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Monday, 25 February 2008 |
You know, when i officially started this site, i had a vision of catering mainly and specifically to the digital art dreams and aspirations we have. i mean, the thought of leaving the world of coding nothing but numbers and logic all day, and mixing it in with a bit of PS work, seems like a dream come true to some of us! But as I've put more and more into this project, it opens my eyes more and more to the fact that one can't just jump up and leave everything technical, especially a trade that they have put time and effort in for a number of years. I have been programming since I first started college, something that I have always had an interest in. The art side of things didn't fully emerge until later, when I realized that my true interests were finally coming out in the open. But in putting together Techy Artsy, there have been web design and general programming issues that I could not avoid with a user tool that will make it all better. I had to DIG DEEP into some frameworks I have been using. This is a Joomla based site, and for those of you who don't know what that is, it's a Content Management System that is totally free. It allows you to create powerful websites, without having to program - if you're lucky. It's an open source project, so anyone can contribute if they have programming skills. So there are tons of great extensions that independent programmers and teams have created to make the Joomla experience all the more cool with plugins that make your site super radical!
Now that's the good side, here's the bad one: The extensions can be a bit buggy at times. Even though the basic Joomla framework is designed for novice to interemediate programmers, and even some people with no experience, when you add the extensions it REALLY HELPS to have a little programming know how. More than once I've had to actually go into the code of the extra extensions I've downloaded and do a little tweaking. The fixes are recommended by the extension designers themselves, As I said in my FAQ , I'm still learning like some of you still are. Heck, we all continue to learn as time goes on. One thing that has been said and proven in the computer profession is that you will NEVER STOP LEARNING, no matter how hard you try NOT to. You always have to keep up with the latest trends, and continue to advance yourself. It may seem daunting to see this reality at first, but if you weren't truly interested in the continual learning process, well you wouldn't be at this site, now would you? Cheers!
-SB
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Last Updated ( Monday, 25 February 2008 )
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Tuesday, 05 February 2008 |
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I absolutely LOVE combining colors. Working with colors gives life to whatever I do, especially if I have full control of combining them. But even if I don't have full control, it's still a great reward to give your input and really see how colors can work for your colleagues or clients. They are definitely wonderful to experiment with, and can touch people in ways that can touch the heart, literally.
...well, not so much "literally," but emotionally.
I never thought that colors were so meaningful to the soul, but one color can totally change the mood of a person, or even the aura of an environment! I have listed here two books that surely will help you get started on applying working color combos to your projects:
Color reference for web design projects:
Color Harmony for the web is a great resource for those times when you need ideas for web content design, but are stuck. Within this book the designs are directly connected with the hexadecimal digits in a reference within so you don't have to worry about trying to guess which color in your digital editor matches the book's color palettes!
Color for any project:
This book is a very enjoyable resource. The pictures that express different color definitions and moods are absolutely breathtaking. This book only gives Pantone color codes and not hexadecimal needed for web design, but you can figure them out if you need to, and besides, Photoshop supports Pantone colors. This is indeed a book you'll want to keep around!
Another reason these books are a great resource is that they can be an asset to your professional life as well. Just think if you have a client that needs help choosing which color schemes they need for their creation. You would have a perfectly good set of books for them to scan through and see the color combo possibilities!
I'll leave you with a few links I've found on the net that are about color as well. Keep on thinking in "color"!
-SB
Links:
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 12 February 2008 )
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Wednesday, 30 January 2008 |
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Sorry, this blog post is about a week and a half late. Between changing my websites over to Hostgator, plus getting my initial classes setup at my local community college, it’s been quite hard to sit down and update the ol’ blog. But I’m here now! That’s all that matters  Well, speaking of school, this is one of the topics that I’ve been wanting to write about recently, to emphasize the importance of it. Yeah yeah, I know, you already went down the path of schooling, and now all you wanna do is get the “dream job” and then learn from there. You’re thinking, “Everyone knows that you learn more practical experience on the job than you do at some chalky school.” True, true. But think about this: How are you going to develop those skills other than at a school? Yes, I know, you have a PC at home, and possibly trial, student or professional software at home that lets you be totally artistic, and you practice during your off time. Well, good for you! Too bad the majority of us have so much we have to do outside of work or technical / general studies, that we don’t make the time to commit to learning our chosen craft. You can say that you do, but if you are, you’re definitely a diamond in the rough. I look at school as a great way to MAKE ME do something. If I don’t have a grade riding over my head, then I put my “extra” work as the last priority. This is totally understandable. You get home, and you either have a ton of other non-work related chores to do, or you just want to eat dinner and relax. Commitment people! We’ve gotta have it, and unless you’re Mr. Or Mrs. Graphics Gung Ho you need that curriculum to get the juices flowing, forcibly of course.  So where do you find these educational jewels at? If you have access to a University, try to see if they offer any classes in either the Graphics or Art category. Yes, either or is fine, just make sure you get a mix of both, most Graphic Certificate programs require classes of each anyway. Graphic classes intuitively sound like the definite area you need for guidance, but Art classes are the basis of our work. Many say that you must understand 2D in order to accurately conquer 3D! Am I going to school? Yes indeed I am! Right now I’m only taking one class, entitled 3D Modeling – Character, where we learn how to animate characters with professional tactics. For me it’s re-emphasizing what I’ve already self-taught myself throughout the years, and I need this so I stay on track. Plus it’s a great way to connect with the latest trends. Going to school also means that you’ll have an opportunity to meet with other graphics obsessed people that share the same interests as you do! You might even be able to find network connections for a job or internship. Many graphics programs have sponsors or affiliate companies that help with job placement. Only one class can make a difference! -SB Be first to comment this article | Add as favourites (38) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 1308 |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 30 January 2008 )
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Thursday, 17 January 2008 |
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 Well, I figure since I've already wrote a bit of advice to the techies in my prior post on the Paper to PC Concept, I figure I write a bit of advice to artists that might be intimidated to look at the programming side of things, as far as graphics go. (Don't worry techies, I have a paragraph for you too - Keep reading!)
