Photoshop’s Beginnings

spash page for PSThere was a time when Photoshop (PS) was a fresh new product that nearly nobody had heard of. Of course those times are long gone, in fact I think that if you were to ask anyone on the street, in any country in the world, “What is Photoshop?,” all would give you basically the same answer, “It is an image editing software.” If there were any variations in responses my guess is that it would be minimal. It’s remarkable that PS has basically become a worldwide household name, (assuming I’m correct of course), you could include it with such brand names like Coca-cola, Toyota, and maybe a few others.

So how did PS get to be one of the most well known products in the world? Who created it and when? The beginning of every computer graphics course as I’m introducing PS to my students, I usually spend some time going over how PS got started, and most of the times the students seem somewhat surprised by its meager beginnings. They rarely know that PS was not created by Adobe and that the software was given away when you Continue reading

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sketching article from creativebloq.com

Twenty tips to start sketching – Creative Bloq

If you don’t want to read my article, here is the direct link to Creativbloq.com.

Back in the day when I dreamed of being an artist, I would spend hours drawing in the hope of being successful. To this day I don’t think that I actually knew what, ‘successful’ meant to me, at least in the broader sense. I guess that I just wanted people to like the results of my hours and hours of sitting at the dining room table drawing cars and monsters (yes, I drew monsters *sigh). The truth though is that I gave up before I ever got the adulation that I so craved. Oh, my girlfriend said that she liked my work, and maybe some friends gave a compliment here and there, but the vast majority of the people that saw my renderings just kind of nodded their head and maybe mumbled something positive. I wasn’t naive or stupid I knew my work wasn’t very good, but it probably took me about a year before I realized that I never really understood how to draw. I would buy books and look through magazines to get some hint on how to make my work look like the pros, but I could never manage to make the vampire or Ford Mustang look like I wanted it to. So I eventually gave up.

I think a lot of people go through something like what I did so many years ago, especially when it comes to artistic endeavors. The one statement I hear more than the, “I’m not very good at math.” comment is, “I don’t have an artistic eye.” sometimes it’s a variation like, “I don’t have an artistic bone in my body.”

“I wasn’t naive or stupid I knew my work wasn’t very good, but it probably took me about a year before I realized that I never really understood…”
The truth is I don’t necessarily believe them. I teach in the art field and my experience tells me that everyone is artistic in some way. It may not be drawing, but maybe something else like pottery or painting, or even some sort of craft. I sincerely believe that everyone can be artistic if they first, have guidance and second, they spend the time needed. For me back about thirty years ago I spent the time, but never really had anyone that would help me. The internet wasn’t a thing back then, and most people didn’t either know how to help me, or maybe they didn’t see any hope for me. The result was that I gave up.

source: Creativebloq.com (used without permission)

I recently read an article at Creative Bloq entitled, “20 sketching tips to help you make your first marks.” I wouldn’t say that it’s a great article, but I will say that I wish I would have had something like this way back in the day. Like I mentioned, I didn’t have any guidance and to see these tips laid out in the way that the author lays them out is something I would have definitely benefited from. The article describes and gives examples of the different types and hardness of pencils and then gives clear examples of the principals of design. They go into symmetry and using textures, these are all the things that I teach in my classes so trust me when I say that this is a great resource to read, or even just to bookmark in case you ever feel like sketching.

I do want to mention something that I don’t like about Creative Bloq though. The site is there to make money and unfortunately they tend to try to push people to purchase something, which I understand, they have to pay the rent. The problem that I usually have with sites like this is that I feel like they are trying to trick me. So although I didn’t see anything that looked spammy in this article, some of their articles will suggest that you buy something or refer you to an affiliate site where they can make a commission on you.

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This immersive tech turns your memories into beautiful abstract art.

I guess that I expected it to happen one day or another, but to actually see brain waves of memories is something that I don’t think I really thought would happen for some time. The idea of turning your memories into a visual medium is very interesting though. Think about it, if you’re thinking about an episode of your life, maybe a break up, or a fight, or maybe something enjoyable like when you got married, or when your toes first touched the sand on the beach in Thailand, and you see the result as a graphic on the screen in front of you. Maybe it’s colorful for your happy memories, and maybe dark for your sad ones.

According to an article on Mashable.com, “A London-based creative technology studio, Random Quark, has found a way to visually and directly represent emotions by scanning people’s brains to create awe-inspiring paintings.”

In all honesty they really don’t show a lot of the end result, but the premise of idea is intriguing to say the least. I mean, could you create a work of art based only on your memories? Could you explain your perspective of an event based on memories? Imagine someone looking at your past and seeing how bad you felt or how happy your were based on this technology. Is it a huge step to think that this could be used as a medical tool. I don’t know, but it would seem that some medical professionals would benefit from knowing what an event meant to you.

 

 

 

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ad for paper design

Print or Digital, what others think

ad for paper designAs I get older I start to miss somethings that I took for granted a long time ago. Like getting the latest magazine as soon as it came out. Sometimes it was even  an event that warranted a cup of coffee and a quiet space for the next hour or two. Now though I get so much info fed to me through various web sites and apps that I don’t think I have sat somewhere in years and just read a magazine, digital or otherwise.

That’s what drew me to this survey in the first place. The poll questioned people about their perceptions between digital and print. The survey was commissioned by a company with a stake in printing, so I’m not sure if the survey was slanted their way. However, if you’re like me you’ll probably find the data interesting.

The following is a direct copy/paste from their pdf. You can find it here(I did the graphs myself though) Continue reading

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man confused

One step behind everyone else.

man confusedSo this article isn’t considered click-bait, the site I’m talking about is Creative Market.

Sometimes I wonder why I seem to be the last to know about certain styles and trends. It’s not just in daily social life, but it appears that my lack awareness extends to what’s happening on the web. I was probably the last person to actually sign up for Twitter that I know of, Instagram was just a peripheral site that I didn’t see a need for, and what is Snapchat anyway?

It’s funny because on some levels I’m the first to adopt some technologies and sites. Maybe an example could be Reddit or to a lesser degree, Digg. I had been on Digg—you all remember Digg?—before it tanked, and on Reddit when it was just starting out. So I don’t think I’m a lost cause, just maybe just a little too unaware.

This seems to have changed once I started working on this site. The need to find content to write about has me going everywhere on the web just to find something interesting and artistic. Most of what I find is just static that I have to weed through usually without success. The result of this is that I find myself signing up to sites that earlier I wouldn’t have in the hope that I can read an article or find out about an artist. The best case is that maybe it will excite me enough to write about it or them.

Creative Market is new to me, and I don’t think before this kennethcurtis.com that I would have even stopped by to find out what it’s about. I think the name of the site gives me all I need to know, and in all honesty, I won’t spend money on art found on the web. There’s too much of it, and I don’t think I’ve seen anything that I felt strongly enough to purchase.

This morning on my Twitter feed I found a link to free stuff to download. Free is good even if I don’t need whatever it is kind of fun to see what’s being given away. So I decided to give Creative Market a try and signed up for an account. I have no idea if the site is good, and I’m not advocating anyone else sign up, but at least I’ve found another resource for kennethcurtis.com.

Free stuff from Creative Market.

Let me know if the site is a spammer or it is good. I’d also like to know of any other resources that I maybe have missed out on.

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