Mindless Scrap

2012-01-21T11:12:00.001-08:00

The world today doesn't make sense, so why should I paint pictures that do? ~Pablo Picasso

2012-01-15T23:08:00.001-08:00

Man will begin to recover the moment he takes art as seriously as physics, chemistry or money. ~Ernst Levy

2012-01-09T20:56:00.001-08:00

I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for. ~Georgia O'Keeffe

2012-01-02T21:20:00.001-08:00

“As artists, the pleasure is to really have your work resonate and mean something. Art takes its inspiration from reality.” ~Yareli Arizmendi

2012-01-02T20:21:00.001-08:00

Art is... a question mark in the minds of those who want to know what's happening. ~Aaron Howard

BCA

2011-10-02T06:02:00.001-07:00

Here are some links to freebie BCA kits and elements and alphas!

http://ping.fm/SLRgR

http://ping.fm/WACf6

http://ping.fm/avTF0

http://ping.fm/7o5cl

http://ping.fm/dgVDe
http://ping.fm/GCHoM

http://ping.fm/5NDyT

http://ping.fm/zzej5

I hope you find the links helpful! If I come across some more, I'll let you know. :)

2011-08-20T10:11:00.001-07:00

God and other artists are always a little obscure. ~Oscar Wilde

2011-08-13T08:03:00.001-07:00

The painter puts brush to canvas, and the poet puts pen to paper. The poet has the easier task, for his pen does not alter his rhyme.~Brault

2011-08-07T09:28:00.001-07:00

Let me ask you something, what is not art? ~Author Unknown

2011-07-19T20:55:00.001-07:00

No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist. ~Oscar Wilde

2011-07-09T11:13:00.001-07:00

Omg! I just found out I came in 2nd place in the My Tag Art June Feature Contest! I'm so excited! :)

2011-06-21T20:27:00.001-07:00

What art offers is space - a certain breathing room for the spirit. ~John Updike

2011-06-19T07:24:00.001-07:00

Rest in peace, Clarence. You will be dearly missed.

2011-06-19T07:22:00.001-07:00

Rest in peace, Clarence. You will be dearly missed.

2011-06-11T08:43:00.001-07:00

Anyone who says you can't see a thought simply doesn't know art. ~Wynetka Ann Reynolds

2011-06-04T11:30:00.001-07:00

Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better. ~André Gide

2011-06-02T16:02:00.001-07:00

Pictures must not be too picturesque. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

April is Autism Awareness Month

2011-04-01T05:06:00.000-07:00

Hello gang! April is Autism Awareness Month, so I will post links to anythinghttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif I find related to digital scrapbooking, tagging and IM Stats that has an Autism theme. Today I saw this posted in board I belong to, so I am passing it along. It is a FTU Autism Awareness scrap kit.

Loving JJ

Breast Cancer Awareness

2010-10-19T16:58:00.000-07:00

I made this tag for a sig tag competition for Breast Cancer Awareness. I didn't win, but I didn't expect to. I did want to participate, though.

I also created a matching IM stationery to go with it. Feel free to snag it, if you have IM.

Be Aware.

Hugs,

Mindless Scrap

Download the IM stat HERE

A New Tube from Jeanna Jacks

2010-10-11T23:13:00.000-07:00

Isn't this an awesome tube?! I love this. The tag and tube were created by Jeanna Jacks, the artist who created the tube I used in my tutorial. I'm so honored that she made this tag for me!

That tube she used will be available soon from Mistaken Art.

Jacks Steam Punk, My First Signature Tutorial for PSP!

2010-10-10T10:28:00.000-07:00

Jacks Steam Punk

This tutorial is © Mindless Scrap 2010. It may not be copied or reproduced in whole or in part without my written permission.

You will need:

• Paint Shop Pro. I used PSPX3, but you can make this tag in other versions. This tutorial assumes a basic working knowledge of PSP.

• A scrap kit. This tutorial uses a FTU scrap kit, from Vicky at the True Laggin Love blog called Steampunk Dreams and is available from her blog. (Released in July of 2010).

