Showing posts with label useful notes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label useful notes. Show all posts

Where should I search for free stock images? 

Friday, 3 February 2012 - Posted by Shwe Thiri Khit
Now you know how to use stock images, so where should you find them. When you do a Google search, the first ones that appear will cause a dent to your purse. So I did the homework and you can enjoy free stock photos from the following two websites.
.
www.shadowhousecreations.blogspot.com This is a personal site. You can get really cool textures, texture sets, photoframe sets and custom brushes for free here. What’s more, you can even watch tutorials here. The stock photos here are super cool and popular, I sometimes make use of those as well. Luckily they are provided with no strings attached (i.e. no need to credit). But I might be mistaken, so feel free to double check on the small print of terms and conditions. Please correct me if I am wrong too. Our love to the owners J. I will also continuously try to distribute such free stock photos without the need for acknowledgement.
.
www.deviantart.com This is an online society for artists. It’s an inspirational space consisting of various art forms and artists who make them. You can meet amateur artists as well as professional or famous ones. I also have my account there www.stkhit.deviantart.com. I started playing around there since past few years. If you have an account there, feel free to add me as a friend ;)
. On Deviant Art, in order to search for free stock images, go through different categories such as traditional art, digital art...One of the artists who gives stock images for free can be found at www.sheisprettystock.deviantart.com. You can use those stocks if you are happy with the terms of usage. There are other artists who give stocks for free. It’ll be worthwhile to invest some time to explore. Some artists do not allow you to use your artworks outside of Deviant Art. So reading the small print (terms and conditions) is really really crucial.

Here are many textures on the following websites.

And here are the brushes for using in Photoshop.

Don’t forget that I already have some free stock images as well. I hope that have been helpful in your hunt for stock images.



0 cups of tea Labels: ,

Share your stories 

Posted by Shwe Thiri Khit
Do you have a great story to tell? Share it!
Please include your article title, story and author information and credit (optional) in the message field.
Name*
Email*
Subject*
Message*
Please enter url if you have website.
Image Verification
captcha

Please enter the text from the image:
[Refresh Image][What's This?]

0 cups of tea Labels:

Exploring stock images 

Posted by Shwe Thiri Khit

 The great advantage of using stock images is that they our lives easy in making art. You can get stock images from the Internet for a fee or free. If you are a learner of art, there are several places where you can get free resources – you are sometimes required to credit them, some sources do not require you to do so. You can also buy exclusive packages or specific collections for a fee. By buying stock, there will be less people using them. If you are at the explorative stage to know more about digital art, I recommend using free stocks as much as possible.
 Some stock makers make really good stocks that they make a living selling them and their packages may come with different offers. So it’s always helpful to shop around. But do not underestimate the quality of stocks which are given for free. Those stock owners want to see their stock photos being used successfully and they are just happy to do that. Those are the rare ones who do not even pressure you to give them credit or acknowledgement. Isn’t that amazing? Some of them require you to give them credit when you use their stocks. It’s always wise to look at their terms of use. Some may give away stocks for free for non-commercial use.. But when things turn out to be commercial, it may be different. So it’s always wise to check the small print.
 In my hard drive, I have a lot of stock images, some I collected for free and some I paid for. The free ones I use will usually come with flexible terms of use. You can also get textures, background and custom brushes for Photoshop. Please bear in mind that the more stock photos you use, the more credits you have to give. It’s not cool having to write a long list of credits next to your artwork. So it’s best to use them sparingly. But of course, if the owners are not fussy about receiving credit, you won’t have that problem.

0 cups of tea Labels:

Why Tragimixed 

Posted by Shwe Thiri Khit

You may notice that the combination of two or more different styles is also called as Composite Art. Throughout the course you will have an interplay between different styles and mediums.
It's been some time since I got interested in this composite art of mixing different methods and I have started playing with those techniques on my own. For example combining detailed pictures (Realism like) together with abstract like graphic arts. Afterwards, my interest is more fine-tuned towards the combination of digital and traditional arts.
WHY? I started mixing these marvelous things because ;)
 
I have always loved holding the paint brushes and play. After going to school, with less time to play around I could only do some sketches. But sketches are mostly single colour, so I wasn’t too happy with it - It's too dry and I love colourful things. Colours colours…yes and then I started my adventures with digital art, a bit of prior training in Photoshop is also helpful of course. With so much colourful stuff I was happy with digital art and managed to illustrate quite a number of artworks. It's easy to move around with digital art because I just have to carry my laptop and I can do my touchups whenever I have some time. So I can always make good use the time when I am waiting for someone to show up for a meeting, or if I am waiting for a train or plane. Just need to save regularly (and backups - not doing that can give you some painful memories). Digital art is a wonderful medium that filled the gap I felt in me.
But if I really have to choose, I will go with my most favourite paints, the physical ones, like oil and acrylic and they will always be my preferred mediums. 

Snow White's Winter Wonderland
 Printed digital image, watercolors, and ink (left)

Another important development is that I began to love digital art as much as I've always loved real paints. There's a sad reality that there's a huge difference or a gap between digital and traditional arts. Some artists just keep on arguing which one is real art or which one is better which saddened me. So I thought perhaps I should narrow the gap by tragimixing. What I can see if a medium is a medium. It's between an artist and an artwork or for an artist to use it to express her or his thoughts and inspirations. Surely I will start a separate discussion topic on this.
Leaving those arguments aside, I believe the bottom line is that we should all have fun when we do art, Shouldn't we?

 
Printed digital image and mixed media techniques (right)

Since the two can give you two entirely different final artworks and touches, I have a feeling that combining the two can give a rather unique blend, like a sweet & sour dish. Now with the fellow like-minded artists and art lovers we could all have a good time in Tragimixed e-course.
There's even more, not only will you get to explore new techniques, but also opportunities to hone your skills through engaging exercises and challenges.


Are you interested doing Tragimixed? Click here to see fully details of the course.
Or Sign up here.

0 cups of tea Labels:

Saving money on digital art software 

Sunday, 2 October 2011 - Posted by Shwe Thiri Khit
I have wonderful news to share today.  I remember having gone through available free software (freewares) before I start off Sweetened Simplicity workshop for the sake of those who do not wish to have  Photoshop.  I was looking for freeware equivalent of Photoshop but could not find any good candidates.  One has this tool but lacks another.  Usually those free software do not have adequate number of tools.  

Today I received a message from Florence, a new member on our Ning network.  To answer her question of if GIMP software (available free) can be used for my course, I found out that YES it appears to be a rather reliable substitute for Photoshop.  (I am still testing it of course).


What is GIMP?
GIMP can be a very good Photoshop alternative and it is a free to download software available on the Internet.  So I have started using it.  Many tools and functions from Photoshop are available on GIMP.  It is suitable for both editing and creating new artworks with the availability of required tools.  
SURPRISE! SURPRISE! Photoshop Elements doesn’t have a pen tool but our free GIMP has a pen tool.  

OK what are the downsides?  The interface is different from that of Photoshop.  So if you are very used to Photoshop then you might feel a bit uncomfortable at the start.  But of course with practice, you could get more comfortable.   

If you want to know more about the software, visit the link here please! 
Check the pros and cons of this software on this link here. http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/freesoftware/fr/gimp.htm

I feel very grateful to people and organisations that make such software.  PLUS, most importantly special thanks to Florence for bringing attention to GIMP.  

Sweetened Simplicity gets even more affordable!  Less cost for learning materials.
Now in order to enjoy creating beautiful dolls, you don’t need to invest in a tablet (££$$) or even in expensive software or subscription.  So I can happily claim that if you have a computer, a mouse and a creative mind, you are already set to start the course. Learn more about Sweetened Simplicity art course.

My tutorials will still be in Photoshop though.  Don’t worry about the differences since functions and tools are similar on both software.  If you still have Photoshop, you are already in a good position.  Although there won’t be tutorials on GIMP you could still easily follow my tutorials (which are in Photoshop) with GIMP.

The GIMP software can be downloaded from http://www.gimp.org/downloads/ 

I will be creating a new doll face or artwork with this software to share with you on one of these days.  

With best wishes and hugs,
Shwe

0 cups of tea Labels: ,

 
ALERT: My newsletter account has been hacked and I have also stopped using it. If you are getting mails "Random chronicles" from khitster[at]gmail[dot]com, please add that email to SPAM list. Sorry for all the trouble caused. Follow my BLOG. Copyrighted © 2013 Shwe Thiri Khit. All right reserved.