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• Charles Winslow: Pixel Wizard
  by Duncan Waldron

  Charles Winslow is an inspiration. His RB portfolio shows extraordinary consistency, with one quality work after another. Whether Charles…

  Charles Winslow is an inspiration. His RB portfolio shows extraordinary consistency, with one quality work after another. Whether Charles is creating an out-and-out fantasy, or sticking closer to reality, his skills are evidence of a craftsman of substantial ability. Spend even just a few minutes browsing his work, and you quickly realise that you are looking at something out of the ordinary, in both his choice of subject or theme and his technical expertise. I don’t often use the word awesome – it is becoming overused and in danger of having its meaning diluted – but I am more than happy to apply it to the work of this particular redbubbler. As I studied yet another amazing upload recently, I found many questions coming to mind; I also felt sure that I couldn’t be the only one to wonder how he does it: the 20-hour labours, working with a squillion layers and umpteen images, all brought together in a seamless demonstration of how it should be done. Happily, Charles agreed to divulge some of his secrets, so I asked him first where his inspiration comes from: CW: My inspiration comes from my family, friends, clients, and websites like this one. To witness the smiles on faces, tears of joy, laughter, and satisfaction, as well as reading responses of the same, tells me I touched someone in a way that brings a moment of happiness in their life. A few days ago an artist wrote that she looked at the image and started crying but didn’t understand why. Wow, made me tremble all over! To me, that’s inspiration. A good photographer should be able to see the finished work, before the eye meets the viewfinder – a skill that I always had trouble with! I wondered therefore, how much of the finished work Charles ‘sees’ in his mind’s eye first: CW: What a question! My mind and imagination has stored so much energy it’s about to implode. Most of my work consists of a memory, dream, or idea from a movie. It is my imagination and control of thought which has kept me alive and I think I use it well. I have served my country as an Army Airborne Ranger, a Criminal Investigator, a Forensic Investigator and working for the Department of Defense and seeing death was always part of my life. You cannot bring your work home to your family, so you must learn to train your mind, which means you must learn to use your imagination and control of thought. I have trained my mind well. If you have a finished work previsualised, how often do you veer away from that, and end up with something quite different? CW: Often! Normally I load up three sections on three different monitors, broken down into sections starting on screen one with background, screen two with objects, and screen three with models. After deciding what my theme is I choose the background, the objects and then the best model for the scene. Many times I will work 16 hours or more on an image and it just doesn’t catch my eye, so something’s got to go and I might replace the model or background. If I am not satisfied then I have to run out and take some shots or scrap the whole project, keep it in a folder until my mind comes up with a new idea for that image. You have remarked on the fact that you have yet to master photography (“If I ever get my photography down packed, watch out world!”); how do you think this affects your work? Would you be creating similar art to that at which you currently excel, or would you go on to astound us even further with a wider variety of subjects? CW: My problem is understanding the concepts of lighting on portraits and models in a studio setting. Currently I am assisted by 2 professional photographers whom I consider two of the best in the World. Mehmet Turgut from Turkey has worked with me providing me with the most professional highest quality portrait images for my work which includes Idol Thoughts, Time’s Passage, Transformation, Overtime (below), / / / / Bronze, and Deliver Us from Evil. Once perfecting photography myself, along with 3d rendering, my style will change completely. [To save Bubblers asking, Charles is keeping the other photographer’s name secret, for privacy reasons – DW] The skills that Charles employs would be impressive enough if he had undertaken formal study, but I suspected that he might be self-taught: CW: Yes I am; a friend gave me Photoshop CS two years ago and asked if I could use it because I was designing t-shirts for different organizations using Photo Impact. I played with the different filters, colors, and shapes for about 3 months thinking I knew everything there was to know about Photoshop. Then spotted the book Photoshop for Dummies at a garage sale and checked it out. Damn I didn’t realize how much of a dummy I was! But by the time I