Leeches, Maggots, and Digital Art....oh my

I will be speaking at the Waltham Public Library tomorrow at 2:00 PM about leeches, maggots, mummy powder, Louisa May Alcott as a civil war nurse, and giving a demo on creating digital art. That is quite a mix! Stop by with your leech loving/computer savvy little one. Ages 7+

Back from CES and a few announcements

I am back from the CES show at Vegas and planning to give this blog some much needed love. I hope to have some tutorials up in the coming week but let me know if there is anything in particular that you would like to see? I have finally figured out how to do screencasts too so plan for most of the tutorials to be in video format.

Also have my next book announcement....stay tuned.

If you are a gadget girl like me, CES will leave you positively giddy. So much technology in one place. Here are a few pics:

Here is the Intel booth being set up. We did a quick demo to show how art is influenced my music and dance and vice versa.

Intel had this Salvador Dali like tree made entirely of Ultrabooks (you can guess what I want for Christmas). The metal at the base gave it this melty quality. Very surreal. 

Intel gave away at least a dozen Ultrabooks a day. And you get a laptop....And you get a laptop.... crazy. 

I also did 30 minute and 45 minute demos on painting digitally. I am using Corel Painter and a Sensu brush on an Acer tablet computer here. The system was super fast! (all powered by Intel). I absolutely loved the feel of painting with a real brush. I tried almost every brush on the market before choosing the Sensu. (Review to come later....)

Here is the finished piece.  

I stayed at the Venetian. Tres glamorous. This floor kind of messed with my head. 

And lastly and by far most importantly....I walked by these Jimmy Choos every day. (sigh) a girl can dream. 

Illustration Friday: Explore

This wasn't how he planned to explore the world. 

This print is part of a series that I am selling at my new Etsy shop

IF: Lonely Girl Tutorial

For anyone who didn't get enough flower patterns in the last week's Digital Painting webinar. Here is a quick written tutorial on how to make a couple of flower brushes.

Fig 1

To follow along, download the flowers file:


Step 1
Draw your pattern. A few things to keep in mind.

1. Use a 300 dpi file. 
2. You must draw from left to right. Pulling out a ruler guide can help. Just click on the left hand side of your ruler to drag one out.
3. You must put your pattern on its own layer so that it has transparency in the background. To create a new layer select Layers/New Layer. Do not draw on the Canvas layer.
4. You can only use one layer. You can create your illustration on multiple layers, but when you are ready to turn it into a pattern, you must collapse the layers. (Shift click on all the layers and then select Layers/Collapse Layers)

Step 2

Make a selection around your pattern with the Rectangular Selection Tool. Remember that everything you select will be part of that pattern (even the blank space). I like to select some extra space from top to bottom to avoid feathering. (Fig 2)

Step 3

Hit the Capture Pattern button (Fig 3A) in the Pattern Libraries Panel. (Window/Media Library Panels/Patterns)

Fig 3

You will now be asked to name your pattern. Keep the Horizontal and Vertical Shift at 0.

Step 4.

Your new pattern will now appear in your Pattern Libraries Panel. To use this pattern as a brush, select that Pattern Pens Masked brush from the Pattern Pens Brush Category. Paint away with your new brush. Your flowers will now follow the direction of your pen. 

Enjoy! I am sure to have more flower tutorials later...

In case you missed it...

The webinar on digital painting is live on youtube. Someone had trouble with the sound but it sounds perfectly clear to me? Let me know if you have trouble hearing it. It might have been an issue that got fixed.

Illustration Friday: Lost

Arachne Lost
This painting depicts the story of Arachne who bragged that she could weave better than the gods. Not one to appreciate such confidence, Athena challenged Arachne to a weaving contest in which the winner got to keep her life. Of course, Arachne lost to the Athena, but the goddess felt pity on her and turned her into the first spider instead of killing her. Arachne's name in greek means "spider" and is from this story that we get the word Arachnophobia. 

Want to learn digital oil painting? I will be painting this picture from start to finish in tomorrow's free Corel Painter webinar. This is the last day to sign up. 

Learn the secrets of how to create paint with weight, depth and texture. 

Corel Painter Webinar: Secret Tips and Tricks

On this Tuesday at 11:00AM, I will be giving a webinar on my favorite Corel Painter tools. Some of the things I will be covering:

Making offset Patterns
Making more complicated seamless patterns (in seconds!)
Painting with Pattern Brushes and Masked Pattern brushes
My favorite Oil Painting Secrets
More expressive linework
Watercolor tips
Acrylics painting tips

You can find more information here:
http://www.facebook.com/corelpainter

Register for the Free Webinar here:
http://bit.ly/OicRcs