Tag: Images

by Leland Richardson on November 15, 2021 0

GE DV1 Camcorder Review

GE DV1 at a Glance

The Good: Low cost, durable, easy to use.

The Bad: So-so video quality.

Video Quality

The GE DV1 records 1080p HD video in the H.264 format via a 5-megapixel CMOS image sensor. Indoors, footage off the DV1 can get noisy but nothing out of the ordinary for a low cost pocket camcorder. There is some noticeable over-exposure, particularly in sunlight, but the colors reproduced crisply. All in all, the video is serviceable, but you shouldn’t expect it to compare with the more expensive Full HD camcorders on the market.

The DV1 offers several quality settings, from 1080p/30 frames per second (fps) to a useful 720p option at 60fps for filming faster action. You can also drop recording quality to 1440 x 1080 and 640 x 480, but there’s no practical reason to do so.

The DV1 also snaps 5-megapixel still photos. If you’re dealing with plenty of ambient light and a still subject, the photos are decent. Otherwise, it’s best to stick to video, as the images will blur. Fairly uniquely among pocket camcorders, the DV1 can also snap 2-megapixel photos while recording. These images are hit-and-miss and you can only take up to six, but the feature itself is nice to have.

Optics

The DV1 packs a 4x digital zoom lens with digital image stabilization. As with all digital zooms on pocket models, this one just ramps up the digital noise so it doesn’t add much.

Design

The big selling point with the DV1 is obviously the rugged and waterproof body design. As mentioned above, the DV1 can be submerged in up to 15 feet of water (that’s deeper than Kodak’s Playsport Zx3) but more than that, it can be dropped from a height of 5 feet and it’s sealed against dust.

This makes it one of the more rugged camcorders on the market. If you’re big into outdoor activities, it’s a good choice.

Obviously, a rugged camcorder will impose some trade-offs on the design. To wit: the DV1 is a bit bulkier and heavier than other pocket cams on the market – but not obtrusively so. It can still be slipped into a pocket or purse quite easily. The memory card port, flip-out USB plug and other connectors are housed securely behind latched doors to keep the elements out. But they open easily. While many pocket camcorders have jumped on the touch-screen bandwagon, the DV1 has nice, large tactile buttons for recording, playback, snapping stills, entering the menu and deleting photos. They can all be pressed easily while wearing gloves. The only exception is the power button, which sits rather flush with the side of the camcorder and might present a problem for a gloved hand.

Feature Set

The GE DV1 offers a pretty bare bones feature set, which isn’t surprising given its low cost. You’ll find settings for adjusting white balance (including an underwater mode), a high dynamic range mode for stills and video recording, exposure metering (stills and video), and a continuous shooting mode for photographs at 7fps.

Menu & Display

You’ll access what features the DV1 has through a bright 2-inch display (you can also adjust the brightness manually in the settings). The menu layout is straightforward and easy to navigate, though when you enter it, you’ll start with the still photo features, not the video, which is a bit odd.

While filming, the DV1 uses just the top portion of the display. The bottom is filled with a menu displaying your current settings – such as whether you’re in HDR mode and your resolution. It can also display a histogram while recording, which is pretty rare to see at this price.

Memory

The DV1 records to SDHC cards and comes with no built-in memory. So you’ll need to factor in the cost of a card to the DV1’s bottom line (unless you already have one).

Bottom Line

When it comes to camcorders that can be tossed into the water or survive a fall onto the concrete without shattering, your choices are pretty limited so the DV1 doesn’t have many direct competitors to compare it to. That said, it’s more rugged and can be dunked deeper than Kodak’s PlaySport Zx3 (cheaper too), but doesn’t offer Kodak’s video quality or feature set. So if you need a bare-bones camcorder for a trip to the beach or an outdoor adventure, the DV1 is a good option. At $129, it’s attractively priced to be a good companion video camera to those who don’t want to risk a higher-end model during their death-defying white water rafting trips.

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by Leland Richardson on October 30, 2021 0

momma love: storytelling through photography

Last week, I mentioned that I was headed to a photography workshop led by photographer Brooke Shaden, whose work looks nothing like mine. The workshop was everything I could’ve hoped for (I wrote about it here), but there’s one thing in particular that Brooke said that stuck with me.

You see, Brooke’s background is in English and in Filmmaking, and she said that she views her fine art photography as an attempt to condense an entire book (or movie) into a single still image. She wants people to look at an image she created and immediately feel something resonate in the same way a riveting plotline would move you when reading a great book or watching an epic movie.

I loved this concept, and have been thinking about it ever since, musing how I could do the same with my own photography. So when the work of Ali Smith hit my inbox this morning, I was immediately struck by how beautifully she is able to do just this. Her latest book, Momma Love: How the Mother Half Lives, features “40 women’s portraits and compelling stories about the highs and lows of the motherhood experience” — and compelling they are. I love how you look at her images and you’re immediately drawn into the story:

This is more than just photojournalism, I think. Photojournalism freezes an action so that it records a specific moment in time, but these pictures prompt you to ask more of the story: in the first image, how long has the day been for that mom? She’s lit a candle for her dinner — is she fastidious about creating a calming scene for her family, even as her daughter tries to lunge for something off-scene? Do moms really have eyes in the backs of their heads?

Unfortunately, Ali Smith had a bad experience with her publisher, and in order to get the book to print, Ali has started a Kickstarter campaign. I, for one, will definitely be contributing — in addition to the compelling stories the book promises to tell, I suspect I’ll find a lot of photographic inspiration in there as well.