completed the tutorials and classes in the book, I pretty much knew what I was doing. What were your artistic endeavors before photography and/or Photoshop? CW: I learned photography in High School, along with black and white photo developing. While in the military I started playing with an airbrush, which I am pretty good at also. Which of your RB images is your favorite? Why? CW: My favorite image is Wishful Thoughts / / / / I met the Barnes family on another website and heard about their son Rhys, who has a severe bone infection called “osteomyelitis” (bone death and degradation). I asked for several family photos to create several images for them, this was one of four. The images were made strictly from my heart and soul to this family. One of the hallmarks of a Charles Winslow image is the rendered 3D scenes that he sometimes builds his images around. Having used 3D software for product & furniture design, I was curious about what Charles uses for his 3D work: CW: I have 3d Max, Poser, Vue6 and Bryce 7. Mainly 3d Max and Poser, the other two are so complicated. / / / / Had you used 3D before, for other than ‘pure art’? CW: I am still trying to get my feet wet. I started using rendering software about 6 months ago, never touched it before that, and have a great teacher Stewart Wood, a computer engineer and rendering master. He is also here on redbubble and a great friend. By now, I’m starting to feel like a real underachiever… Do you have a day job, or are you a starving (or well-fed) artist? CW: I do have a day job and my wife keeps me very well fed, lol. Presently I am working for the US Department of Defense on assignment in Germany. I have been serving the US Government since I was 18 years old, and have a BA in Police Science, and Masters Degree in Criminal Justice. Recently I have been offered a job with Paramount Pictures in the Graphic Design Department, I love it, and I am considering it, but also I feel like a fish out of water. It’s confirmed – I am an underachiever! Do you ever get itchy to create, but find you have nothing in mind to work on, or is there a backlog of projects? CW: I have rarely enough time these days for my own creations; last year I finished two contracts with Sony Records, and one for Loyd Records, presently I have two more contracts with Sony, one with Idol Records in Texas, Death Row Records in New York as well as private clients in the US and Europe. Take that Paramount job, Charles, I doubt you’ll be out of water for too long :-) What’s your favorite time of day for working? CW: Lunch time and late in the evening, it’s the only time I have to myself beyond work and family. If you could give someone 3 tips for creating a masterpiece in PS, what would they be? CW: First tip, get comfortable with your software. Learn it, understand it, and learn about the plug-in software that will help you achieve your goal in creating an image. Second, handle constructive criticism! There is no perfect artist, but if an artist tells you that something might be wrong in your work or in creating an image, listen to it, even if your view might be different, listen anyway and give your view as to why your work looks the way it does, or correct it. I have told several artists who were learning from me, that they should stop cutting and pasting so much; they were hurt, insulted, and posted me as a tyrant all over the net. Very childish, but also very entertaining on the readings. Don’t always think because you get criticism it’s because someone doesn’t like you. The final tip on creating a masterpiece, and the most important to me is “be original” Photoshop is like chemistry and you are the scientist, come up with your own mixture of textures, colors, plug-ins, layers, masking techniques, and ideas that makes your image like no other. Something that draws attention to the viewer. I know a well known artist who has made original masterpieces combining HDR imaging with High Key techniques … who would ever think of coming up with something like that? – but that’s why his work is in major galleries around Europe. I have to ask: do you get much sleep? CW: Not much I guess, normally in bed before 1am and up at 6:30 and ready to go. Sundays I sleep half the day to catch up. Impressive, by any standards. Here is an artist, family man, and highly educated & multi-skilled public servant; someone who is thoughtful, sensitive, caring and highly creative; who has learned to use complex software – and use it very well – apparently in a rather short space of time, and he does all of this on less than 6 hours’ sleep a night! I look forward to seeing the results of Charles getting on top of photography … should be about June 2008 … / / Eve / / “I have put together many images, and I never try to make something that the public would consider tasteless or disrespectful to anyone. This image was created showing how God sculptured Eve with the lights of Heaven.“ Thank you Charles.