• A tube of choice. The tube I used is Steam Punk by Jeanna Jacks. You can purchase her art at Mistaken Art. I have a license to use this tube. Do not use this artwork unless you have a license to do so. Whatever tube you use, be sure to apply the artist’s copyright information.

• A mask. I used one by Designs by Vaybs, DBV Mask 09. You can find it here.

• An appropriate font. I used by Steampunk Font by hannarb. You can get it here.

• Plugin Mura's Seamless, Emboss At Alpha, and you can download that here.

• Plugin Alien Skin 5, Nature, Rust. This is PTU, so I can’t provide that.

Preparations:

• Install your plugin before beginning

• Put your mask in your masks folder.

• Install your font.

Now get creative with this! :) My tutorial is only a guideline.

Let’s Begin:

Open a new transparent image, 600 x 600. (We’ll resize later.) Flood fill with white.

Open paper 4, copy and close.
Paste as new layer
Load your mask DBV Mask 09, or your mask of choice.
Merge group.
Duplicate this layer.

Open frame 2, copy and close
Paste as new layer
Image, Free Rotate, Rotate Right 90 degrees.
Resize 80 percent.

Using your magic wand, click inside the frame. Selections, Modify, Expand by 20.

Open paper 5. Resize by 50 percent. Copy and close (don’t save). Paste as a new layer, hit delete. Selections, Select None.

Drop this paper below the frame layer.

Open the element Metal Plate Cover. Copy and close. Paste as a new layer. Position this layer below the paper layer.

Open the element Sprocket 4. Resize by 50%. Copy and paste as a new layer. Move to top of tag, positioned above the Metal Plate Cover layer.

Open the element Sprocket 3. Resize by 40%. Copy and close (don’t save changes). Paste as a new layer. Position in the top right corner, a bit lower than the metal plate cover.

Open your tube. Copy and paste. Resize as needed. (I resized by 80%). Apply a drop shadow of choice. I used 5, 5, 60, 10 black, but you can use whatever you think looks good with your tube. Duplicate your tube and move the copy below the frame.

Hide your original tube layer. Make your tube copy layer (below the frame) the active layer. Erase any parts of the tube that extend below the frame.

Make your original tube layer (above the frame) the active layer. Erase any parts of the tube that cover the bottom of the frame.

Open element Flower 1. Paste it above the frame layer, on the top right corner of the frame.

Open element Grunge Ribbon 1. Resize by 75%. Copy and close (don’t save). Paste as a new layer. Move it down so the loop of the ribbon is just below the lowest edge of the frame.

Open element Chain. Image, Rotate right. Resize by 70%. Copy and close, don’t save. Paste as a new layer. Move chain so that it hangs from the upper left corner of the frame. Duplicate the chain. Duplicate it again. Now apply Image, Free Rotate Left 5 degrees to one of the chains. Apply Image Free Rotate Right 5 degrees to a different chain. Move the two chains you have rotated down one link, and line them up so they look like they are hanging from the first loop. I erased bits of the chains to help with this.

Now shorten the chain that is all the way to the left so that it is only a couple links long. But make it so the last link is NOT an open loop. Shorten the other two chains as well, so they are a bit longer. My chains were 2, 4 and 5 links long. The furthest to the left was 2, the straight chain was 4, and the chain all the way to the right was 5 links long.

Open element Bolt Head. Resize to 30%, copy and close (don’t save). Paste as a new layer. Move to the center of the top loop so it looks like the chains are hanging from it.

Activate the layer with the shortest chain. Open element Key. Image, Rotate Right. Resize to 40%, copy and close (don’t save). Paste as a new layer and move over to the end of the chain furthest to the left. Move it below the last link, so that it looks like the link goes through the key.

Open element Heart 3. Resize by 50%. Copy and close (don’t save.) Paste as a new layer. Move it so that it lays under the last link of the middle chain.

Open element Heart. Resize by 80%, copy and close (don’t save). Paste as a new layer and move beneath the longest chain.

Open element Clock. Resize it by 35%, copy and close (don’t save). Paste as a new layer and move to the lower right corner of the frame.

Make the white background layer active. Selections, Select All. Image, Crop to Selection. (This will get rid of any chain bits that extended beyond the edges of the tag.