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by Leland Richardson on December 2, 2019 0

GPS Camcorders: A Guide to GPS Camcorders

The current technological sophistication that quite amazes me is they can know where you are. That is a very rapid progress in my opinion. This technology is very beneficial for some sectors of life, be it the business world or even for those of you who love to travel.

The same global positioning system (GPS) that helps you navigate around town in your car has started to appear inside digital camcorders.

The first GPS camcorders were introduced in 2009 courtesy of Sony and include the HDR-XR520V, HDR-XR500V, HDR-XR200V and HDR-TR5v.

What Does An Internal GPS Receiver Do?

*Courtesy : /images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com*

The GPS receiver collects location data from satellites circling the Earth. Sony’s camcorders use this data to automatically adjust the unit’s clock to the proper time zone. Not much use if you’re filming the backyard barbeque, but certainly a convenience for international travelers.

The camcorders also use GPS data to display a map of your current location on the LCD screen. Don’t confuse these GPS camcorders with navigation devices, though.

They won’t offer point-to-point directions.

A New Way to Organize Video

The real benefit of the GPS receiver is that it saves location data as you film. With this information, the camcorders will create a map on the LCD display with icons marking all of the locations where you shot video. Rather than search for saved video files by time or date, you can use this “Map Index” function to find your videos by location.

When you’ve transferred your video to a computer, Sony’s Picture Motion Browser (PMB) software will automatically merge the location data from the GPS receiver with the appropriate video clips and then plot those clips on a map as tiny thumbnail images. Click on a thumbnail in a given location, and you can view the video you filmed there. Think of it as new way to organize and visualize your saved video files.

Can You Geotag Videos Like Photos?

*Courtesy : redhensystems-1634.kxcdn.com*

Not quite. When you geotag a digital photograph, you embed location data inside the photo file itself. This way, when you upload photos to websites like Flickr, the GPS data goes with it and you’re able to use Flickr’s mapping tool to view your photos on a map.

With these camcorders, the GPS data cannot be embedded into the video file. If you were to upload video to Flickr, the GPS data would stay behind on the computer. The only way to plot your videos on a map is on your personal computer with Sony’s software. That’s definitely a limitation.

Do You Need a GPS Camcorder?

If you’re a very active traveler who’s comfortable working with video files on a computer, the added functionality made possible by GPS technology is definitely beneficial. For casual users, GPS alone shouldn’t motivate you to buy these camcorders.

The true promise of GPS inside a camcorder will be realized when you can embed the GPS data inside the video file itself. Then you’ll be able to avail yourself to third party applications and websites that support location organizing and the mapping of videos.

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by David Burgess on July 20, 2018 0

The Latest Trend in Corporate Trophy Trophies and Plaques – Three Dimensional Effects

Corporate trophies and plaques have been given out since time immemorial. Initially carved out of wood, today corporate trophy is made from different materials, come in different shapes and are given for different reasons and on different occasions. As clients keep searching for unique ideas to make their trophy the most prestigious, designers have come up with the latest – 3D trophies.

So after movies and TV, now you can even have 3D corporate trophy in your house (of course you need to win it and not just buy it off the shelf if it is to be of any real value). Corporate trophy trophies and plaques are essentially not advertising or marketing material but they still do carry brand value. When you choose the 3D corporate trophy to represent your company you send out a message that you are not only forward thinking in ideas and technology but in the way you treat and recognize your employees too.

3D corporate trophies definitely look state-of-the-art but do not cost a lot compared to its peers. Initially the 3D effect was used only in promotional materials like paper weights. But with the arrival of latest technology three dimensional engraving has become cost effective. This has aroused great interests in the corporate world and many of these ideas are currently being used in form of corporate gifts and marketing material. The visual impact of a three dimensional trophy cannot be undermined. It connotes high tech capabilities.

The three dimensional image in a trophy is generally given form using laser engraving devices. These are invariably sophisticated. The images or logos or words to be engraved are first produced as a draft image in a computer file. This file is then fed into the engraving device which ultimately brings out the 3D effect in the trophy. It is very important that the first draft image is perfect keeping in mind the effect the final 3D image will bring out. It is also important that the high quality laser engraving is done by professionals only and not by any fly-by-night operators. After all it represents your company and you definitely do not want to settle for anything sub-optimal.

When designing the file for the three dimensional image focus on the follow criteria

– The message you want to communicate should be direct and relevant to your target audience. Avoid designing abstract figures, vague messages etc
– Avoid having big messages as the font will become smaller and the ultimate 3D effect will be lost
– Ensure that only trained technicians are working on your designing and engraving or the ultimate result on the corporate trophy will be less than acceptable.

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by David Burgess on May 31, 2018 0

FREE Horse and Pony Clip Art

Horse Clip Art for Web Sites, Crafts and More

This site features the best resources for FREE horse and pony themed clip art. What’s even better is that all of the clip art listed below have no terms of use restrictions. You can use them for websites, online scrapbooks and other great projects.

The horse clip art images used on this page are from the sites listed below and available for you to use. I also created a few dividers have made them available near the end of this page. To use any of the horse clip art images on this site just right click and save to your computer. Take a look and enjoy!

Millermark Creations

Free Horse and Pony Clip Art

While putting this clip art site together I found Millermark Creations free horse and pony clip art. It has quickly become my favorite. They offer an amazing variety of images. You will find funny cartoons, colored art, decorative art, instruction art, realistic images and vintage clip art.

Free Horse Clipart from Millermark Creations
As of 3/05/13, there are no restrictions for using these images. It is a good idea to verify that this information is still valid.

