In my last tutorial we learned how to make our very own custom brush in Photoshop. This time around we will learn how to create one using a photo and the magic wand tool. Photoshop has a lot of great default brushes that you can customize, but its way more fun and interesting to create our own. Since the types of brushes we can create in Photoshop are limited only by our imagination, we will design a very simple brush here from a photograph, just to see how easy the whole process is. Lets get started! Tools used: Wacom Intuos4 Photoshop CS5 [sociallocker] Digital Painting – Still Life Demo part 1/2 [/sociallocker]
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Today we will be studying Romans 12:1-2 and discovering some vital truths that every Christian should know to be effective in our walk with Christ. Let’s take this one step at a time, because the passage has some hard sayings which are so easy to pass over, but so desperately needs to be taken to heart if we are to be serious in our pursuit of righteousness. First of all, lets read the verses then break them down and see what God is asking of us. I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect…. read more
There is a depth in God whereby one enters the friendly fire that is Him and wishes to be no place else. It consumes a person in the same way love consumes the lover. His consuming fire enters the spirit of man and burns with the same fire that burns within Him. It consumes everything in its path, like a roaring fire when it overtakes and consumes everything in its way. If there be any hesitance at entering in, that consideration melts before Him. One is totally immersed in His fire and realizes such baptism is the baptism into Him. I was pondering about this… Dross is everything that comes to the top and is burned off. Malachi 3:3 speaks of the Lord, for He is the REFINER and PURIFIER of our very being. And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the… read more
I love shooting snowscapes, beautiful light just seems to create itself as it leaps and bounces off the snow and trees. Snow is a such fascinating phenomenon of nature, something that never ceases to amaze me. The way it gently floats to the earth, yet over relatively short periods of time can cover whole cities and towns with many feet of its airy lightness.The Bible has much to say about snow. Here are a few of my favorites. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Psalm 51:7 Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word! Psalm 148:7-8 Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red… read more
The past few days, something keeps coming to me. Eyes being opened, I thought of the eagle, the eagle has much wisdom. Much discernment and sees things other animals cannot see. The Eagle can see from great heights and depths below. So too can we, when the Lord reveals the spiritual things to His people. Something with the eyes being opened for those who wish to see, they shall see even more. Those who see more, shall receive the greater. For he who is faithful with the little, the Lord shall indeed bless with the much, because His word speaks divine truth. The Lord has been laying or placing deeply upon my heart the book of Daniel and the 70th week. I don’t watch tv/news, but I heard about the cyclone in England-level 5. I am again reminded of eyes being opened in these last days, to those whom are… read more
I found myself being still before the Lord today, seeking His face about something that took place and I was reminded of this scripture today as I sat still before the Lord. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” Amos 4:6 O my! The Bible is filled with so much, so much to learn, to inquire of the Lord and so much revealed to us in His word. My people perish and are destroyed, wow, those words alone are a mighty mouthful. They were once His people yet they are destroyed. Destroyed and perish without the knowledge of the Living God. The True knowledge of Who He is, God. A Mighty and Sovereign God, we are all called to serve in this earth. The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “when I will send a famine through the land–not a famine of food or a thirst for water,… read more
Today’s testimony is brought to you courtesy of Dave Berryman, he is one of the many wonderful people that I have had the privilege of meeting on Flickr. I take much inspiration from him, from both his style of photos and the awesome messages he includes with them. The idea of sharing others testimonies was actually from Dave and I would like to thank him for allowing me to share this with all of you. Testimony I grew up in a Christian home all my life, but when I left home I became addicted to porn. I went to church every Sunday but I could not stop my insatiable appetite for porn. I was on the church board, but I could not let go of porn…it had its hooks in me good! I led small groups but for some reason I didn’t have the ability to stop looking at porn… read more
Never forget who you are or what you’re called to. We are saved to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. Think on this! Its stunning and terrifying! We are lights in a dark world. We are going to be offensive; seen as evildoers. Our actions may look awkward and silly, yet we are not called to popularity or to a better life here on earth. Indeed, we are called to suffer and we must fulfill our calling, though it brings pain from people, it reaps rewards from the Almighty, all knowing, awesome God. Live not as the world does, following their way of life and passions of the flesh, but rather living as honorable children of the King, ransomed and forgiven from all your sins, living as a sacrifice to show to the world how glorious God is. But you are… read more
