Reverse Graffiti

This is a pretty interesting concept. This guy creates images on the wall of this tunnel by cleaning off the grime. I guess he's technically not doing anything wrong so he they can't really fine him or arrest him for it. Whether or not the authorities actually get the message some people must and things get cleaned up even if only to erase the images.

link to syllabus

For some reason, I can't find my way back to the syllabus page and I don't remember the link. Can someone post it please?

Scribble

http://www.miniclip.com/games/scribble/en/

Yeah, I figured out how to do a link! Anyways this is a really fun game that I am not so good at yet but I'll get there and you should try it and bet it to!

Hyperlinks

Posting a hyper-link in Blogger is simple enough for even the most unfamiliar blogger.

1. Go to the page you want to link to and copy (ctrl+c) the url from the address bar. (it looks like most people have this part down already)

2. Back in your Blogger editor select the text that you want to act as your hyper-link once you publish.


3. Click the link icon at the top of the editor window.

4. Paste(ctrl+v) in the url that you copied in step 1. Click ok.

Piece of cake.
(note: for Macs replace the 'apple' key with the 'ctrl' key for keyboard shortcuts.)

I stole the images in this post from the Dummies' Guide to Blogger blog. Check it out for some great tutorials on all kinds of Blogger related stuff.

What kind of animal is this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdUUx5FdySs&mode=related&search=


just a pretty cool animation done by someone. although i'm curious why its called "Kiwi!"

something cute

Here's a christmas card done in flash to check out. I found it when searching for ideas for the card project. just go here:
http://www.ilofil.com/ecards/pyr_xmas/pyrokontrol_xmas.html

237 reasons to have sex

i randomly watched oprah today n the topic was sex. she opened with an article from the Chicago tribune about 237 reasons to have sex. the findings were part of a study conducted by a University of Texas Psychology professor. some of the reasons included "Someone offered me money to do it," "I felt sorry for the person," "I wanted to punish myself" and, "Because of a bet." i found it comically amusing.

Almost forgot

I almost forgot to post this week...I thought some of you might be interested in the company I work for since it is in the field of digital art. We do lots of laser scanning, 3D reproduction, etc. If you are interested in this field, which i assume you are if you are in this class, then check out the website www.directdimensions.com
I'm officially no longer an intern so hopefully I'll be added to the site soon :)

Waste of time, but a good waste.

I guess something like this is probably just for shock value, but it is the extremely hard way to go when doing work lol. This is really cool though, take a look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk2sPl_Z7ZU

And by the way, I'm wondering if I should get a PS3 first or Xbox 360?

If anyone is looking for Wii systems, check the pandora's cube in college park. They ALWAYS have them in stock, but you'll pay 400 bucks for it.

Decisions Decisions

Hey all, I was just wondering what everyone's opinion waas on the XBox 360. In terms of next gen I already have a Wii and the PS3 is too expensive for me at the moment lol. But I've been thinking about buying a 360 lately for a couple reasons. Theres all the games, including Gundam (I'm a HUGE Gundam fan btw) and Halo 3, etc. Thoughts on if I should get it or not? -Mike Vares

CHURCH!

Home star Runner

http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail70.html Its a funny little website... entertaining

Traditional(ish) animation

I have no idea how I found this (Im pretty sure I started out watching music videos but thats the weirdness of the internet (6 degrees of youtube separation)) but I think its kind of beautiful. I especially like how the smoke moves and the dancing part at the end.



So then I searched around to find out more about the animators and found that they were influenced by William Kentridge--who does these charcoal and pastel drawing/ animation/films. He draws and erases and redraws (and titles things with phrases such as "Felix Teitlebaum's ANXIETY flooded half the house")...which I think is pretty interesting.

This is one of his is called "Felix in Exile" (and the audio is pretty terrible so forgive me)

More Funny

Here's something from Photoshop. Don't know who made it.

Reto Kaul - Concept Artist

It is so frustrating to find such awesome artists that are several years younger than me. But awesome art is still awesome art, no matter who you are.

Reto Kaul is a Swiss freelance concept artist that is kicking my ass. Check out some more of his stuff by clicking the links below.




His Website
Another Gallery
His DeviantART

Recording sound clips

So on my flash project I contacted a friend who does editing that could help me sample audio from a DVD. Google sucked ass for the whole process....so he sent me this link and it was SUPER FUCKING easy to use...

http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/wiretap/

Basically on a mac you hit the record button and it will record what ever the output audio is. If you take a sound clip you will hear IM windows popping up and whatever is playing on your itunes, so make sure there are no other sounds going on.

