12 Deals of Christmas!!!
ENDING SOON!!! Zazzle’s 12 Deals of Christmas. Hurry up and get your holiday gifts!!
Use promo code: 12DEALZAZZLE
Offer is valid from December 14, 2009 at 12:01am PT through December 14, 2009 at 11:59pm PT
50% off 10+ Cards
Buy 1 Mug get 1 FREE!
$5 off Tees!
60% off Posters!
Plus!
30% off Stocking Stuffers
30% off Bags
30% off select Brands
$9 off Calendars
$10 off Ties
$11 off Skateboards
Buy 1 Binder, Get 1 Free
30% off hats and embroidered hats
High Key Themed Challenge: Animals
The lastest challenge in the High Key Group on Redbubble was Animals. There was a lot of great work submitted. Check out all the entries here.
The top 10:
1st place
2nd
3rd
What’s 4 Dinner Mum? by Cindy Perrinjaquet
4th
Heavy Traffic by J.Harris Blacklist
5th
Sweet by Ken Boxsell
6th
Come Make a Snowdog With Me! by Johanne Brunet
7th
animal instinct by Angel Warda
8th
Pure by deannedaffy
9th
10th
Don’t forget to check out these great photographer’s other works!
New Product Line – Fire & Rescue
Once again, I was slowly building up enough images to blog about it, but I now have a new product line at my Zazzle Store for Fire & EMS. Each design is offered on several different products, and I’m still working on expanding the product lines.
FIRE:
Paramedic/EMT:
FIRE EMS COMBO:
Just a reminder, each design, and variations of them, are available on several other products such as: Cards, Posters, T-shirts, Postcards, Mugs, Stickers, Stamps, etc.
Photomanipulations
I thought I’d do a post sharing some of my photomanipulations. If you’re wondering what a photomanipulation is, it’s just what it sounds like, manipulation of a photograph. Now granted, most of my work would technically be considered manipulated because I did manipulate it one way or the other. Some people can get picky with that, but most consider photomanipulation a style or category of art in which the artist generally takes more than one photograph, combines them and “photoshops” them to create a totally new image.
There are a lot of photographers who offer up their images to be used as stock for photomanipulation artists, as long as they get credit, and the end product is a completely different from the original image. Personally, I’m still not terribly comfortable using other peoples images for my own work, then taking credit. I don’t know why, it just feels weird, so I try to use as much as my own stuff as possible. However, that is not always possible, especially when it comes to models. I just don’t have anyone, nor the costumes for my own models. Recently, in my attempt to combat the winter blues, I have created a few images that are all stock, and I have to say, the results speak for themselves. Sometimes you just have to give in and go with the flow. Using stock is just so much easier. There is anendless amount to choose from, if you have something specific in mind, you can usually find it, and lets face it, using stock from photographers across the world opens you up to locations you could only dream to visit on your own. So let me take a minute here and say THANK YOU TO ALL YOU STOCK PHOTOGRAPHERS that allow us couped up, sun depraved, bored artists to create something we never could without you!
I suppose I should get on with it huh? A few of these I have had around for a while. The first 3 are my newest.
STOCK CREDIT:
Model: mizzd-stock Background: cave- steppelandstock combined with one of my own images.
STOCK CREDIT:
Models: woman- mizzd-stock, man – dragon-orb, wolf - breedstock
Background: nomuh
STOCK CREDIT:
Model: faestock
Background: all mine, that’s actually my front yard LOL!
The rest of these are a little older, you may or may not have seen them before.
No stock credit, all images were mine. Except for the brushes used for the butterflies. Unfortunantly, I don’t remember where I got those.
STOCK CREDIT:
Model: faestock Foilage Brushes: LadyVictoire Background: mine
STOCK CREDITS:
Model: faestock Background: mine
I hope you enjoyed!!
All of my work can be puchased as premium art cards, and most are available as matted prints, laminated prints, mounted prints, canvas prints, framed prints, and posters. All in varying sizes. To see more work and/or purchase click here. (or click on a particular image)
Example Card:
And most are avaible as various products at Karri’s Zazzle Store Front!
Feature: Out with the Old; In with the New.
The latest High Key Group challenge was Out with the Old, In with the New. (You know, to go along with the whole New Year thing) We left it open to interpretation.