• PNG vs JPG
  by Stephen Mitchell

  I learn a new trick every day: Here’s one I somehow missed seeing the last time I commented on Davoid...

  I learn a new trick every day: Here’s one I somehow missed seeing the last time I commented on Davoid ’s article entitled : Resolution, Pixels, And DPI ’ First, always save your original photo or artwork as a PNG (Portable Network Graphics) formatted file from the start. Do all your editing, such as color corrections and cropping, on this PNG file till you get the final image you wish to submit. The reason for this is that the PNG type format is a completely lossless format, and will remain the same quality irregardless of the number of times it is being saved. ‘ Wow, who knew that? Some day I am the teacher, other days I am the student. That’s what’s so cool about life: Nobody is perfect.

• Wooooohoooooo!!!!!! Featured in Photoshop Pixelations
  by saleire

  !http://images-2.redbubble.net/img/art/backingcolor:white/product:greeting-card/view:preview/1475691-2-bandw-raindrops-on-rainbow-flower….

  This was featured in Pixelations – The Art of Photoshop I am so happy…..this just made my day. I love photoshopping!!!!!! Wooooohooooo!!!!! Thank you so very much!! Hugs, / Sal xx

• Trading places
  by Jodie Noonan

  Shall I swap my car for a new camera? I thought my decision was made on what camera to get- but events of the last week have changed m…

  Shall I swap my car for a new camera? I thought my decision was made on what camera to get- but events of the last week have changed many things, and to swap something I don’t need for something I would love might be the way to go. I will make my final decision on Tuesday – today I will do some maths and investigation .. look out shops here I come!

• making images BIG
  by lareejc

  I would like to know why most of the pics I upload are just good for cards. Even when I go in and ‘enhance, crop’ etc they are small or …

  I would like to know why most of the pics I upload are just good for cards. Even when I go in and ‘enhance, crop’ etc they are small or too small. I used a canon powershot A400 for most of the pics I download. I don’t know the mega pixels. I am not sure but I think it is a 2.2X. I bought a new camera in June, which keeps freezing up; right now it is in the ‘shop’; it is a Kodak easyshare, V1003, 10MP, 3X. Now that I want to sell my pictures I need to pay attention to what ‘megapixel’ is and maybe 3X? I read and printed up the size reccommendations for cards and such. I know that mp stand for the number of ‘dots’ in the picture, right? Thanks bubblers for all your help! and support!

• Comp
  by Ben Vernel

  Going to enter the photoshop competition. Here is a sneak peek of my work in progress: !http://tn3-2.deviantart.com/fs18/300W/i/2007/2…

  Going to enter the photoshop competition. Here is a sneak peek of my work in progress: I have no expectations as to any success, but I like the motivation a competition has given me.

• Beginnings is Featured!
  by RavenSoul

  Beginnings Is featured in Pixelations The Art Of Photoshop...

  Beginnings Is featured in Pixelations The Art Of Photoshop Thank you SO MUCH! I am so honored to be among All you creative geniuses. You just keep inspiring me to do Better! {{ hugs }}

• Where Dreams Come From is Featured!
  by RavenSoul

  / Where Dreams Come From:...

  / Where Dreams Come From Thanks so much!Pixelations

• Desperate cry for help...
  by Carisma

  I need help here guys. I need to improve the printable quality of my pics, I may be doing something wrong and I do not know what! I ha…

  I need help here guys. I need to improve the printable quality of my pics, I may be doing something wrong and I do not know what! I have a Panasonic FZ30, 420 optical zoom, 8mpx. I have set my camera at the maximum= / Aspect ratio : 4.3 / Pict.Size : 8M (3264×2448 pixels) / Quality : fine (low compression) I have 3 Aspect ratio choises: 4.3, 3.2, 16.9 / I have 5 Pict. Size choices : 8M, 5M(EZ), 3M(EZ), 2M(EZ), 1M(EZ) / I have 4 quality options: TIFF, Fine(low compression), Standard(high / compression), RAW The problem is : when I download the pics on the pc the quality is never higher than : 3.94 MB (4,135,702 bytes) If I had used the zoom to shoot the pic., and/or when I edit just only exposure and sharpening, the quality drops to half of the original (approx.) / If I dare to crop (I always need to, with wildlife expecially) I get 1MB result (approx.) / —-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-— I tried to shoot in RAW hoping to better my odds, but when I convert the edited result to JPG I get again 2MB only (approx.) I have visited some pics selling sites but they all request a min of 4MB picture (that has been resized only by 5% !) —-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-— / To post my work on the bubble I usually I have to pump up the resizing by 1MB, sometime 2MB….....and I am not happy with this method ! WHAT CAN I DO ?? ANYONE OF YOU HAS SUGGESTIONS? / iS MY ONLY OPTION TO BUY A 12MB CAMERA??? / (Please post answers here so I have them altogether for quick reference) I will be grateful for your input!