Today I wish to talk to you about something that I think that we all struggle with in life, and that is being content. I am going to start out by saying that I have been a horrible example as one who is content in my past. I have been driving for 5 years and I have had 5 different vehicles, none of them have been totaled. Arguable, my first few cars were not so great, but my fourth was a ’99 Honda Civic with relatively low kilometers. It was a great car that would have lasted me a long time but I had always wanted a Honda Prelude. So I sold my Civic and went a few months without a car so that I could save to get a Prelude. I ended up with exactly what I was looking for, a well-maintained, low kilometer, eucalyptus green pearl Prelude. So… read more
Adding Drama to Your Images: Today we’re going to cover the process I use to add drama to an image. By combining HDR, RAW, and Black and White images together in Photoshop we can achieve some very unique and stunning effects. While not applicable to all instances this technique is a great way to really set your work apart. Final Image
Facing hard times is something that most people around the world can easily relate with today, gas price is sky high, major companies and banks are failing, the world economy is on a downhill slide and the ripple effects go on and on. How will we respond when problems come to our doorstep? Our response can either be a way to grow in a positive direction or cause us to crumble. Depending on how hard you fall, it may be harder for you to look up; some may go to the extreme response of cursing God! We can take a tip from Job, he was a righteous man, but he had the worst economic crisis in his life, he lost it all, land, house, health, family and friends, basically he lost everything. In Job 23:2-12, Job hoped that he would see God working out his circumstances, but God seemed to… read more
If I could tell you one last thing before I died…, I would tell you about how I live life to the fullest. I would tell you about the great joy I have in my heart. I would tell you about a man who came from Heaven to earth, named Jesus. He came to give us life to the fullest. He told of two paths, one path is wide and there are many people on it. The other is narrow and few travel on it, yet it leads to life in the fullest. The wide path is easy to travel on; it is the path we are on from birth, our default path. The narrow path is a path that you have to choose to walk, it is not always easy, but it is the most rewarding. There is no middle path and each path leads to different places. The… read more
Some people say that it is contradictory that Christians claim to be free, Â when they are required to follow the guidelines in the Bible. What you need to understand is that we are all slaves to sin when we enter this world. It use to be perfect, our relationship with God, but when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, sin entered and we lost that perfect relationship with God. Having a relationship with Jesus frees us from the slavery to sin that we are born into and opens up a means of connection with God. Whether you like it or not, we are all born sinful and the only way to be free is to accept the one who defeated sin, Jesus. If you don’t believe me, that we are all naturally sinful, look at children; they naturally do things that are wrong and… read more
Each month we feature some of the best Photoshop tutorials and this month is no exception! These tutorials range from cool photo typography effect, abstract mosaics, elegant website layouts and a cool grungy photo manipulation project. Check them out, you may find something that you like! Create Beautiful Abstract Mosaics In this tutorial, Fabio from Abduzeedo will show you how to create a deconstructed image using a pattern made out of cubes. The idea is try to simulate a mosaic but with a more abstract and up-to-date interpretation. View Tutorial Create a 3D Industrial-style Download Icon in Photoshop This tutorial teaches you how to create a unique 3D download folder icon with textures. Learn some useful techniques for creating more visually impressive 3D icons. View Tutorial Modern 3D Text Effect In this Photoshop tutorial we’re going to step outside my usual Photoshop Only philosophy and use the 3D rendering power… read more
The Hoatzin, the national bird of Guyana, is an unusual species of tropical bird found in swamps, riverine forest and mangroves of the Amazon and the Orinoco delta in South America. The scientific classification of this family of birds has been greatly debated, and is still far from clear. It is a roughly pheasant-sized bird, with a long neck and small head. It is brown in color, with paler underparts and has an un-feathered blue face with maroon eyes, and its head is topped by a spiky, rufous crest. It is called Stinkbird, the name is related to a strong smell the bird produces, perhaps due to the consumption of leaves. Even though these birds are very attractive and are not great fliers, they are not considered endangered, its survival seems to be more assured than that of many other birds in its geographic location, this is mostly due to… read more
Ever heard something that just made you chuckle, and at the same time, warm your heart so much you gave praise and thanks to God? We were watching the news yesterday when the upcoming headline was announced, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?“. The headline left me waiting for the answer as they switched to commercial. While we waited for the news to return, I said to my brother, “Here they go again with these wasted researches that we already have an answer to, the chicken came first, don’t they know that?”. My brother and I had a nice laugh, then reflected on why we knew the chicken came first; I explained that maybe everyone does not know the reason why we have that conclusion in our heads, but it just seemed so obvious to us. Bible believing Christians would agree with me that the chicken had to… read more
Typography is one of the hardest elements of design to master. Motion typography takes type to a whole other level by expressing and communicating ideas with animated text, it involves the combination of movement and sound and it can be a really powerful way of capturing the audience. These videos are prime examples of how Typography can be used to convey a message in a creative and powerful way. These videos were created by some of the best Christian Motion Graphics Artist. Check them out! Elijah by Bryan Clark That’s My King from Dustin Bankord That’s My King! by Albert Martin Names of Jesus by Joe Perez Psalm 106 by Mothlight Creative Thinking About Eternal by Versa Save the Lost by Salomon The Ten Commandments by Vit Ryznar Easter from Bjorn Amundsen In The Beginning from Bjorn Amundsen Compassion by Dustin Bankord What is the Church by Dave Tate
I woke up around 5:30 this particular morning and I had to take this photo! It is a photo of the moon above Toronto seen through my bedroom window. I love the red shade in the curtain, the ceiling, and my table lamp. My alarm clock says “5:49â€, and that’s because I spent 20 min in the balcony listening to the birds, watching the moon, but mostly taking photos. I even took a 30 seconds long video of the birds chirping (He he! I learned the word “chirp†from Dr. Stanley!) . But it is this photo, taken from inside, that captivated me mostly. This photo reminds me of certain times. You see when I go to crowded places for a prolonged period of time, I like to take few minutes to be alone with God. I’ve never told this to anybody because the people who know me, think that… read more
If you use Photoshop extensively, you should be familiar with Channels. Channels are used to masks areas of an image, cut specific areas from an image or apply adjustment or effects to specific areas of an image. Channels are one of the most powerful tools used to achieve simple or complex results in our work. We will use this tutorial to show how to apply two spot channels to a poster design. One spot channel will be used to print a 5th color to the piece, a spot color (pre-mixed ink) and the other will be used to apply a spot UV Coating to the statue on the finished printed work. What is Spot UV Coating? If you want to achieve a glossy coat on a certain image on the page, but don’t need or want the entire page to be coated, then you should use spot UV coating…. read more
40 Cross Images – This post showcases 40 inspirational images of the cross. The cross has become a universal symbol of hope. It is used in relief organizations logos, ambulances, rescue helicopters and on the steeple of churches. In today’s society the cross has different meanings to different people, it is considered to be just another piece of jewelery, a fashion statement or to be used in mythical stories to kill vampires. For the Romans the cross was the ultimate symbol of death and punishment, but like everything that Jesus Christ comes in contact with; the cross became a symbol of life and hope. Jesus’ death on the cross was the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. by the third century the cross had become so closely associated with Christ it was called the Lords symbol and Christians were called devotees of the Cross. The cross reminds us of God’s act… read more
This month we are featuring the work of Bjorn Amundsen, a Christian Visual Effects (VFX) artist from Vimeo. Bjorn Amundsen’s VFX work is truly amazing, especially his narrative Typography Design. We are impressed with the quality of his productions, which communicates the message of The Gospel in a way that grabs your attention. Bjorn is a motion designer, photographer, video producer, director, and technologist with over 5 years of media experience. His feature film work can be seen on the title sequence for Furious Love, directed by Darren Wilson. He has done visual effects work on music videos for bands like Uh Huh Her and Motion City Soundtrack. He is in his second consecutive term as creative director of the triennial CHIC conference, developing the brand, marketing, and video content for a +5000 high school students. He has traveled the globe to create content for such clients as Youth Specialities,… read more
Bokeh Wallpapers – In photography, bokeh is the blur or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in out-of-focus areas of an image, or “the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light. If you want to create your own, try this tutorial: Bokeh usually occurs at the parts of the scene that is outside the depth of field. Photographers sometimes deliberately use a shallow focus technique to create images with prominent out-of-focus regions. Today you can find bokeh being used in graphic design, below you will find a mixture of bokeh captured by the camera lens and some created in graphic design software. enjoy! Try these cool Bokeh Wallpapers and share them with a friend. [sociallocker] … read more
A first glance this colorful paper strip looks just like a normal two sided band of paper, but at a closer look it becomes obvious that this strip of paper is by no means normal in the sense it has only one side—this is called a Mobius strip. A regular paper band has two sides: an outer side and an inner one which you can trace separately. A Mobius strip however has only one side: if you point your finger tip at any point of its surface and move it in any direction you will realize that your finger tip is covering all of its side. Unlike a two sided band you don’t need to take your finger tip off of one side to trace the other. The reason I made this colorful Mobius strip and photographed it, is that recently I’ve been thinking about who God is. Not that… read more
Ever wondered how some of the Bible stories you learned in Sunday School would look like from a satellite view? The Glue Society has re-created scenes from the Bible as if captured by Google Earth’s satellites and they are truly stunning. The Glue Society is a creative collective based in Sydney and New York comprising of writers, designers, art directors and film directors. “We like to disorientate audiences a little with all our work. And with this piece we felt technology now allows events which may or may not have happened to be visualized and made to appear dramatically real. As a method of representation satellite photography is so trusted, it has been interesting to mess with that trust.†James Dive – Glue Society’s The images known collectively as God’s Eye View, were commissioned by Eric Romano of NY’s Pulse Art for their Miami art fair, and use real satellite… read more