Steven Powers (SMP): digital arts
Showing posts with label digital arts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label digital arts. Show all posts

Virtual Dub Mod: Overview





This is a quick overview of Virtual Dub Mod and how I use it. Virtual Dub Mod is free, based on Virtual Dub and has a lot of uses.  With the use of WINE I have been able to use it in Linux.

GIMP 2.7.4 Wacom Support



GIMP 2.7.4 now has Wacom Support.  I have been working towards replacing Photoshop so I can run Linux full time.  But Photoshop is not easily replaced, but the the newest version of GIMP, which is 2.7.4 is getting better everyday and now the issue with no Wacom or tablet support has been fixed.

MyPaint 1.0 for Windows and Linux



MyPaint 1.0 is now available for Windows users.  This is still an experimental build but seems to be quite stable.  There have been a lot of changes including dockable menus.  For full features, changes and download go to MyPaint's home page HERE. You can thank tumagonx for the Windows build. For those on Linux that want to try the newest build with the latest features, a PPA as been created. Just copy and paste the commands listed below that were posted by David Revoy:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:achadwick/mypaint-testing
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install mypaint

I will have a short video on my workflow utilizing GIMP 2.7 and MyPaint 1.0 hopefully before the birth of my son. After that, all bets are off.

Thank you,
-Steve

Quick Tip: Why Calibrate My Monitor


Calibrating your monitor.  What can I say?  We all try to get away with calibrating our monitor by eye, but that only works for so long and unfortunately our eyes change.  Not just over the years but throughout the day.  We get use to seeing a certain way and we adapt in different lighting situations.  In the end our paintings, photos or what have you suffer.  Our darks are too dark, the colors are to saturated or the hues just don't look right especially when we go to print.  So we are left to buying hardware to calibrate our monitors.

COMING SOON! - Blender 2.5 Video Sequence Editor



This is a snapshot of a new tutorial that is on it's way.  In the past few months I have been working on moving from commercial applications to FLOSS (Free Libre Open Source Software) and Blender has been one I have been working with since 2.48. One feature is Blenders Video Sequence Editor (VSE), which is also refered to as the Sequence Editor.  I have done some extensive testing changing options and working through some issues.  I want to show how to set up Blender's interface, add video files, edited them within Blender, add image overlays for titles, watermarks etc, and how to animate some of the properties.  These tasks maybe broken down into multiple parts so you can pick and choose what you need and to minimize the duration of the tutorial.

I hope to have it out within the next week or so,
- Steve

GIMP: How To Add Themes UPDATED

This is an update to the original tutorial on theme. In this tutorial I show how to download, adjust the themes and install them in either version 2.6.11 or 2.7.3.  In the end I preview the new themes and show how to set it as your default so it loads automatically.   The custom themes can be downloaded from GNOME.

Running Computers On Generator

Well we are back on commercial power again.  We were able to borrow a generator Thursday night.  One thing I must mention with running electronics on a generator is that you should use one that has an inverter or use a separate one or you may damage your equipment.  An inverter basically works like a filter and cleans up the noise on the electrical signal similar to background noise found on audio signals.  I was lucky that I didn't damage anything (haven't noticed anything yet) but I did have issue with frame rates with video editing.  Normally I run about 130fps with normal encoding tasks, but I had less than 50fps at times.  So even thought I had power, and ran it through an UPS, it still wasn't good power.  Something to keep in mind if you are in the market for a generator.

GIMP: How to Install 2.7 in Ubuntu 11.04 + Windows


 Open Source programs can be somewhat hard to find with disconnects between the various communities. Finding links to GIMP 2.7 is no exception. Fortunately I have been able to find the commands to install it on Ubuntu 11.04, which should work for other versions, and links to various Windows versions including portables.  In windows I have been able to install Gimp-Painter 2.6.11 a long side 2.7.3.  In Ubuntu I had to choose between the two.  The main feature that I really like in 2.7 over 2.6 is Brush Editor. It is quite similar to Photoshop. So if you are like me and are migrating from Photoshop you'll like 2.7.


Digital Arts and Video Editing on Ubuntu

I have been working with Ubuntu 11.04 lately in hopes to move to it full time.  I have made progress but still there are many issues to overcome before making the move.  The issues I have been having involve networking (adding Linux PC to a Windows network) and Video Editing.  There are other issues and I will go into them more in depth later when I present my options for alternative apps for the various tasks I need to be able to accomplish.  The one thing I have come to understand, which I tend to re-learn every so often, is that no matter what OS or program we use, there is always some kind of compromise.  People have issues with Macs, Windows, and Linux.  Same goes with commercial applications, which can glitch and cause crashes.  They usually cost more than the operating systems do.

I primarily have also been working with various video apps on Ubuntu and have had good success.  I still believe that video editing on Linux is a weak point, but I was able to locate substitutes for my apps on Windows (the ones that won't work in WINE) and a few work flows for creating Video Tutorials using only apps from Linux repositories.

I will have a more in depth article on applications and work flows and some quick how-to videos.

-Steve

How To Convert and Combine Video Clips

This is a video tutorial I did recently and I wanted to add it to my site archive.  If you have seen it just ignore it, but if not, check it out and let me know what you think.  It covers the use of freeware to convert various video types and then combine them into a single file.

Steve

WIP "Alien In a Hostile Land"

"Alien in a Hostile Land"
At least that is the working title so I can easily find it at a later date.  This WIP (Work In Progress)  is a personal project that didn't really start with a brief.  I normally try to make a point to create a brief for all projects in a simple text format .  Then I add progress notes of what to work on next.  This way I have a to do list of items to proceed with when I work on it again.  Instead of using Bridge with Photoshop to track or browse files, I use IrfanView Thumbnail Viewer (that installs with IrfanView) because it is a very light weight app.  It will allow me to also open the files in any external editor.


In this case, the parts just started to come together. It started with me doodling in Photoshop with a simple soft brush, opacity controlled by pressure, working on a value sketch (gray scale only) to see what I could find within the scribble.  The technique is similar to looking at a cloud and finding a shape within it. In a short time I had created a little alien in perspective.  I cleaned up the silhouette a bit, added texture, rim lighting and a very simple "throw-away" background shown below.

"Alien Invader"













Aspect Ratio ...Simplified

Aspect Ratio (AR) is just that, a ratio between the width and the height of an image.  There is an in-depth wiki on the matter HERE.  But most artists really just want or need the simple version and how it relates to us.

8 or 16 Bit Color Depth For Digital Painting


The question to use 8 or 16 color continuously comes up. I have tried to get a definitive answer to this question, but found nothing concrete. I have been using 16 bit for some time now. Mostly due to the advice of a friend who happens to be a professional photographer. I have to say I don't really notice a difference in my paintings, but I kept at it since it might help with better print results. This question wouldn't be coming up again if it weren't for the fact that I am looking to move to a Linux environment. Unfortunately I use Photoshop and Adobe only supports Windows and Mac OS's. But the alternatives,such as GIMP among others, only support 8 bit color. So do I really need 16 bit color?