Archive for 2007

winter sale

borg honey

oh, leonard cohen

taking in the sun

the search

the most awesome day

the best kind of saturdays

bad movies

cooking blues

kitty sweater

shoe lunch

eyeware

determination

lame.com/difficult

blleeeggghhhh

snip snip

brave the cold

something something..

squish squash

lame dreams

peeping tina

beach vacation

family

spring romance

yeah, never seen it

stupid everything

sleep mouth fuzz

time to visit my mom

the many faces of tina

Thanks to a transformer!

dream spider death spider

I started and finished this in one day. This project inspiration came from this random drawing by some kid:

baby portrait

I finally finished this painting after many months of working, reworking, debating, and reworking. This painting also was the inspiration for the new look and feel of tinavaziri.com.

beauty

botanicals

stuck in my throat

lostylost

remember

This painting was the inspiration for the thesis I wrote in 2006. It is a depiction of a vivid dream I had when I was five years old.

kissable elvis lips

This is my first painting with Corel Painter X, I am very impressed with the program, and I’m still trying to figure out all of its power.

mojo in all his fuzzy glory

using textures effectively

You want a matured and completed look to your illustration, but there’s something missing. I find this problem in a lot of illustrations created purely in Photoshop, everything still looks too smooth and sterile. Often, adding a simple paper texture layer will do the trick. Natural looking textures bring harmony to finish up your illustration. We’ll look at the texture application in my Tattoo illustration as an example.

Tools:
• Adobe Photoshop (CS or higher)
• Downloaded or scanned old paper texture (high res.)
• Nearly completed illustration

Open your nearly completed illustration in Photoshop. Open your preferred texture file and place it onto your illustration as a new layer.

Oh, you don’t have a texture you want to use? Okay, let’s backtrack for a minute. Here are your options:

• Take high resolution photographs of textures you like
• Scan in (at high res.) flat textures
• Create your own texture in Photoshop (I don’t do this, but it can be done)
• Or the lazy easy fix, search and download (ahhh, the power of Google)

I will make it even easier for you, with some links to start you off right: mayang.com/textures, and texturewarehouse.com. (remember to give credit when required)

Now, pull you’re texture onto your illustration. Set the blending property of this new layer to multiply and the opacity to 30%.

Duplicate your newly created texture layer (by dragging it onto the new layer icon in your layers pallet). This second texture layer should be above your original texture layer. Let’s set these properties to Linear Burn at 50%.

Here is the paper I used.

Old Paper Texture

You can mess with the blending properties, you can add more texture layers, feel free to experiment.

The first frame has no textures, the second frame has the one layer of texture at 30%, and the third has the second texture layer at 50%. I am always pleasantly surprised by the huge difference only a simple texture can make.

Texture Process

Tags: art, design, illustration, textures, tutorial
Filed under: art & design tutorials

signs of natural life

2 Comments »

May 21st, 2007 Posted 1:55 am

Filed under: tina illustrates

wood engraving effect

2 Comments »

May 23rd, 2007 Posted 4:01 am

Engraving into surfaces can be easily achieved with a few simple steps, mainly, the Layer Styles properties in Photoshop.

Tools:
• Adobe Photoshop (CS or higher)
• An image with a surface that needs engraving
• Text, a shape, or an object image you want to engrave

Open your surface image in Photoshop, make sure your layers pallet is visible.

Create a second layer on top of your original surface layer that contains your shape/text/object.

Set this second layer blending mode to Soft Light, at 85% opacity.

While still on the second layer, click the Add layer style button that looks like a circle with a “f” in it at the bottom of your layers pallet. This will pop up a new window with many options.

In the Styles, Blending Options:

• Check Inner Shadow and click the words Inner Shadow to bring up the menu for it.

• Set the Blend Mode to multiply, select a dark color that works with your image. Set the opacity at 75%. I chose an angle of 48 with a check by Use Global Lighting. My distance is at 1px, 0% choke, and size of 1px, the contour is linear, no check by Anti-aliased, and no noise.
  
  
  

• I have set an Outer Glow as well. My setting are at Screen for blend mode, 12% opacity, no noise, a light color swatch, Softer, 8% spread, size of 10px, Contour of sawtooth1, no anti-aliased, range of 41%, no jitter.
  
  
  

• Check Bevel and Emboss, set the style to emboss, technique to chisel hard, 1% depth, Down direction, 2px size 0px soften. For shading I used a 48 degree angle, use global light at 21 degrees. The gloss contour, I set to Guassian, no anti-aliased, highlight mode I set to 0% and shadow mode I set to 100% Multiply using a dark brown from my illustration.
  
  
  

• I also used a Texture under the Bevel and Emboss option because a super clean finish would not work with my illustration. These settings are at a 1% scale and depth of -91%, inverted and linked with layer.
  
  
  

Some of these setting will not work for your illustration/design so feel free to adjust them to fit your work. Experiment with different contour options, different shadows and highlights, and colors to achieve your desired effect. Here is my quick fix finished product:

Filed under: art & design tutorials

goodbye birthday plant

10 Comments »

May 24th, 2007 Posted 3:52 am

Filed under: tina illustrates

b to the m to the delish

1 Comment »

May 25th, 2007 Posted 4:37 pm

Filed under: tina illustrates

image out of text

1 Comment »

May 27th, 2007 Posted 10:43 pm

Sometimes, you want to take a break from painting and use the magic of language and words to create a great storytelling piece. For this tutorial we’ll use three levels of contrast in black and white (highlight, mid light, and shadow) and place paragraphs into these three levels to create depth using only text.

Tools for this Photoshop Tutorial:
• A pretty good level of expertise in Adobe Photoshop (CS or higher)
• A high res. image with a good range of contrast
• A large piece of text
• A high res. texture image

Let’s open our high contrast image in Photoshop.



Have your layers pallet open, always. Drag the high contrast image onto the Create a new layer button. Now, disable layer visibility (the eye icon) on the bottom layer. We do this as a safety measure, in case something screws up.

Back on to top layer, click Image > Adjustments > Channel Mixer.



Check Monochrome, if needed adjust the numbers till you have strong highlights and shadows, click OK. Now, add a new layer on top of everything, use a color fill on this layer. Also, drag a texture image onto your current file to create another layer.



We’re going to disable the visibility of the last two layers we added and save these for later. Find the large amount of text you are going to use, delete any excess spaces or returns, and Copy it.

Back in Photoshop, use the Text tool and drag a box around your whole image, Paste, paste again and again until your whole image is covered in text. I used a simple sans serif typeface at a small font size, set the font color as Black.

Duplicate this text layer, set the newly created layer’s text to a middle tone gray.

Duplicate the text layer again and set this third text layer to a light gray color text.

Rasterize the three text layers (select the layer, go to Select > Rasterize > Type).

Disable visibility to the three text layers and select the black and white image layer.

Click on Select > Color Range, when on the Color Range pallet, click Select: Shadows and hit OK.

Immediately, click Select > Inverse (or CTRL+Shift+I).



On your layers pallet, click the black color text layer and turn on visibility on this layer, which should be the third layer from the top.

Hit Delete on your keyboard.

Click Select > Deselect (or CTRL+D).

Disable visibility on the text layer again.

Click back onto the black and white image. Click on Select > Color Range, then Select: Midtones, and hit OK.

Select > Inverse again.

Click on the middle tone gray text layer (second layer from the top), turn on visibility on this layer, hit Delete on your keyboard.

Deselect again, and disable visibility on the text layer again.

Once more, click on the black and white image layer, Select > Color Range, Select: Highlights.

Select > Inverse, click on the top text layer with the lightest gray text, turn on visibility, hit Delete.

Select > Deselect. Now, turn on visibility on all three text layers, the texture layer, and the color layer and turn off visibility on the black and white image layer.



We are almost done, now for some slight adjustments to add more contrast.

On the top text layer set the Layer Blending Properties to Screen, this will lighten that text layer. If needed, make a copy of this top text layer by dragging it to the Create a new layer button, this would lighten the layer even more.

