An introduction to Bitcoin
![[feature]](images/pic_3.png "feature")
Fri, Mar 22 2013 16:54:25 PDT by Patrick Lambert filed under features
If you offer commissions or work freelance, you may have encountered a client before that offered to pay you using Bitcoins. Maybe you know some things about this virtual currency, or perhaps you just heard the name before without really knowing anything about it. If this never happened to you, with the rise in popularity of Bitcoin, you may eventually find yourself in this situation. Here is a short primer on what this currency is, how it works, and whether you should accept it as payment.
Why artists should care about branding
Sat, Mar 9 2013 11:36:34 PST by Patrick Lambert filed under featuresAs artists, we typically work mostly with our creative side. Many studies seem to show that our brain is divided in a fairly even way, with half of it being for creative endeavors, and the other half being analytical, for sciences and maths. Typically this means that marketers and business people will use a different skill set than artists, which can be a problem for a young creative person attempting to survive and grow through their art, making enough income to live full time. So as a result this may not be obvious to you, but branding is something that every artist should care about.
Art thieves: What to do about them
Wed, Feb 27 2013 12:43:46 PST by Patrick Lambert filed under featuresFor as long as there has been valuable goods, there has also been thieves trying to take advantage of them and get a quick profit. To this day we still see criminals attempt to steal traditional artworks like paintings in galleries or ancient artifacts in a museum. That's why security is always high in these places, since a single classical portrait may be worth millions of dollars. But when it comes to digital art, the situation is a lot more controversial.
An introduction to colors
Tue, Feb 19 2013 14:44:32 PST by Patrick Lambert filed under featuresColors may seem simple as we look at an object and register in our mind what color they are, but when it comes to computer graphics, these have to be represented in some numerical values, and then things tend to become more complex. Thankfully, engineers have developed a series of conventions that people can use to represent a certain color, but how familiar are you with these representations? In this quick introduction we will see some of the most basic concepts like the RGB color model, HSV, the HEX representation and alpha channel, along with the difference between ambient, diffuse and specular colors.
Dealing with censorship
Thu, Feb 14 2013 17:53:39 PST by Patrick Lambert filed under featuresCensorship is a concept that is as old as people have been able to draw or write on walls, and artists are particularly vulnerable to it. There have been many high profile cases of obvious censorship, where a group of people or the state takes position and decides that a particular work of art must be banned for some reason, usually because it offends whatever moral values happen to be dominant at the time. This can be an issue for any type of content creator, whether it's a book writer trying to write provocative thoughts on paper in Hitler's Germany, or a painter attempting to portray nudity during the Middle Ages.
Pixlr Editor review
Sat, Feb 9 2013 12:18:03 PST by Patrick Lambert filed under featuresIt was not that long ago that web apps were in their concept stage, where people would create demos of what was supposed to be coming down the line, but in many of these cases they went to become forgotten and few people paid attention to them. But now, web apps have become a standard way to be productive for many people. Simply using things like Google Docs or Microsoft SkyDrive, it's easy to see how versatile web apps can be. For artists however, most of us stay on the desktop with full fledged applications like Adobe Photoshop or Autodesk 3DS MAX. But can image editing be done through the web? Here is a quick review of Pixlr Editor, one such editor.
The art of criticism
Wed, Jan 30 2013 14:24:33 PST by Patrick Lambert filed under featuresGood feedback is rare. Yet, as most artists realize at some point, getting constructive criticism can be useful to get better at your work. Nobody is perfect, and very few people would argue that their work is as good as it possibly could be. But despite that fact, handling criticism is hard. In fact, both giving and receiving criticism is an art by itself. What often happens is that many content creators place the burden of giving good feedback on the users, simply ignoring or brushing away what they consider as non-useful feedback, while many users think that their comments were pertinent, and decide that if the creator of the work ignores them, then clearly they can't take criticism. But the truth is that criticism is like a dance. It takes two to tango.
10 tips to avoid procrastination
Fri, Jan 25 2013 13:35:21 PST by Patrick Lambert filed under featuresWhether you're a web designer, 3D artist, or even an accountant, everyone suffers from procrastination. For some, it may be a minor annoyance, something we rarely face, but for others, actually starting work may be a difficult challenge, and procrastination might well make us lose hours every day due to inactivity. If that's your case, this could be a productivity nightmare, with hundreds of hours or full weeks being lost every year due to this behavior.
Making graphs with Google Charts
Wed, Jan 23 2013 11:45:37 PST by Patrick Lambert filed under featuresA lot of designers out there work with data. With big data becoming all the rage, managers, advertisers and others struggle to deal with a large amount of data, and what often happens is that data analysts need those designers to create good, visually pleasing presentations that illustrate their points. Sometimes this is done in a word processor or spreadsheet, but often this is for web sites or online work, and you may need to quickly create graphs, pie charts or other types of visual cues that illustrate a mountain of data. If you know a bit of HTML and JavaScript, one interesting tool you should know about is Google Charts. Here, we'll go over how to use this service to easily create visually pleasing charts and graphs.
