The "Live Color" Feature in Adobe Illustrator CS4

Learn how to use the "Live Color" feature in Adobe Illustrator. Video tutorial by Colin Boyd.

"Adobe Illustrator CS4 Tutorial Video on using Live Color. Learn from an expert from the comfort of your own desk, this Adobe Illustrator Tutorial video uses clearly laid out examples to help you follow along..."

"Imperial Leaf" Seamless Pattern Brush for Adobe Illustrator CS4

A free seamless floral pattern resource from the talented digital artist - Matt Ward. "It is inspired by a lot of the great floral type patterns that are available out there might now." Inside the pack you will find four color palette variations in AI (vector) and PNG file formats...

To use, expand the ZIP file, load the pattern of our choice with Adobe Illustrator, bring up the brushes panel and apply the pattern on an active path. Download

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

The Best Online Art Stores, Auctions, and Galleries of 2009

Albert Reyes (via Boooom!)

The global recession has definitely affected art sales online and off. What will be interesting is to see how art sales evolve in a Web 2.0 environment after the recession is safely over. An article in the New York Times from 2007 notes, "New works, even in the six-figure range, are selling by digital image alone." We can expect that digital images will become more accepted as a medium for advancing sales in the art market. eBay continues to be the largest art marketplace but most of the art on eBay is sold for significantly less than other online auctions and galleries.

During the Internet frenzy of 1998-99, every major auction house and art gallery went online. This resulted in a saturation of the marketplace and only three years later online art galleries were folding. Although I don't have the statistics, it seems there was a revival in the online art market between 2004 and 2007, roughly paralleling the surge in offline art sales.

And here we are now in 2009--with new technologies and an abundance of sites that offer many angles on the art market. Some sites target the artists themselves, offering web tools to sell and market their work. Others are moderated online galleries where the artist must submit an application to gain entry. And lastly there are the sites that target collectors and represent the traditional art sector for high end art sales. Each type aims to fill a different niche. Let's look at some of the best online art stores, auctions, and galleries of 2009.

eBay art auction $$Low/Mid/High

eBay needs to be mentioned only because it is the largest art marketplace in the world. From 2003, a website called Elise.com gives a good analysis of eBay art sales. The major insight to take away from the analysis is that 90% of the art listings are under $100. Above $300 it becomes significantly difficult to sell art on eBay. Nonetheless, art selling for $5,000 and higher does occur.

My site, Escape into Life, arts and culture webzine, will in fact be using eBay for our arts auction. I chose eBay because it is the most recognized web-based auction system. I plan to do the marketing for the auction myself, and therefore I am not relying on eBay to provide me with all of my bidders.

Unless you've already developed a customer base on eBay, I would think simply jumping into the pool and trying to sell art would be a challenge. For a buyer, eBay is a mixed bag. You definitely need to comb through the listings. It doesn't filter out the best niche contemporary artwork for you, which a good online art store will do.

Artnet $$$$Mid/High

Artnet.com is the second biggest player in the online art market with more than 166,000 artworks by over 39,000 artists from around the globe. On the site you can search the inventory of 2,200 galleries in over 250 cities worldwide. In addition, there is a sleek online auction for works that range from $500 to $100,000.

The online Artnet magazine features interviews with artists and art reviews. There are also event listings and videos on the website. The combination of online magazine, auction, price database, gallery listings, and artist listings, into single functional, easy to navigate site deserves the highest praise.

Keep in mind though that the breadth of Artnet is sometimes overwhelming for the casual buyer. And the target audience is mainly collectors of fine art and arts dealers.

Mixed Greens $$$Mid

Another well-established online art gallery. Mixed Greens is a moderated online gallery, meaning one must be accepted into the gallery through an application process. Currently, the gallery represents 22 artists "at varying stages in their careers."

The clean site design makes it easy to browse the listings, and the limited number of artists helps to act as a filter for niche contemporary art. One of the exciting and different aspects of this website is that Mixed Greens puts on physical gallery exhibitions. Works for sale on the site range from $2,500 to $20,000.

College Art Online $$Low/Mid

College Art Online sells student artwork at affordable prices. The average price of artwork on the site is $250, but works can sell as high as $3,000. The site is not moderated, which means anyone can join.

I was impressed by the site design and navigation, large gallery images, and quality of work. The site says that it gives "art enthusiasts the chance to buy an original piece of art and collect works from artists who are hitting their prime in the art world."