Open Clip Art Library

Free Horse and Pony Clip Art

Open Clip Art Library has a nice collection of horse and pony clip art images. This collection consists of both color and black and white images. They also provide an online editing tool.

Open Clip Art Library Horse Clip Art
As of 4/29/12 all images have been released into the public domain and can be used for both private and commercial use without any restrictions. If using an image It is a good idea to verify that this information is still valid.

WP Horse Clip Art

Free Horse and Pony Clip Art

WPClipart has many horse and pony public domain images. The collection has a variety of both color and black and white realistic drawings, cartoon images and a few photographs.

WPClipart – Horses and Ponies Clip Art and Images
As of 3/05/13, all images have been released into the public domain and can be used for both private and commercial use without any restrictions. However, it is a good idea to verify that this information is still valid.

Karen’s Whimsy Clip Art

Karen’s Whimsy Clip Art has a small selection of horse clip art images. They are from an old Spanish dictionary and in the Public Domain. The images are all black and white. Most of which are pieces from the clip art image pictured here.

Karen’s Whimsy Horse Clip Art
As of 3/05/13, all images have been released into the public domain and can be used for both private and commercial use without any restrictions. It is a good idea to verify that this information is still valid.

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by David Burgess on May 30, 2018 0

How to make Fractals

Fractals are beautiful computer generated images

Make your own unique images for use as wall paper on your computer desktop, as background art on web pages or simply to enjoy.

Fractals are drawn by your computer with a little help from advanced mathematics. The great thing is, you can easily create your own fractals without understanding math. Fractal images can be made by you self by the use of easy-to-use, free computer programs.

This easy guide helps you on your way to fractal heaven.

Fractals – the basics

calculating the image

Fractals are generated by calculating a complex mathematical formula. Each point is checked for how fast it goes to infinity. The result is mapped to a colour, and so the images appear.

The same formular can generate different images depending on the parameters used and the zoom level applied.

There are a lot of different formulas, all giving different, fantastic looking images.

Fractals are rooted in chaos theory, and because of their unpredictable (not really, but they look unpredictable) nature they are great for organic looking artwork and landscapes.

Enjoy these images

Large enough for use as images

Make your own fractals

Fractal creation is a fun challenge for programmers. So several programs exist to make your own fractals.
See the link list below and try out the different programs. If you don’t know where to start, try ChaosPro! It is free, easy to use, and generates many different types of fractals.

Find and download software for fractal generation

there is plenty of software to draw fractals
Here are links to sites that offer software for making fractals, much of this software is free. Take a look at the programs, and cast a vote on the one you like best.
You can even submit a link, if I forgot one. The link needs approval by me, but I’ll get to it soon.

More fractals

Big enough for wallpapers

Books on fractals

here is where you can lean even more about these amazing images
Fractals are based in mathematics. So there is of course many books on the subject. Some deal with the theoric background and others just explore the beauty of the images.

And then some fractals

you can download them as wallpapers

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by David Burgess on May 24, 2018 0

How To Use The Color Wheel To Create Outstanding Art

What Is The Color Wheel And Why Is It Important

How to use the colour wheel in art, in simple terms whilst still being of practical use. There are literally millions of colors as any computer user will tell you but we only need to understand a few of them, and how the colour wheel can help with this, to realise how they can be used together for real benefit to the artist, adding a creative dimension to paintings and other artworks.

The colour wheel only considers three primary colors, three secondary colors and six tertiary colors and we look at how the color wheel is arrived at and how it is used.

The accompanying image is for explanation only and does not represent the actual colours. I put this together in Photoplus and could not obtain the exact colours, the images throughout are taken from this diagram. This should not affect the explanation here.

This will give us a practical ability to select color schemes for our art. For an artist / designer, knowing how to make use of the color wheel makes choosing color schemes and why they work, easy.

This is a concept that beginners sometimes find difficult to grasp at first. However it is very easy and will pay dividends if you understand how to use it to select color schemes for your artwork.

The Color Wheel 101

A Primer

The first thing to understand is that there are three colours from which all others can be mixed. These are called the PRIMARY COLOURS and there are specific names for them but all you really need to know is that they are red, yellow and blue. Please note: I have created the colour wheel images on this page for the purposes of this explanation of the concept, they do not accurately reflect the true primaries or mixes of these.

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Mixing these in more or less equal proportion gives another three colours called SECONDARY COLOURS. They are green (blue and yellow), violet (red and blue) and orange (red and yellow).

Photobucket

TERTIARY COLOURS are obtained by mixing a secondary colour with an adjacent primary. E.g. red and orange gives red-orange, blue and violet gives blue-violet.

Photobucket

The real beauty of the colour wheel is not that it provides a colourful diagram, but that it helps to select colour schemes for your artwork and here’s how it fits together

Photobucket

Now we shall consider how we might use this knowledge. But first of all, the colours on the screen do not seem to work too well especially in the red to blue sector. Why not use the paints / colours from your own palette to make a colour wheel? Use it for reference when needed, it will repay the effort many times over. Just start with the primaries and add the other sectors by mixing the colours in the respective proportions. In fact, if you use different primaries ( for example: alizarin crimson in one wheel and cadmium red in another) you will be able to see which colours when mixed give you vibrant greens or dazzling oranges, etc. Knowing how to use your colours is one sign of a good artist.

You can find out more about the primaries I use in my watercolour palette, and how I use them to mix secondaries, etc in my page on Painting The Seasons.

