cosmic scene #1

first attempt at space art. not bad! render clouds, lens flare. i also had my first introduction to advanced blending effects in photoshop to make fine adjustments to the blending. time: approx 30 mins. this tutorial.

christmas is not over

photoshop cs2. bevels, gradients, drop shadows and the pen tool. time: 1 hour, 40 minutes. i followed this tutorial. my trees don't look as smooth as theirs do because i haven't mastered the pen tool. that's something i definately need to practice this year. overall though, i'm happy with this and i learned some cool things you can do with bevels and gradients.

would make good stationery

adobe photoshop cs 2. playing around with gradients and filter effects. time: approx 25 minutes.

the 'roarer

photoshop cs 2. blending, filters, gradients, brushes. 25 mins. following tutorial: http://www.newtutorials.com/northern-lights-tutorial.htm

i'm not sure

media: photoshop cs 2. filters, layer effects, gradients, brushes, rotation. time: 15 mins.

introduction to the experiment

this "blog" is a new experiment. this entry will be the only one to contain text. the remaining entries will be strictly visual.

my primary media will be adobe photoshop, paint shop pro, illustrator, fireworks and maybe even ms paint. i'll experiment with all kinds of digital expression, from vectors to vexels to photographs to photo-illustration. i want to practice using art as a means of expressing myself on a regular basis. i will also use this blog as a learning lab -- that is, i plan to follow many of the wonderful tutorials out there on the web and post the results here.

this is my first attempt at a visual journal. i am by no means a traditional artist. i can't draw to save my life. i rely on tried-and-true methods for digital art and never had the time and patience to expand my skills. with this blog, i hope to change all that. i'll experiment with something new each time. whenever i follow a tutorial, i'll always give the tutorial site credit by posting its url. most importantly, this does not need to be a time-consuming pursuit. 15 minutes is plenty of time to create something halfway decent, especially as i gain more experience. it'll be interesting to see how much i grow as a digital artist by the end of the year.

with that said, sit back and let the experiment begin...