So there I was, minding my own business (as usual) when I came across an eHow instructional article. The article itself was rather strange and specific: How to Draw Zodiac Constellations.
| | _And there I am, cited as an expert in the definition of a Zodiac Constellation. This was, mind you, before I was a published author on the subject of astronomy, which would make me a little bit more of an expert, one would think. It's nice to know I was considered an expert before I published the book, but it might matter who is considering me the expert.Not just anyone can write for eHow; there appears to be an application process, and the writers are all paid for their content. |
_This writer passed somebody's screening process. Demand Studios (content distributor for eHow and other channels) also hires copy editors, who presumably passed somebody's screening process and then checked the work of the writer. And yet...
The instructions were a bit odd. Basically: look at someone else's representation of the constellation. Draw the big stars first, then the smaller stars. Connect the dots. I have a hard time reconciling how these instructions are useful, or how they are appreciably different than instructions for drawing any constellation.
_Another thing Demand Studios pays people for: determining the appropriate category for a particular title. I'm not sure if they desperately need more people for this job, or if their current employees are just terrible at their jobs. | |
_The drill-down for this article is Home >> Toys & Games >> Magic, Mystery & Fortune Telling >> Aries >> How to Draw Zodiac Constellations. There has to be a better classification for this! If I were starting from the Home location, there's no way I would follow this path to figure out how to draw Zodiac Constellations. Here are a few that I would try first:
Home >> Arts & Entertainment >> Art Drawing >> Drawing
Home >> Arts & Entertainment >> Art Drawing >> Pencil Drawing
Home >> Arts & Entertainment >> Art Drawing >> Step by Step Drawing
Home >> Arts & Entertainment >> Art Drawing >> Draw to Scale
Home >> Arts & Entertainment >> Art Drawing >> Draw Anything
Home >> Arts & Entertainment >> Art Drawing >> Draw Illustrations
Home >> Arts & Entertainment >> Art Drawing >> Drawing Directions
Home >> Arts & Entertainment >> Draw Shapes & Objects >> Draw Stars
Home >> Arts & Entertainment >> Draw Shapes & Objects >> Draw Stuff
Home >> Hobbies & Science >> Earth & Space Science >> Constellations
Home >> Hobbies & Science >> Earth & Space Science >> Find Stars
Home >> Hobbies & Science >> Earth & Space Science >> Night Sky
Home >> Hobbies & Science >> Earth & Space Science >> About Astronomy
That means the Toys & Games route would be at minimum my 14th try, but I'm guessing I'd never actually get there. I hope they have a better search function than categorization function. While looking through those categories, I found all manner of mis-categorized articles. All of those drawing subcategories should probably have been in "Arts & Crafts" rather than in "Arts & Entertainment," but that aside, when you finally get down to the articles in that first listing, >> Art Drawing >> Drawing, you'll find (almost at the top of the page):
Identify Income Sources You Can Draw From in Retirement
Can I Draw Both SSD & SSI?
What Is a Sales Draw?
How to Increase Your Band's Draw
How to Fix the Draw in a Fireplace
None of which are even obliquely related to Art Drawing. So, I'm thinking I might apply to work for Demand Studios, since I'm already cited as an expert, and clearly I have some skills they need.
| | Collection: The Owls Are Not What They Seem by Quiet Paws
All over the web, seekers of beauty and whimsy aggregate their favorite whatevers into collections that inspire. I found some of my own items nestled within these collections, and I thought I'd share them with you. The most unexpected treasure I came across was this Twin Peaks themed assemblage by Quiet Paws. Unlike the Star Wars collection below, only one of these items specifically refers to the show, and yet together, these items represent it perfectly. |
Tracey included in her post one of her favorite quotations by Agent Dale Cooper, and it's one of my favorites, too: "Harry, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it. Don't wait for it. Just let it happen. It could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot black coffee."
So, grab yourself some coffee, a slice of pie, or some donuts, and look through these wonderful collections of little presents you can give yourself (or someone else). Enjoy!