As with most online art galleries, you can search for works based on color, size, medium, and price. Once you find something you like, you can add the work to your cart for the listed price or you can make an offer.

Artbreak $$Low/Mid

Artbreak is a community based online art gallery where artists can easily upload their images. Some work is for sale, other work is simply being shared with the world. The aim of the site is to make it easy for artists to sell their work commission-free.

The site says, "Artbreak is a democratically disruptive gallery and marketplace. It's purpose is to give independent artists everywhere a global audience and an opportunity to sell their work directly without commissions, galleries or representatives."

A large, random image changes regularly on the homepage and below are listings with thumbnails of "What's Hot" and "Brand New".

Artmo $$$$Mid/High

Artmo, art market online, features works from "the most distinguished and reputable art dealers." Similar to Artnet, Artmo has gallery pages showcasing a particular gallery's collection.

The Artmo Marketplace seeks to eliminate the disconnect between dealers and collectors. You can browse by artist or artwork. In some cases, the price is listed; otherwise you must request the price. It is also possible to make offers.

I would say that Artmo hints at the future of high end online art sales. The site is personable and not overwhelming; a simple way for collectors to view works, make offers, and purchase art without leaving their house. You can already see the Web 2.0 interface built into an online gallery for high end art.

Mobtal$$Low/Mid

Mobtal, portable art gallery, is a savvy membership based site, where artists can showcase and sell their work. Each level of membership gives an artist more tools and marketing opportunities on the site. Featured artists are prominently displayed at the top of each page. When you click on an artist's work, you find links relating to the artist such as profile, biography, resume, virtual exhibitions, news, events, and projects.

Most of the work on Mobtal sells for under $1000. You can also buy "M-cards" (wallpaper for your cellphone) of the art images.

One of the featured artists, Janet MacCallum, says, "Since joining Mobtal I have sold three paintings and have been recommended by one buyer to his friends via the M-card function. The M-card is a quick and efficient method of promoting my artwork and has already helped me line up some commissions!"

In addition, Mobtal has partnered with the The Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation to donate £10 for each artist membership.

Here are more of the best online art stores, galleries, and auctions of 2009:

ArtQuid

20x200

Saatchi Online Salesroom

Photographers Limited Editions

New British Artists

Counter Editions

UGallery

3d lunar lander concept ships by Paul Pepera

Highly detailed 3d modeling on peperaart.com.

















Keywords: 3D three dimensional concept lunar lander video game concept ship art from by paul pepera artist currently working as an environment artist at id software previously worked at timegate studios freelance weapon and vehicle related art

Cody The Black Lab

"Cody" (See all proofs)

This handsome water dog was a joy to play with. The original photo had a lot of detail and that made my job easier. This week I hope to post a lot of artwork on the blog. I am working on a Kitty, Bulldog, Dane, Chihuahuas and a few other pets.

Star Trek Papercraft: Medical Tricorder & Scanner

Here's another papercraft from the Star Trek Voyager Elite Force video game. This is the medical tricorder and scanner used by Starfleet medical personnel in the game, including the Emergency Medical Hologram (EMH) doctor. Like the Starfleet PADD papercraft I did previously, the textures on this model are a little too grainy for my liking, but since I thought this model would interest enough people I went ahead and posted it. If I had the time, I would pull the PDF into Photoshop and redo the textures. The template info is as follows:

Scale: 1:1
Finished Size:
* Tricorder - 3.5" (8.9 cm) x 8" (20.3 cm)
* Scanner - 4" (10.2 cm)
Number of sheets: 2
Number of parts: 6
Difficulty: 1/5
Download

A while back, I had a request to do a standard Starfleet tricorder papercraft, but I found that the 3D model in Elite Force is really rough and doesn't look much like the tricorders from the Voyager television show. So, unfortunately, this medical version is the best I will be able to do in the way of tricorder papercraft.

Previous Star Trek papercraft posts:
Hirogen Shuriken
Terran Empire Knife
Starfleet PADD
Klingon Knife
Hypospray
Borg Cube

The Unknown Aspect of Human Creativity

The future of any creative endeavor is uncertain. I've learned that the only project worth doing is the one you don't know where it's headed . . .

Life unfolds in much the same way.

I'm going to publish one blog post per day on the Blog of Innocence. It took me awhile to get to this point. And I've been writing my whole life!

