Digital art

Vivien, this is some really, really beautiful stuff you've done.

I'm going to move this thread to Original Art & Photography. :-D

Very nice work, Vivien. Art isn't the medium, it's what you do with the medium.

Are your pieces intended to be printed, or displayed on monitors? The question perhaps illuminates why some folks have trouble with digital imagery.

hi Violet Lake - they are intended to be printed - i do very limited editions in order to keep the sense of being 'precious' (sounds pretentious!!) so i only print 10 or 20 of any image.

they are done in lightfast inks - guaranteed for 100 years so hopefully ok archivally.

I really like using the computer to work through ideas - they feed back into the paintings as well.

It does say that on your site... missed it the first time

I like using the computer to work through ideas too, but it's been years since the last time I picked up a brush. One of these days I'll get around to painting again. For now, I'm happy to experiment in my free time to keep my creative energy flowing.

I like what you're doing with digital imagery. What other software do you use?

hi vl - well it is mainly photoshop - i do use other programmes but more for dtp kind of stuff like posters and invitations.

Photoshop is such a brilliant programme with the layers - like acetate cells in animation, it allows so much freedom - i have loads of layers whilst working on an image. The special effects are gimmicky and i use those with caution!

I like the colour/contrast adjustment tools as well.

Vivien, welcome to A2K, glad to see you're finding your way around!

Your work is awe-inspiring and your creative talent leaves me in the dust:)

Hugs, Jen

Photoshop is awesome. I use it in combination with Macromedia Director in my professional work. Those are the applications I use most, but I also play around with 3D Max, Painter, Bryce, and trueSpace.

Are you using a Mac or PC?

hi Jen - thanks for introducing me to this site - its fun! must go to bed now or I'll never get up in the morning! Will write again soon.

violet - i don't know the other programmes you mention - do you think i would like them? V

oh violet i lie - i have used Painter but not properly got to grips with it so put it on the back burner - and haven't worked on it since!! it isn't as user friendly as Photoshop is it? although i realise it can do some amazing things.

It's not any less user friendly than Photoshop... just different. It's geared more towards painters, with the assortment of brushes & painting effects. It does some pretty neat stuff to be sure.

jespah
hi jespah - thanks for the kind comments and putting my stuff where it should have been

Vivien, I may be the next Michael Angelo but I am am only a genius in all other forms of computology except those involving posting my own work from my own computers bmp's and jpg's. Could you share the method of posting this work so I may gain another justly deserved adoring audience; seeing as I am equally talented as a writer. You may respond deferentially to this forum or [email protected] . Thank You, Mike Angelo

michelangelo - craven is the expert to consult - he knows loads more than me about computers.

I used Frontpage to create the site I list here - I am just learning it and there is toooooo much to write here - but it isn't a difficult programme and i am sure there is a simple guide to it. I don't yet own my own copy (hopefully this week then i can make the corrections that craven suggested - he's explained to me why the first page is off centre).

I've just passed the beginners exam on Frontpage and am currently studying for the intermediate/advanced - because i touch type i rattle through the class work and the tutor lets me spend the rest of the class working on my site!

Glad to hear you are so talented!!

Thank you Vivien. I must say that Painter, in my humble case, is vastly simpler than Photoshop. Perhaps not if I succeed in mastering it which is my current task. I have Photoshop 7 and I have yet to even get the rudimentary effects out of it. I love Paint and Image Enhancer; both freeware. 20/20 is good too. I can not learn any kind of academic subject, including Photoshop, if I am in a class. I can't even read an instruction manual. I just have to jump in and try this and try that and click this or that. I was that way with computers too. How many mistakes I did make that way!!! Cheers, Lenny Davinci

hi Lenny da Vinci

i learnt photoshop in much the way you describe! i find books often too slow and long winded and describing the kind of work that bears no relation to what i want to do.

Just work your way through the various adjustments etc that are possible and use the filters sparingly - very gimmicky.

I taught myself all the art related stuff and then a photographer friend and i got together - he showed me the photography type things like the ruby mask (used by photographers with lith film) and how he used the clone tool to repair damaged photos, which i had never investigated - i showed him the way i use layers etc etc

PS I'll look at the freeware you mention.

Good luck with it - it truly is worth persevering

You find Fractal Painter easy????? I must admit i haven't attempted much with it as I haven't found it so easy to muddle through.