The Monochromatic Colour Scheme

Use Of The Colour Wheel (1)

We can identify five main colour schemes based on their relative positions in the colour wheel. The first and easiest of these is: –

THE MONOCHROMATIC COLOUR SCHEME; contrasts are achieved simply with shades and tints of any one colour.

Now we seem to have introduced the concept of shades and tints. Do not fret! A tint is a lighter version of the colour. It is made by a process which depends on the media being used. In oils or acrylics for instance, it would be a mixture of the pure colour pigment and white. In watercolour, it would be a more dilute mixture of the colour. A shade is a darker version of the colour, often made by mixing with black but could be achieved by mixing in a small amount of the complementary colour. More about this below.

The Complementary Colour Scheme

Use Of The Colour Wheel (2)

The next we shall consider is the complementary colour scheme. Here we make use of one main colour and its close neighbours on the colour wheel or their tints and shades, and add a little zing by also using its complementary colour. This is the colour found opposite on the colour wheel. So :-
for blue the complementary is orange
for red the complementary is green
for yellow the complementary is purple

The photo of the indian lady shows a collage which makes use of a complementary scheme to make the red sash stand out.

Another collage, I have recently completed shows the effect of using a blue colour scheme and adding a little orange in the form of images in a film strip. I think this shows how effective the complementary colour scheme can be.

The Harmonious Colour Scheme

Use Of The Colour Wheel (3)

Next we shall consider the Harmonious colour schem, also called the analogous colour scheme.

This utilises closely co-ordinating colours, i.e. close together on the colour wheel. This is often described as using either warm or cool colours. Warm colours are the reds, yellows, oranges and their mixtures. Cool colours are the blues and greens.

The “sixties” themed ATC shown here uses mainly reds, purples and oranges to give it a warm feel.

Another example is given which uses cool blues in various tints.

The Triadic Colour Scheme

Use Of The Colour Wheel (4)

The triadic colour scheme utilises colours equidistant from each other on the colour wheel. E.g. red-orange, blue-green and blue violet. An example of this is seen in this “african themed” ATC.

This second photo shows also shows a triadic colour scheme in use. The red background with the blue of the repeated advertisements and the yellow text and gold (yellow) colouring dragged across the background.

The Split Complementary Colour Scheme

Use Of The Colour Wheel (5)

painting over collageThe split complementary colour scheme uses one dominant colour balanced by two colours from either side of its complementary. This can be said to be very similar to the triadic scheme and only subtly different.

The example here shows a painting, as I have not been able to find one of my ATC’s that have been created using this colour scheme.

The dominant blue has been off-set with a reddish orange and touches of a yellowish orange.

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by David Burgess on May 11, 2018 0

Learn how to draw a pine tree

A drawing of a pine tree – Pinus silvestris

Ten typical features of pine trees are explained and shown in a big size image of a pine tree drawing study. The tutorial explains how to draw the pine from the tree top with needles, the branches to the trunk with different zones of bark. The example drawing has been done in pen on site directly from nature. Learn about drawing a realistic looking pine tree. See more examples, get inspiration for own drawings here.
For those who are looking for a cheap book on drawing trees I can recomend my publication on Blurb “How to draw a tree”
If you were looking for botanical information I can recommend another squidoo lens Scots pine

Image credits: All images on this webpage ,if not otherwise stated, are creations by the author.Images and illustrations of products (in affiliate links) are used according to Squidoo TOS.

An example of a pine tree drawing – 10 typical features explained

Pen line drawing
Below there is a sketchbook study from life in pen, showing a pine tree. If you click on the image a large version accompanied with text will open in a new tab. May be you want to download and print out that file (ca. 2MB) and study it. There are ten numbers with explanations marked in the sketch that point out to some typical features of pine trees. Of course the appearance of pine trees vary between different species,age,environment and conditions for growth,but if you understand and reckognize the important features it will be easy to do your own drawing.

Explanations to a pine tree drawing with detail images

1. I started to draw the pine tree from the top. At first the shape of the tree top was drawn as outline. I looked at the tree, not at my paper and followed the outline I could see against the light sky. That is called blind drawing,if you don´t know about this check the link.

2. Then I tried to identify the pattern,rythm or structure of the pine tree needles and executed these details within the previously drawn outline

3. I noticed 3-4 basic patterns in the needles appearance and made a note of them. You might see things different and may develop your own signs or marks for representation. Perhaps you want to put those on a separate sheet.

4. I recognized that there are thin branches with and without needles at the edges of the bigger clusters. These thin branches look a bit like a spiders web and they contribute to the typical look of a pine tree.

5. Then I continued downwards with the outline of the trunk and added the branches. The branches of pine trees take typical turns, no other trees do it that way. For that reason one can recognize a pine from miles distance.

6. There are also many old,short pieces of branches that make for a tyical appearance too.

7. Bigger branches have clearly visible “shoulders” at the junction with the trunk.

8. A number of branches grows circular around the trunk every year. The yearly growth in height is still visible by the length of the free space between two of those circles,which can be seen by those small dark branch marks in the bark even when the branches are already gone.

The bark of a pine tree changes from top to bottom. in the top area it is bright and sometimes shiny. Then it changes in area of redish surface where the thin soft bark comes of like pieces of old skin.

9. Further down the bark gets darker and rougher with lots of fine lines on the surface.

10. At the bottom the bark is very thick and shows these typical deep cracks and gaps.

11. As comparison I have added a small piece of a spruce tree in the background. By observing and depicting the typical features of a tree it is possible to evoke a realistic impression even if the proportions are not exactly correct.

