DMAGAZINE and our latest meeting

First an update on the mag

Well, need to carry a mop around to clean up my drool from what I saw regarding the progress of DMAGAZINE last night. In a word, I was DUMBFOUNDED.

There is still much to go in regards to completing and saying we are done, but the layout that I saw was outstanding. It is going to be such a tremendous accomplishment to get this magazine out and into the design world. It is also going to be a tremedous gift! This vision is really coming to fruition and I am amazed.

I want to give Brittany Thompson - editor and Chris Wells my utmost thanks for putting a whole lot of heart into this. They have really helped create something that will go far beyond being a local rag, it will be an event, and one that people will look forward too!

Class Project - CD front using Bamboo Craft, Corel Painter, and Photoshop

When I saw my first tablet, I thought "What do I need a tablet for? A mouse and keyboard are good enough." After all, the main thing that bugged me about laptops were the touch pad. I was a mouser, but one thing I learned from students, teachers, and group members was that Wacom made the best tablets.

For those of you that want to upload pictures in your blog or other content you adminster on the site, here's a quick video and tutorial to get you started.

After last night's session where the pen tool was used to create a mask on the project, i felt like I needed more practice with the tool.  Below are a few of the tutorials that I used to help hone my skill.

http://veerle.duoh.com/blog/comments/illustrator_pen_tool_exercises/

http://vector.tutsplus.com/tutorials/tools-tips/illustrators-pen-tool-th...

Also, I think I'll be typing my name and seeing if I can trace the pattern successfully.

What is Urban Market you ask?  Last month, I learned about a new concept in Lexington called the Urban Market.  After some investigation, I thought this sounded like the perfect venue to showcase my “functional art” visual art and gift business. 

Well, 12:30 am and I am already nervous. Looks like tomorrows meeting will be HUGE. That is if all t he facebookers come. Otherwise, we will just be VERY BIG. Anyhow I look forward to seeing you all and just wanted to give you a bit of a preview of the project we will work on. I just finished it and am pretty proud. Get ready to do vector masks! Look forward to seeing you there!

Taking an interesting approach to writing a reference book for CSS and HTML, Michael Bowers writes a highly technical book where he breaks down CSS and HTML into predictable patterns and writes the book following a systematic approach in covering those discovered patterns.  

Huge thanks to Jonathan Gaby, who created the first official DMAG group on Facebook!

If you're on Facebook, just search for Digital Media Artists Group to join, or click the following link:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=290839278467&ref=mf

I guess we create a new entry ever time we blog. If I am wrong someone please set me straight. My review is posted and hopefully it is good enough to please our sponsors. I love my Bamboo tablet. I finally got through the tutorials on Corel Painter and they were really fun. I am excited about life, and having such wonderful toys to play with. I see my creativity opening up and flooding me with talent and idea to use my tablet and software.

I figured out how to upload the picture of my bothers dogs where I used E-Z Mask Photoshop plugin.

Here it is.

Anyone with basic computer knowledge and Adobe Illustrator CS4 software can use The Professioal Portfolio to create professional looking portfolio projects. Included at the back of the book is a resource CD of files, which simulate information provided by clients, to be used in the project. Each of the 8 projects has a real world feeling induced by including client comments, art director comments, and project objectives.

Hands on, step by step, easy to follow instructions are easily read and presented in a large spiral binding. The layout and fonts are inviting and provide a pleasant experience. I am a graphic design student who has taken a semester with Illustrator. I was able to learn new ways to use Illustrator and take what I had learned to the next level.