The Top Ten:
First Place
snow in the field by muratodentro
The rest are as follows:
The Next Generation by Kristen Trapane
Keeping A Clean Act by Johanne Brunet
Don’t forget to check out these artist’s other great works!
Vector Images & New Characters
Since I started working on my scuba diving designs, which needed to be vectorized to make good t-shirts, I’ve been screwing around in our sign program drawing other designs too. I can’t quite get the whole drawing and vectorizing in Photoshop, so I have to make do with this other program. So once again, I’m gonna self-promote and share some of my new vector designs! A couple of these are available as t-shirts at my Redbubble gallery, and all are available on multiple products at my Zazzle store.
With my first series of vector image product, I would like to introduce you to Pynki Q! She’s just a lil blob of a thing I drew playing in the sign program.
As you can see, she’s available on stickers, in which you can change the background color. Also she has her own mug, shirts, and more!
And then there’s Pynki Q’s brother (or just the bluer version of Pynki Q), Pynki Q Blue!
Pynki Q Blue is also featured on stickers and is featured in his very own Birthday card!
And here is someone else I would like to introduce you too, he comes in several different colors, but is always happy to see you. I introduce to you Mr. Happy Bones! (I know, the names are gay!)
I also made a few customizable cards with a lovely floral vector I drew, that is also available on shirts. Just click the customize it button, and you can change the background color and the text to fit your needs!
And then there’s the lovely butterfly.
And a cute lil fishy!
The lil fishy lead me to draw this mini scuba cartoon, which I feel is a little better than the last one I tried. It is also available as a mug, sticker, and postcard.
I have a few more drawings done, including a guitar and a frog, but just haven’t uploaded and made anything with them yet. I hope you enjoyed my little preview of some of my new products.
New Santa Holiday Cards!
I put together 2 more Christmas cards today. They are both available as high quality art cards at Redbubble, and in bulk on Zazzle.
*** TODAY ONLY (DECEMBER 2, 2008)***
****FREE SHIPPING ON ANY PRODUCTS AT ZAZZLE!!****
enter code CYBERZSHIP08 at checkout
offer valid till 11:59pm PST
On to the cards!
(note: clicking on the card images will take you to my Redbubble work, not Zazzle)
Click here for all Holiday cards through Redbubble
Click here for Zazzle Holiday Products.
Holiday Cards!
For the past month I have been trying to come up with an idea for holiday cards. My mind has been a blank. I tried a few things, but nothing jumped out at me. That is… until last night 
So I bring you my lastest work in the form of holiday cards.
It’s a start at least, right?
TTV: Through the Viewfinder
What is TTV: Through the Viewfinder?
Well, it’s pretty much what it says. It’s a technique using two cameras, an old box camera and the camera you actually take pictures with, in which you take a picture of what you see through the other camera’s viewfinder. Make sense?
What is the point you ask?
For me, I love the aged retro look you get with TTV. Yeah, you can make an image look aged or antiqued using textures and filter in Photoshop, but it’s just not the same. Most of the old box cameras are dirty, covered in dust, maybe some scratches, all of which add to the character of the image. (The dirtier the better I say!) Not to mention the challenge of balancing 2 cameras, and the whole flip flop issue. Most box camera’s used have a top viewfinder, that uses mirrors, so you have to keep your good camera at a 90 degree angle to what you want to photograph. Oh, and everything is reversed. Do you know how confusing that can get, you keep turning the direction you need to to center the image, yet in the viewfinder it’s going the other way?!?
So what do you need to get started?
First off, you need a camera to actually take the picture. I’ll assume if you are reading this, you already have one of those And to get a nice close-up shot of the viewfinder, you will need a macro lens, or zoom filters. You will need to be able to take a picture a few inches away from the object. If your camera has a macro setting that you are happy with, then by all means, just use that! Besides that, you will need some sort of old camera with a large viewfinder, and then something to block out the light between the 2 cameras.
After you have what you need, honestly, all you do is take a picture of the viewfinder.
Obviously the image above doesn’t have the light blocked out between the two cameras. I just wanted to show you the viewfinder.