A pine tree as part of a landscape drawing

This is an India ink drawing which was done on a cold January morning. The young pine tree is an important part of the scenery. It is a different species (Pinus niger) with a more dense tree top. In the detail below one can see how the needle masses were represented by simple strokes in various directions.

How to draw a tree – The book published on BLURB

A field guide to drawing and sketching trees

The little book in format 8X5 is based on the content of this lens. It contains

70 black and white images of pen, ink and charcoal drawings. You will find many of the illustrations on this lens, but others also from related lenses on drawing deciduous and coniferous trees and some extra images too in the book.
The book summarizes my experiences in drawing trees. The majority of drawings are deciduous trees, but there is also an explanations about pine tree drwaing and spruce.

Link to the book How to draw a tree There is a full preview available.

Great examples of pine tree drawings by Artists on FLICKR

The very special tip !!!!!
I am glad that I found these inspiring drawings just by incident. I am glad that meantime the author has added his name. These great drawings are all done by Mike de Weese a professional illustrator..
I write this paragraphs really only to make sure that this link is not overlooked !

Plein air set of ink drawings
This set of Plein air drawings posted by FLICKR user Mike DeWeese contains a series of great drawings, mainly pine trees but also other conifers. The artists has studied all parts of the tree from trunk to tree top, including details and complete forests.
A very inspiring set of work !

How to draw a pine tree – a video instruction

Video for beginners – drawing a pine with ink and brush

Pine – pine tree by yanghaiying

Pine tree drawings online – link list

archive of pine tree drawings

Pine tree – Archives of American Art: Sketchbooks: Curators’ Choice
Worthington Whittredge sketchbook of a trip down the Rhine River 1849 / Worthington Whittredge, artist. Sketchbook : 1 v. : various media ; 15 x 24 cm. Worthington Whittredge papers. Archives of American Art.

Pine Tree Study on Flickr – Photo Sharing!
Nice study by Art*edges on FLICKR
#Loved the wild lines of this pine tree. So full of texture. Watercolors and ink.

Drawing the urban Landscape

Exploring the city with a sketchbook
Between April 2006 and May 2007 I have worked on an exhibition project about the urban landscape of the city of Stuttgart,Germany.
I have selected more than 30 drawings for a book now available online at BLURB.
The first 10 pages show panoramic drawings together with the essay about the urban landscape and the experience of drawing such a complex subject. The following pages show two panoramic drawings per page without text.

More drawing lenses by Edition Handdruck

Landscape drawing – improve your skills efficiently and fast !
8 tips how to improve your landscape drawing skills efficiently and fast.Everybody who can write her/his own name on a piece of paper can achieve a high level of drawing skills. Drawing can be learned much more easy than painting and it gives so much pleasure !Link to some of my sketches and drawing

How to draw a tree
How to draw a tree – Find a collection of tree drawings and explanations how they have been done. Get inspired by famous examples and have a look at online drawing tutorials. Find your own way how to draw a tree.

How to draw deciduous trees
This is an introduction to drawing deciduous trees from life.MPM, Monotype printmaker Martin explains how he draws decidous trees with a pen and with charcoal. There are no rules in drawing,every body can develop a very own way to draw a tree. If your looking for some inspirations or ideas have a loo

Artist sketchbooks – little nothings turn into big somethings
For decades artist sketchbooks have only been noticed by a limited specialist audience which got access to those precious resources mostly only after the death of the creator. Excerpts might have been published in print media, but mostly only at the price of damaging or destroying the sketchbooks.

Sketching gear – what does the beginner need ?
Sketching outdoors is a great activity and a rewarding hobby for everyone. This lens is for those how want to start sketching outdoors in the city or in rural landscape. What sketching gear would you need to have with you ? What kind of gear is suitale and what should the quality be like ?

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by David Burgess on May 9, 2018 0

Sports Illustrations of Gary Patterson

Sports Illustrations: The Art of Gary Patterson

The sport illustrations of Gary Patterson capture our favorite pastimes in images which have the uncanny ability to play havoc with our memories of these popular recreational activities.

It’s the sport of hockey, football, golf, tennis, skiing, and fishing as visualized through the eyes of Gary Patterson. Delightful and entertaining this is art designed for those who love their recreation time.

Shine up your favorite golf clubs and take a walk onto the green with Gary Patterson.

Where breaking par is the highlight of your week.

And getting caught in the sandtrap is your biggest fear.

They say that art is a personal experience and it seems that Gary Patterson took this to heart.

Gary Patterson’s sports illustrations have the magical ability to stir our deepest emotions. Art is meant to be enjoyed and his work certainly fits the bill.
Gary Patterson’s art leads our imagination into scenarios that are much more than just a little probable to occur. He’ll tickle your funny bone and coerce a smile to your lips.
He trudges us onto the golf course and up hilly slopes to gracefully ski to the bottom of the hill. He leads us into the thick of a great game of hockey and tempts us onto the lake to go fishing. Tennis or football? Well those sports are in his illustrations as well.
(Photo of Gary Patterson used with permission.)

Gary Patterson’s illustrations give us a whole new take on the term “Birdie”.

Gotcha! A truly exceptional sports illustrator envelopes us in his view of the game’s play.

Golf is only a game? Nope. It’s one of those all important ways to relax after a long hard day.

It truly is great to get out onto the green.

Sports illustrations are the ideal art form for those who love their game.

We all know that sports can have a tendency to get a little rough. For some it is a natural part of the excitement of the game. For Gary Patterson it is a natural characteristic of many of his sports illustrations.