Collection: Etsy Metal Finds by Etsy Metal BlogCollection: Beware the Ides of March by Colette CreationCollection: All Things Star Wars by The Paper NestCollection: Sewing by Flowers & TeaCollection: Keyword / Gold by Oh Hello FriendCollection: Shiny Spotlight Thursday by Simply Shiny LifeCollection: The Moon by Feather & WebbCollection: MLK by Lova Revolution
_This week's Edit Me challenge photo comes from Rosie of Leavesnbloom Studio. I took advantage of this sleepy-sheepy castle scene to try out a new technique: imitating the effect of a tilt-shift lens. | | Before I mention anything about technique, can I just point out how hard it is for me to tear my eyes away from that blocky roofline? I keep thinking this is a very LOW resolution image and those are big ugly pixels.
OK, tilt-shift:
I created a duplicate layer, and applied a Gaussian blur. Then I created a new transparent layer, and used the gradient tool to black out the parts I wanted blurry. Next, I grouped the blurry background copy with the gradient layer.
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_I adjusted the blurry and non-blurry portions with a low-opacity black brush and a low-opacity eraser. The rest was just tweaking colors. I'll probably get better at making it look more realistic with practice (and by more realistic, I mean of course more fake-miniature).
_I wrote an e-book: Stargazing for BeginnersHow to Find Your Way Around the Night Sky Devotees of my blog (all three of you) will recognize it as a slight modification and expansion of a series of blog posts I did about a year ago.
So, why would you buy the e-book when all of that great information is already on my blog? I'm so glad you asked (OK, so really I asked, while I was pretending to be you. In my head. Shh).
It's a practical guide to stargazing.
Imagine bringing your laptop outside, and then navigating through old blog posts (in reverse order) to find the lesson and/or picture you want.
Now image bringing your e-reader (or iPhone!) outside, with its built-in table of contents.
For $5.99? No contest.
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| | _A step-by-step guide to knowing the night sky. Find northern hemisphere constellations easily by starting small and expanding your knowledge.
This guide is meant to be taken outside! Read the instructions, and follow along with the stars. The only equipment necessary: your eyes and a clear night.
Each lesson builds on knowledge learned in previous lessons, and students of the stars will become comfortable and confident in their ability to identify northern hemisphere constellations accurately.
Lafcadio Adams has over 10 years of experience teaching fellow Earthlings, ages 4 to 400, about the stars using this step-by-step method. Over 40 original diagrams and photographs are included to help you begin to unravel the secrets of the universe.
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I'm participating in the first week of Photo Feedback on Mom Tried It. The purpose of this particular blog hop is to give and receive feedback about photography. This chicken photograph is my entry. This is a friend's chicken. I had a hard time getting one of them to stay still long enough (there were three of them), and it wasn't just a fast shutter speed issue; they were in and out of the frame before I could compose the shot most of the time. So, this was my best attempt. Please critique my photograph! Tell me what you think I did well, and what you think I could have done better with this shot. Even if you don't know anything technical about photography, you can still give me some feedback. I look forward to reading it!
How do you get your blog fix? My reader-of-choice is bloglovin'. The interface is clean and easy to use. You can follow anything with a feed, and it arranges all unread posts at the top, with a large picture (if there is one in the post) and the first paragraph or so of text. You can easily mark a post as "read" to skip it, or "like" a post to come back to later. You can sort blogs into your own categories and read whole categories at a time (or skip whole categories by marking them all as read). Bloglovin' is one of the permanent tabs open in my browser and I have yet to see any other blog reader that comes close for my taste. But that's the thing. My taste is mine, and your preferences for reading blogs may be very different. Some blog platforms, like WordPress, Blogger, and Tumblr make it easy to follow other blogs on that same platform, with convenient follower tracking methods. This is great if your blog is on one of those platforms. Mine is not. You can still follow me the hard way, though (click below on the appropriate icon to see how). I'll figure out how to calculate my followers later... I hope you'll find a way to follow not just my blog, but all the blogs that catch your interest. Please don't limit what you read on a regular basis just because it's not easy to follow with your current system. Find a blog reader that works for all the blogs you want to read and use it! All of this buttony business was inspired by a post on Will Work 4 Followers. If you want to add a simpler version of these follow buttons, head over to that site and follow the instructions. By the way, the title of this post is in reference to the fact that this is my 200th post! When I arrived at my 100th post a while back, I realized that I had counted incorrectly, and it was actually my 101st post. I almost did it again this time.