After you hit stop at the end of what you want to sample, it will ask you to save. (AIFC) because its a demo version. Save it to desktop, then drag it to itunes. Right click the file in itunes and convert to MP3. From there drag it in to flash...etc etc...

Since my blogging skills suck, I decided to share this fucking awesome program with you....

Yea!!! I did it!!!

Yea it's done. Now I can go about doing other work. Yea!!!

Fun Pic

I found this picture on one of the websites I visit. The line-work was drawn by hand, then outlined in photoshop. The colors were added in photoshop after the preliminary outlines.
The image and characters belong to Gabe and Tycho of Penny Arcade. Gabe's artwork can be found at www.pennyarcadeart.blogspot.com. You can see his works in collaboration with Tycho at penny-arcade.com.

Blog2!

I'll try to find time this weekend to make that christmas card, but what's the best way to get a good towson icon (high quality and stuff)?

Joy

Ive never used a blog before, not really sure as to what it is or how it works. Hopefully I will by the end of class. ---Joy

Blog!

Yay Digital Art I

Awesome flash movie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt8VnpLMCNA <.< look at this neat flash. It's quite original.

techniques

I'm not sure how to make an image in flash blur in and out...if someone can explain it to me that would be great, thanks!
Also, where do you get the TU logo in vector format?

Charlie!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5im0Ssyyus

I am not sure how to upload the video correctly but here is the you tube link. It's called Charlie the Unicorn and it's my kind of humor :-D and it relates to flash animation... even though I have no idea how to pull this off yet!

Never blogged before

So this is my first blog, I'm not sure what to do...it doesn't help that I missed class last week to help my mom prepare for the holiday (the one time it wasn't a good idea to listen to my mom about skipping class). Not sure what to do about the group project, I have an idea but I am a little lost when it comes to putting it into flash...I guess I'll have to figure it all out tonight in class...

Below

Save your fonts (your type) as a graphic in the library...

Fonts in Flash

Is there a way you can save the fonts in flash so when you move the file over to the school computer the fonts are not missing and you have to use default fonts? If there is a way could you let me know as soon as possible? Thanks!!! Sorry it's such short notice.

Oh Foamy

So... this is something made quite a while back. but gets me everytime.

if you like it, there is also "Foamy's Rant" 2 and 3 out there.

I personally enjoy 1.

http://scarysquirrel.home.comcast.net/rant1.html

"The disease is inside of you."

Make the GIMP work for you

Many of you are probably familiar with and likely use GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) because of the insanely high price tag on Adobe products. If you are a fan you should check out this recently created blog, GIMP UI brainstorm. The UI (user interface) development team is testing out and looking for new ideas for ways to change the program's UI. As far as I understand everyone is welcome to contribute.

Flash Fun: The Impossible Quiz 2 (Electric Boogaloo)

I love Splapp-me-do's first Impossible quiz and in one of my other classes I saw someone playing the sequel!! (who DOESNT love a sequel!!!!) So, in light of the fact that our next project is due in 2 days and I need procrastination material, I give you:


The Impossible Quiz 2 by =Splapp-me-do on deviantART

ALSO: A weird cartoon-- Also by Splapp-me-do
My favorite thing about this is the useage of Motorhead in episode 2

Badly Drawn Dog 2 by =Splapp-me-do on deviantART

Typography trouble

Im having trouble with doing the typography animation. If i run the animation in the frame window and watch as the line follows the sound in the timeframe window things look fine, but if i export the animation the timing is off a little.

Preparing images for the web

Since we're all blogging now(we are all blogging now, right?) I thought this recent article from lines and colors could be really useful to everyone. I'll just quote the most essential parts for those too lazy to click a link.

What’s the format, Kenneth?

Web browsers can generally display three kinds of images, news, comics and por… er, I mean GIF, JPEG and PNG. They all use some method of compression to reduce the file size of images so they can be transmitted over the web without taking a week to download.

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) can be pronounced with either a hard or soft “G”, but the originators of the format say choosy artists choose “jif”. GIF was the original format back in the early days, when the web was 5 steam-powered computers hooked together with Radio Shack speaker wire across the MIT campus. GIF is really only suitable for images with a limited color range (256 colors) and flat areas of color. The GIF format can produce images with a small file size and can be good for some things, like simple, flat-color comics, typography and cartoons of the President’s head on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s body.

JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) is pronounced “jay-peg”. JPEG images are by far the most common image format on the web, and are usually the format you will use to reproduce your art for the web. They support the full range of millions of colors. Used correctly, JPEG compression can compress images to to a remarkable degree without losing apparent image quality. Used incorrectly, it can turn your images into a grunky mess that looks like the cat threw up in your digital camera.

JPEG is a “lossy” compression method, meaning it throws away image data that the algorithm has determined you won’t miss; kind of like your wife cleaning out your studio when you’re not home. If you compress a JPEG too far, however, or re-compress an existing JPEG, you can wind up with dirty looking “artifacts” in the image. This is where is pays to have an image editor that gives you a preview, like Photoshop’s “Save for Web” feature, that shows you an approximation of how your image will look as you choose the compression level. You want the smallest file size possible without seeing any artifacts - dirty, squarish roughness in areas of the image (see the JPEG image above with the compression level of “10″). The stronger the level of compression, the lower the file size; but also the more image data that is thrown away. Always keep copies of your original files; and let your wife know that you really did buy 2 copies of Uncanny X-Men 96 on purpose.

As a general rule don’t re-save a JPEG as a JPEG; create a fresh one from the original file. Re-compression throws away more image data. JPEG’s that are originally saved with minimal compression, however, like those from a digital camera, can be used to make new JPEGs. Not much image data has been discarded. JPEGs saved for the web, though, are generally “pushed to the edge” and compressed as hard as possible without looking bad; re-saving those will make your images look like spoiled peaches.

PNG (Portable Network Graphics) is, the originators insist, pronounced “ping”, though you will hear “pee en gee” in certain circles. PNG images combine some of the characteristics of GIF and JPEG. Like GIF they are a lossless image format and support transparency. Like JPEG they support the full color range millions of colors. The main disadvantage is that their lossless compression method is not as efficient as JPEG’s lossy compression, and they make images with larger file sizes for the same level of apparent image quality.
The emails were right: size matters

Image size
In addition to file size you need to be concerned with image dimensions. You will need to determine how your images will display within your interface design, and how much room you have in your design area, before you resize them and save them out as final files for the web. I’ll be covering the design of online galleries and portfolios in a future post.

Once you know how the images will be displayed, you will probably be making more than one version of each image. Depending on your gallery design, you might be making:
a thumbnail and a full size image,
a thumbnail, medium size preview image, and full size image,
a thumbnail, full size image and jumbo, extra large, Grade-A, hi-res detail image,
a cropped detail close-up,
and/or all of the above.

If you’re clever and persistent, and not doing anything on Friday nights, you may be able to figure out how to have your image editing software save out several size versions simultaneously, for an entire folder full of files, using batch processing.

Resolution, or dpi and ppi, FYI, QED
Resolution in print is measured in “dots per inch” (dpi), or “lines per inch” (lpi), and on the computer is measured in “pixels per inch” (ppi). While this matters in print, or when scanning or working in Photoshop, image resolution does not matter on the web. What matters is the dimension in pixels.

If a 2″ by 2″ (5cm x 5cm) image has a resolution of of 100ppi (i.e 100 pixels per inch), it will be 200 pixels by 200 pixels. If the 2″ image has a resolution of 300ppi, it will be 600 pixels by 600 pixels. Both of those images will print at the same size, 2″; the higher resolution one will have more detail.

Web browsers, however, don’t understand or care about image resolution. All they understand is dimensions in pixels. So the first image will display much smaller on screen than the second. (Unless you learned “new math” in the 60’s, in which case 5 images + 5 images = 12 images.)

some beginning flash tutorials

A couple of people have asked me for some really easy beginning flash tutorials.

Here are two I don't completely hate, and they are from adobe.

http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/flash/articles/flacs3it_firstflash_pt1.html

http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/flash/articles/flacs3_createfla.html

Lines and Colors

Great idea, a class blog. These things are getting used more and more, a class that my girlfriend is in also is getting one running, I believe.

Anyhow, since I'm first I'll take an easy post. Check out this blog, Lines and Colors. It's updated daily with lots of great artists, old and new. Great for inspiration when you've hit a creativity block.

Recently featured was Dan Wheaton and his website, Carbonmatter.

I love fantastic/epic concept art and this guy knows how to deliver just that. This is the kind of stuff I hope to be able to produce one day.

Awesome Motion Typography

assignment

For current students, in addition to all of the other things that I will have you do, you gotta also post on this blog at least once a week. It won't kill you. It might make you stronger.

Post about:

techniques
tutorials
cool stuff
things you hate (not me)
things you love (me)
anything else that might be marginally pertinent.