My set up:
I have my Canon Rebel XTi for my primary camera (we’ll call this camera #1 from now on), an old box Argus 75 for my secondary camera (camera #2), my stackable zoom filters (I don’t have a macro lens), and my Tube of Darkness. Put together it looks like this:
You can pick up an old box camera fairly cheap at flea markets, antique stores, or ebay. Cameras like the Argus 75 were so overly mass produced in the 40′s, 50′s, and 60′s, you can find them all over the place. I picked mine up on ebay for $4.99 plus shipping!
Here it is pulled apart:
The Tube of Darkness:
To block out the light between cameras, I used a 3 inch cardboard tube that I cut down to 6 inches long, and a black (fuzzy) sock (lost the match) of which I cut the toe off. I slipped the black sock over the cardboard tube, so that there is equal excess material at the top and bottom of the tube. Then I slipped the tube over the open viewfinder on camera #2, and used saftey pins to secure it around camera #2′s straps, making sure it’s pulled tight, yet not to cover camera #2′s lens. And viola! a Tube of Darkness!
And since I use an SLR camera, I just dip my lens into the tube, and pull the top excess sock material over camera #1′s lens. The sock works great because of the elasticity, it keeps a snug fit over the camera’s, keeping out the light. Sorry, I can’t show you a picture of the SLR in the Tube of Darkness because I only have one camera!
I took the picture, now what?
Honestly, that’s up to you and your taste! First off, crop off all that excess around the image. Most people leave a small border around though. After that, editing is all up to you! I have heard that a lot of people like to used the Urban Acid Photoshop Action. I have tried it, but usually end up just playing with the tones and colors on my own, so I can’t give you an example of it. Then why not upload it to Flickr? There are a ton of TTV Flickr groups! Not to mention the ton of information you can find in those groups! The largest one, Through the Viewfinder, has a blog with a ton of information, including a list of a variety of different secondary (base) cameras that can be used. Check that out here.
I hope you enjoyed my lil tutorial/informative blog! Now I’m gonna shamelessly self-promote
More of my TTV images
This is the very first TTV I took. This is my daughter. What I love about this image, is that it looks like a picture that fell out of my baby book!
This picture was actually chosen as the picture of the day on Absolute Michigan’s Michigan in Pictures Blog!
“Museum of Newaygo”
All of my work can be puchased as premium art cards, and most are available as matted prints, laminated prints, mounted prints, canvas prints, framed prints, and posters. All in varying sizes. To see more work and/or purchase click here. (or click on a particular image)
Example Card:
Weekly Themed Features – Symbols of Hope
This week’s feature theme is Symbols of Hope. These beautiful works of art were chosen from A Photographer’s Craft. Please enjoy these works, and don’t forget to check out the artist’s personal pages, where you can view more of their gorgeous work!
A symbol of hope can mean a number of things to any individual person. If you were asked to take one picture creating a symbol of hope, what would it be?
Would it be a white dove in mid-flight as it was for Mark German?
(This image can also be purchased at The Gift of Art)
How about a symbolic lone tree as in Dana DiPasquale’s “Maybe This Year Will Be Better Than The Last”?
Or maybe it would be a serene landscape image like Adrian Rachele’s “Ode to Life” or “Breaking Through” by Tom Vaughan.
(“Breaking Through” can also be purchase at The Gift of Art)
Or a glorious start to a new day like it was for Sue Wickham?
What about a symbol of faith as it was for lallymac?
“And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns, and put it on His head, and put on him a purple robe, And said, Hail, King of the Jews and they smote Him with their hands.” John 19:2-4
Maybe it’s the ever watchful guardian angel in “S A C R E D” by Redtempa?
For me, through my eyes…the symbol of hope was the innocent smile of my daughter, my future, my hope.
What is your Symbol of Hope?
Don’t forget to visit The Gift of Art, where all proceeds go to the National Cancer Institue, to help fund cancer research, and give hope to others.
My Latest Photography Series – Nautical
I spent a day out on a boat in Grand Traverse Bay, Traverse City, Mi, intending on scuba diving. Of course I brought my camera. This is not my typical work, but I have been pretty desperate for something to photograph!
Enjoy the veiw of the bay through my eyes….
All of my work can be puchased as premium art cards, and most are available as matted prints, laminated prints, mounted prints, canvas prints, framed prints, and posters. All in varying sizes. To see more work and/or purchase click here. (or click on a particular image)
Example Card:
Don’t forget to visit The Gift of Art, where all proceeds go to the National Cancer Institue, to help fund cancer research.
