Sunday, August 23, 2009

Something Digital...



The weather has been so hot and muggy - maybe that is why I keep working with images of snowmen. I know that when the snow comes I will be wishing for Summer, but right now a cold day and a snowball fight seem appealing!

It has been a long time since I shared something digital. I wanted to show you something I have been playing around with and encourage you to try doing something digital as well!

Dustin Pike is a very talented artist who has been creating lots of cute images that can be used as digital stamps. He sells these images for very reasonable prices. A while ago he had a super mega sale and I purchased a big bundle of his images. He also has a freebie each week - usually on Wednesday. Here is a LINK to his site.

After I got the images, I started to play with one of them using my Creative Memories Storybook Creator Plus software. I use this software all the time - not just for scrapbook pages, but for cards, signs, ATCs, badges, recipes cards and whatever else I can think of! It is extremely user friendly and CM is about to update it to add even more creative possibilities. If you are interested in finding out more about this software here is a LINK to the page on my CM site where you can get more information about the software and here is a LINK to the Help Zone section with lots of videos and tutorials (or you send me an email if you don't have a CM consultant who can help you).



I imported one of the images (I think the one I was working with was actually one of the freebies from July) and created an outline image using the magic wand tool. Then I created a number of custom shapes so I could fill each area of the design with a different color or with some digital paper.



Here are just a few examples of the snowmen. I was able to draw custom shapes to fit each part of the design (hat, hat band, scarf, nose, buttons, arms, face and body). Once I filled all of the areas I could group the entire image so that the snowman could be resized. If I want to change a part of the design, I just ungroup and then change that individual section.



It is just like playing with a digital coloring book - you can try out all sorts of combinations and never worry about going outside the lines!



The screen shots above and below show all of the shapes I created to fill the drawing (I had to do two since there are quite a few shapes - 12 plus the outline).



I imagine you can do something similar with other digital software programs - it is a lot of fun and once I decide on my final choices for the colors and papers I can save and print the image and use it for a card or other project.


We had a successful trip to New Jersey and our son is nicely settled in at his dorm and ready to start working tomorrow. We got home quite late so I will catch up on comments and email tomorrow.

2 comments:

  1. Diane, that snowman is probably delightfully refreshing for those who have had a hot spell! Here in Illinois, our weather has been so crazy...one day this week, the high in our area is only supposed to be 62! We have had a stretch of fall type weather.Thanks for the resource for the digital images...starting to play with them also. :) Have a good day!

    Hugs,
    Vicki

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  2. I've never worked with a digital imaging program although I use digi stamps all the time. I'm off to check out the one you use. and see if I can make heads or tails of it. thanks so much. Your tutorials are always so helpful. I learn something new every time! eileen

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