If the middle tone gray text layer or the black text layer need more contrast, also make copies of these layers to finish the job. You can now flatten your image and save.

Filed under: art & design tutorials

my paradise

33 Comments »

June 1st, 2007 Posted 8:30 am

My paradise is filled with magic and cute creatures.

Filed under: tina illustrates

brushed metal effect

No Comments »

June 3rd, 2007 Posted 10:46 pm

This brushed metal tutorial is one everyone wants to know how to do well, but most people stop short before a realistic effect is achieved. We are going to use a variety of methods, such as: Gradients, Noise, Blurs, Brushes, and Clouds.

I made a bee button using the same engraving techniques I covered in my wood engraving how-to article, but you can find many other uses for creating a brushed metal effect. I am also offering up a created image of the brushed metal texture I made for you to download.

Tools:
• Photoshop CS or higher
• Some expertise in Photoshop
• Download this brush that I created for you, and place the file into your Adobe Photoshop > Presets > Brushes > Adobe Photoshop Only folder.

Open Photoshop and create a new document to a larger size, dpi, color mode, etc. that you require (larger because we will have to crop off some excess in the process). Have your layers pallet and your tools pallet visible. Set your foreground color White and your background color Black.

Select your Gradient Tool from your tool bar, at the top I selected the Linear Gradient, normal, at 50%. Create a diagonal gradient on your document by dragging your mouse from one top corner to the opposite bottom corner and release.

Go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise and select 40%, Gaussian, and check Monochromatic, hit OK.

Now, Filter > Blur > Motion Blur, and set it at Angle: 0 and Distance: 85, hit OK. You are going to have some ugly ends on the right and left side that you’ll need to crop off.

More textures are needed, so go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise and select 4%, Uniform, and check Monochromatic, hit OK.

Next, Filter > Brush Strokes > Sprayed Strokes and select length: 20, radius: 0, stroke direction: horizontal, hit OK.

Create a new layer on top of your metal layer. Flip your colors so that White is your foreground color, and Black is your background color. Select the brush tool and go to your Brush Preset Picker at the top of your screen.

Click the triangle pointing to the right which will open your Brushes pallet, select Calligraphic Brushes, hit OK to replace current brushes. Now, select the Flat 45px brush.

Click on the Brushes tab at the top right corner of your Photoshop screen. Click on and check Scattering. Let’s put the settings at Scatter 1000%, check Both Axes, Control: off, Count: 1, Count Jitter: 85%, Control: off.



Paint a few strokes on your new layer.



While still on the second layer, apply a Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur with a radius of 2. Set the opacity of this layer to 10%.

Create a new layer. Select the Brush tool and go to your Brush Preset Picker at the top of your screen, and Select the brush you downloaded, from me, called curved_buff.



Open the Brushes tab at the top right of your screen. Set the Brush Tip Shape options to Diameter: 212px, Angle: 31, Roundness: 61%, Check spacing at 100%.



Check and select Shape Dynamics, with settings at Size jitter: 0%, Angle jitter: 68%, Control off, Roundness Jitter: 0%, Control off.



Check and select Scattering. Check Both Axes at 299%, Control off, Count 7, Count Jitter 59%, Control off.



Paint on your second newly created layer with this brush for a few strokes.

Click Filter > Blur > Motion Blur at an Angle of 0 and a Distance of 30. Set this layer at an opacity of 15%.

Create a new layer. Filter > Render > Clouds

Filter > Render > Difference Clouds

Image > Adjustments > Invert

Image > Adjustments > Levels and set the Input Levels at 150, .10, 255.



Set the mode of this layer to Lighten and the Opacity to 10%.

Right click this third layer, and click Duplicate Layer, Click OK.

Go to Edit > Transform > Flip vertical

Click to select the bottom most layer. Click the half black half white circle at the bottom of your layers pallet to bring up the menu. Click Hue/Saturation. Set the Hue to 216. The Saturation to 9. And check Colorize.



Click OK and you are done.

Filed under: art & design tutorials

future of network management

13 Comments »

June 4th, 2007 Posted 9:19 pm

I finished a new illustration for the Performance Edge Journal issue 2. The article is about the future of network management and the difficulties ahead if proactive approaches are not taken.

Filed under: tina illustrates

image displacement mask

7 Comments »

June 6th, 2007 Posted 9:19 pm

Place images or text on clothing or skin without the mess of screen printing or the pain of permanent tattoos. I gave this girl’s pretty dress extra awesomeness by placing one of my illustrations on it by using a displacement mask in Photoshop. This process contours one image to the surface of another, making the depth (lights and darks) of the background image control the distortion of the placed image.

Tools:
• Photoshop CS or higher
• A high resolution photo with some skin or clothing
• An image or text to place

Open your high res. photo in Photoshop. Select All and Copy, then create a new document and Paste.

Go to Image > Mode > Grayscale.

Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Set the Radius to 2.5 pixels. This will create a softer more natural look for our displacement mask.

Save this file as Displacement.psd and close it.

Back to our original high resolution image. Place the text or image you want onto the skin or clothing, resize and rotate for a proper fit.

Optional: For my image I needed to mask off a small part of my placed image because the girl’s hand was in the way. Make sure you are on your text or image layer that you placed onto your photo. Click the Add layer mask button at the bottom of your layers pallet, this button looks like a rectangle with a circle inside of it.

With your Brush tool set to Black, and at a Hardness of 13% and an Opacity of 42%, brush away at the area that you need to mask off (make sure you are on your Mask layer, and not brushing on your actual image). Hit X on your keyboard to switch your color to White. Brush away around the area until you have it perfect. Don’t be afraid to go back and forth till you have it.

Right click on the Mask layer and click Apply Layer Mask.

Go to Filter > Distort > Displace and place the settings at Horizontal Scale: 6, Vertical Scale: 6, Stretch To Fit, and Repeat Edge Pixels. You may have to experiment with these numbers to get yours to work for your image.

Select your saved Displacement.psd file and hit OK.

In your layers pallet, set the Layer Mode of this displaced image to Multiply and the Opacity at around 85% (or experiment).

Optional: Duplicate this layer by dragging it onto the Create a new layer button on your layers pallet. Set the Layer Mode of this to Overlay at about 90%. I also created a Layer Mask for this Overlay layer and brushed on some of the deep wrinkles to create more shadows and depth. You’re done!

Filed under: art & design tutorials

photo editing in photoshop

No Comments »

June 7th, 2007 Posted 12:01 pm

Editing photos is one of my favorite things to do. Photo manipulation can, if done well, correct a myriad of sins that you could not control during the photo shoot. My tool of choice is Photoshop, upgraded to the latest release, but previous versions (too be safe, I’ll say 7.0 and up) will work as well.

As an example I will use an unedited photograph of myself.

Not a horrendous photo, but my face has very unflattering shadows in this light among other things. Our main to do list: remove all blemishes and unsightly lines, lighten the under eye shadows, enlarge the eyes a little because mine were a bit squinty, brighten teeth, add rosy skin tones, and nudge the nose to have more symmetry. All this can be done fairly easily, using only a few layers, and only a handful of tools.

I have labeled them in order of most often used, and simplest to hardest.

The healing brush (number 1) is the most amazing (and easiest) tool for cleaning up skin, minor blemishes, and slight lines. Select this tool, in the brush properties I suggest going with 50% hardness or experimenting. Setting the hardness too low will create an unnaturally smooth look if overused.

On that note, do not go overboard with any of these tools and methods. Keep it natural, do not lose the original texture of the skin, and remember that less is more.

Okay, back to the healing brush. ALT+Click on a clear area of skin that is a similar color and tone to the area you want to clean up. Patiently brush away one blemish at a time, don’t be afraid to undo and redo until you have it perfect.

The healing brush has some limitations, it does not work well when you are trying to clear up an area that is butted up right next to a very dark or very light area. For this kind of problem you will use the clone stamp (number 2) in conjunction with the healing brush. Select the clone stamp, set the hardness to about 50% and set the opacity to around 50% as well. Feel free to zoom in if you need to. ALT+Click on a clean area very close to the problem area and gently brush over the problem area. Go back to the healing brush and blend in what the clone stamp left behind.

