RetouchPRO - Blogs - Ramble on by Nasturtium http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/ en Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:45:35 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg RetouchPRO - Blogs - Ramble on by Nasturtium http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/ 2 new sites (to me) this week http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/215-2-new-sites-me-week.html Sat, 18 Jun 2011 05:08:32 GMT Image: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2617/5751395398_82eca9b1a2_m.jpg Stumbled across two new websites this week; I was tempted to sign up for a splash page at About.me but was too embarrassed to when I realized my page would have about 20 links.:blush: It appears to be a site that creates...

Stumbled across two new websites this week;

I was tempted to sign up for a splash page at About.me but was too embarrassed to when I realized my page would have about 20 links.:blush: It appears to be a site that creates a splash page with links to all your virtual hang-outs. Why you couldn't do this on a personal website, I dunno. There seems to be no place for false modesty in this social media age.

I'm not a fan of splash pages because it makes you click one-more-time. Ugh. Which is ironic because the theme I trying to get to work on my Wordpress site assumes you're going to have one...I like this theme because it's full page width.

Also came across http://www.oneeyeland.com/ which is worth a peak. There are just so many photography showcase sites out there. I'm wondering which one(s) are worth my time.

I found this designer's website totally charming - especially the text. ]]> Nasturtium http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/215-2-new-sites-me-week.html <![CDATA[3D > 2D]]> http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/214-3d-2d.html Wed, 01 Jun 2011 09:24:47 GMT

While I was watching the latest Pirates of the Caribbean in D I started wondering about how 3D 'hacks' what we know about the brain's visual processing.

As 2D artists we're constantly battling with how to render a three dimensional world on a 2D screen or printed page. It's fascinating to me to compare what we know about how the mind parses visual information as opposed to the literal way a camera records an image. So it seems to me the more we, as artists know about the science of seeing can only help us better render convincingly real images. Besides, trying to reverse engineer things like optical illusions is just plain fun. :D ]]> Nasturtium http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/214-3d-2d.html Unorthodox use of Firebug http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/213-unorthodox-use-firebug.html Mon, 23 May 2011 05:17:18 GMT

So I'm playing around with Firebug on Mozilla (it let's you 'try out' CSS on a webpage). Reading white text on a black background is murder to read on my Mac ... so I thought why not change the background color to something less migraine inducing? After I found the code for the background color I replaced the black with a medium gray ... and voila! It worked a treat. I'm thinking this would also work on those sites where there isn't enough contrast between the background and text colors for legibility.

I'm following Chris Coyier's Lynda.com Wordpress course and totally crushing on him. :-) He's a great teacher and has such a nice voice and wonderful manner. ]]> Nasturtium http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/213-unorthodox-use-firebug.html unexpected benefit of making a Facebook page http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/210-unexpected-benefit-making-facebook-page.html Thu, 05 May 2011 06:20:12 GMT Image: http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5025/5645259249_c9d0c60a01_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/nancee_art/5645259249/in/photostream/) I finally got around to making a Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nancee_art/167325219988975?sk=wall). Part of the process was unfriending...


I finally got around to making a Facebook page. Part of the process was unfriending all my design resource pages in my personal account and then refriending (is that a word?) from my page. What was so nice was cleaning up my news feed. Now I only get the news from family/friends in my personal feed.

It's really nice to have all the Photoshop/art feeds in one place instead of mixed in with status updates.

I still need to rationalize all the different websites I follow; some are on Google Reader, others on Twitter and now I have some within Facebook. It makes no sense to me to get the same news 2 or 3 times so I need to unsubscribe/unfollow any duplication.

I've ended up back at Wordpress for my website. After investigating many, many possibilities I just sat myself down one day and thought, THAT many people can't be wrong. Wordpress must be wildly popular for a reason. I spent about a day being terribly, terribly confused and then I figured it out. Now it pretty much rocks as far as CMS goes. I took advantage of an online sale to buy a customizable theme which has made the design process much more enjoyable.