Image, Canvas Size. Width 600, Height 800. Click the arrow in center row, center square. (See below). Flood fill the layer with white.

Add a drop shadow to the elements. I used 3, 3, 60, 3, black. (Remember, you already drop shadowed your tubes.)

Add your artist copyright and your watermark.

Add your name across the bottom. I used font Steampunk Font by Hannarb, kerning -25, Leading -0.295, color 5f232a. Convert to Raster. Drop Shadow name, 2, 2, 80, 0, black. Effects Plugins, MuRa’s Seamless, Emboss at Alpha, use default settings except change the Emboss to 80.

Effects, Plugins, Alien Skin 5, Nature, Rust. Apply the following settings.

49.86, 40, 89. 0, 94. Set the color to c14807.

Apply another drop shadow. This time I used 3, 3, 70, 3 black.

Crop any excess border away from around your tag.

Resize all layers, make longest side 500 pixels.

Save as a jpg. (Or, if you want a transparent background, delete the white background layer and save it as a png.)

I would LOVE to see what you come up with! Please send me your tag and I'll post it here.

I hope you enjoyed my tut.

Tutorial by Mindless Scrap
2010

Download the IM Stat HERE

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She's Baaaaaaack....

2010-10-10T10:14:00.001-07:00

Hi Gang!

I've been MIA for quite some time, eh? Life has been rather challenging for the past year or two, and I guess a bit of a break was in need. But hopefully we are done with hospitals and nursing homes and funerals for a while. Hopefully a LONG while.

I was going to try to catch you all up on what I've been doing with my digital work, but that's going to be an enormous undertaking. I think I'll just give you the quickie summary, and maybe I'll fill in the details another time.

I finished my Incredimail Stationery classes! Both the regular stats, and the inline stats. Gosh, that was fun! I highly recommend Creative Minds IM Stats 101, a Yahoo Group. The teachers are fantastic, and I learned some awesome techniques. I'm not very technically inclined, either, so I give them a lot of credit for teaching this old dog some cool new tricks.

I've also been tagging away, and now I tend to make matching stats while I'm at it.

Okay, so that's the quickie version of 'What I Did On My Summer Vacation.' Let's get on with my very latest endeavor: I wrote a tut!

Stay tuned.

Hugs,

Mindless

Lesson 4

2010-05-08T07:32:00.001-07:00

Download Incredimail File here.

This is for Incredimail use only

You can download Incredimail here.

Find the Creative Minds IM Stats 01 Group here.

Lesson 3

2010-05-08T07:27:00.001-07:00

Download Incredimail File here.

This is for Incredimail use only

You can download Incredimail here.

Find the Creative Minds IM Stats 01 Group here.

Lesson 2

2010-05-08T06:32:00.000-07:00

Download Incredimail File
This is for Incredimail use only
You can download Incredimail here.

Find the Creative Minds IM Stats 01 Group here.

Lesson 1

2010-05-08T06:25:00.001-07:00

Download Incredimail File
This is for Incredimail use only
You can download Incredimail here.

Find the Creative Minds IM Stats 01 Group here.

Stats

2010-05-08T05:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm going to try to show you the stationery I have been working on. I've been taking classes at Creative Minds 101 IM Stats. You can find them here. This group is AWESOME! I have learned so much, and I am doing things I never dreamed possible. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks, huh? ;)

It hasn't been easy to get samples here for you, but I'll give it a shot. I'm trying to figure out how to include animation and stuff when I do it, if I can. That's not as easy as it sounds, or at least not for me. I'm going to try to offer downloads for Incredimail, too, while I'm at it.

These stats are for Incredimail only. Do not rip them apart and use them in any other way than that for which it was designed.

You can get Incredimail here. I love this program. I recommend you get the pay version. It has no ads at the bottom, it allows you to snag stats that other people are using, etc. And if you are into graphics, scrapbooking, tagging, etc, like I am, go for the bundle packages with Letter Creator. Be warned: It's very addictive, LOL!

Happy Birthday to me....