• this guy's in a fractal frenzy
  by navybrat

  thank you so much Fractal Frenzy for the warm welcome and for featuring my work apparitions...

  thank you so much Fractal Frenzy for the warm welcome and for featuring my work apparitions another wof … / yeah, wof, wof, / what else can I say? / you’ve really made my day!!! thank you, / thank you, / thank you!!!

• Looking at a new camera
  by Victoria DeMore

  Just curious as to what everyone who reads this is using for a camera. Right now I have a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3. Not the best thing…

  Just curious as to what everyone who reads this is using for a camera. Right now I have a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3. Not the best thing. It’s just pretty much a point and shoot digital camera. It has 10x optical zoom and 7.2 mega pixels. I got it so I could take pictures at school and be able to share them easily with my friends and family back home. But as I’ve been getting more and more obsessed with photography, I need more than my little handy-dandy Lumix. But, I am a college student on a budget. My next camera will have to be saved up for or gotten as a gift at Christmas (so it still can’t be really expensive). I’ve been looking around and I really think a Nikon D40 would be just fine for me, but I see it only has 6 mp which is LESS than my point-and-shoot Lumix, which worries me. How badly will that affect my photos, especially if I want to offer them for sale on this site as everything up through poster-sized prints? The Nikon D40 I’ve found to be a decent price, something that is tangible to save up for. But, if I have to save a little longer, I’ll make that sacrifice. What is a good camera for me? I’m not exactly a beginner, I had a nice film 35mm that I took pictures at horse shows and around home as a little girl and my dad taught me LOTS about photography. But in the digital sense I suppose I have a thing or two to learn (obviously based on the asking of questions lol). I want to be able to take pictures at horse shows but also of stuff I see out on walks or when I go places on vacation, etc. I take pictures a variety of subjects. Again, price IS an object. There’s no way I can afford a $1,000 camera, nor would I want to have one right now in the case that it gets stolen. Someday when I have a good job, am out of school, etc I hope to have a really nice setup, but for now I need something that will last me, take good high-quality photos, and still allow me to make my monthly car payments, pay for gas and groceries, and pay for my school books. lol. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. And again, the question about the mega pixels. Is 6 enough? Or is it better to have more if I want to sell my photography? Thanks to all of you in advance. You all are so great and I love this site for that fact, meeting so many interesting, talented and friendly people! <3>

• 3rd time feature !
  by Carole Felmy

  I’m not big on “blogging”, this journal thing seems pretty daunting I must say ! / But today pearl’s ride...

  I’m not big on “blogging”, this journal thing seems pretty daunting I must say ! / But today pearl’s ride just got featured in the PixElations – The art of Photoshop group, and I’m so wrapped that I thought I’d made the effort… / (My previous featured works were Moondark in the Painters in Modern Times group, and Papillon de nuit in the Art and Stories Made For Children group.) / Anyway, there we go, my first journal entry is a brag, woohoo…

• "My Pixel Rose" is being Featured in Experimental group
  by redhawk

  Thank you Jonthan and Lozzle, the Hosts of Experimental Grp for making my image “My Pixel Rose” a featured image. I am honored and humble…

  Thank you Jonthan and Lozzle, the Hosts of Experimental Grp for making my image “My Pixel Rose” a featured image. I am honored and humble for the special honor. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! / Redhawk

• Abstracts
  by Scott Ruhs

  ...

• Admiring Pixels
  by rawbun

  Am I the only one when walking pass a game, machinima or 3D animation that is being played/promo/demo (or whatever), will stop and go “a…

  Am I the only one when walking pass a game, machinima or 3D animation that is being played/promo/demo (or whatever), will stop and go “awww… what pretty textures/lighting/walk cycles/bump maps”... instead of the generic “wow that looks cool!”... am I? I think it might be because I know how much effort, time and tears is needed into making games/3D models…. Hmmmm…..