I think that veteran artists know of this already, but this is probably geared moreso for the absolute newbies, novices and intermediates: Code and numbers can be your friend.
I know I know, you don't want to touch it. You don't even want to look at it. That's the programmers job, right? All you wanna do is use the software, and don't want to delve into how it was made, and all the nitty gritty facts. Just design, colors and tools are all you need to make these digital masterpieces a reality! Well, how about all those days when you use a particular tool, and then think, "Gee, if only this nifty art program had another shortcut to it so I didn't have to (FILL IN THE BLANK WITH YOUR DESIRED ART ACTION) over and over again! As a few examples, this type of "desired art action" can range from resizing an image, to positioning duplicates of your creation in an animation. Can you see now how useful it would be to spend a little time to get to know how to write a little script that would allow these possibly tedious actions to occur? Those artists who already have the techy know how and do heavy Adobe art stuff know I'm mainly referring to Photoshop. The Actions tool in Photoshop is probably one of the easiest ways users can make a "macro" (click on link for definition) in a program to create a user shortcut. Simply put, you setup a "recording" of a set of actions that you are doing when you are working with the program, and Photoshop will replicate these actions and store them in a little procedure for you to come back later to if you need to do it again. How to create these photoshop actions can be found at THIS TUTORIAL.
This can be good advice to techies too that don't want to keep continuing to touch the programming side of things. When you use a program, such as Photoshop, you just want to touch the tools for the most part. Who wants to continue writing algorithms when it's "Artsy Time?" Well, fortunately for you, most programs have components that allow you to go beyond the high level interface. You can make the programs do things that are totally beyond what the user interface allows you to do! Most times the developers of a particular graphics program know that some users like to hack the interface to their liking, so they create a component within that allows you to execute any code you write. The Photoshop Action ability I wrote about above is an example, but other programs allow you to delve even deeper. A good example is the Maya program. This 3D program allows you to create actual scripts that can also have the same usage as an "action," but also can make actual extra menus in the program for a little sub interface! Maya allows users to program using MEL (Maya Embedded Language). It's a simple script language, but Maya itself is programmed using the C language, and also allows users to integrate MEL Script with C language programming, therefore users that know C can actually get as deep as they desire with customization of the program!
The programs are designed to make it easy on the average user that doesn't want to know about the numbers and algorithmic stuff. So you can make creations that are absolutely breathtaking without knowing the techy stuff. But sometimes knowing that side of things makes it easier in the long run for you to make those artistic dreams a reality. Of course I'm just touching the tip of the iceberg when it comes to talking about the possibilities of going to the Tech Side. Can I say the sky's the limit? Well, almost. You are restricted from taking over certain tools and sub applications in programs, but at least you have the ability to create nifty shortcuts, and even creations that are beyond what the default tools let you do!
-SB
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Last Updated ( Friday, 08 February 2008 )
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Friday, 11 January 2008 |
You know, too many times what we technical people tend to do when attempting to create something on the artistic side is sit down, stare at our PC’s for a few minutes to an hour, and rotate our mouse around with a few accompanying clicks to create an everlasting masterpiece. And it all turns out to be perfect in the end, right? …well, I would say most of the time when us novices take this approach it’s not always the perfect result that we see. More like something that could be pretty close to elementary if we only spend 30 minutes to an hour on our initial PC creations. And of course, elementary is definitely OK when you’re in an initial learning process, we’ve all been there and some of us are still in that stage. But one thing I have to say we need to learn is one very important concept: START ON PAPER! I know, I know, I’m going “old school” on all of you by pointing to the historic principles of art, but no matter how many times I’ve tried to stray away from this concept, I always have to come back to it. And of course you’re wondering, is starting on paper really required for a masterpiece? No, it isn’t, provided you’re either a Techy Artsy prodigy or you’ve been in the business for many years with alot of practice and projects. But the veterans had to start somewhere, and most of the time they started with pencil and a sketch pad. Do I have an example in which I succumbed to the pad? Of course I do! Once upon a time, I was trying to think of a wonderful background for my multifinity company website intro page. I stared at my screen for many moons, trying to figure out how I can make Photoshop magic happen and I come up with a fantasmic design! Well all those hours staring at my screen started getting to me, so I took a PC break and decided to take notes on what I wanted for my design concept. So sitting down in silence with a pad in my lap, I saw the concept in my head, and decided to draw it on paper! What a great idea that was! Granted the design wasn’t instantly conceived, but after a few trials I ended up with the design I wanted. And don’t be embarrassed if you’re wondering, “how did she get her design to the PC?” Well, it’s simple: Just scan it into your pc, and edit it using your trusty graphics application! Trust me, this “idea” took me a while to understand, as I was among the masses tweaking initial sketches digitally. What a wonderful relief it is to be able to use your magical hands to whip up some work, and then use your dream machine to perfect it!  -SB Be first to comment this article | Add as favourites (28) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 1281 |
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