2010-03-21T20:45:00.000-07:00

I have been celebrating my birthday this weekend, and I'm looking forward to the next year. DH got me a new computer, so I can't wait to set it up and get going. But that might be a bit tricky, with all my files. I must do a back up first, and those are so endless. Not something I look forward to. Maybe I'll get to it yet tonight, but I highly doubt it.

With this birthday stuff going on, it's gotten me thinking about the past year, and the year to come. Last year, well, it sucked, to be honest with you. I'm hoping for a far brighter year this year.

You're probably wondering what I've been up to lately. Well, I got so far behind last year after four of my family members passed away within a six month period. I've continued to play with PSP - that's been a huge stress reliever. But I didn't have the brain power or the energy to blog much about it all. I've gone through and tried to update this blog, to include the images I've made. I know, it was a cheater's way of posting, but I did want you to see the progression of my work. I do think I've gotten quite a bit more skilled in the past year. Sadly, I didn't have the time or the energy to comment on things as I went along. I will try to do better.

I've also taken up a new challenge: Incredimail 2 Stationery. I'll be referring to Incredimail as IM or IM2 in my posts. I hooked up with a really cool online group that offers classes in making stationery, or "stats." I want to update you on what I've been doing with that, and offer those created stats that I make in my lessons to be downloaded here. I am loving this work, and I'd like to share it with you.

I am also determined to learn PSE (Photoshop Elements) as well. I have the software, and have never taken a stab at it. It's time I made the effort. I hope to play with that after I finish my IM lessons. That will take me quite a while.

I also have to figure out how to show you previews of my stats. I'll work on that.

It's late and I'm tired, so I'll end this for now, but I'll try to be better at writing.

Hugs,

Mindless Scrap

Here's to you, Rossman!

2010-03-20T06:03:00.000-07:00

This is in honor of a buddy of mine. Just had to tease him a bit, heh heh!

This was an easy tutorial. I liked the MM Tone. I hadn't used that before, that I recall. Or if I have, I definitely needed a reminder and a refresher. This is fun, since you can play around with the infinite number of tubes you can use, and how you place them. I may use this again.

Tutorial Used: http://s0s.sinfulcreativity.com/tuts/CertifiedStalker.html

Here's another version of the same tut. This is how it is typically done, to use the artists name as the stalked party. :)

The Window 2

2010-01-06T23:17:00.000-08:00

I've discovered the Twilight books! I read them all within a week. Couldn't put them down.

I made this tag for the artist that drew thew the image. She was kind enough to allow me to use her art. Check out her website: catlucker.deviantart.come Isn't she awesome? Leave her some love if you go to visit.

The Christmas Train

2009-12-21T00:21:00.000-08:00

I'm learning how to do pixels. I made this train from scratch with the help of a tut at Monti's site. I love this train!!!

A Very Merry

2009-12-19T16:05:00.000-08:00

I love the way this one came out! :)

Happy 2010!

2009-12-19T10:58:00.000-08:00

Miracle

2009-12-09T19:03:00.000-08:00

Honeysuckle Rose 1 & 2

2009-12-08T22:26:00.000-08:00

Same tutorial, different artists.

Polar Bear

2009-12-06T20:52:00.000-08:00

Joy of the Season

2009-12-06T18:57:00.000-08:00

Dreaming of Christmas

2009-12-06T15:39:00.000-08:00

Garv Red & Green

2009-12-05T11:45:00.001-08:00

Unwrap This

2009-11-29T17:38:00.001-08:00

Unwrap This

2009-11-29T17:38:00.000-08:00

Christmas Fairy

2009-11-29T14:35:00.000-08:00

Christmas Fairy

2009-11-29T14:34:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays

2009-11-29T14:30:00.001-08:00

Janesko Happy Holidays

2009-11-29T14:30:00.000-08:00

Down By The Sea

2009-11-28T14:35:00.000-08:00

Fall Fantasia

2009-11-22T22:13:00.000-08:00

Felizes Fiestas

2009-11-22T18:49:00.000-08:00

Gloria

2009-11-22T03:35:00.000-08:00

Color Me Autumn

2009-11-22T03:30:00.000-08:00

Edit Challenge 112209

2009-11-22T03:28:00.000-08:00

Janesko Thankful

2009-11-17T01:28:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Psyco

2009-11-15T17:46:00.000-08:00

Let It Snow Again and again

2009-11-15T01:21:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving 2

2009-11-13T21:18:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-12T07:03:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving Blessings