The smudge tool (number 3) is a very powerful tool that can be very hard to control. I suggest you practice with this tool often before getting too frustrated and expecting it to work for you right away. I use the smudge tool to move muscles and to reshape whole areas. Use this sparingly because it will destroy all natural underlying textures. Use it for small areas only. Select the tool, with 30% hardness, and 75% strength. Resize the brush to fit over the area you need to move or reshape, softly nudge the area to the shape you desire. Usually many CTRL+Zs are necessary.

Number 4 on our tool bar is the Burn tool which can also be switched over to the Dodge tool. Another very strong tool that you must use very lightly. The burn tool darkens and the dodge tool lightens. To use either of them, set the hardness to 50% and the exposure to 5%. Brush in areas you need to darken or lighten but do not linger too long as it gets darker or lighter the longer you hold the brush down. This tool also messes with the underlying colors in your shadows or highlights. So you usually have to go back and add adjustment layers with masks to correct them. If you are only going to use two adjustment layers I suggest you use Levels and Hue/Saturation. Adjustment layers are very easy to use, and so useful and necessary.

Removing blemishes in Photoshop

And the final transformation:

Tags: digital photography, photo editing, photoshop, removing blemishes digitally
Filed under: art & design tutorials, photos

cat suit

20 Comments »

June 8th, 2007 Posted 8:59 am

Filed under: tina illustrates

kitty crazy brain activity

10 Comments »

June 9th, 2007 Posted 10:21 pm

Filed under: tina illustrates

rejection

30 Comments »

June 15th, 2007 Posted 7:47 am

The fourth and last book of the series The Immortals by Tamora Pierce is called Emperor Mage. This is an unpublished cover for this book. I created covers for this entire series, and the cover of the first book, Wild Magic, can be seen here.

Filed under: tina illustrates

drool canon rebel xti

3 Comments »

June 19th, 2007 Posted 6:02 am

My weekend was wonderful and family-filled, I bought the Canon Digital SLR Rebel XTi and played photographer. I also bought my first lotto ticket and lost.

Happy Father’s day, Dad.

David’s mom, Peggy.

David’s cousin-in-law, AJ.

Handsome David.

Devil David.

A boy and his ice cream.

Filed under: photos

approval from the wise

12 Comments »

June 20th, 2007 Posted 6:00 am

Filed under: tina illustrates

camouflage

49 Comments »

June 22nd, 2007 Posted 8:19 am

Tuppenny

Filed under: tina illustrates

the blogs of david

3 Comments »

June 25th, 2007 Posted 5:30 am

Everyone in the “Poziri” household was excited this passed weekend about the rehaul of David’s blog. We moved him to WordPress and he is enjoying all the control he has over every detail of the project. There is a sexy new flash ad on David’s blog that you’ll have to go see.

Mojito felt the energy and was extra sweet to me yesterday, and even came to lay in my lap WHICH HE NEVER DOES! I was speechless even though it only lasted 37 seconds. We even celebrated with Mr. Bee by having three spoonfuls of honey, each.

Filed under: tina illustrates

twist

54 Comments »

June 29th, 2007 Posted 8:23 am

Filed under: tina illustrates

can you hear me now?

36 Comments »

July 2nd, 2007 Posted 2:52 pm

An editorial piece for the Performance Edge Journal issue 2, on demystifying VoIP call quality measurements.

I’ve updated this illustration to create more depth by adding detail to the foreground VoIP dogs, and blurring the background into space.

Filed under: tina illustrates

a different kind of geek

31 Comments »

July 6th, 2007 Posted 10:25 am

Mr. Bee is a very famous archaeologist. You may have seen certain feature films based on his character, played by a sexy human actor. Mr. Bee may not be as ruggedly handsome as his movie counterpart, but he is just as smart and geeky in his vast knowledge of cultures past.

19th Dynasty pharaoh, King Amenmesses had a tomb decorated for him in the Valley of the Kings.The tomb was originally created for Amenmeses, but the decorations were erased and replaced with painted plaster scenes for the burial of a daughter and a queen. Why was Amenmeses not interred? Is he still alive? Such mysteries are the adventures Mr. Bee faces daily.

Filed under: tina illustrates

free fonts

4 Comments »

July 9th, 2007 Posted 5:30 am

Before I became an in-house designer, my projects varied greatly in subject and style. I needed to have a huge font library that consisted of everything that I might needed on short notice, so I spent a lot of time looking for fonts. I also have never liked spending a lot of money, so free fonts were the way to go! I’m providing a list of free font sites that I enjoy using so that you can find them in one spot. Some of the sites will also have Mac fonts. Please note that some of the sites require you to purchase a license if you are going to be using the fonts commercially.

If you don’t already, I suggest you obtain a font manager software, this will make using your new fonts much easier because you can organize and view all of them very quickly to find your perfect match without having to go through Illustrator or Photoshop’s font list one by one. If you are on a Mac you are lucky because you will already have the program Font Book, that will do just that.

Free font sites, in no particular order:

• typOasis
• Font Diner
• FontFace
• 1001 Fonts
• Acid Fonts
• 1001 Free Fonts
• DaFont
• Simply the Best
• Font Empire
• Urban Fonts
• Search Free Fonts
• Ding Bat Depot
• Font Freak
• Better Fonts
• Abstract Fonts
• Chank
• Creamundo
• High Fonts
• Free Fonts Now
• My Font
• Cool Fonts
• Free-Fonts
• Font Garden
• Font Shack
• Font Village
• Fonts 101
• Wanted Fonts

Filed under: art & design tutorials

mini beach vacation

3 Comments »

July 11th, 2007 Posted 5:25 am

I left work a little early one Friday, with my co-worker in tow. We grabbed our men and headed to the beach for the weekend. We drove about 200 miles to Rockport, Texas, where my dad had a cute little condo in the country club. Spending time in Rockport was fun, but we also made our way to Port Aransas, which was very close by and had a bigger beach. I was afraid to take the Rebel XTi out while we were on the beach, fearing sand and moisture, but I did get take some photos while on drier land.

The condo’s back yard melts into the golf course of the country club.

We had dinner at The Boiling Pot.

Mmmm, fresh seafood and my first time beheading and de-exoskeletoning boiled shrimp.

Ginger was concentrating on her camera.

Kyle made a threat about McDonald’s.

David held my purse because he is a gentleman.

Then we all went out for some Blue Bell Ice Cream

The end.

Filed under: photos

discovery

72 Comments »

July 13th, 2007 Posted 8:01 am

Filed under: tina illustrates

cosmetic dentistry

10 Comments »

July 14th, 2007 Posted 6:39 pm

From the time I was in the first grade until just a few days ago (that’s about 18 years, if you don’t want to do the math) I always had a retainer or braces. Two months ago, I started a long process of finalizing all of the cosmetic dental problems I have had since being born with a cleft lip and pallet. For the first time in my life I am not afraid to smile and show my teeth. There is still some work left, but I am happy and my mouth feels free.

Filed under: photos

poem

33 Comments »

July 20th, 2007 Posted 8:27 am

To find out a little bit more about the process of this piece be sure to read my Textures post in the how-to’s section.

Filed under: tina illustrates

photos of driving home

No Comments »

July 25th, 2007 Posted 10:30 pm

Central Texas is so beautiful. On Sunday I was driving south on the Capital of Texas Highway (Loop 360) in Austin. I knew I would pass my place of full time employment so I asked David to take some photos of the trip with the Canon Rebel XTi, since this is my daily commute home.

I found a gorgeous photograph of the same area where I work, taken by someone a lot more awesome at photography than I am.

Drive down 360

Filed under: photos

moon light

13 Comments »

July 27th, 2007 Posted 8:08 am

This is an unpublished cover for the book Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce, from the series called The Immortals.

I created book covers for this entire series and another one, called Emperor Mage, can be seen here.

