The idea for this started with an illustration in Photoshop Secrets of the Pros showing an eerie, monochromatic image by Joen Asmussen. The clouds in the sky of that image inspired me to try a similar effect, using some of my own graphics. I started with a public domain photo of a solar eclipse, courtesy…
Month: April 2009
Memories – A Digital ATC
This card was designed to document the creative process when I’m working on digital ATCs. I’ve written four pages–with thumbnail images of each step–to explain how I work on these cards. It shows you how to go from initial idea to finished card. This card, with documentation and HTML work, took about three and a…
Reality/Imagination – A free poster and Artist Trading Card (ATC)
Free art! This is one of many Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) that you can print from my Aisling.net website. This card has been so popular, you can also print it as a free mini-poster, about 5″ x 7″. I was working with photos of smoke. I wanted to see if I could “lift” the smoke…
Face Behind the Words – Free digital ATC
I set my timer for one hour, and began this project early in the morning. My goal with each card in this series is to complete all of the art–from concept to finished image–in one hour each day. This card started with a deliberately random choice of an image from the public domain, an Asian…
Gold Leaf – ATC Tutorial
My instructions for making this card are for Adobe Photoshop, but you can use almost any graphics program and create the same effects. It’s not easy to explain this sort of process. It’s vastly easier for me to show you, in person. If you print out this page and follow it step-by-step, you’ll probably figure…
Gold Leaf – a Free, Printable ATC
This 3″ x 5″ artist trading card (ATC) started with two photos that I’d taken in Petersburg, Virginia, at a Civil War battleground. Everything was fine until I needed to add a figure as the focal point. An hour and a half later, I saved all of the layers that I was working with–to reuse…
Spirits in the Old Saloon – a Texas ATC (R-rated)
(Originally, I called this card “Ghosts of the Old Saloon,” but later realized that doesn’t really echo the depth of what I wanted to convey with this card. I may redesign it, but – for now – here it is, anyway.) Reminder: This image includes female, upper-body nudity (if you really look for it) and…
Everlasting – free digital ATC
After a wonderful weekend in New Orleans, I was in the mood for a slightly eerie, somewhat nostalgic ATC. The ATC image started with my photo from a Massachusetts park, taken early one April morning. Next, I added a public domain photo of a little girl. I have no idea who she is, but she…
Dreamcards – from an ATC swap
Art can be very revealing, whether that’s our intention or not. These are two ATCs that I created, and what I wrote about them in 2000: Dream Card/Nightmare Card, 5 Sept 2000 These are two cards from an ATC exchange, with a theme of “Dreams and Nightmares.” The originals are 3″ x 5″. My dream…
Dream – a free digital ATC (artist trading card)
This ATC was created in an hour; that’s the time I allowed myself for this project, each day. (I was trying to design and post one ATC, daily.) I started with the background, which is a public domain photo of Ireland. (I’ve listed all of my resources, below.) Then I added a dramatic figure–slightly altered–from…