2009-11-11T17:13:00.000-08:00

Texture Challenge 110909

2009-11-09T00:00:00.000-08:00

Stuff for DH's profile

2009-11-08T14:24:00.000-08:00

Boating

2009-11-08T13:39:00.000-08:00

Forum Style

2009-11-03T23:31:00.000-08:00

Fall Splendor

2009-11-01T22:12:00.000-08:00

Candy Girl

2009-11-01T16:25:00.000-08:00

Goth Cutie

2009-11-01T12:11:00.000-08:00

Halloween Halo

2009-11-01T06:39:00.000-08:00

Spider Woman

2009-11-01T00:41:00.000-07:00

Black Widow

2009-10-31T16:15:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Fairy

2009-10-31T10:31:00.000-07:00

Empowered

2009-10-27T19:06:00.000-07:00

Birthday

2009-10-25T15:31:00.000-07:00

Breast Cancer Awareness

2009-10-25T15:25:00.000-07:00

Fly Away

2009-10-22T07:41:00.000-07:00

cursor:hand;width: 395px; height: px;" src="http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc272/twin3rd/FlyAway450.jpg" border="0" alt="" />

Kinda Vintage

2009-10-21T23:49:00.000-07:00

Curly Whirly

2009-10-21T06:21:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Senses

2009-10-20T23:37:00.000-07:00

Believe in Your Dreams

2009-10-20T21:12:00.000-07:00

Edit Challenge 101109

2009-10-11T18:42:00.000-07:00

Treatin'

2009-10-11T18:41:00.000-07:00

Let It Snow

2009-10-10T20:41:00.000-07:00

Spooky Forest

2009-10-09T20:59:00.000-07:00

Forget the Ghosts

2009-10-09T20:50:00.000-07:00

Autumn

2009-10-04T20:49:00.000-07:00

Texture Challenge: Child of the Sea

2009-10-04T16:08:00.000-07:00

Hi Gang!
I haven't been around much. Again. There's been a lot going on in real life here, so I'm just going to pop in here and back date to when I did these creations, and post my images. I'll try to be a better poster in 2010.

Hugs,
Mindless Scrap

My Place or Yours?

2009-10-04T15:49:00.000-07:00

Star Quality, 3 versions

2009-10-04T15:47:00.000-07:00

Wild Horses

2009-10-04T15:31:00.000-07:00

Fae

2009-09-29T20:07:00.001-07:00

I love this fairy!! I got it as a freebie from a promotion at MPT. It was one of those buy 2 get 1 free kind of promos. I love this! I couldn't wait to do something with her. I have a bunch more of these fairies that I want to get, too. But this particular one really spoke to me. :)

This tut is very very simple, but I loved it anyway. It didn't tell you what colors or fonts or elements to use. It left it entirely up to you. I used the elements that came with the fairy (butterflies) and I added a texture. I'm just so happy with this. It looks how I envisioned it in my head. Very satisfying.

Tutorial Used: http://www.freewebs.com/vixpsp/noname.htm

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Liberty

2009-09-27T16:28:00.001-07:00

I really enjoyed this tut! It had some new and interesting things to learn, mostly through the plugins.

I changed the quote. It was supposed to read "Enlightening the world." (Something about that sounded rather cocky, as if the rest of the world wants our enlightenment or something.) I rather preferred Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death." It's one of my favorite quotes. And it's more personal, instead of involving the entire world. :)

Tutorial Used: http://www.camthalion.com/Tutorials/liberty.htm

A Rose is a Rose

2009-09-26T21:24:00.000-07:00

This tut was a dud for me. Almost everything was done for you, so all you had to do was layer. Yawn. So I (of course) added some animation. It only livened it up slightly for me. It would be a good beginner tut, since there is nothing complicated at all. It would have been better if we were taken step by step through making the word art, or something. Anything. Layering is just too simplified.