Filed under: tina illustrates

free photoshop brushes

5 Comments »

July 28th, 2007 Posted 5:00 am

Whether you build texture maps for 3D objects, paint digitally, or create designs, custom brushes come in handy to speed up your job and save you extra effort. I’m providing a list of free Photoshop brushes download sites that I enjoy using so that you can find them in one spot. The brushes will include custom textures to create realistic effects, stamps, objects, symbols, and so on. Please watch out for and obey copyright laws on usage.

Free Photoshop brushes:

• Some of Dave Nagel’s amazing brushes, I’m not sure where to find his previous series, anyone know?
• Photoshop Brushes
• PS Brushes (not free for commercial use)
• User created brushes on DeviantArt
• Brusheezy Each download comes with it’s own Terms of Use.
• Tutorial Blog
• DarkWaif
• In Obscuro
• Obsidian Dawn
• Miss M Paper Lilies
• Blinding Light
• 500ml
• Hawksmont
• by Vered

What do I do after downloading the brushes?

Close Photoshop. After downloading a file, it will either be a compressed file (like a .zip), or a .abr file (which is the photoshop format). Decompress the file if needed. Once you have the .abr file, place the file into your Photoshop brushes directory, which will be at /Applications/Adobe Photoshop/Presets/Brushes/ or /Applications/Adobe Photoshop/Presets/Brushes/Adobe Photoshop Only/ or C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS2\Presets\Brushes\Adobe Photoshop Only.

Zoom

Open Photoshop. Click B on your keyboard to select your Brush Tool, or chose it from your Tools pallet.
1. Click the Brush Preset Picker at the top of your screen.
2. Then click the small arrow button pointing to the right to open your options.

You should see your newly downloaded brushes in this list, if not click on Load Brushes… find the file and hit Load.

Find the brushes in your list, click on one of them and click OK to replacing your current brushes with the new one. Now you can select the different brushes from your Presets and you’ll be good to go.

harry hotter

missing the beach

This piece was created with children’s book illustrator Kelsea Parks as a collaboration.

Kelsea moved to Charleston, South Carolina this month, so she won’t have to miss the beach anymore.

home buying

I didn’t want to talk about this until it was finalized, but I don’t like to keep quiet. David and I are in the process of buying our first house and we’re both very excited.

It is a little (1,337 sq ft) townhouse in north Austin, it has a mini back yard, 2 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2 car garage, and it’s 2 stories. It was built in 1980, so it is a little outdated but it will be fun to update.

I snagged some photos from the listing (so that is not my furniture), but haven’t had a chance to take any photos with my own camera, yet.

I have already made a list of the things I want to update. First thing to go will be the popcorn ceilings, followed by new paint inside and out. We haven’t decided which updates are going to be done next and in what order, but some of the more expensive and time consuming ones will have to come later (like hardwood flooring and making the attic space livable).

Walls and Ceilings
• Remove popcorn ceilings
• Remove dining room wall paper
• Paint all walls light gray, paint ceilings lighter gray, paint all trim and doors white
• Replace outlets
• Install crown molding in living and dining
• Paint and seal the outside
• Paint the garage

Flooring
• Tile the bathrooms
• Re-tile the entry way and fireplace area
• Install wood floors

Fixtures
• Update all light fixtures
• Update all 3 bathroom mirrors
• Update all doorknobs
• Update all faucets
• Window dressing and blinds

Kitchen
• Install new counter top
• Install small glass tile back splash
• Buy new kitchen appliances
• Install new kitchen sink

Misc.
• Remove half bath sink and cabinet to install pedestal sink
• Update two full bath sinks and vanities
• Front and back yard landscaping

men are from mars

David and I are so different. We were sharing a slice of chocolate cake today when I asked “How is chocolate so good?”

We both answered at the same time: David said “Chocolate is what I think God’s love would be like.” and I said “This is what I think the Devil’s semen would be like.” Sinful.

canon digital camera fun

adventure dad and weddings

My dad loves kayaking, fishing, and being by any water in general. It seems that his dogs are now really into it as well! Check out Bella in the pink polka dot life jacket, and Cookie with the pink heart tag. This picture was taken by my dad’s fiancée, Andrea, with my dad’s very cool waterproof digital camera.

For the first week of October, David and I are going to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico for my dad’s wedding. Very exciting! David and I have never been to Mexico but all of the photos we’ve seen and stories we’ve heard from people make it sound wonderful.

I bought a new bikini to celebrate the occasion and also because I had not bought a new bathing suit in about seven years. I blame that on living in San Francisco and Wisconsin for a few years, where swimming causes acute death symptoms.

It will be fun, and I will be sure to have SPF 70 with me at all times (for David, because he is VERY white).

short haired cat

David and I got a new cat this week. OK, I lied, but it FEELS like we got a new cat!

David took Mojito in for a haircut and he looks SO LITTLE now. His short hair is so soft, I can’t stop petting him and rubbing my face on him with no fear of chocking on long luxurious kitty hairs.

Mojito was developing some knots and matted hair on his back. I had tried to cut some of it out myself but I was afraid of hurting him. I’ve never had a cat before who’s hair matted, but Mojito doesn’t clean himself as much as other cats do. I blame it on him being taken away from his mother too early. Maybe he never learned how to do it well.

Has this happened to your cats?

the last pharaoh

Queen of Egypt.

This one is a very old piece. My technique was still rough at the time, but there are many elements of this one that I still like. I look at this portrait as one of the fist and most important building blocks of my style. The coloration of the skin is something I have continued to do in a similar fashion. Also, the proportional differences in the body, taking note of the delicate hands.

Do you have old work that you always look back on?

close to closing

In ten days we are going to be closing on our house. I happy and stressing out at the same time. I hate packing and moving, it’s one of my all time most hated things to do, right up there with putting my clothes back on the hangers.

I’m also not looking forward to all the work that needs to be done to the place. Since both David and I will be learning how to do all of the tasks as we go, I predict that it will take a LONG time to get it right.

Wish us luck, I’m nervous.

more pets please

Have you guys seen how adorable these fennec foxes are? I totally want one but I’ve read that they are a handful to care for. They only grow up to 3lbs and are the size of chihuahuas. They are very spunky, active, and smart, but can destroy furniture to make their nest. If I worked from home, I think I would get one in a heartbeat!

investigate me

I had a dream the other night where I was younger and at some kind of school. Gil Grissom was there too, of course he was quiet, intelligent, and strong. I had my camera with me so I started taking photos of him, I was trying to pretend that I was taking photographs of other things too, but he saw what I was doing. He disapproved of the photos because our relationship was supposed to be kept secret. What a deliciously forbidden love we shared.

free textures

You guys know how much I love using textures in my illustrations. Good high resolution texture images can be hard to find. But I’m providing a list of free texture download sites where you will be able to find them in one spot. Some images will be larger and better quality than others. As always, please watch out for and obey copyright laws on usage.

Free texture images:

• Texture King
• Texture Warehouse
• Mayang Textures

• Image After
• Forrest CZ
• GR Sites
• Got 3D
• 3D Links
• Free Photoshop
• Urban Dirty
• Web Ground
• Pixel Poke

homeowners

20% nervous and 80% excited, I hold in my hand a house key to David and my new home. Some things I found out about the place today:

• The big tree in the front yard is a magnolia tree. I can’t wait to see it bloom.
• Our next door neighbors, an elderly couple, just painted the exterior of their home bright green with white trim.
• There is a library within walking distance. This made David very happy because just last night he mentioned that he wishes our new place has a library close by.

I can’t wait to get a paint roller in my hand.

Yes, the key really has the night sky artwork on it.

getting the crew together

There is now a crew of three additional set of hands coming to help us paint and de-popcorn the house. Since this weekend is extended with Labor Day, David and I are hoping to have all the painting and de-popcorning completed by Monday evening. I hope this plan will work out well, because I would love to have another set of projects done before moving in completely at the end of September.