This week's Edit Me Challenge comes from Selena of Stoneyville. The original image (below) had some challenging elements, most notably the sky with complete lack of color or interest. _With my first edit, I did so many things to it, I don't even remember them all. It ended up looking a little over-colorized, but I think I like the effect anyway. I definitely added some sky color, and warmed it up overall. I changed the contrast and saturation on the couple's clothing as well. This one is my official entry for the Edit Me Challenge. _On this second edit, I simply altered the levels, brightness, and contrast, and then burned in some details. After editing both ways, I'm still not sure which I like better - more color or less color (I did try knocking down the saturation of the vibrant edit, but it left something to be desired).
The Portland Aerial Tram recently celebrated its 5th year, just in time for a couple of tram shots in my 36 Views of South Waterfront series. This one, #30, is from the waiting area, and #28 was taken from inside the tram itself (as was #27 from the last post). This series was also featured on the:
How 'bout that? Also, I just learned, the two tram cars are named Walt and Jean. How 'bout that?
Only six more photographs until the series is complete. Click on any photo above for a slide show.
 Andrea and Megan, with the epic rack of aprons _Yesterday was Craft Day 2012. Celebrating its 10th year, Craft Day inspires craftiness in even the most ardent non-crafters. The event is hosted each year by my friends Megan and Andrea, and they provide all the necessary tools to get one's craft on. Left photo courtesy of Lydia Brooks of Board Shanty Photo
_Immediately upon arrival, guests are directed to an enormous rack of aprons, many of which have been constructed at past Craft Day events. Nearly all attendees choose to don an apron for the day (I'm kind of kicking myself for not getting a photograph of the colorful apron rack — Edit: Found a photo of Andrea and Megan with the apron rack [top of post], taken by Lydia Brooks). _
Supplies of all kinds are provided. Basic raw materials like colored paper, fabric, and old magazines, as well as basic tools like scissors, markers, and glue are readily available. But Megan and Andrea don't stop there: they also provide sewing machines and typewriters, irons, glass etching supplies, old board games, stickers, button-makers, and even cookies that need a little decorating.
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Some participants arrive with a plan in mind, or their own supplies. Some just wait to be inspired by something when they arrive. Some come to learn a new skill, and some teach their existing skills to others. It's nearly impossible not to make something in this environment.
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One of my favorite things about Craft Day is the "let's make it happen" attitude. If someone has a craft goal, but no idea about how to accomplish it, everyone nearby pitches in to help the idea come to fruition. Supplies are found, skills are learned, and the crafting abounds.
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Some attendees show up just for the social atmosphere and to support the efforts of others, but all skill levels are embraced, and nearly everyone ends up proud of their Craft Day accomplishments.
I'm getting better at this Photoshop thing every day. Of course, starting with a good photograph helps. I still don't think I'll ever be satisfied with what I can get from an old Polaroid. I was, however, surprised at how much of a difference I could make to a professional photograph. My (second) preschool class photo presumably shouldn't have needed much, and yet I was able to generate dramatic improvements. I almost don't want to tackle this restoring-all-my-old-photographs project too quickly, in case I learn some essential Photoshop skill that would have made all the difference to photographs with which I have already finished. But Photoshop isn't my only trick. I also add to my HTML/CSS knowledge on a regular basis. That mouse-over business above? Yeah, just learned that today. Pretty snazzy, if I do say so myself. If you've already moused over them all and can't remember what the first image with the instructions looked like, just reload the page. Here's how to create the mouse-over effect with HTML: <img src="http://url-of-starting-image.jpg" onmouseover="this.src='http://url-of-hovering-image.jpg'" onmouseout="this.src='http://url-of-end-image.jpg'"> Most of the times I have seen this on other websites, the starting image and the ending image are the same, and that's probably what I'll do in the future so I only need two images instead of three. As far as where your image ends up on your page and how big it is, you'll have to play with that a little bit. I added a height=### attribute to mine to make them all line up nicely. You could also try tables. Oh, and in case you're wondering: yes, that's a real, living, non-drugged cheetah. But isn't my awesome E.T. shirt really the better part of that photograph anyway?
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