keeps me up. Catching up on blogs I like to read...wheee!

Waste and Badges

This is a visual journal page I'm working on. I have a few issues that I deal with more often than others and waste and guilt are two of them. I created this in Photoshop, but I would like to add more to it later. I also created a virtual birthday card for my friend Janet yesterday and the beginning of a series of personal "badges" called "Night Owl." The badges start off in Illustrator but then move on to Photoshop for editing, filters and effects. Today will be a day of soccer, homekeeping and cooking, plus it is a little soggy outside, which all the new flowers I planted desperately need...should be a very good day!