Now if I could just figure out why I can't get my custom Twitter background to upload. Apparently a jpeg with EXIF data might be the problem.

Adobe Bridge woes
I'd finally had it with Bridge and posted in the Adobe forum that it was driving me nuts with it's slowness and constant crashes. What I hadn't considered was me trying to access large files over wireless was never going to work well. Now I'm much happier using Lightroom to make a little catalog of my images locally and then using Bridge on local files only. ]]> Nasturtium http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/210-unexpected-benefit-making-facebook-page.html should you Squidoo!? http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/209-should-you-squidoo.html Sat, 09 Apr 2011 13:07:44 GMT It's hard to balance between promoting your work and producing it.



There are an endless myriad of ways to promote yourself online from simple blogs (Twitter, anyone?) to full blown websites.

I'm having a blast investigating the possibilities - Wix, Weebly, Wordpress, Tumblr, Blogger etc. And it's really fun to update my skills since my HTML/Frontpage days. But I seem to be wandering down many, many blind alleys.

It seems that I learn at least one new term a day. Yesterday when playing with Wordpress templates I came across the phrase 'widget-ready', lol.

Right now I have a few feeds that are automatically picked up by my Tumblr blog. I can't seem to resist fiddling with the style of how posts are displayed there.

Is a website ever 'done'? Is it better just to paste, I mean link to some random Squidoo! pages you've made? Does everything have to be viewable on a hand held/mobile device?

It's not really feasible to exhaust all the possibilities. At what point do you say it's good enough? And simply go with it? ]]> Nasturtium http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/209-should-you-squidoo.html Stop! The presses or why I love/hate Flipboard http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/201-stop-presses-why-i-love-hate-flipboard.html Wed, 24 Nov 2010 12:33:27 GMT Surfing the internet on a touchscreen is wonderfully intuitive I find. I'm old enough to remember when hypertext links were new. I thought they would be incredibly powerful one day. Little did I know how much.

And now there's this application that turns any Twitter/Facebook feed into compact and nicely formatted magazine.

But only those.

Flipboard makes my Google Reader account; Zinio, PDF reader and things like Posterous & LiveJournal look like dinosaurs.

Flipboard has really spoiled me. And I can't wait until other magazines, blogs and media adopt the same kind of 'live' formatting. ]]> Nasturtium http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/201-stop-presses-why-i-love-hate-flipboard.html Dutch Utopia, Dutch Heaven http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/198-dutch-utopia-dutch-heaven.html Tue, 12 Oct 2010 15:00:27 GMT Dutch Utopia
There's a local exhibit of American oil paintings of Holland from the late 1800's called Dutch Utopia. They have that amazing chiaroscuro light...but with pale impressionist colors. I do believe this could be the 'missing link' between van Gogh's dark Flemish style and his work that started in the Paris salon and ended in Provence. Fun stuff. They painted idyllic Dutch villages while in America industrialization was making the landscape not so picaresque. My one beef with this museum though, is that they position the most spectacular work of art so that it is the first thing that you see (this is not the first time). I would prefer to start with the tiny, exquisite pieces and have the tour progress to where it builds and ends with best.


texture by SkeletalMess
link

Dutch Heaven
With the encouragement of a friend I attended at networking event hosted by a modeling agency called Dutch Heaven. A fun day was organized to present some of their new hires. It was really great to see the girls gain in confidence as the day wore on. I'm pretty sure I was the only one there with a portfolio full of Photoshopped work. But it was quite interesting to me to just look at the other photographer's work- we were urged to bring portfolios. All I can say is that ... it takes all kinds, lol. And it forced me away from the computer and out into the real world to actually connect with flesh and blood people, eek!