• Creating images with words and pixels
  by Norma Chalmers

  Hi all, artists and writers At an appropriate time, get a cup of coffee and read this unsolicited recommendation please. REDBUBBLE …

  Hi all, artists and writers At an appropriate time, get a cup of coffee and read this unsolicited recommendation please. REDBUBBLE led me to discover a remarkable woman, Annie Dillard, author of PILGRIM AT TINKER CREEK for which she received the Pulitzer Prize, and her short book about THE WRITING LIFE. I have read the latter in two sittings only. This is very fast for me because I give expression to every word I read – makes me very slow. I felt very close to her because she brought home to me many of my feelings about my visual art in the context of survival and the natural environment. Now starting on her PILGRIM book, I am fascinated with her creative ability to see and to record in words or images. Here is the short story of my delightful experience of finding Annie Dillard. # Some digital art series I am doing concerns mangroves for which a have a personal empathy. I am aware of their extraordinary survival betwixt land and sea, and have a vague recollection of the mangrove habitat as being associated with the emergence of life. I went on the net to search for a tag, a theme title to give my series. I wanted a tag that would reflect the special nature I attach to mangroves and nature. The response was, as you’d expect, enormous, hundreds of hits. Several new search sessions on; Dillard’s name came up, one brief mention. Then came the magic words that, in her book PILGRIM AT TINKER CREEK, she referred to mangroves as the ‘icon of survival’ When I extended my search to look for this author and her mangrove reference, I was astonished to find so much: lots of academic discussions, critiques, university courses based on her work, and so on. I was further amazed, in view of this widespread coverage, that I could not get PILGRIM from a library. Other works, yes. I ordered my special selections on the net. THE WRITING LIFE I chose for my emerging author daughter, Gillian, whose anguish, joy, blank spots and times of inspiration are shared in this book, but also for me and for those artists and writers whose experiences are reflected in Dillard’s beautiful work. The choice of PILGRIM AT TINKER CREEK was to explore the specific reference to mangroves, but I joyfully discovered so much more. While WRITING LIFE is about the agony and ecstasy, PILGRIM is longer, and Dillard uses her ‘lines of words’ to talk about SEEING, about what she sees and thinks about, strolling along the banks of Tinker Creek, Virginia. # Dillard may leave you unmoved, but let’s see. Whatever, here’s to seeing, and creating images with words and pixels. As did Gillian Nicholson, my eldest daughter, in her THIS WAY TO THE SEA, a Pier9 publication 2007.

• A headdesk moment
  by Sandra Chung

  When trying to remove what seems to be an aberrant pixel from a photograph, and it won’t go away, clean the monitor. Oy.

  When trying to remove what seems to be an aberrant pixel from a photograph, and it won’t go away, clean the monitor. Oy.

• Submitting before a Storm of Pixels
  by najeroux

  After many months of deliberation, I had finally found myself and my 1978 Canon AE-1, alone in a world of pixels. Without a reliable lab …

  After many months of deliberation, I had finally found myself and my 1978 Canon AE-1, alone in a world of pixels. Without a reliable lab to develop and being too transient to develop my own, I, with a heavy heart, scraped the coins from every crevice in my bedsit, money jar, office desk and bank account and offered them to my place of work in exchange for a Canon EOS 40D, EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L and EF 50mm f/1.4. I have mixed feelings of this new relationship with a stranger (I have named her Nancy Boy, but have not yet developed any emotional ties) My AE-1 stares at me through his FD 28mm f/2.8 with an eerie sadness, almost as if I had ditched my childhood teddy bear for boys and makeup. I feel ashamed when I leave the house with Nancy, like a cheating wife, leaving her husband and children behind as she stalks into the night. A world obsessed with unseen energy and never ending new technology has threatened a once beautiful relationship, making my AE-1 and I a tender memory, like high school sweethearts who will meet up again in 20 years, time worn and bashful. But I will be strong. I must give Nancy a chance. najeroux

• DPI and PPI
  by Dominic Melfi

  This is a very good article on how PPI (pixels in an image) to DPI (dots per inch(printer)) works. Article...

  This is a very good article on how PPI (pixels in an image) to DPI (dots per inch(printer)) works. Article Also remember that pixels are not all equal, pixels of original resolution are better than enlarged resized and manipulated pixels, and JPG is always a distortion problem if you later resize, use transparency or in other ways choose to manipulate. Never use jpg to save original work if you can avoid it. Basic rule is 150 to 300 PPI image to print from good to photo quality which equals 600 to 2400 DPI. When scanning reverse the process, scan DPI / 4 (apx)= PPI.

• Yippeee!! I can DRAW!!!
  by robpixaday

  OK, I still can’t draw well, but now I can manage the mechanics of it. For images as big as the ones I’m trying to work on, the free ju…

  OK, I still can’t draw well, but now I can manage the mechanics of it. For images as big as the ones I’m trying to work on, the free junior-sized software programs that I have aren’t working. They show their pixels. I’ve been wanting to get back to my goofy cartoon-drawing and have tried everything with my software. Nope. Doesn’t work well enough. But last night I discovered that I can draw on white paper with a good ultrafine marker-pen and then scan the image and then paint it with color. I zoomed way in and it looked good! Wow! This technique will need some refining, I know, and it may not be as succeessful as I’m hoping, but it’s a start. I’d post the trial image but it’s just too dopey. Seriously. Tried to download Terragen last night around midnight and it wouldn’t un-Stuffit on my Mac. Phooey. Well, have a super day!

• I'm feeling drained.
  by robpixaday

  This process is fun and fizzy and exciting. But I have sooooooo much to learn and get caught up on!! Just trying to get pixel amounts …

  This process is fun and fizzy and exciting. But I have sooooooo much to learn and get caught up on!! Just trying to get pixel amounts OK is making my head turn upside down. Sso I’m making new things, quickly, to see how they go. / They’re new, and it shows. Not that they’re not OK, but that they’re OK. / Just Ok. So I think I need to take a deep breath and start over in a day or so.

• Took some pix, within the CARD parameters.
  by robpixaday

  Spent an hour or so outside, taking pix. Got some good ones. Uploaded one that is card-size. I’ll gradually make everything the card form…

  Spent an hour or so outside, taking pix. Got some good ones. Uploaded one that is card-size. I’ll gradually make everything the card format, I guess, since I can’t seem to wrap my brain around getting a larger size. The next size up, in the camera, is 60 pixels to small….......phooey. In the meantime, I’m making progress and will be putting things up to sell soon. If I can figure out how. LOL…....

• I wish I could go back in time...
  by pange

  ...so that I could switch my camera’s options to use the largest file size option possible. I’ve been going through a lot of my old phot…

  ...so that I could switch my camera’s options to use the largest file size option possible. I’ve been going through a lot of my old photographs and most of them were stored at only 1024 pixels wide! I’m not sure if I had that setting on because I wanted to preserve memory card space, but I really regret it now! Prints beyond cards are impossible at that quality. Boo! Going through my old photos has been extremely exciting. Some of these photos I haven’t seen in years, and it was neat to see ones that I loved still holding up after all this time. It was also interesting to look at photographs I thought were “so creative” back then that in actuality are horribly-framed, horribly-focused, over-blown-white-balanced disasters. I have no classes next week at university so I’m looking forward to being able to take long walks without worry that I won’t make it to class on time. Whoohoo! Of course, I’ll be bringing my camera with me. I hope that nature will be kind to me weather-wise!

• Reload
  by Kerri Kenel

  Well, I went back to my original photos and realized that since I’ve cropped and edited that I had the pixels I needed and re-posted the …

  Well, I went back to my original photos and realized that since I’ve cropped and edited that I had the pixels I needed and re-posted the work. I can now sell more than cards. I’ve sent out an email to everyone so they would stop by and visit. If you’re one of those folks, thanks for checking the site out. I am enjoyed shooting and even went out in the middle of the night when I couldn’t sleep! Sometimes,,creativity comes at strange times. / Have a great day!