I don't know if I chose the correct tube. I liked this one, but I guess I overdid the red a bit, lol. Oh well. I suspect Dh will like it. (By the way, it looks better if you click on it, and you can see it full size).

Tutorial Used: http://www.insatiabledreams.net/AngelTown/html/aroseisarose.html

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Happy Fall

2009-09-26T17:51:00.000-07:00

I liked this tut! It didn't spell things out too much, and gave you a lot of flexibility with the elements. That's cool. It was very simple, so of course I then had to add animation, lol! (I do that when I get bored.) But you get to choose the colors, frame, elements, etc. I liked that.

The elements in this kit are very cute. I'll probably revisit this again.

Tutorial Used: http://www.simplytuts.co.uk/sensations/happyfall.html

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Triton

2009-09-26T17:20:00.001-07:00

DH bought a used boat recently, and he's been sprucing it up. He needed a siggy for his fishing sites, so I tubed his boat (and DS in the process). It was kinda fun, but it was really tiny. I'll make him a new one when we get better photos. :)

Hot Hot Hot

2009-09-26T17:14:00.000-07:00

This tut was okay. Kinda boring. I didn't really care for the look of it, so I added a little animation. I wanted some sizzle or fire. I probably would have added fire, but it didn't seem to blend well with the pink, so I went with sizzle instead. I don't know if I captured sizzle or not, but I gave it a shot. I like this tube better, too. Ironically, I had to PSP boards use the same tut in a challenge this week, so I just made one siggy and submitted it to each.

I hope next week's is a little more interesting.

Tutorial Used: http://s0s.sinfulcreativity.com/tuts/HotHotHot.html

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Pumpkin Patch

2009-09-19T02:01:00.001-07:00

I found the mask portion of this tut a little confusing, but finally figured out what was intended. I have to keep reminding myself there is more than one way to apply a mask, lol. This tube by Zindy, and I adore it. I added the animation to the lightning (it wasn't called for in the tut), and I haven't decided yet if I like it. I also did it as a static image without the lightning at all, and I may use that instead, I don't know. I sort of like the lightning and I sort of don't.

You'll probably see this tube again. It's currently my favorite Halloween tube. :)

Tutorial Used: http://designsbyirishlass.blogspot.com/2009/09/at-pumpkin-patch.html

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Pumpkin

2009-09-14T22:18:00.001-07:00

This was very simple, but an interesting effect. Kind reminded me of vexel, where you reduce the opacity of a layer so you can see a layer underneath to emphasize it. In this case, I erased an opaque overlay, where in vexel I was applying an overlay. Interesting. I liked the looks of this. I guess because of the imperfections of the pumpkin. And I loved how this font looked with it! I just stumbled across it when I was trying several fonts to see if one looked better. This one jumped out at me the second I saw it. It reminded me of the curlicues at the corners of the mask on this.

Tutorial Used: http://www.artistrypsp.com/Jemima/Tutorials/Thanks/PM/pm1v8.htm

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Trick Or Treat part 2

2009-09-13T22:20:00.000-07:00

Same tag, different color

Trick Or Treat

2009-09-13T19:50:00.000-07:00

This was a rather fun tut to do. I liked the pool shadow plugin, and the way the mask was handled. I added the animation. I tried to add smoke too. It looked cool before I ran the animation, and it blended well with the smoke already on the tube. However, once the animation ran, the mask started to jump. I couldn't seem to get it to work right, so I gave up. I guess the movement, along with the dissolve feature I added to the mask, just don't go well together. Oh, and I changed the word art a little. I just took out the "smell my feet, give me something good to eat." It didn't seem to go with the look of the tube at all. I would have liked to add a little more movement or something, but perhaps I would have overdone it. (Who me? Would I do that?) heh heh

Tutorial Used: http://horseplayspasturetutorials.blogspot.com/2009/09/trick-or-treat.html

Vexel Painting

2009-09-11T04:22:00.001-07:00

Oh, WOW! This was FUN! Frustrating (because I forgot to save, and lost everything half way though it, argh!!), and complicated, but so rewarding!!