Erwin Olaf's Dusk to Dawn
I have to admit I didn't understand the admiration for Erwin Olaf after seeing some of the things he's done by viewing them online. But I do respect the retouchers here at RetouchPRO who hold him in high esteem. So when I saw that he has a photography exhibit at the Hermitage in Amsterdam I visited one Saturday. The huge black and white canvases move you on a visceral level. It was like being hit by an emotional sonic boom in the solar plexus. His work will always be on a different frequency than my particular taste but now I can see how he follows through on a concept on daring and highly creative level. ]]> Nasturtium http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/198-dutch-utopia-dutch-heaven.html <![CDATA[has the term "Photoshop" become generic?]]> http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/197-has-term-photoshop-become-generic.html Sat, 09 Oct 2010 06:10:19 GMT In talking to people lately I've noticed that they've used the term 'Photoshop' to mean any kind of digital editing.

So even if they are using iPhoto or any other kind of software they call it 'Photoshopping' not digital retouching (that last sure doesn't roll easily off of the tongue). We just don't seem to have a good word that describes post processing.

In the two years since I started editing my photographs in the computer I've noticed a shift from; the-only-good-picture-is-one-that-comes-straight-out-of-the-camera to you-have-to-be-an-excellent-photographer-PLUS-a-talented-and-knowledgeable-post-processor to really created a compelling image. I find this curious because it's just a shift in opinion.

The deeper I delve into digital photography the more I think that we've just barely entered the digital image age. Which is why I find innovative ideas like mirrorless cameras fascinating. I'm surprised, now that cameras have GPS's - why isn't there a good camera with a basic phone?

Here's my crazy idea of the day. Now that our pictures have all kinds of meta data attached to them...and now that there's face recognition and all the ways to sift through images (thank you Flickr apps developers) why doesn't someone come up with a digital image iPod concept? It could be used as screen saver or in a digital picture frame. Or any way that you can view digital images. Wouldn't it be fun to have 'playlists' that were for types of images instead of songs?

]]> Nasturtium http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/197-has-term-photoshop-become-generic.html Wacom Bamboo stylus top is an eraser http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/194-wacom-bamboo-stylus-top-eraser.html Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:17:16 GMT How did I not know this? If I turn my stylus over...the tip is an eraser. Who knew?

This month I am working through a book on Illustrator. It's certainly making me think differently about how I use Photoshop. ]]> Nasturtium http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/194-wacom-bamboo-stylus-top-eraser.html the placement of wings on imaginary creatures http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/192-placement-wings-imaginary-creatures.html Thu, 05 Aug 2010 14:06:37 GMT So I've been thinking. I know where you'd put wings on a human...and on a horse...but where would you put them on a centaur? If they were on the man's shoulders they'd flap into the horse part and he'd probably fly lop-sided. If you place them on the horse...well aerodynamically I don't see how that would work either. :)



And why do they usually used feathered wings? Why not airplane wings? I would love to see a steampunk helicopter angel - wouldn't you?

And why aren't there any hang gliding or dirigible Photoshopped angels?

I've realized lately that with RAW images you always have the opportunity to second guess yourself. That is not necessarily a good thing with the infinite number of editing possibilities available with Photoshop. Watching Russell Brown play with Pixel Bender made me realize that smart objects give you yet another way to always second guess yourself.

I stumbled across the (NSFW~ nudity warning ) amazing work of Christophe Gilbert last week. I think that it must be amazing to work in a team on a concept.

Quote:
"When you think alike together with an art director, you realize how much further it can go."
]]> Nasturtium http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/192-placement-wings-imaginary-creatures.html Two book reviews http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/190-two-book-reviews.html Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:08:56 GMT Book reviews

Digital Art Revolution
creating fine art with Photoshop by Scott Ligon

Most books I've read on Photoshop so far have been from the photographer's, retoucher or illustrator's perspective. This is the first one I've come across that was from the artist's viewpoint.

The book provided me with some much needed direction. He lays out some basic guidelines and then says one shouldn't limit themselves in any way with the 'new art'. He also touched on things that hadn't occurred to me like audio and animation.