Project set numero two is called The Tile Trouble Trick which includes tile in three baths, kitchen, entry, fireplace, utility room, and maybe the exit to the backyard. The TTT is a scary prospect, much learning needs to happen for a successful and timely completion of the TTT.

starting the renovations

Nothing ever goes exactly as planned, of course, even with a boat load of lists, research, notes, and double checking. I called the utility company too late in the week, and with the weekend and holiday coming up they were unable to turn on the electricity or water until Tuesday for the bulk of our renovation. This didn’t stop us though, and thankfully the weather was mild enough so that we didn’t die working without air conditioning.

I took some quick photos of the place before we started.

I pulled some of the wallpaper off to see how easy it would be to take the whole thing off. It wasn’t as hard as I feared it might be.

Look, they left us some flower pots! There are also a couple of flower pots and a birdbath left for us in the front yard.

This weekend we finished removing all of the popcorn off the ceilings. Before starting this, I kept reading that popcorn is an easy thing to remove. All you would have to do is spray a little water and it turns into a mud that you can easily scrape off. Apparently this method does not work as well if the popcorn has been PAINTED TWICE!

It was rough, but with our muscles burning, our bodies bruised, and three days of nonstop physical labor we scrapped every piece of devil popcorn out of the entire house. We also sanded the ceilings, filled all holes and damaged drywall, and took off the wallpaper in the dining area.

There is a lot of clean up to do this week. After everything is spotless we will prime and paint. The cleaning, priming, and painting, hopefully, will not be as difficult as the popcorn turned out to be.

On the plus side, I am developing giant guns.

momentum

This painting was part of a series which also included the same girl looking into an indoor carnival then later ending her adventure masked. These paintings started as a dream of the indoor carnival scene when I was a child. I later developed the dream into a series where I continued the adventure that my dream did not finish. I love pieces that tell a story.

underestimating renovations

Did you know that older houses require a lot of work? Apparently, I put this fact out of my head until now, thinking that I could do a huge chuck of the renovations in just a few weekends. Without any prior experience, and without knowledgeable carpenters at my disposal. YOU TRICKED ME, HGTV! YOU MADE IT LOOK SO EFFORTLESS!

My dad and Andrea (plus Cookie, and Bella) came to help on Sunday. My dad and his multiple power tools helped with many projects that we could not have done easily, anytime soon. We replaced some drywall, replaced and placed new baseboards, removed a cabinet in the guest bath, removed vinyl tiles, and I did a lot of caulking around everything.

If you take a close look at this photo, notice on either side of the glass door the baseboard is not on the floor. Instead they had placed a strip of carpet on the walls with the baseboard on top of the carpet strip. This took many hours to correct, but my dad mastered it all.

In the guest bathroom, there was a cabinet on the top right wall directly in front of you as you walked in. We took this out and now the bathroom looks three times larger.

There is still much more to be done.

even cats are nerds

I watched the extended version of Dune tonight, with David. It was fantastic, of course, and made me want to reread the books and actually finish reading the original series. Two years ago I left off and didn’t finish reading God Emperor of Dune. I became too busy writing my thesis and working to complete my illustration thesis. I read eleven books (none of them for school) my senior year of college, I think it kept me sane and collected through all the hard work.

Dune cat totally knows what I am talking about.

spot

A while ago, while in college, I created five illustrations for Tint Magazine’s 3rd issue. Tint is a small publication that has national expose and covers women’s issues on a multi cultural platform. I created the illustrations pro bono to help the publication, but unfortunately never saw them in person once printed.

currently on the brain

Freaking out about:

• House painting completion currently at 15%
• Movers coming this Sunday
• Unfinished freelance work

Not freaking out about:

• The paint color chosen for the walls (milestone), ceilings (gentle rain), doors/trim (white) –

• Having a good boyfriend
• The cat showing me affection for once (of course, only when said boyfriend wasn’t home)
• Finally going on a real vacation after years of being too busy

pimp my photoshop filters and plugins

You should know by now how much I love free stuff, especially free stuff that I can use to expand my favorite tool of the trade, the glorious and mighty Photoshop of power.

Sometimes a good plugin or filter can save you a lot of time during tight deadlines, or just free you up to create more awesome work. BUT, I do like to give this warning out everyone, the same warning I gave when I was teaching Photoshop to art school freshmen, do not just slap on a generic Photoshop filter and call it quits.

1. People will always be able to tell when you use a filter.
2. It is considered a cop-out.
3. You are better than that amature crap.

I have not tested these, I do not know which versions of Photoshop they will work with, but I’ll let you figure that out. As always, make sure you read and obey copyright laws and usage rights for everything.

Free plugins, filters, and presets:

• 720 Free Photoshop Plugins and Filters
• The Plugin Site
• Tutorial Blog
• Extreme Tech
• Tele Graphics
• CG-India
• Photoshop Tutorials Blog
• Free Photoshop

I’m keeping this list short because a lot of those link include links to several other similar sites with the same plugins.

marbles and memories

This is the cover to my favorite sketchbook. I painted it over a year ago, and I think this cover helped inspire me to draw, paint, and sketch to fill the pages of the book in a way I never had before. I should scan some of the pages in and show you guys. One thing, I wish the texture of the canvas background was not as prominent, it takes away from the delicacies of the color pencil work.

i can has glasses?

I have been talking about getting new glasses for several months now. I didn’t end up getting the ones in my drawing from March, but I did end up getting the same brand (Vogue, ooh la la).

I also got some new contacts for my mild astigmatism and now I can see clearly when I drive. Woohoo, no need to fear for your lives anymore, people! I’m just kidding, there was never a need to worry, I always drove with glasses or contacts on. It’s just that my prescription had changed a tiny bit, enough to annoy me.

So, I opted for the astigmatism contacts even though I didn’t need to. But having good vision is pretty important to me, because you know, I need my eyes to see, to do my art, and TO LIVE!

More photos to come soon, with me actually in the glasses, once I get them back from the eye people.

pre mexico freakout

Freaking out about:

• House painting completion currently at 85%, and the last 15% being the most time consuming part
• Movers damaged a wall in my apartment, now I have something else to take care of this week
  

  The awesome boyfriend, David, took care of this, and the apartment management will not charge us for the damage

• NOT HAVING INTERNET OR PRECIOUS TELEVISION AT HOME, also no refrigerator until Thursday
  

  Internet and TV are up and running now, and fridge comes tomorrow

• Not having internet in Mexico for a week, but hopefully I’ll be able to forget about it and enjoy the water (by the way, I’ll try to schedule posts ahead of time so that you guys won’t forget about me while I’m gone)
• Gas company and cable company coming to the house today, so I have to drive back and forth from work to home in between my meetings
  

  All done

• Having to unpack and organize

Not freaking out about:

• Being completely moved into the house
• Our house starting to look like it really belongs in the year 2007 instead of 1980
• My shorter commute to and from work
• Buying new furniture and decorating
• David and I planning our portrait studio business (I am very excited about this, I’ll tell you guys more about it later)
• Having wonderful family that is always willing to lend a hand

I am so thankful to have such a great family. My mom drove to Austin on three different weekends to help with the renovations, packing, moving, and unpacking. I am constantly amazed at her energy and strength. She helped pack up our apartment Speed Racer style, without stopping and while ignoring my continuous freak out moments when I didn’t know what to pack where and what to do next. She also primed and painted more than anyone else. I do not know how she doesn’t get tired and how she stays so motivated. I am determined to find out her secrets. My aunt and cousin Mike, also came to help one day getting a big chunk of the painting and kitchen/closets organization out of the way.

My dad, very-soon-to-be-step-mom-Andrea, and her brother came over this passed weekend and painted like mad too. David and I could never have gotten this far so quickly without all of their help (and the help of the initial crew of friends who helped with the de-popcorning). This house ordeal has driven home the importance of family and the fact that David and I made the best decision moving back to Texas and being so close to all of them.

eloquence

Out of the depths of my happy heart wells a great tide of love and prayer for this priceless treasure that is confided to my life-long keeping.

You cannot see its intangible waves as they flow towards you, darling, but in these lines you will hear, as it were, the distant beating of the surf.