But confidence is fleeting. There is always a small fear that nothing more will come out of the well, that the well has dried up for good.

The well is never dry. It only needs time before a new groundswell is discovered, more abundant and richer than the last.

Right now I'm working on an art journal for the Escape into Life Moleskine Project. In contrast to my usual manner of writing essays, I have virtually no inhibitions while creating these pages.

There are no rules for the journal. I fill it with doodles, poetry, ephemera, free-writing, collage, illustrations. I use a variety of pens, markers, even some crayons.

I remember when I was in grade school we used to have a half-hour of free time in class. I would sit at a round table next to a friend and we would draw pictures on notebook paper. We made fanciful patterns with red and green markers, and lots of skulls and caricatures. After awhile the other students saw us drawing all the time and they would come over to the table to watch . . .

Before I begin working in my journal at night, I read from one of two art books I purchased last month. The first book is called, Street Sketchbook: Inside the Journals of International Street and Graffiti Artists. Sketchbook is described as "unparalleled access to the books of more than sixty contemporary artists worldwide working in a broad range of disciplines--from graffiti and street art to illustration, painting, design and animation."

I have an affinity to illustration art. My favorite artist of all time is Henry Darger. There is something about illustration art that mystifies me. The Street Sketchbook reveals the illustrations and markings of graffiti artists in their private sketchbooks, and for some reason, this excites me.

The second book is 30,000 Years of Art: the story of human creativity across time and space, by the editors of Phaidon.

The gigantic book barely fits on my lap. It presents 1000 masterworks from different countries, cultures and civilizations. I've only gotten up to 3300 BC. I marvel at the artifacts, trying to imagine the artists who carved ivory tusks, painted images of bison on cave ceilings, and engraved life-size depictions of giraffes on rock.

When I open to a fresh page in my journal, or turn to a page I've been working on, I enter a state of near total relaxation. I practiced Zen meditation for five years, twice daily, and nothing comes even close to what my brain does when I'm drawing and working in my journal.

The first markings I create on a page don't meet my expectations. To be honest, I find them a bit juvenile. But for some reason, working in this medium, it doesn't bother me. I have already created the space and the freedom to draw and write spontaneously. This is also where my energy and relaxation comes from.

And then, something interesting happens. I go back to pages I started. I spot an opening on a page and begin to tease out another progression of lines, or experiment with a different pen. Soon an entirely different picture comes into focus.

I am zigzagging through the journal, picking up wherever my instinct guides me.

What I find is that my "mistakes" are no longer mistakes. A previous error simply leads to another framework, a re-appropriation of the original lines.

In this sense, there are no mistakes. In fact, it is impossible to make a mistake.

What I discovered with drawing in less than three weeks, I'm still trying to fully grasp about writing. Because writing follows the same principle. Nothing I write in the first draft is it. There can only be formlessness in the beginning. But when I go back to a poem, a drawing, or the chapter of a novel, I begin to see it differently.
There are no absolutes in human creativity. A work of the imagination is never finished and it always holds the possibility of becoming something else.

Like many writers, I struggle with this. My whole writing career can be summed up by an attempt to break free from my inhibitions while writing. I just want to write and not care about whether it will turn out a certain way. I want to immerse myself--and channel the writing directly.

But a nervous edge, usually present at the start and sometimes into the middle, tells me that what I'm doing must be perfect, must be absolute.

Yet when we look at great works of art, there is an honesty, an openness. It's the enigma of the work which comes from the unknown. And though we may perceive the work as perfect, the artist's conception had to go through countless deaths and rebirths to arrive at that last reincarnation before our eyes.

The beauty of the art journal is that there are no absolutes of creation. Whatever goes down on paper can always be re-envisioned, re-invented, re-worked. Words can cover words, drawings can grow out like vines, and if the page you've created becomes hideous or revolting, you can always paste a picture over it.

Art is impermanent. Nothing I create during my lifetime will be the final word, the final poem, the final drawing. All is ongoing, evolving, entering into a new context or another possibility.

I may not know what it is I'm creating, but it's better that way. Let my guide be the work itself, rather than my conscious thoughts. To follow this path, I must be willing to stumble and look foolish. But if I allow those perfect sentences to fall apart, and those mistakes to be part and parcel of the work, then I've shown that I'm ready to be counseled.

It has a voice, you know, and desires of its own. We only need to listen to our creations.