I found his arguments against copying natural media compelling. I agree that, “We who work in digital media are extremely fortunate our golden age is now! ..the possibilities are vast and unknown.”

I thought his constant directive to partially erase things would be developing a bad habit. Much better to mask so you can go back and undo later. I felt like he missed a golden opportunity to demonstrate the new puppet warp tool in chapter five.

He explained why we find texture so interesting. And offers some very good advice on creating a body of work from your own voice. I found all this extremely useful.

Except

I don't understand why he chose only one style of work as illustrations.

Where are the brilliant stars I know? Like;

Mattijs Fransen http://mattijn.exto.nl/site/kunstwer...tomontage.html
Martin Grohs http://www.martin-grohs.com/#/HOME
Martine Roch http://martineroch.net/
Maggie Taylor http://www.maggietaylor.com/
Erik Johansson http://www.alltelleringet.com/
Claudia McKinney http://phatpuppyart.com/

He doesn't have to worry about me copying any of the art in his book – my composites are about delight and beauty – which I'm afraid I didn't get from this book's artwork.

The next book covers the purpose of art.

***


Elegance of the Hedgehog
by Muriel Barbery translated from the original French by Alison Anderson

I can highly recommend this book with the caveat to stop at page 310. I suspect the editor rushed her to finish and that is why everything after page 291 feels 'tacked on'. I would have preferred an ambivalent ending than one where the characters lose their eloquence and act irrationally.

It's hard to believe this is a translation. Which makes me very curious about Alison Anderson's original writing. The prose is wonderfully metaphorical and poetic.

This book is all about how art (in this case literature ) can lift us out of our dreary daily lives to a beautiful transcendent place. The 'zone' or bliss or 'flow' or whatever you want to call it. Again and again in graceful swoops Ms. Barbery describes the indescribable.

Here are some of my favorite passages from the book;

I despise this false lucidity that comes with age.

...there's nothing to understand.

...you desperately need Art. You seek to reconnect with your spiritual illusions, and you wish fervently that something might rescue you from your biological destiny, so that all poetry and grandeur will not be cast out from the world.

Ah, sweet, impromptu moment, lifting the veil of melancholy...In a split second of eternity, everything is changed, transfigured. ... the forward rush of life is crystallised in a brilliant jewel of a moment that knows neither plan nor future, human destiny is rescued from the pale succession of days, glows with light at last and, surpassing, time warms my tranquil heart.

To the rich, therefore, falls the burden of Beauty.

For where can one find more noble-distraction, more entertaining company, more delightful enchantment than in literature?

...pity the poor in spirit who know neither the enchantment nor the beauty of language.

“Maybe we're all sick, with too much of everything.”

There's so much humanity in a love of trees, so much nostalgia for our first sense of wonder, so much power in just feeling our own insignificance when we are surrounded by nature . . . yes, that's it: just thinking about trees and their indifferent majesty and our love for them teaches us how ridiculous we are – vile parasites squirming on the face of the earth and at the same time how deserving of life we can be, when we can honour this beauty that owes us nothing.

Television distracts us from the onerous necessity of finding projects to construct in the vacuity of our frivolous lives: by beguiling our eyes, television releases our mind from the great work of making meaning.

I was not yet seven years old, but I already knew that the measured drift of the little cottony particles foreshadowed what the heart would feel in moments of great joy.

...a teenager who pretends to be an adult is still a teenager. If you imagine that getting high at a party and sleeping around is going to propel you into a state of full adulthood, that's like thinking that dressing up as an Indian is going to make you an indian.

What is the purpose of art?` ...to carve from time an emotional aperture that cannot be reduced to animal logic.

...he combines a sort of of childish enthusiasm and candour with the attentiveness and kindliness of an old sage. I am not accustomed to such a relationship with the world; it seems to me that he views it with indulgence and curiosity, ...

... it is crazy how people think that though they understand nature they can live without it.