Love the game, or hate it, you can’t help but be amused by a wry twist of humor directed toward it. Football, baseball, hockey, tennis, surfing, or golf, no sport is left untouched by the humorous imagination of Gary Patterson. For sports lovers it’s the perfect art work to hang on their wall.

The game play in football can get a little intense.

It’s a sport where your imagination really doesn’t have all that much to design. You know it is gonna hurt.

Touchdown! It’s football as seen through the eyes and art of Gary Patterson.

Art is the excitement of a tennis victory.

And Gary Patterson’s humorous view of sportsmanship.

A fastball really can be a fireball when you are the one swinging at it.

Gary Patterson’s art captures our love of the great American Baseball game.

The hazards of fishing come to life in Gary Patterson’s humorous fishing illustrations.

Did you ever have the feeling that you lost something?

The only thing better than a relaxing afternoon fishing is perhaps not going fishing?

Or an overnight camping trip?

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water.

In hockey the penalty box is where the misbehaving players go to spend a little time cooling off.

Gary Patterson’s sports illustrations show us the excitement of being a goalie.

Gary Patterson’s sport illustrations show us hockey in a vividly accurate light.

Players comparing battle scars.

The artistic son of an artist.

Gary Patterson’s father was an artist creating images for the Navy and of the Los Angeles Fire Department. It was by watching his father create his art, and seeing the joy that his fathers art brought to so many, that Gary also developed a love for artistic work.

Gary Patterson plied his hand to creating fine art, and won awards for this venue, but it was the work of creating humorous illustrations which gave him his deepest satisfaction. So he followed his heart and took on the title of “Creator of Smiles”.

Going up.

Going down.

Going downhill a little differently.

Facing the windchill on the slopes.

Days on the slope when you aren’t quite sure what went wrong.

Be sure to stop by the official Gary Patterson websites:

The official Gary Patterson website.

The official Gary Patterson Facebook page.

The Gary Patterson Smile Factory.

Humor in Art

A great piece of artwork evokes emotion in those who view it and the art of Gary Patterson does just that. His work is a serious attack on the old funny bone.

Great works of art really do not have to be serious to be amazing.

Gary Patterson proves that humorous art can be one of the most wonderful avenues of art to explore…Humor in Art: The Artwork of Gary Patterson.

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by David Burgess on May 9, 2018 0

Free Art Tools Online

Art Resources

Who has time for art? While I love art, it’s inconvenient to take out all my supplies, paint, and clean up. Not to mention, my kids want to participate too. I spend so much time teaching them how to create things that I don’t get to fully enjoy my own work or time. It just leaves me frustrated.

There is an easier way to find your inner artist

Free Resources
Several places online offer a variety of ways to create graphic art with just the click of a mouse. Most programs load right into your web browser and are easy to pick up. Other, more complex, programs need to be downloaded, installed, and learned.

Convenient
Art is at the tip of your fingers. A few minutes of art every day spent creating art is entrancing. Don’t you deserve a few minutes each day?

Harmony

Harmony Harmony is one of my favorite programs online.

*Free to Use and Save
*No Registration Required
*Several Drawing Styles
*Simple Layout (uses most of the page to draw on)

PsykoPaint

PsykoPaint PsykoPaint is a site that you can create paintings from your own photographs even if you don’t know how to paint.

*Register is Required for many features
*Able to use with Wacom or digital tablets
*Send a postcard with your art
*Send a digital card by email

Flash Paint

Flash Paint Flash Paint is an online paint tool that uses Flash in your web browser

*No Sign Up Requirements
*Save your images
*Share images in the Gallery
*Simple Tool Set

OdoSketch

OdoSketch OdoSketch is a unique online Flash drawing application.

*Paper Background
*Easy tool system
*Account Required to save images

Bomomo

the Bomomo One of the simplest web browser art generators out there is Bomomo

*Works only with Firefox and Safari
*18 drawing tools to experiment with
*Save finished work to your hard drive
*Nothing to sign up for or download

My Oats Draw Tool

My Oats My Oats is an online, web browser art generator.

*Advanced Editing Tools
*Share with the community if you want
*Save your images (must make an account)
Great Art Resources on Amazon

ToonDoo – Make Comic Strips

ToonDoo ToonDoo is the fastest way to create comic strips online.

*Registration Required
*Draw Characters – Create different looks for each character
*Choose Comic Layout
*Use the DoodleR to add personal touches
*Create Books of your comics
*Print your creations on T-shirts, posters, cloth, mugs, mousepads, keychains and more!

Sketchpad

SketchPad SketchPad is a more complex drawing tool that offers a variety of patterns, brush options, and shapes to create with.

*A little more difficult to learn than some of the others
*Easy to save
*No Sign-up Required

Draw.To

Draw To Draw.To lets you draw anything you like and share it instantly via email, instant messaging, Twitter, Facebook and more!

*No Registration Required
*Embed drawings in your blog or website
*Add to existing drawings
*Works in your web browser, no downloads required
*Also works on iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch

The Image Mixer

Image Mixer If you love abstract art, try experimenting with the Image Mixer. It’s a web based generator. Unfortunately, you can’t add your own photographs. There are a lot of great patterns that you can create as well as a gallery from other users.

Generate abstract images in your web browser
Generate as many images as you desire
Customize the size, color, patterns, shape, opacity and scattering

Modern Art Generator

Modern Art Generator The Modern Art Generator

*Create abstract drawings online in your web browser
*Experiment with different color palettes
*Adjust opacity and image size
*Save your images

Brushter

Brushter Brushter is an online painting machine for all ages. This Shockwave interactive includes more than forty brushes and customizable size, transparency, texture, and stroke options. A rainbow palette, along with a toolbox of special effects that blur, ripple, smudge, blend, and fragment your designs help make BRUSHster a full-feature painting program.