-Mark Twain

painting the master bedroom

This is the current painted state of our master bedroom. There is still blue painters tape on the walls because we have a tiny bit of edge work to complete where the ceiling color meets the wall color. Then later we will finish painting all doors and trim white, including that center beam which is now primed white.

We’ve moved furniture in and have it set up so that we can actually use the bedroom now. At least nothing is too heavy to move out of the way when we want to paint. It is frustrating to see all the little unfinished spots and areas that still need touch up paint. I feel like we will be spending every single weekend working on this place for the next two years.

hair woes

Thank you miss hair stylist for this gorgeous cut and style. I really love it, and it is one of the best hair styles I have ever had. But, please, next time, don’t make it look so easy when creating loose waves, like these, with just a straightening iron. I realize that you have had years of experience and that hair is your middle name. But those of us who don’t spend hours a day learning new tools and methods to do things with our hair are lost once we leave your skilled hands.

I was home a few days later, trying to mimic your methods, when I realized that no matter how I twisted, turned it, and wrapped it around, my straightening iron only STRAIGHTENED my hair. I went out and bought another straightening iron, thinking that the one I had was too wide. The second straightening iron was no different. The only time I have been able to get remotely close to this style, by myself, is while using a large barrel curling iron. I also have large Velcro rollers which can achieve a similar look, but I really wanted to be able to have one versatile tool, one magical straightening iron that also curled my hair and made it look wavy and pretty like Victoria’s Secret models.

painting the guest bedroom

Here is the guest bedroom painting nearly done. This room is farther along than the master bedroom because there are less closet doors to paint (the master bedroom has three closets) and no giant beam in the middle of the ceiling. This room, similar to the master bedroom, has the edge painting half done where the ceiling and walls meet. And of course, the doors and trim need to be primed and painted as well.

painting the tall stairway

There is the all buff and strong painting machine that is my mom. Hi Mom!

Notice how this stairway does not have the darker gray paint color on the walls. It was decided that it would be impossible to get up there while on a ladder that was standing on the stairs to paint the edges. I had already climbed up there to get the popcorn off the far wall and ceiling edge, it was scary, and there was no way to reach the rest of the wall/ceiling junction for future painting. So we painted this whole area the ceiling gray color, Gentle Rain.

Currently this area is almost done (I took the photos too soon), thank god for extendable paint roller poles and moms and dads. The only thing left is to tape a brush to the end of the pole and slap paint on the edges.

playing keepaway

It’s always interesting what kind of items people leave behind when they move away. In our attic we found an old electric guitar from the 1960′s, a stereo, a tape deck, and a mirror. There is probably more stuff up there too, but I don’t like walking around in there (I’ll make David clean it out sometime).

In our garage we found a small tan colored figurine of a saint (I have no idea which one it is). I was in the process of throwing it out when I first saw it, (why would I want to keep around more useless junk?) when David took it from me and said that he would hide it around the house, moving it every once in a while so that I would never be able to find it and throw it away.

You can see it above the fireplace in the top right square. Now I just need to step up on a chair to get him. Don’t get too comfortable little saint, you’ll be gone in no time!

painting the dining room

The dining room wall was painted Gentle Rain (after I took this photo), along with the ceilings (also not finished in this photo). The Gentle Rain color will continue into the kitchen on the walls and ceiling so prevent any abrupt color change where the dining room wall and kitchen wall meet.

Hi Andrea, Andre, and Dad!

painting the living room

The living room and dining room paint has made the most difference, so far, in bringing this house back to the current decade. Most of the touch up paint is done here, only needing to paint the edges, trim, doors, and stair banister which has been primed.

Now that we have some of our furniture moved in, it looks like a completely different house than the one we first saw when we decided to purchase. It is now our home, and I can’t wait for the day when I can call it completed.

open arms fly high

I created the Albatross card in the same set that included the Cheshire Cat card. These are so fun to make, each little character took three hours with Prisma Color Pencils.

new family

I flew back into the states sometime late Friday night, tired from traveling internationally but feeling content at the sudden increase in my family size. The wedding was beautiful. Andrea and her family are so warm that I feel like I have been a part of them for years. They seemed very excited, my dad was thrilled, and I was also happy.

The rest of the vacation was very relaxing and fun, except for the fact that I couldn’t keep any food down. I didn’t drink local water, I only ate what everyone else was eating, and yet I was the only one who got sick. Thank you, overly sensitive stomach.

We had a lot of fun snorkeling in underground caves with little fish, visiting Mayan cemeteries, and being surrounded by nature and wild life the whole time.

What a nice way to spend the week.

goals for future tina

Fall brings many reflective thoughts, with the year coming to a slow close and the weather starting to change (umm, excuse me, Tina, but it’s still really hot out. Shhh! Damn it. It’ll cool off soon. Soon, right?). As I start the last quarter of 2007, I think about all of the changes that happened this year and everything I want to accomplish for the next year. Maybe things like, oh let’s say, not buying nine additional pieces of furniture when the initial plan was just to get one entertainment center! Also, I want to stop feeling guilty for making occasional purchases because I rarely spend money on myself.

Some other goals:

• Become more tolerant of music and eventually learn to actually like more songs
• Make more time for freelance and commissioned work
• Stick with a healthy routine that consists of more fruits, more home made meals, and exercise
• Watch less TV (nnnnnooooooooo)
• Finish all of the house projects currently started, within three months (interior paint, lighting, some hardware)
• Get out of the habit of touching my face and skin in general, during the day when I am not paying attention. Because, Hello? Hands are the dirtiest part of the body
• Stick with a routine for doing a small amount of chores every day
• Get out of the habit of overloading myself with unachievable goals and unrealistic time frames, hmm

so ridiculously busy

Well, MB (that’s Mr. Bee), I’ve been so busy at work and not been getting home until really late at night. My week, outside of work has consisted of going to a dinner party, starting to putting together the (10) pieces of furniture I bought, going grocery shopping, and cooking, for the first time, in our new home. Not that I have had much time to sit down with my laptop, but I also have not been able to think of what to write about. My brain felt like a filled water balloon, full of stuff and none of it was getting out, still squishy though.

oh snap, bees

Do you know what another beautiful thing about Mexico was? They had honey bees at Xcaret (an eco theme park) that had no stingers. Their hives were beautifully carved out of wood, and the entire area smelled sweet like flowers.

The sweet smell seeped out of the wood, everything had soaked it up. There was no one else around, so it was just David, Mr. Bee, me, and the Mexican honey bees. Mr. Bee and I were in heaven, David also enjoyed it because he saw how happy we were.

Their lack of stingers, allowed us to get as close as we wanted to the hives. We walked into their area and stood with our faces three inches away from their hives, watching bee after bee come in and out of their beautiful entrances.

Mr. Bee was all like “¿Cómo estás, amigos?” and we just giggled. It was perfection.

new portrait, alina

This is little Alina, my most recent portrait, finally finished! You may remember the Zara baby portrait from April, she is Alina’s little sister.

furniture, faucets, and fun

I’ve been doing a lot of shopping recently, buying new stuff for the house, it’s really pulling everything together and making a very cozy home for us. Yesterday we got the cutest kitchen faucet, I know it’s just a faucet, but I love it! I feel compelled to comment on its cuteness each time I walk by. It has “Hot” and “Cold” written on the handles!

David got a Japanese Elm bonsai tree, we hope that he has more of a green thumb than I do.

Aaaannnnddd here is a bunch of other stuff I got.

mission beautify smile: complete

Back in May of this year, I started having cosmetic dental work done to create the beautiful smile that I always wanted. Yesterday I finished with the last step, I’m done, it’s pretty, I’m happy.

I’m grateful for being in this stage of my life, where I can change the things that I am unhappy about. I am totally behind cosmetic procedures because I truly believe they can change people’s lives for the better.

illustration, design, and marketing

I recently interviewed with marketing professional extraordinaire (and good friend) Andrea Stout over at MarketingVirgin.com. We talked about illustration, design, and marketing of course! A little removed from my usual casual writing, but informative!