... we are not gods creating a world with our own thoughts, ...

If you want to heal
Heal others
And smile or weep
At this happy reversal of fate ]]> Nasturtium http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/190-two-book-reviews.html my place in geekdom is confirmed http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/189-my-place-geekdom-confirmed.html Fri, 02 Jul 2010 11:40:04 GMT

I really have a hard time finding lipstick the right color. And have thrown away too much money on the wrong color.

So I thought - why doesn't someone make an application where you take a photo of yourself with a white piece of paper. Then your true lip color could be converted to HSL or LAB and matched against a database of lipstick colors and voila! The best and right shade would be found.

If only I knew of an online lipstick color database.

The first test results are in though because I used this method last week to pick out a new hair color. This could be used for foundation as well but I haven't a clue how one would figure out the right luminosity.

See? Geekdom, confirmed. ]]> Nasturtium http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/189-my-place-geekdom-confirmed.html Everything is possible http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/188-everything-possible.html Sat, 12 Jun 2010 05:50:27 GMT I'm acting like a kid in a candy store - I don't really know where to start. I downloaded the full CS5 suite so I that I could take it out for a spin. Firing up InDesign was like a breath of fresh air. I used it umpteen years ago. It was like I've been holding my breath since using it last and finally exhaled. Now I can easily do all the text+image layout stuff that has been stymieing me in other programs.

So now do I study; 3D, animation, website layout?



I was lucky enough to attend a strobist workshop on Thursday given by Martin Hogeboom. It was really a treat to see him work and get a glimpse into his creative process. He's really big on using things already in the environment...like a big print in the room where we were working. I held it up to create a deeper shadow over the model so he could control the light that fell on her from the flash. It was a great experience because a) he uses Canon equipment and b) it demystified off-camera flash - something that had seemed rather esoteric and intimidating - to me anyway.

In photography do I go deeper into HDR, flash?

But I find myself spread pretty thin and am not sure in which direction I should concentrate. ]]> Nasturtium http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/188-everything-possible.html iPad - resistance is futile http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/185-ipad-resistance-futile.html Tue, 25 May 2010 08:48:18 GMT My first thought on handling the iPad was that Adrian Monk would have a devil of a time with all the fingerprints on the screen. SNL should do a skit where he keeps wiping his fingerprints off of the screen. (like I do) Image: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2624/4103704110_2b8a0ca868_m.jpg ... My first thought on handling the iPad was that Adrian Monk would have a devil of a time with all the fingerprints on the screen. SNL should do a skit where he keeps wiping his fingerprints off of the screen. (like I do)



My second thought was that this was an expat's dream...the NY Times on a Sunday morning :D



I will say that I love browsing with a touchscreen.- despite all the fingerprints. ]]> Nasturtium http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/185-ipad-resistance-futile.html Concept camera/Stuff you need to know http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/179-concept-camera-stuff-you-need-know.html Tue, 06 Apr 2010 06:23:28 GMT Concept camera
As I try to teach myself how to use the SLR I keep finding myself thinking 'wouldn't it be nice' if-
  • the viewfinder was on the bottom
  • there was a tiny built-in tripod that folded out
  • that there was a slider that chose a wheel for; ISO, aperture or shutterspeed
  • there was a notch where I could stabilize the camera on the bridge of my nose
Then I wouldn't cover the LCD with nose grease, I wouldn't have to deal with pretentious inscrutable names for settings and maybe I could shoot crisper images



Stuff you need to know;
I've been taking some plug-ins out for test drives in a quest to find a way to duplicate the 'blush' setting in Virtual Photographer since it isn't available on the mac.

And I realized that if you know how to correct a color cast, correct an exposure, enhance and decrease detail - then you can create an artistic color cast, and an artistic exposure and an artistic level of detail. Which is pretty much what those plugins do.

]]> Nasturtium http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/blogs/nasturtium/179-concept-camera-stuff-you-need-know.html