*No Registration Required
*Save work to your computer
*Auto Draw Mode
*Requires Shockwave Payer (Free Download)

Sumo Paint

Sumo Paint Sumo Paint is an online image editor and digital paint program.

*No Sign up required
*Several Tools to choose from
*Extensive “How To” section
*Filters to create effects on your work
*Browse other community art for inspiration

Sketch Swap

Sketch Swap With Sketch Swap, you can draw images online and trade it with another person. It’s all anonymous, so there’s nothing embarrassing to worry about.

*Runs in your web browser
*Nothing to download
*Simple pen tool
*Redraws another person’s art after you submit yours

FlockDraw

FlockDraw Flockdraw is a free to use online whiteboard based painting & drawing tool.

*Draw online free with multiple people for fun or business
*Have unlimited people in a room
*See drawing changes in real time
*Use different colors, shapes and text
*Signup Required

ScribLink

ScribLink Scriblink is a free digital whiteboard that users can share online in real-time. Sorta like pen and paper, minus the dead trees, plastic, and the inconvenience of being at the same place at the same time.

*No Registration required
*Privacy: the board is all yours, open only to the people you choose to invite
*Dynamic Tools: use shapes, hundreds of colors, a size bar, a text feature, and a grid to help guide your drawings
*File Options: gives you the ability to print, save, and email your work
*Image Uploader: upload an image onto the whiteboard as the background, allowing you to share it, mark it, deface it, or highlight key elements
*In-Screen Chat: when working with others, no need to sign in to third party software, simply use our in-screen chat
*VOIP Conferencing: if you have a mic for your computer, you can automatically connect with your collaborators (no software necessary) and talk for free for as long as you like
*File transfer: when emailing is too much of a hassle, simply transfer files directly to anyone you’re working with

Online Color Palette Generator

Color Palette Generator The Color Palette Generator is an amazing tool for any digital artist.

How many times have you needed to pick up the colors on your images to create a color pallets? The color dropper tool is effective, but it’s slow. Also, if you’ve used the dropper you’ve noticed how each pixel can be slightly different. This generator find the number of colors you need for an image. Just upload a sample image under 100KB and select your color palette grid size.

You can use .png, .gif, .jpg, and .jpeg formats
No Limits on the amount of palettes you generate
Create precise or average color palettes.

Gaffiti Playdo

Graffiti Playdo Graffiti Playdo uses adobe flash player and allows you to paint on a wall with cans of spray paint. Draw graffiti together with your friends! Save your art to your album and share with your friends. With multiplayer functions so you can paint together in real time.

*No Registration Required
*Connect with Facebook to save, share, and draw with friends

ArtisanCam – Graffiti Art Board

ArtisanCam ArtisanCam provides an insight into the lives of contemporary artists. Using a mixture of video and interactive activities, we introduce children to the world of contemporary visual art before encouraging them to have a go themselves in fun and exciting ways.

*No Registration Required
*Much more art content than the graffiti paint program”

Kerpoof

Kerpoof Kerpoof is a fun program for both children and adults. It’s simple enough for the young users but versatile enough for adults to fully enjoy. The website is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company.

*Flash and Java browser
*Free to use and to download JPEGs
*Must have an account to save unfinished work
*Make artwork (even if you aren’t good at drawing!)
*Make an animated movie (really! it’s easy!)
*Earn Koins which you can trade for fun things in the Kerpoof Store
*Make a printed card, t-shirt, or mug
*Tell a story
*Make a drawing
*Vote on the movies, stories, and drawings that other people have made

Draw Here

Draw Here Draw Here allows you to draw on any web page. If you save your drawing, other Draw Here users will be able to see what you’ve drawn. Use it to share your artwork, comment on web pages, or just doodle while you are browsing.

*Free to Join
*Free to use
*Highlight parts of a webpage
*Doodle while you read
*Write notes right on the screen
*Deface your photos just for the fun of it

Draw Island

Draw Island Draw Island was just launched early Feb. 2012

*Iphone version , Minimalist version
*Draw online : change sizes, colors and use shapes like rectangle, round,…. and save result
*Generate animations (see button) with your drawings…(max size 400×400 pixels with 10 frames max)
*Video Tutorial

**Updates Coming :
– new options(Import Image)

Favicon Icon Drawing

Favicon Favicon is a drawing program to create a 16×16 pixel icon in 16 colors with optional transparency.

*No Registration Required
*Generate Icon button to save the icon to your hard disk
*The icons you generate are not recorded anywhere

Scribbls

Scribbls Scribbls – Bees plus flowers gives you honey. Pie and rat together make “pirate.” Putting any two things together is bound to have an interesting, even hilarious, effect-or outcome. At Scribbls, you can combine thousands of different drawings to create an infinite number of outcomes.

*Registration Required (Free Sign Up)
*Collaborative drawing community
*Uses Flash Player
*Occasional Contests

The Scribbler

The Scribbler The Scribbler takes simple vector based input (in the case of the online toy, your drawing) and creates its own drawing on top of it based on a number of simple rules. When a new scribble line is created it chooses a few numbers at random that eventually determine what sort of line it will draw.

*No Registration Required
*No Save Option (Take a screenshot)
*Experiment with different colors and line thicknesses
*Change colors during the scribble process

Deviant Art Muro

Deviant Art Muro Deviant Art Muro is a free online painting tool that offers both a pro version (layers) and basic version.

