Halloween

So it’s Halloween again.  I keep meaning to make tablet but keep forgetting to buy the ingredients, and besides I’d just eat it and watch myself expand, so it’s probably a good thing really.  (still thinking of nipping down the shops and buying the stuff this afternoon though) *grin*

I seriously doubt any kids around here will be out trick or treating, but I am not ‘holding Halloween’ as they say, so I will keep the curtains closed and the lights at the front of the house out, so as not to disappoint anyone by giving them an apple!

Book Group

Tonight is the last chance for everyone to get in their book recommendations for next year.  We’ve had quite a varied range of books suggested so far, so it’s looking good.

Next month, somehow I am hosting two book groups at the same time.  I don’t really know how that happened, but with that, and Nanowrimo, work, two assignments due for Uni, some family birthdays and just general life stuff, I have no idea how that will pan out.  The books I am hosting however are from two of my favourite  series.  Agents of Light and Darkness (Nightside series by Simon R Green) and The Choice of the Cat (Vampire Earth series by EE Knight).  I have read them both before (hence why I can say they are favourites) and I have started re-reading them again in preparation for November, just to refresh my faulty memory.  If you have never tried them or never heard of the authors, then what kind of a rock have you been living under?  lol  I keep telling people about them, and even give them as presents, so if you are on my Christmas list, you just might get one!

University

Uni is going well this year.  I was going to say much better than last year but since it’s only been a month, it might just be too early to tell.  However, I did submit my first Literature assignment ON TIME, and I got 70%.  I could have got more but I missed something stupid off my essay and didnt realise until it was too late.   My first Writing assignment is due on Friday, so I really need to get working on that!  I have to say that this course is doing wonders for my writing and inspiration.  Normally I can’t write unless I am really inspired but the techniques in this course are making me write more than I have in a long time.

Oh and I bought Virginia Woolf’s writer’s notebook which I am looking forward to reading.  It was quoted so many times in the coursebook and there were so many excerpts that I just had to read more of it.  It arrived yesterday from amazon, along with 8 other books :)  Of course I have no time at all to read these books but at least I can look longingly at them as they sit on the shelves.

Halloween Writing Contest

The entries for the Halloween Writing Contest on the site were really great.  Everyone is so talented and they have great imaginations.  All the stories/poems are very different. I suck at poetry so I am always very impressed at what other people can achieve.  It’s really hard to vote for your favourites as they all deserve a vote.  I ignored my entry because I don’t like to vote for myself, and also I didnt think it was very good.  I just rushed it out after a dream I’d had about eyeballs.  I like the idea though, so it’s something I might expand into a short story (with much better writing hopefully) later on, after NaNo of course.   Oh yeah, and if you are reading this and you haven’t voted yet, then please come show some support for our Writing Group.  Halloween Harbingers of Horror Writing Contest

The Kitties 

My little poorly kitty seems to be doing a bit better.  Poor boy, he really needs a hug.  If it’s not asthma he has to deal with, it’s urinary blockages, and now they think he has an ulcer and maybe a stomach full of hairballs :(   Anyway after three weeks of treatment he actually seems a little better.  I hate having to take him to the vet as he really doesn’t like other people, or cars, or vets.  He gets quite traumatised by the whole business, and then when he comes back the other two hate him because he smells like the Vet’s surgery.

There’s a photo above but if you are reading this in LJ, you might have to come to the blog to view it, I’m not sure if it will display in LJ or not, but it’s a photo of my lovely boy.

Apart from the maggot in my hair incident last night, I can’t think of anything else for now, so I better get on with some work.

Book Addicts Book Group

Book Group News

We are now in the last two months of the year and coming to the end of our Book Group schedule. For those who have participated with us so far, thank you and I hope you have had fun. For anyone who hasnt participated or dropped out, we hope you see you soon.

We have some great books being discussed and it’s not too late to join in. If you are interested in reading and discussing these books with us, then make sure you are in the Book Group and come on down! It’s fun really, and not at all like school - we don’t even have a pop quiz!

November:
Agents of Light & Darkness - Simon R Green: Join me and Forgotten on another trip into the Nightside. This is one of my favourite Nightside books. We got good, evil, angels, unholy grails, and Shotgun Suzie!

The Choice of the Cat - EE Knight: Join me (again) and Nabs for book two in the Vampire Earth series. Yes I am alledgedly hosting two books this month, which is why I need help lol. But if I can host two, then it’s even easier for you to sign up just to read one or two, right? Not to mention we have the terrific EE Knight himself popping in between Con duties, just to answer your questions!

Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen: Hosted by Becs, we have another of Jane Austen’s famous and best selling novels. All of her books have been made into films, she has written six of the top selling books of all time, and one of her books was even made into a Bollywood musical. The books are quite simply terrific and well worth the read. Unfortunately short of digging up the author and a spot of necromancy, Jane Austen will not be attending.

So what are you waiting for? Remember all members, authors included, are free to join us in any book discussions that take your fancy. Discussions are fun, informal and you get to read books at chat about them - what more could you want?

Book Group 2008

Book Buddy and My 52 Books will continue in 2008, but we also have some other great reading challenges for you. Just click on the Reading Challenges 2008 Board for more details.

Suggestions for next year’s Book Group.

The suggestion threads are waiting for your suggestions! They will remain open until Halloween, after which time we will be putting up polls for voting. So if you want a chance at getting your favourite books discussed with the Book Group in 2008, go to this board and make your suggestions before 31st October!

Welcome to Tutorial 6 for Artweaver

We are still on Brushes and I want to show you just one more effect.

Adding a handpainted border/frame to your banner.

Tutorial Image 1

We are still in the Brush Palette.  This time, select Airbrushes from the top left dropdown box and Bristles from the Type box.

Change your colour if needed and then drag your cursor around the edges of your image.  You can do this in one go or in stages.  You can alter the size of your brush to make it narrower or wider.  Keep going until you have ‘framed’ your image with a handpainted-effect frame.

Tutorial Image 2

This image shows the finished border.  You can take more time than I did and make it a lot neater or make it messier and more handpainted if you prefer!

I hope you found these tutorials helpful.  Feedback is always welcome on the Forum and if you need any help with any of this, just post in the Artweaver thread there.

Welcome to Tutorial 5 for Artweaver.

Here is the effect we are going to achieve in this tutorial:

Ok so normally I wouldn’t actually have this many stars and in this colour but this is just an example for the tutorial so you can clearly see the effect!

Right so, on with the tutorial! You have your basic banner primed and ready.

Tutorial Image 1

From the Brush Palette (make sure you have it open) Select Artist Brushes from the Dropdown box on the top left of the Palette.

Tutorial Image 2

From the 3rd box along the bottom of the Brush Palette, select Fairy Dust. Change your colour to something appropriate.

Tutorial Image 3

Start clicking on your image to see the stars appear. I have added some in turquoise so you can easily see the effect. You can add one star with each click.

Tutorial Image 4

Or if you drag your cursor across the image, you can add many stars at once, for a random effect.

So that is basically how to access and use the Fairy Dust brush option.  I’m sure you can think up many uses for this brush.

Welcome to Tutorial 4 - Using Nozzles!

Here is the end result of this tutorial which I think is rather nice.

So let’s get started. Begin with your basic banner - you can add the text now or later - it makes no difference really.

This tutorial involves something new - Using the Brush Palette. Now don’t worry as it really is simple and if you make any mistakes, well you can just undo or close your image without saving and start over!

Tutorial Image 1

Click on the Brush Tool from the Tools palette.  You will not be able to use the Brush Palette until you select this tool.   If your Brush Palette is closed, open it.  Then click on the Brush Type box and select Nozzles from the dropdown list. Then select Image Hose from the Type box if it is not already selected.

Tutorial Image 2

Select your Brush shape - in this case Circular - from the Type dropdown box.

Tutorial Image 3

Now along the bottom of the Brush Palette there are 4 boxes.  Click on the second box to open the dropdown list and select Clover Leaves.   Change your Brush Size to something suitable for the size of your image and the effect you want to achieve.  In this case my Brush Size is 25.

Tutorial Image 4

Click on your image where you want the Clover Leaves to appear.  You can then add Clover Leaves randomly all over your image.  However, in this case, we want to use them to create a border around the banner.  So click somewhere near the edge and then drag your cursor along the edges of your image.  You can do this in one go if you have a steady hand or you can stop and resume at any time.

When you are finished you should have something similar to the banner at the top of the tutorial.

Welcome to Tutorial 3 which is very short and to the point.

If your image is a little blurry or unclear to start with, or it gets that way after you’ve changed the size, all you need to do is sharpen it up a little - or a lot - by using the sharpening tool. Note: You can do the opposite by using the Blur tool to make things blurry too!

Tutorial Image 1

Sharpening effects vary from image to image, so try Sharpen or Sharpen More to achieve the desired effect. So we can go from the image above to this image in one easy step:

Tutorial Image 2

Told you it was short!

Welcome to the next tutorial. Please make sure you go through the first tutorial so you understand the basics before trying this one.

This is what we will be creating today:

What have we done to this picture?

See the star bursts at the top left and bottom right of the image? See the pink fuzzy shadow around the signature? That is what we will be creating in this tutorial.

To achieve this effect you will need to have already installed the Plugin Pack. See Tutorial 1. If you haven’t then please do that now and come back.

Start with your banner sized image. I’m not going through all the stages of making a banner, that’s what Tutorial 1 is for!  Click on any of the following thumbs to view bigger size and details.

Tutorial Image 1

Click on Filter > Plugin Pack > Super Nova. This will open the Super Nova edit box and display a Starburst on your banner. You can move the starburst around and change the colour of it to suit your needs.

Tutorial Image 2

You can also apply this effect multiple times just by repeating the steps above.

Tutorial Image 3

Add your text signature in the usual way (see Tutorial 1 for details)

Tutorial Image 4

Adding the Drop Shadow effect to the text. Click on Layer > Drop Shadow

Tutorial Image 5

Tutorial Image 5a

Change your settings to suit. Change the position using X and Y sliders, change the Radius of the drop shadow - smaller is more concentrated, larger is more diffuse. Change the opacity of the colour, and change the colour itself.

Tutorial Image 6

And there you have your new banner, with two starbursts and a signature with a fuzzy pink background.

Tutorial 3:  How to sharpen up blurry images.