Pixel Time at CityArts

New Ancestry.com Classes

Skyler — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 22:22:39 +0000

Someone told me that genealogy is the fastest-growing hobby in the USA. I’m not surprised–new digital tools make make researching your family history more rewarding than ever. The popular website Ancestry.com is home to more than 6 billion records in more than 30,000 collections. But what’s the best way find what you’re looking for in all that information? Get started with this class. You’ll learn the basic steps to begin your genealogy search and successfully navigate this useful genealogy database.

What is Ancesty.com?

Ancestry.com is the largest for-profit genealogy company in the world. Its resources include the US Federal Census records from 1790-1940, obituaries from hundreds of newspapers, passenger and immigration lists. The site offers a 14-day free trial and several subscription plans.

When pixels collide…

Skyler — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 00:27:43 +0000

Blend modes are key to most of my digital artwork. Most of us use blend modes using “let’s click it and see what happens” technique, channeling through them til we see what we like. And even though I know math is behind all these pixel blends, I don’t think about it in the moment of putting adding a goofy saying on top of an unsuspecting friend’s tshirt.

But math it is, all those RGB numbers are being added, subtracted, and multiplied from the top to the bottom layer with each click. I think this series on the Richwork’s site can help us all understand Blend modes better. Less clicking, better results. I can go for that.

Read more with the first episode of Unraveling the Science behind Blend Modes.

Creating Lace with Copic Markers

Skyler — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 19:16:48 +0000

Jennifer Hancock, a freelance fashion and beauty illustrator, and the artist behind The Illustrated Bride, creates custom keepsake bridal illustrations to be given as gifts for weddings and anniversaries.

This week she’s featured on the Copic Marker blog, sharing her tutorial on lace illustration. To learn to achieve Jennifer’s gorgeous illustration style, check out the tutorial Creating Lace with Copic markers.

Pure Pigment – Just add water!

Skyler — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 15:39:13 +0000

I just got back from a week at Create’s Chicago art retreat and I’ll be sharing some of the cool tools and techniques I learned.

My favorite discovery has been around since 1885! Originally developed for hand-tinting photos, Nicholson’s Peerless Watercolors
are small sheets (2.5 x 6.5 inch) of highly concentrated, pure color of intense strength and absolute solubility. Just add water and you’re painting with a beautiful, transparent pigment. This package contains 1 sheet each of brilliant yellow, deep yellow, orange yellow, flesh tint, geranium pink, japonica scarlet, royal crimson, mahogany brown, sepia brown, light green, dark green, sky blue, deep blue, wistaria violet, pearl gray.

Scrappers, sketchers, journal-makers, mixed media-ists, and illustrators are using these tiny pages of powerful pigment to spark their creativity.
For the lightest travel sketch-kit ever, just add a Pentel Water Brush and your favorite sketchbook. Now get outside and draw something!

Game Maker Class Scheduled for Fall

Skyler — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 17:27:20 +0000

Game Design students this summer enjoy Game Maker and are giving it the thumbs up over Game Salad.They also like meeting several days a week so they can build their game design skills faster.

Froad is an example of a popular game made with Game Maker

We hear them–we’re offering after-school Game Design this fall. It meets twice a week for nine weeks. And we’re offering a discount for those who sign up early. Learn more about the workshop and sign up today!

iMovie for Windows

Skyler — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 02:32:33 +0000

At Pixel Time, we teach an iMovie class–on the Macs, of course. The Windows platform also has a free tool like iMovie. It used to ship with the OS so all Windows machines were loaded with it, and was called Windows Movie Maker.

If you have a newer Windows operating system, it’s part of Windows Live and it’s a free download. Learn more about it here:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-live/movie-maker-get-started

Photoshop vs Photoshop Elements

Skyler — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 04:18:59 +0000

What’s the difference between Photoshop and Photoshop Elements?

I’ll save you hundreds of dollars: For most people, Elements is enough. After I explain the big differences, you’ll see that Elements probably will work for you.

DIFFERENCE: COLOR MODES
Photoshop lets you work in CMYK, RGB and indexed color modes, Elements only does RGB and Indexed color. CMYK lets you make color separations, which are important for color print publishing, but not of concern for making images for ink-jet printing or everyday photo printing or for display on screens (like your computer, your iPad,or your phone).

DIFFERENCE: WEB DESIGN FEATURES
Elements doesn’t have all the Web design features, such as rollover creation. Photoshop lets you create Actions to speed up production, Elements doesn’t. If you build websites for a living, these features matter. Otherwise: Not so much.

WHAT ELEMENTS HAS THAT PHOTOSHOP DOESN’T
Elements is really two programs in one–the Editor for Photoshop tools and the Organizer to organize and tag your photos (like iPhoto only more powerful).
Elements also includes many creative tools geared for digital scrapbooking and has beautiful templates for sharing photos (including interactive slideshows published directly to photoshop.com).

FWIW, here’s what I say: Both tools costs $ PLUS a large amount of time to learn. Unless you are preparing images for color print publishing or powering through a ton of web design, cut down your expenses and invest in Elements.