Smartphone design trends
Tue, Jan 15 2013 12:10:23 PST by Patrick Lambert filed under featuresSmartphones have evolved a lot in the last decade, and the interfaces we've seen show many different design choices. Here is a quick look at the most popular smartphone devices and the designs that they produced.
What makes a good touchscreen
Mon, Jan 7 2013 23:59:29 PST by Patrick Lambert filed under featuresTouchscreens have become present in many devices, and a lot of technology experts predict that within a few years, all screens will start using touch, on every possible item we can think of. Already, smartphones and tablets have driven the evolution of touchscreen technologies, and the screens we have now are much better than what we used to have just a couple of years ago. But what makes a good touchscreen, and how can you compare them?
10 places where artists can find inspiration
Sat, Jan 5 2013 13:32:05 PST by Patrick Lambert filed under featuresJust like a book author staring at that first blank page, many artists often have to face the fact that inspiration doesn't always come easily. You end up staring at your screen or tablet, wondering when the ideas are going to come. Here are 10 ways for an artist to find inspiration so they can keep going.
Creating a magazine in the digital age
Sun, Dec 30 2012 18:11:58 PST by Patrick Lambert filed under featuresMagazines have been around for a long time, and for any type of content creator, whether you write articles, draw images, or capture photos, being published in one can be very rewarding. But what if you want to publish your own magazine? It used to be impossible for someone to simply publish their own magazine, it would require a big investment, printing presses, a distribution network, and so on. But these days, anyone can publish their own magazine and be successful, as long as you know how to proceed. Here are a few tips to help get you started.
Adobe Revel reviewed
Fri, Dec 21 2012 13:50:00 PST by Patrick Lambert filed under featuresAdobe Revel is a new app that was announced by the company in beta format a few months ago, and last week a revised version was released free of charge. As a photo sharing app, it boasts several features that claims to make it into an invaluable tool for artists. But is this a major release, or a forgettable tool? Here's a quick review.
5 gifts to get an artist for the Holidays
Wed, Nov 14 2012 18:13:17 PST by Patrick Lambert filed under featuresThe Holidays are upon us, with Thanksgiving coming up and then Christmas, Hanukkah and so on. The season means lower prices, and gifts for all our friends and families. But what could you get for an artist, someone who likes to create content? Here are 5 gift ideas of things you may want to get for a creative person.
Top Windows 8 graphics software
Mon, Nov 12 2012 15:23:18 PST by Patrick Lambert filed under featuresWindows 8 is not only the latest release of Microsoft's operating system, but also brings in a brand new user interface, along with an app store providing new metro style apps. Already, thousands of apps are being added to this online marketplace, including graphics and design software. But what are some of the top apps out there for artists and content creators?
If you produce content, you should have a mobile app
Mon, Nov 12 2012 4:13:12 PST by Patrick Lambert filed under featuresThe old saying used to be that if you produce content, you need a web presence. This was one of the large moves of the beginning of this century, with artists and designers starting to look at the web to publish their works cheaply and easily. Now, if you produce content, especially digital art, then you would be crazy not to have a web site, or at least some type of web presence. But for the past couple of years, it's become clear that the mobile space is where innovation is going, from smartphones to tablets. So is the saying still applicable now? I believe it is, and because of several reasons, if you produce content, you may want to look at building your own mobile app.
Making your own inexpensive green screen setup
Thu, Nov 8 2012 18:25:48 PST by Patrick Lambert filed under featuresIf you're a VFX artist, or work with video, you most likely know what a green screen is. Basically, it's a back drop that you can use in film and video productions to provide a plain color, so that when you bring the footage in a post-processing software, you can easily replace that back drop with something else. Here, we'll see how to make your own inexpensive green screen setup.
Why every content creator needs ImageMagick
Wed, Nov 7 2012 18:01:01 PST by Patrick Lambert filed under featuresThere are software programs that are well known, and that any artist or designer has in his or her toolbox. Adobe Photoshop comes to mind, being the most popular digital graphics software by far. One name you may not know much about however is ImageMagick. Yet, this small, free and open source application can be used to make your life much easier by automating tasks that would otherwise be very hard or time consuming to do. Here's why you may want to get to know ImageMagick.
Tinkercad review
Tue, Nov 6 2012 16:03:57 PST by Patrick Lambert filed under featuresMost 3D modeling applications are big software which require a lot of system resources. But last year, a company decided to see if it was possible to design a basic 3D CAD software that would run through a web browser. They succeeded, and Tinkercad was born. Tinkercad is CAD solution which allows anyone to create 3D models through an intuitive interface, without having to download anything. Here's a short review of some of the features it offers, and how good the result is.
