Mixed Media Artist

Don't leave home without it!!   Makezine reference chart

I was contacted by the folks at Canva recently to make sure that I knew about their free online photo editor (I did not), and did I want to try it out? (I did).   Canva uses a simple drag-and-drop method with pre-programmed filters and actions which allow you to add images to your blog or website with a minimum of fuss. Since it's online, if you are trying to do larger-sized files, say 300 dpi, you will lose some data.  Your photo will download as a 72 dpi image, and when you reconvert it to 300, it will be smaller than the original.   All the same, it's not meant to take the place of Photoshop, and it does a really nice job on quick resizes and special effects.  So try it out the next time you're looking for a quick drag-and-drop for your blog!

There's a very helpful three part online class that you might want to consider taking, especially because it's free!  Frederick Chipkin , teaching for CraftArtEdu , has put together tutorials to help you set up your Photoshop program and tweak it especially for textile design!  Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Did you know that the Mixed Media Artist blog   is available for your Kindle ?  Unfortunately, it's not free (Amazon sets the price), but it's only 99¢ a month.  Is technology great, or what? My other two blogs are now there as well: Beading Arts Real Food Fast! Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Are you familiar with this online magazine?  Digital Arts Online is really worth checking out if you enjoy mixing your physical and digital media, as a lot of us here do.  You'll find profiles, tutorials, and more detailed info about the digital world than you could probably ever read and digest!   Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Last year I wrote about some available online photo editors and why you might want to know about them.  It might puzzle people who know just how addicted I am to Photoshop...why would I care about online editors?  Free or not, who cares? So again, why care about online photo editors? What about when your computer is in the shop, or you’re traveling without a laptop, stopping into libraries to use their computers? You’ve taken lots of great pictures, and you’d like to send a few to some friends without sending the full-sized file that will make them hate you. You’d like to post some of your travel pictures to your blog, but the file size is too big, the picture needs cropped, the eyes have the dreaded red-eye… Anyway, I found a newer article recently, which gives an overview of even more photo editing programs : 11 downloadable and 5 online.  Surely with this many to chose from, you'll be able to find one you'll like! Technorati Tags: mixed media , collag...

Many of you have probably already seen this online tool, but for those who haven't, may I suggest an up-close-and-personal visit to the Sistine Chapel ?  One person claimed that this was even better than actually going since you didn't have to crane your neck.  My response...NOT!  But it's not bad for not having to travel thousands of miles. When we did go to visit, I found myself in tears.  I was so afraid the experience of visiting this amazing place would turn out to be overrated.  I was so wrong...it was far more amazing than I ever expected.  Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

At last!  An easy to use online tool that will help you in your quest to determine whether or not an image has been 'shopped.  Check out the Image Analyser .  And then start checking out all the images you see that are too good to be true.  Like this one:   Sharks photo via: Photojojo Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

This is an amazing little palette generator ! Let’s say that you’ve created a picture in one medium, and would like to turn it into a different medium…like for example, I want to make a beaded piece that uses the palette of the digital image I’ve already created. Which I do, by the way! Run your image through the palette generator, and you’ll have swatches of the colors, complete with the html code. Here’s a link to my more complete list of Online Color Training and Tools post. Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Here is a fun online tool for you to bookmark. The Periodic Table of Visualization Methods has been assembled by a team of media, communications, and management specialists. It’s primary target seems to be business people and engineers, rather than artists, but it's still a brilliant piece of work ;-) You can roll your mouse over the “elements” to see an example of each strategy. Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Paint like Van Gogh I think by now, most people are familiar with the fun site that allows you to pretend that you’re Jackson Pollock . If you haven’t tried it, take a minute and check it out now. Really! I’ll wait for you :-) It’s fun, huh? But guess what? The fun is just beginning. There are more sites out there that allow you to practice “painting” in the style of various artists. Here’s a few I came across: Paint like Van Gogh Paint like Seurat Paint like a Zen Master Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Picnik You know how much I rave about Photoshop , how I love it and can’t live without it. So why would I care about free online photo editors? There’s even a free version of PS now that you can download, and if that doesn’t suit you there’s always Gimp, which is a free download. So again, why care about online photo editors? What about when your computer is in the shop, or you’re traveling without a laptop, stopping into libraries to use their computers? You’ve taken lots of great pictures, and you’d like to send a few to some friends without sending the full-sized file that will make them hate you. You’d like to post some of your travel pictures to your blog, but the file size is too big, the picture needs cropped, the eyes have the dreaded red-eye… You get the idea. There are good reasons to know about online photo editors! Here’s a great review on ExtremeTech by Michael Muchmore on five editors that go beyond the basics. Thank you, Michael!  Unfortunately, since th...

Last week I told you about the Fontifier .  Since I got all excited about the possibilities all over again, I decided to look around and find out some more about font creation.  I found Photofont and thought I'd died and gone to font-heaven! Photofont says that they've bridged the gap between single-color TrueType fonts and Bitmap fonts that allow color and transparency.  They have free photofonts that you can download, and they show you how to load the fonts so that you can use them in your software programs.  They also have a tutorial that teaches you how to create your own!  Do-It-Yourselfers, take your marks!! If photofonts are not what you're looking for, here are some other posts I've had in the past with links to some great TrueType or OpenType fonts:   Skull font 300 very cool free fonts Text in stitches   Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

A number of years ago, I happened across a link to the Fontifier site.  Well, it was an eye-popping experience for me!  Fontifier allows you to create a TrueType font from your own handwriting...how cool is that?  And it's not expensive either.  The only problem was that I didn't know how to fill the grid to get the best possible results, and therefore my personal font looks kind of...off. Now Lifehacker , bless them, has a post on how to make sure your Fontifier experience is as good as it gets.  If you'd like to have your own handwriting font to use in Word, Photoshop, or other programs, read the tutorial and work through it with Fontifier! Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Photovisi has developed a free online service that allows you to create collages from your photos easily. There is a very nice selection of collage designs and options for customization. Some are silly and light-hearted, others are more formal. It's very easy to use too: select one of the many collage templates, add your photos and then customize by dragging items around. After the collage is finished it's available for download. Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Great places to talk with other people with beady eyes… Jewelry Making Beadwork All About Beads Bead&Button Wet Canvas Wearable Art Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Collage maker Celebrity paperdolls Mr Picasso Head Snowflake Maker Kaleidoscope Painter Mondrian Designs Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

So, you want to talk with a bunch of like-minded looney tunes artists? Here are my favorite online communities: Delphi Mixed Media Art Wet Canvas Mixed Media There are a number of Yahoo Groups that I enjoy as well. These can be read online, or you can elect to get the messages as emails. Check some of these out. I don’t belong to all of them anymore, but have visited all of them over a number of years: Altered Books Assemblage Artists Bookbinding Collage CollageCats Handmade Books Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Here's another fun tool for you to play with in all of your spare time!  Shape Collage Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Here is a fabulous chart by Golden that gives you all the specs on the individual colors.  Of most interest to me is the permanency and the opacity vs transparency.  Each color on the chart is clickable to get all the info that your art-geeky heart could desire! Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals