So, I’m becoming more learned in Photoshop.  I haven’t gone in to ‘channels’ and many of the more involved techniques and uses so much, but, I’m getting better at things like layer styles, blending modes, and adjustments, like, curves, filters, Gaussian blur, etc.  I understand more about what each does and when to use them.  The online course I have been taking, since the fall, over at Creative Techs,  has taught me a lot.  There have been a lot of “a-ha” moments.  But, jumping in with both feet and tackling a tutorial of most any kind is where I learn the most.

The folks that write most of the tuts are full of advice, extra tidbits of information and great final images.  You can follow along and see what each step does to get to the end result.  Many of the writer’s comments about why they did a certain thing or applied a specific effect are where I come to understand just what the adjustments are doing.  Many of the tuts are not very long or involved, so, starting with some basic tuts and working my way up to some rather far-out tuts is a process.  What I learned from some of the more basic ones I can carry with me to do the more involved.  You can, too.

I find myself scrutinizing images I find that I like, so I can try to determine what the artist did to get the over-all end ‘product’.  Often, I run off to go try it myself.  That is how ya learn.  Trial and error.  I look at some of my stuff and grimmace.  My early creations are so ‘un-finished-looking’!  So ‘basic’!  I guess all of our ‘firsts’ seem that way.  Not that I am that advanced.  I definitely rate, still, as low-end intermediate, I would say.  But, I see much improvement.  Just going back to the start of this blog, up to now, I see a marked improvement.

Tutorials aren’t hard to find.  Most of the forums that I go to have tutorial sections and many of the challenges are based on a tut of some kind.  If you aren’t a member or don’t want to go that route, there are a gazillion websites offering tutorials, both written and video.  Here are just a very few sites where I know you can find a good tut.  These first three(3) are primarily ‘scrapbooking’ tutorials and they are all free.

and, some general Photoshop sites:

What I really like to do is some of the online Photoshop ‘e-zines’ offer lists of tuts in their posts that you can see an example of and click over to try.  A great example of what I mean is Naldz Graphics.   Looking down the current list of articles, there is one on ‘Digital Painting’.   Ronald Bien has gathered a selection of tutorials from around the web that will surely impress you.  Take a look and choose one to try.  Go on!  LOL  This one, from 367art.com is really cool!

Hecate by XiaoBing

Being given a link to the resource files is not uncommon, so, you start out with practically the same materials as the artist.  From there you just follow along and, whether you do a good job, or not, you learn stuff!  That, to me, is the ultimate pay-off.

Okay, enough of that.  You really ought to give some of these a try, though.

My baby grandson came over with his mommy the other day and she left to go get her hair done.  Since having the baby, my DIL wanted to perk herself up a bit.  So, off she went.  Kaleb was hungry.  I gave him his bottle and held him.  Looking at that tiny little guy, it was hard to believe that this was my son’s little boy!  My son was the rough and tumble kind of boy.  He was known at the ER, by name, by one of the doctors there.  He was forever cutting himself, falling and getting hurt or breaking something.  I can’t picture him, hardly, without his skateboard and arm cast.  Oh, and his Metallica t-shirt.  Now, he has a son of his own!  OMG!!  LOL  I have other g-kids, but, this one just seems so bizarre, for some reason.

After his bottle, Kaleb wanted to nap for a bit.  He was a really good baby for me.  After a while, I checked on him and he was restless, like, maybe, he was trying to wake up.  So, I went and watched him.  He would stretch this way and that, then, snuggle back in for a little more shut-eye.  Then, he’d yawn, real big, arch his back, stretch his arms out, and slip back into rest, yet, again.  The faces he was making were hilarious, so, I went and got my camera.  I perched on the arm of the sofa I had him napping on, camera at the ready, and snapped away at all the funny, little faces he was making.  I had to do a layout of it as I thought it would be fun, later in life, for him to see them.  Here is Kaleb’s “My Naptime Faces”:

(Click on the image to see an enlarged version)

He was asleep in every photo!

I wanted to add , here, that, the background pattern came from a ‘fabric’ design entry.  Over at SpoonFlower, purveyors of beautiful printed custom fabrics, they also have contests.  Folks design a swatch of fabric, based on some theme.  This week’s contestants did swatches in “crayon”.  You should see some of their entries!   Go to “Fabric of the Week” and feast ’em.  I took one of those designs and blended it with the light green for my layout’s background.

Go have a look-see and, maybe, vote on your favorite.  The fabrics they sell are gorgeous and not too unreasonable, either.  You can get sample-sized swatches for crafts and such, rather cheaply, too.

I’ve also been busy working on several projects.  One, I finished the other night.  I did a kit for Digital Scrap Garden’s “Rainbow Challenge”.  It was a real challenge, for me, in that it used a color palette that was different shades of similar colors.

Is it called monotone?  I think that is what it is called.  Anyway, it is quite a difference to work with colors that are so close.  It’s called “A Hearty Kit”.  Bet ya can’t guess why.  LOL  I want to share it with you.  Here are the previews.

(Click on the images to download from MediaFire)

Elements:

Papers:

I hope that you like it and that someone can use it.   As always, I really thank you for your interest.

That’s all for tonite.  Think HAPPY thoughts and keep SMILING!  (It makes people wonder what you are up to.  LOL)

Namaste,

Su