Vexel painting is sort of like tracing over an image, and filling it in. Kind of a paint by numbers idea. I took a photo, and traced over it to create this image. It was so thrilling to be able to create my own tube/image! I know, cheating by tracing, but still it was not an easy task, and it did use a lot of my own work to get the look I ended up with. I'm still no artist, by any stretch. But I was able to create something! And it was FUN! It made being a frustrated artist a lot less frustrating. I plan to use this technique again. And again!

Tutorial Used: (This is a member only site) http://simplyelegant.yuku.com/

She Devil

2009-09-11T04:02:00.000-07:00

This tut used a PTU (pay to use) kit, and I don't have the extra funds right now. Let alone, I don't like to purchase kits if I know I won't use them again. While I liked this tut image, I wasn't that impressed with the scrap kit that I thought I would use it to create anything else. Not worth it to me to purchase. You might feel very differently. I am strangely picky on my tastes in holiday kits. I want a certain specific feel, and if I don't see it, I am turned off a bit. I'm sure it all goes back to your own idea of traditions, and family history, and all that. Not a reflection on the scrap kit designer at all. Just family tradition. I think the scrap kit designer is very good. It's just not my version of Halloween.

Anyway, I did a lot of subbing on this. I used some of the images I gathered when working on the last kit. A lot of Billy designs went into this as well. I tried numerous tubes with it, too, and finally felt drawn to this PinUp Toons tube. I kept going back to that one. And it was odd, because I started out convinced that I wanted a witch, and ended up with a devil. But I was drawn to it for some reason.

The spider web excited me. I didn't have the kit, so I needed to sub it. I didn't like any of the webs I'd gathered from freebie kits. So I got the idea of looking at StockVault.net. This worked out great! I found a web there. It wasn't the perfect image I was looking for (less twig, more web please), but it would work. I used it as an overlay. I liked that a lot! And I liked my mask choice a lot too. Sort of spooky-ish, but a little whimsical too. I had a lot of fun working on this. I got quite a ways away from the original tut, but it was a pleasant journey. I kept trying to find a ghost to use, but I wasn't satisfied with anything I came up with, so I skipped it. I didn't really miss it in the end, though I sort of dropped the Ghost Time theme, LOL. All in all, it was a fun tag to make. And i was very satisfied with the animations. I liked how I got the pumpkins (thank you Billy) to light up. I didn't like the way the spider got sort of lost in the background, and I couldn't seem to highlight it sufficiently. Oh well. I did end up liking my version better than the original tut. I think for once my color choices were more successful. Other people did not agree with me, but that's okay. I had fun with it.

Tutorial Used: http://sites.google.com/site/chiquisplace/ghost-time

Going Batty

2009-09-11T03:54:00.000-07:00

You can't tell I love Halloween, can you? ;)

I messed with the colors on this tut, and I didn't like my own results so much. My fault entirely. It's okay, but a little humdrum in the colors. But I liked my addition of the bat floaties. My son likes them too, lol.

I couldn't find the mask on this. So I subbed my own. I did a lot of subbing my own elements and tubes. I lost something along the way, though some things I liked better. Trial and error. Even though I missed the mark here, it's not a bad little tag. I'll use it. But I'll keep playing to get a tag I like better.

I got a lot of the images from a tube artist called Billy. He does some nice work.

Tutorial Used: http://www.freewebs.com/vixpsp/seasonofthewitchvol1.htm

Tulips 2

2009-09-11T03:44:00.001-07:00

This was a pretty design, I thought. It was frustrating to work on, because I could only use a demo of the plugin, which didn't seem to match up to the instruction in the tut. I suspect the tut was written before the plugin went PTU or something, and it was more simplified. Perhaps I'm wrong on that assumption, but that's the feeling I got. I had to fiddle with it to get it the way I wanted, and it was tiring.

While I was proud of the finished result, for some reason I found this tut to be a let down, and was glad to be done with it. I guess my frustration with the plug in bothered me more than I thought. I don't think that's the fault of the tut writer. So don't go by my negativity and give the tut a try for yourself. I love the other tuts I've done by this writer. All very excellent.

Tutorial Used: http://www.artistrypsp.com/Jemima/Tutorials/2005/TU/tu1v8.htm