Graphic design is typographical functionalism. A visually pleasing layout of information that guides the viewer through your message in a specific order. This is a crucial tool to have in marketing. Unlike the uniqueness and individuality of illustration, graphic design is often times more anonymous, catering to the clients branding needs. But, illustration usually does not exists without graphic design, the latter being the vessel which enables illustration to tell its story. In the recent years, photography has replaced the use of illustration in many functions, because of the rise of image stock houses and cheap prices, this has opened up new opportunities for companies to start using custom illustration again to gain an edge over their competition. Even though is it usually a less expensive option, photography is bound by the tangible rules of the world we live in, this is a very limiting fact, and illustration will always be able to take you to places you have only dreamed of. It is truly limitless.

Read the whole post on What is Illustration?.

My love for advertising translates right into my passion for learning more about marketing. I am very excited about the launch of MarketingVirgin.com and using the lessons covered to boost my projects. Posts such as the Search Engine Marketing run through can be used by anyone with a website, not just marketing professionals! I think that all of you who work in marketing, and even those of you who are interested in marketing your own business, or just learning more about it, will find MarketingVirgin.com to be a super useful blog.

trick or treat

I created the Kraken card in the same set that included the Cheshire Cat and Albatross cards. This card game also includes extra cards on how to create each costume worn by the card characters.

painting as exercise

What a productive weekend! I painted all of the wood baseboards, trim, and the banister a high gloss white, in the living and dining room. My body also feels like I did squats for eight hours, which is pretty accurate. David was in charge of organizing books, movies, and the second bedroom. That second bedroom/office is now put together and usable! I no longer have anxiety attacks as I walk by it, no more giant indistinguishable pile o’ crap! So, good news all around.

anger management pumpkin

I’ve never carved a pumpkin. I feel like I have missed out on a very American childhood tradition. Last year, David and I got a pumpkin carving kit but we never got around to actually purchasing or carving a pumpkin, because you know, we had much more important things to do, like watch TV. Maybe one day. In the meantime, I’ll just daydream about taking out all of my aggressions on a poor blobby human-head-shaped vegetable.

welcome future tina

Oh, what? I’m not really 94 years old? Why is it that I want to purchase this little beauty then?

I want to put it under my desk at work. But, it didn’t help that the product reviews were filled with stories about how people bought this for their mothers and grandmothers who have had knee replacement surgery and can’t really go out and walk around. Oh well, hopefully I won’t start yelling and waving my cane at little kids to get off my lawn tonight! Happy Halloween!

just tell me

who needs designers anyway

Designers have to deal with ridiculous requests from clients on a daily basis. I wish we could inject instant design knowledge into each client at the start of every project.

The great people at Agency Fusion created this video that makes all designers cry into their pillows each night.

Video by http://www.whoneedsdesigners.com/.

Not enough for ya? You want more torture? Ok, fine, listen to this song about bigger logos. Or maybe you’d rather read some comics by BearSkinRug (type the number 34 and then 68 into the Currently Viewing brackets), or N.C. Winters.

life, nature, and beauty in mexico

Guess where I am today! David and I are at the Texas Renaissance Fesival. I’ve never been to the one in Texas before. It’s supposed to be the biggest in the nation, I’m excited! I’ve only been once before, in San Francisco, with my friend Rosie. It was fun.

While I am off enjoying myself and taking photos of people in funny costumes, I hope you enjoy a couple more photos from my Mexico trip. I took these at the eco theme park, Xcaret.

a wedding and a horse

Andrea and my dad

And me, with a horse beast that David spotted (and photographed)

texas ren fest

I don’t understand the dedication of the people who dress up in full costumes made of leather, fur, and 50-layer gowns when it’s swelteringly hot and humid in Texas. I was sweating when we would sit or stand under the sun, and I wasn’t wearing anything compared to those people. But, they are the ones that make the whole thing so fun. So thank you, people who are not concerned what the outside temperate is, you are the reason ren fest is so awesome! And maybe also the awesome actors of Sound and Fury with their Fakespearean show that was so freakin’ hilarious, I’ve never heard the word penis said so often in public.

holiday season

Now that Halloween is over with, the next couple of months are going to fly by. The holiday season is always so busy and frantic, and before you know it’s gone. I’m going to get a head start and start enjoying it now!

what does your front door say

David and I haven’t done any work on the exterior of our house yet. Our plan is to get a bluish gray hardie plank on the front exterior, the back already has a white hardie plank. Then the stucco will be painted white. The bluish gray and white combination is one that I really like, and which is very similar to what we have in the interior.

We have been trying to decide what color to paint the front door. I was leaning towards red at first, but since our neighbors have painted their house GREEN! it would look like perpetual Christmas. So red was thrown out. We could go with white, a beautiful and safe choice, but I want something that stands out. So now I want a very high gloss black door. It’s more traditional European but I want a really cool door knocker to go with it, one like this:

Wouldn’t that be sweet?

UPDATE: Oh hai, Justin, you are the best! Thank you, for buying me this door knocker as soon as you saw how much I liked it today.

And also: I was showing my dad the door knocker and saying how cool it was, and he told me that when he was a little boy they used to have this same type of knocker on their front door in Iran. Holy coincidence Batman!

digital photo editing

I’m over at Lisa and Jeff’s digital photography blog, Beyond Megapixels, today giving some tips on editing photos in Photoshop.

The healing brush (number 1) is the most amazing (and easiest) tool for cleaning up skin, minor blemishes, and slight lines. Select this tool, in the brush properties I suggest going with 50% hardness or experimenting. Setting the hardness too low will create an unnaturally smooth look if overused. ALT+Click on a clear area of skin that is a similar color and tone to the area you want to clean up. Patiently brush away one blemish at a time, don’t be afraid to undo and redo until you have it perfect.

Read the entire article, with a lot more Photoshop tips, on photo editing at BeyondMegapixels.com.

something nice at work

I’ve been working in Flash this week, filling my brain with delicious code knowledge. It’s been a nice change from some of the more mundane tasks.

Enough about work, though, it’s Friday, which means only thoughts of the weekend are allowed from now on! Enjoy it, bloggy blog friends!

no rest for the wicked

My weekends area always busy, usually with extra projects I make for myself. This weekend is no different. I’m working on updating much of the design portfolio portion of tinapoe.com. While David is working on our portrait studio and some freelance work. I’m drained already.

the trouble with tuesday

No trouble really, I just love alliteration. Well, there was something somewhat troubling this week. I watched Soylent Green for the first time. I always knew the plot twist, it’s made of people, blah blah, but in my head it was just some silly far-in-the-future sci fi classic. The movie is set in 2022, which is not that far off, and it’s not really sci fi, it’s about overpopulation, global warming, and depleting earth’s resources. Very real problems. The sense of hopelessness was the most depressing part for me, there was no hero that could save them, not even a deus ex machina.

And now to distract myself with mindless entertainment: Ahahahahaha! Hot Chicks with Douchebags. Similar to leehotti.com (is the leehotti.com site down for good?), looking at these people makes me feel so good about my life. Laughing at stupidity soothes my blackest coal black icy heart.

By the way, I have fallen in love with Etsy.com jewelry. I want to buy myself 50 necklaces and bracelets, but instead I am going to try to do all of my holiday shopping on there.

Lurve.com, people, lurve.com.

commitment

There are some questions you have to get out into the open just to make sure of where you stand in a relationship.

symbolism

I created this portrait of Michael J. Fox showing innocence through the use of religious symbolism.

tina tina tina

One time, when I was very little, in Germany, my dad had horrible awful hiccups that would not go away. So my mom decided that her and I should turn off all of the lights in the house, go into my room, put white sheets over ourselves and stand there silently until my dad walked by, so that we could scare the hiccups away. He walked by, got scared seeing two creepy white forms standing in the dark, and then got mad. I don’t remember if his hiccups went away because of that, but remembering it now makes me laugh.

I get sad knowing that memories are elusory. I wonder how different my childhood details actually were from what I remember of them.

I struggle regularly with the decision to let this blog become more personal, or to keep things light and on the surface. Sometimes I write posts only to delete them before they ever go live.