*No Registration Required
*Wacom Tablet Usability
*Purchase additional brushes
SketchPAN SketchPAN is an online drawing community where anyone can participate and share their art.

*Use Drawing PAN to record your drawing process
*Animation PAN lets you create flip books
*Together PAN lets you create something with others
*Shop PAN lets you start with something more than blank paper

Queeky

Queeky Queeky is an online drawing community.

*Save your work either on Queeky.com, or on your local computer
*Publish your work to the galleries
*Vote and Comment on other art
*Import photos, Blur Tool, Select Tool, custom gradient fills, multiple windows, layer effects and many more
*Premium Version Option
*Share your work and comments on Facebook
*Study the technics and workflow of your favorite artists

Pencil Maddness

Pencil Maddness Pencil Madness a free online sketching tool. PencilMadness is a Flash application that lets you draw and publish images in our gallery.

*Save images as jpg or Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) directly to your computer
*Sign Up is Not Required

Penolo

Penolo Penolo is a simple sketching tool where you can post results to Twitter if you want.

*No Registration Required (Unless using Twitter)
*Simple Tools
*Tons of Color Choices
*Easy enough for kids to use

Pixlr – Online Photo Editor

Pixlr Pixlr enables web developers to use Pixlr applications on their own site. Everything that is done on this site can be done on yours. Added advanced image editing capabilities is very easy.

*Completely free
*Uses Flash
*3 applications in our suite: Pixlr Editor, Pixlr Express, and Pixlr-o-Matic
*Uses Layers
*Color Effects

FREE Digital Image Editing and Painting Programs

There are a variety of 2D graphics software products useful for creating art, manipulating photographic images, or to just experimenting with for the purpose of gaining insight. Most of these programs need to be downloaded and installed to your computer. All have free versions.

Free Programs Include:

Gimp
GIMP is a versatile graphics manipulation package. GIMP allows you to customize the view and behavior the way you like it. Starting from the widget theme, allowing you to change colors, widget spacings and icon sizes to custom tool sets in the toolbox. The interface is modulized into so called docks, allowing you to stack them into tabs or keep them open in their own window. Pressing the tab key will toggle them hidden.

My Paint
MyPaint is a fast and easy open-source graphics application for digital painters. It lets you focus on the art instead of the program. You work on your canvas with minimum distractions, bringing up the interface only when you need it.

mtPaint
Easily create pixel art and manipulate digital photos.

Pencil
Pencil is an animation/drawing software for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. It lets you create traditional hand-drawn animation (cartoon) using both bitmap and vector graphics. Pencil is free and open source.

Helios Paint
HeliosPaint is a feature-rich, easy-to-use and powerful paint program for editing photos, drawings and icons. It runs on Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X, Linux and Unix. Helios Paint utilizes Java. While it’s a simple program, it does offer a lot of tool options.

Real World Paint
Draw, Retouch Photos, and Animate Gifs with this program. You won’t have to leave your old projects behind. Real World Paint can import and export native image files of other popular image editors. Images are imported or exported with layers. Real World Paint installs or requires NO additional packages on your computer.

Dia
Dia can be used to draw many different kinds of diagrams. It currently has special objects to help draw entity relationship diagrams, UML diagrams, flowcharts, network diagrams, and many other diagrams. It is also possible to add support for new shapes by writing simple XML files, using a subset of SVG to draw the shape.

Inkscape
An Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw, or Xara X, using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format. Inkscape supports many advanced SVG features (markers, clones, alpha blending, etc.) and great care is taken in designing a streamlined interface. It is very easy to edit nodes, perform complex path operations, trace bitmaps and much more. We also aim to maintain a thriving user and developer community by using open, community-oriented development.

Project Dogwaffle
It’s a light, yet powerful tool for artistic expression. It’s a fully functional version with some new features too. It is not save-disabled, there’s no time-limit, no need to register, and there’s no spyware or adware coming with it.

Twisted Brush
The free edition of TwistedBrush with most of the great features of TwistedBrush except for brush editing and with a just handful of very fine brushes with the option to add additional collections of brushes. layers, realistic media, photo cloning, tracing, masks, particles, filters, script recording, scripts to AVI, drawing tablet support, brush shapes, patterns, textures, Adobe compatible plug-in support, integrated scanner support, image brushes, drawing guides, reference image views, dirty brushes, scratch layer, dynamic palettes and a whole lot more.

Free 3D Editing Programs

Sketchup

You can build models from scratch, or you can download what you need. People all over the world share what they’ve made on the Google 3D Warehouse. Redecorate your living room. Invent a new piece of furniture. Model your city for Google Earth. There’s no limit to what you can create with SketchUp.

DAZ

DAZ|Studio is a free software application that allows you to easily create beautiful digital art. You can use this software to load in people, animals, vehicles, buildings, props, and accessories to create digital scenes. DAZ|Studio includes two pre-configured scenes ready for you to Load & Render within DAZ|Studio. Just double-click on the scene thumbnails inside of DAZ|Studio, and everything will come on screen posed, lit, and ready for you to create a stunning digital image. Click here to view a sample scene render from DAZ|Studio using the included content. With DAZ|Studio, you can turn your 3d dreams into reality.

Bryce

Bryce 7 gives you the ability to work faster and create more realistic environments than ever before. From the new Instancing Lab and totally redesigned bridge to DAZ Studio, to the improved skies and clouds, updated HDRI and advanced lighting, Bryce 7 will breathe new life into both your future and existing Bryce scenes. Whether you are a professional designer, or a recent 3D graphics enthusiast, Bryce provides you with the tools to literally create a world of your own.

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