My 100th item!

Today I added my design to my 100th item in my zazzle store! Yeah! It is time to celebrate.  This is my first milestone since I opened my store in July 3, 2012.  I learned about posting my designs on items like iPad sleeves and and kindle cases.  It is fun to design images in layers that can be mixed and matched in tee shirts or placemats.  My next milestone will be be when I have 1000 items in my store and that will take time. 

I feel as if I have entered an art boot camp since my days begin about 5:30 am to 6:00 am if I am feeling bushed.  I race each summer day against the heat.  I try to work with a naturally cold room and chilly computer.  The mornings are a cold 50 F in the desert, but they can soar to 100F the same day!  Lately, I began a few old school drawings in ink on paper.  I find blue bic pen layers nicely with colored pencils to create rich contrasting images.

What about books?  I am reading a few very interesting books and I will reveal them when the time comes.

Happy Creating and Writing!



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My Locked in Enchantment Kindle case design

The joy I receive from reading a story or poem on my kindle inspired me to design a kindle case.  I wanted to make armor out of gold sequins that suggest a reinforced door in a castle with a hint of light coming from the key hole to symbolize hope.  The lock is not simply a barrier, but a challenge in the hero's journey.  What will be discovered?

Now for the nitty gritty tech talk.

  I made a sequin brush with GIMP software (free) by first taking photos of sequins. I opened my photo in GIMP and used the tool elipse select (oval shape) to zero in on the sequin. Click on Edit drop down box then click on copy. Click Edit then click paste as new image save as a png file to save the transparency. I made two separate png files of sequins so that I could arrange it. I clicked Edit then Copy. I clicked Edit then Save As Brush. I then named my brush. For the armor background I kept the ppi (pixels per inch) at 300. I painted from top to bottom of my vertical rectangle using my new sequin brush. For my keyhole image I began with a circle and vertical rectangle in dark brown. I changed my brush size and opacities to fit the shapes. For a final touch I boosted the contrast by clicking on the Color drop box and selcting Color and Contrast. The interface made it simple to adjust adjust settings. This makes the image pop.

Come see my design at my RavenKing store.

Locked in Enchantment Kindle case by RavenKing
Browse Lock Caseable Cases

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Overview of Dark Isle

When evil begets evil, a choice is forced on Quinn, the one person who can see the danger. Does she save the ones she loves, or does she save the world from Chaos?

As the realms of Fae and human collide, Quinn's future has never looked so grim, or so damn impossible.

Genre- Urban Fantasy

Overview of Enemy in Blue

 The streets aren't safe when your enemy wears a blue uniform and a gold badge.
What if the good guys weren't good?
What if a cop went rogue and killed an innocent man?

What if it was all caught on video and the cop would do anything to cover it up?
Chase this lawless cop through the streets and to a scintillating series of showdowns with Cruz Marquez, a young attorney trying to nail down his enemy in blue.

Will justice be served?
Genre- Thriller



Overview of Land of the Noonday Sun

When two strangers have nothing left but their dreams, they must forge a relationship in Nantahala, North Carolina, a small town known as Land of the Noonday Sun.

A man with a traumatic past is able to turn his life around and is happy with his chosen career as a whitewater guide. Everything changes though when fate hurls a woman into his path. His carefree life is in turmoil, and his former weaknesses threaten to overtake him. Will he be strong enough when tragedy strikes and is once again in danger of losing everything he loves?

Genre- Contemporary Romance


Overview of This Time Forever

Delaney Brannigan and Blake Morrisson met at the Cedar Cove annual costume dance, known only to each other as the leopard and the cowboy--but, as Delaney soon discovers, the cowboy she'd thought had ridden off into the sunset never to tempt her again, is none other than the man she came from New York to find and discredit. Against her will, Delaney is drawn deeper and deeper into an overwhelming attraction to Blake--an attraction she can't give in to if she wants to keep the one thing she values more than anything else.

Genre- Contemporary Romance

Overview of Cassidy Jones and the Secret Formula

Fourteen-year-old Cassidy Jones wakes up the morning after a minor accident in the laboratory of a world-renowned geneticist to discover that her body has undergone some bizarre physical changes. Her senses, strength, and speed have been radically enhanced.

Lives are put at risk when they find themselves embroiled in a dangerous, action-packed adventure. Soon they are forced to confront a maniacal villain willing to do anything - including murder - to reach his own ambitious goals.

Genre- YA/MG Superhero

Overview of Gray Justice

Gray Justice is the fast-paced debut thriller from Alan McDermott. When a killer walks free from court, the victim's father sees just two options: accept the judge's decision; or take on the entire British justice system. Tom Gray chooses the latter and his crusade attracts instant worldwide media coverage. It was just what Tom was hoping for, but it brought him a lot more than he bargained for.

Gray Justice is much more than a simple tale of revenge: it's a rollercoaster ride with an ending you'll never forget!