I can’t figure out how to sit and work ergonomically in my office. My right shoulder and neck cramp up and the muscles burn, and it drives me crazy. I just always end up slouching and moving into a bad position.

I feel guilty about a lot of things. You’d think I’d been raised in a church.

When I am older and have accomplished most of what I have set out to do, I want to spend the rest of my life living in Crete.

never again

For my next house, if I ever say anything about wanting to renovate or remodel or paint ANYTHING myself, you may take a dull knife, stick it into my gut and wiggle it around nice and good.

I hate you HGTV, HomeDepot, and all you others who try to make it look so easy. I never want to hear the words DIY, sweat equity, or weekend project ever again. I’m never going to be able to finish this in a reasonable amount of time. So far, I have only been able to finish painting the baseboards in the living room and dining room white, from their ugly wood origins.

Original ugly colored wood that I have to paint over

Before and after dining room

I have been painting all weekend, trying to finish the edges where two different colors meet, trying to make very straight and perfect edges. Maybe I will win the lotto in 2008 and then pay someone to finish all this work.

thankful

You are what I am thankful for this year.

productivity to the max

After spending all day with our three families and eating two thanksgiving meals, David and I headed back home for a long weekend of home renovation. The living room and dining room are getting so close to being done that they make me pee my pants a little each time I walk downstairs.

The ceilings are a little streaky but they won’t be after a little touch up work. Can you spot the little Mojie? He is hiding.

Commence jealously, now.

tis the season to be shopping

I have had nothing but holiday shopping on my mind lately. I was struggling with what to ask David to get me, because this year he didn’t want to guess and because he told me exactly what he wanted, a Nintendo DS with Brain Age2. It was only fair. It couldn’t be anything for the house (which I totally would have taken, because I want this place to look finished and fantastic), it had to be just for me, and something that I wanted. Usually it’s hard for me to get or ask for things I want if I don’t need them. So, I looked and looked trying to find something that I actually liked, and finally settled on the actor John Barrowman, as boyfriend #2.

But, David said 1) he’s gay, and 2) no. So I cried. Then I told him to get me a beautiful diamond ring instead!

(pause for dramatic effect)

No don’t freak out, I just wanted to get you excited, it’s a right hand fashion diamond ring, very pretty. Then I also found a great gift for my mom that I am very excited about but I can’t tell you what it is because she comes and visits my blog sometimes, Hi Mom! (i’ll post pictures after the gifts have been exchanged) I am nearly done with all of the gift shopping, even Mojito got a new scratching post which he loves. Thank god, because he was “loving” our new textured fabric chair with the blue throw pillow.

Other shopping news, I don’t have a new dress to wear to my company’s holiday party tomorrow. I have been busy and tired and slightly sickly with nothing substantial enough to call a “cold” but crappy enough to make me feel like poop. And you know how much I hate poop. So I haven’t felt up to trying to figure out what to wear, or up to getting too excited about the party. I guess I’ll go look through my closets and see if I can find something. If not, tomorrow morning I’ll drag David to the mall, he needs a new blazer anyways. Maybe we can finish our final gift purchases at the same time.

Hope you guys get all your shopping done quickly and with enough time to relax listening to some choice holiday music!

hair cut? yes or no or yes or no or yes or no

I successfully drove David crazy on Sunday. I’ve been needing a trim to shape up and thin out my locks, but I thought I might want to go much shorter instead. This started a long debate whether or not I looked better with short hair or long hair. David claimed that both short and long hair looked good on me. This was sweet, but drove me mad, because one has to be inferior on my face shape in some way. They can’t both work perfectly.

I am still not 100% sure if I want to cut my hair short. I like my long hair, it’s pretty, but is short hair prettier? more unique? will it make me look more mature and sophisticated? I’ve had short hair for most of my life, so it’s comfortable for me. Should I wait to cut it until I am totally tired of my long hair? Or go ahead already with a short bob? I have never been so worried about a haircut before, I’m always the person who says “who cares, it’s just hair, it will grow back”.

I think Katie Holmes has very similar hair to mine, and she had it about the length of mine (my hair can make boob curtains now) until she cut it to a cute bob. I love that bob. Now if only I had her little chin and nice cheekbones and nose, I’d be set.

lack of tradition or patience

This is the scene nearly every Christmas, as well as all of the other gift giving occasions. My family and friends make fun of me for it, but I’m not going to take full responsibility for this. As I remember it, my dad often told me what he was going to get me for my gifts before the occasion arose. So it’s all his fault, completely his.

I’m terrible at it, I just can’t keep it inside me. Sometimes I will try really hard, and I will hold out for weeks and weeks until I blurt it out a few days before. One year my mom was coming to visit me in college and Mother’s Day was going to fall during her visit. I had purchased her a gift already, a watch, and was waiting to give it to her once she arrived. Before her flight, I was talking to her on the phone about her visit and Mother’s Day when I spilled the beans, “I’ll give you the watch, then!” I blurted. Why couldn’t I have said “you’re gift” instead of “the watch”? Because I have an excess information release disease, that’s why. Those kinds of incidents happened to me way too often.

Here is the ring David got me for Christmas. Yes, I’m already wearing it.

back to short hair

I went in for the bob and I am very happy with it. My hair grows like a scary muscled man on steroids, so I’m totally not worried about growing it back out again if I get tired of this.

David took several photos of my new cut but none of them completely encompassed the awesomeness of the style. Not that David can’t take nice photos, I blame two dimensionality. This is the same reason why I think I look great in the mirror but get nauseated at the sight of myself in nearly all photos. Oh, the difficulties of time and space.

instructions upon my death

I’m not going to make much sense, because my brain doesn’t want to work, but I know you’ll forgive me.

I’m sick. I haven’t been sick like this in years. I have a fever, painful steel wool throat, drips, drainage, faints, and aches. Edit: Okay, I totally over exaggerated. I had a cold, it lasted like two days, and I’m already getting better. Since I am certain that death is coming for me this week, David has been instructed to take my ashes and create a diamond from my remains.

The little sleep I got last night, was filled with dreams of the company that creates the human-diamonds, they were alien’s from another planet banking on the silly materialistic humans, something about extra cleaning services you could buy, and all these meaningless additions to purchase that added to their scam.

A tacky holiday sweater party I went to last week.

My mom and me at a dinner party over the weekend.

The cutest boyfriend trait: watching awful reality shows with me, like The Real Housewives, and acting genuinely interested at the comments I make about the characters.

home alone

I’ve been home all week, save Christmas where David and I went to spend the day with family. David has been working a little bit so part of the week was spent alone, just me and Mojie. Did you know there’s not a lot of good on TV ALL the time? The internet has been boring me a lot too, but I’m sure I’ll be more interested once I get back to work. Being home so much has allowed us to finish a lot more painting work, put up a new kitchen light, new door handles, and hang about 57 frames with photos and artwork.

My least favorite, and most time consuming task right now is painting all of the wood trim and wood doors a high gloss white. It takes for-freakin’-ever! Drives me nuts. Regular wall painting=easy as pie. Stupid wood=work of the devil. I don’t know if painting them white was the smartest thing to do, but I bet stripping and re-staining them a darker wood color would not have been any easier. At least it was less expensive than replacing everything with new trim, doors, and everything.

David and I have decided to try for stained concrete flooring, I think it will look so nice. My old home renovation list has been updated slightly, and grown with a lot more details. Mostly with the kitchen revamping. The wall between the kitchen and living room is coming down to become a bar, and I need a new counter top but I still haven’t decided what I want, I’m thinking of concrete counters, but I’ll have to see if that will work well. The cabinets need to go, and new sleek modern ones need to come in their place. We like these white ones with some glass thrown in.

The plain rectangular bathroom mirrors with no frames I want replaced with contemporary oval mirrors like these from Ikea, with a stainless steel frame. I’ll need new sinks and vanities as well.

So, lots more work to do, but at least the bigger things will be done by someone other than me, hello contractors! I should get back to work painting some more trim, yay. I hope you guys had a great week and holidays!