Yes, actually, I do know it’s Thursday, but odd time-warp things are not unusual around here.
Why not call it Tech Thursday? Just doesn’t sound as good. So, the fact that our first Tech Tuesday is a Thursday will just go down as one of those interesting things.
I started Sunday Morning Coffee seven weeks ago, and it has been very well-loved. I thought an additional theme might be fun, and I know that these days *everyone* is connected in some way to technology. You can’t get away from it, and you shouldn’t try. The gifts abound – especially the gifts for artists and artisans.
So, every Tuesday, I will talk about things that connect our creative lives to technology. It may be something about the iPad or iPhone, or digital photography, or reading Kindle Books, or Photoshop/Elements things, or . . . well. you get the idea.
Don’t think you will be left out of these conversations because you are not tech-savvy, because the point of this is to help you increase your “savvy” and comfort level with all of this new magic.
Creating with Elements/Photoshop is now a WHENEVER Workshop.
When I created this workshop as the last scheduled workshop for 2011, I got lots of emails from folks who wanted to take it, but had scheduling problems. Those who did take it REALLY loved it, so I decided to move it to the WHENEVER line-up so you could take it when it does fit your schedule.
The photo above is a Cyanotype created by Photoshop/Elements techniques instead of the usual coated paper, sun, and water method of real life Cyanoptypes. There is a beauty and mystery to this look that turn any photo into an intriguing art image. This one is from a line of greeting cards I created with Cyanotypes, which I call Southwest Blue. They pretty much stop traffic in the gallery.
The workshop also teaches you how to make fake Polaroid Transfers which look just like the real ones, and “distressed” photos created with an additive rather than destructive approach.
The other three lessons teach you how to create projects – original art pieces that I make for my gallery. I don’t publish them outside the workshop, because I don’t want the world copying the ideas, but take my word for it, they are cool.
Here is the link to the Workshop Description page, or you can click Whenever Workshops in the sidebar.
Creating with Photoshop/Elements
Reading Kindle Books . . .
Do you need to own a Kindle? No.
I have an iPad, but all my ebooks are Kindle. That is because there is a Kindle App for the iPad. With it, you can Sample, Purchase, and Read any books from the Kindle Store.
But, you don’t need to own an iPad either.
You can download the Kindle Reading App for any of the devices shown above, and you effectively have a “Kindle” embedded in your device. Get your apps at this link . . .
Get Your Kindle APP
While iBooks does a better job with illustrated books, I prefer Kindle for the specials offered, the Samples sent instantly, and the prices – which are much better than iBook prices.
And don’t forget the great link I gave you last Sunday for keeping up with the Kindle specials.
How to Pull a Perfect Color Scheme from Photoshop or Elements . . .
Lots of times, it is not easy to come up with a color scheme for a project. Maybe we are challenged choosing colors that go together, or more often, we just run dry thinking of a new, fresh palette.
Here is a trick to solve that problem.
1. Open a photo in Photoshop or Elements
2.Crop a small area of pleasing color . . .
3. Choose Mosaic Tiles from the Filter Menu . . .
4. In the Filter Gallery that opens, choose Stained Glass and a cell size of 20 . . .
5. The result is a harmonious color scheme . . .
Any color here will harmonize with your photo, obviously, in case you wanted to add borders or layers of color behind it. And all these colors will work together in any art piece.
Print this out and find or mix matching paint colors or find similar colored pencil or pastel colors etc. You may have to enlarge before printing if you picked a very small area in step 2.
Or, to use the scheme in a digital artwork, Save As this file with a name (maybe like “Desert Rock” for this one), and have it open as an alternative Swatch collection while working on your piece. You need only click on a color to make it the foreground color and use it in your artwork window.
For even more fun, and a number of additional, harmonious color schemes, use the Hue Slider (Command or Control-U) to change things up a bit. All the colors will change and all will still harmonize with each other. (Not with your photo any longer, however!)
Big fun – and happy harmony!
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