Genre- Thriller

Overview of Gone at Zero Hundred 00:00

"Their lives are in the hands of two 18-year-olds..."
A Prominent P.I. is gunned down - killed by a sniper - and it’s broadcasted on live TV.
Now, her daughter, along with her childhood pal, are thrust into a complex and riveting thriller forced to take on a secret club whose members call themselves The Privileged Ones.
Murder. Teen abductions and illegal underground parties.
They’re chased by men in ski-masks, nearly gunned down by members of a cartel, and the only way to bring down this criminal enterprise; is to crash a Mardi Gras bash and stop their private cruise ship from sailing off into the sunset.

 

Overview of Allegiance

Who do YOU pledge allegiance to?

After exposing one of the most notorious rings of police corruption in history, lawyer Cruz Marquez planned on starting a new life south of the border. That plan unraveled when an extremist group of Minutemen captured and tortured him and his wife.

Will Cruz pledge allegiance to do right, or will he do anything to serve up revenge?

Genre- Thriller


Overview of Curbchek Reload

Curbchek-Reload is a dark account of the streets as they were worked by Zach Fortier, a dangerously deranged cop. Welcome back to the inner city and the twisted mentality of Zach Fortier. Patrolling the streets, broken and mentally damaged from years of urban violence, Zach fights a losing battle to maintain a hold on reality. Join him in the passenger seat of a police cruiser for more of the darker and meaner side of life: The inner city. In Curbchek-Reload you get a front row seat to an attempted murder of a cop, suicide attempts, rapes, and DARK cop humor. Curbchek-Reload - Fasten your bullet proof vest and buckle your seatbelt, it is gonna be a wild ride!

Genre- Police Procedural 

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All winners will be notified via email July 28th 2012. For a list of winners contact onedaybookpush@yahoo.ca

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My First Psykopainting

Today I  am painting with Psykopaint software.  A composer friend of mine kept posting his art made with this software.  After all the oohs and ahs of collecting compliments on his artwork I had to try this software.  This software is not free, but it free to try.  I used the pointilism brush and for some reason it reminds me of cloneing like in GIMP but you are recreating your original image in a new texture.  I saw this gorgeous car on the parking lot and felt inspired to take a picture.  The car was dark blue but it transformed into this coppery color with the inverted values fx.  This online software is simple to use, just upload your your photo and paint directly over the image.  Sleek enamel takes on a glamorous sequin texture with the pointilism brush which reminds me of Miranda's puatilism brushes for my paint software. 

What do I think about this software?  When I see something I like I tend to ask what software did you use and what is the learning curve.  The results can be gorgeous depending on your original photo.  Sleek enamel using the pointilism brush takes on a glamerous sequin appearance while gritty cement takes on a powdery pastel finish.  Be brave to change colors in your image.  The learning curve is non existent because this software is simple to use.

I was so excited with the results so I made an iphone case design and posted it to my store.

My new floral tee shirt design

A friend suggested that I take photos of my ranch and post some of the images on my zazzle store.  A few years ago I had a gorgeous bounty of blooming catus, but this year the blooms are missing. That is kind of strange.  So I looked in my SD card and found my favorite cactus flowers which I capured with my nintendo.  Each photo is about 640 x 480 pixels.  I prepared my images by getting rid of the clay soil and needles in the photos by uploading them to GIMP and selecting free select/ lasso and selecting Edit  and selecting clear.  I saved my photos as png files because the alpha channel has transparent background.  I lovingly did this with several photos and made my floral arrangement. Here's a link to see this floral tee at my zazzle store RavenKing. 
http://www.zazzle.com/floral_baby_doll_tee-235474819652701060

Book Review: Planet Pouch

Book Review: Planet Pouch Simple Juice Pouch Bags Anyone Can Make A Make It Today Craft Book written Brook Jones. I downloaded this book into my kindle because I always wanted to make one out of juice pouches, but I hesitated because I wasn't sure how to make it. Brook Jones's step by step photos are excellent because they display well on my kindle. The zoom covers all of the screen in high resolution. The book covers the making of three bags: Wave, the Grabber and the Kangaroo. Photos detail preparing the juice pouch to sewing the panels together. The bags are complete with handles and name tags. The Wave is a large bag that can carry groceries or beach gear. The grabber holds lunch. The Kangaroo is a back-to-school portfolio that holds oversized papers. These bags make lovely a gift.   Brook Jones sells her lovely bags  at her Etsy store. http://www.etsy.com/shop/MakeItTodayCrafts


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What's New?

There has been a lot of excitment since I last blogged at ravensartshack. Dust storms, frozen tomatoes in June and sweltering heat by July. To take my mind off my wind raggedy garden I picked up a book. I have been reading the Gimp Bible written by Jason van Gumster and Robert Shimonski. This book inspired me to venture into digital art and create a series of digital paintings which you can see at my gallery at deviantart.com

   I got interviewed by a talented artist named Julia Hanna.  Julia also writes art tutorials  which explain the art process from grid to palm tree with videos included.  Her art inspires the viewer to look at nature. Since the interview I opened my first zazzle store called RavenKing.

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