ArtRage 5 Review
As any reader of the blog knows, I’ve been an ArtRage user for years . I started off with 3.x and moved onto 4.x when it came out. It’s not the only tool in my tool belt (I also have Manga Studio , Illustrator , Photoshop , and Paint.NET), but it’s the one that I use almost exclusively for illustration work. I noticed a few weeks ago that it had been awhile since I’d gotten an update to my 4.5 install, and I thought that perhaps the next version was out or would be soon. So, I went over to the ArtRage site and found my suspicions confirmed…
Indispensable Writer's Tools
All you really need to be a writer is something to write about, on, and with. That first one's pretty important, but the last two could be as trivial as some paper and a pencil. In fact, there are writers who just use those. Or even typewriters. If that's you, and that works for you, then this post isn't for you. But if you have gone, or are considering going, the digital route, then read on. Windows Live Writer (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) I've been writing for awhile now and have, what's for me, a pretty good wor…
Easy Epubs with Scrivener & Sigil, Part 1
I make my own epubs because I like having control over the final product, I don’t find it terribly difficult or time-consuming to do, and I can update it whenever I want. However, I find myself forgetting which settings to choose between sessions, so I thought it would be best if I wrote out the directions. Thinking it might be useful for someone else, I thought I’d post it here. If it’s useful to you, good deal. If not, well at least the price is right. Background: I’m using Scrivener 1.x on Windows and Sigil 0.7.x. Sigil is free…
Writing While Driving
Image via CrunchBase Note: I did some minor edits below for clarification, but what you see below is pretty close to what Swype was able to pickup. I’ve left it rather ugly so you can get an idea as to how well it manages to pickup what you’re saying while driving down the road. I’ve since figured out how to make better use of punctuation. I’ve also been working on my enunciation and voice projection, which have helped the accuracy. Okay, we're going to try something new here . If you're reading this that means [the] experi…
Links for Writers
I've been meaning to do this for awhile, but kept putting it off. Today, though, I decided to get off my duff and get to it. I was talking to a coworker recently. We started off on other subjects but eventually we worked around to writing. He revealed, without knowing that I too write on the side, that he'd written most of an epic novel. He didn't know about Scrivener or NaNoWriMo , which I told him about, but I thought how great it would be if I could send him to a page that would give him a good starting point for where to …
Getting the Words Down
I’ve been struggling this year getting the words down. Part of it is that I’ve actually been sleeping better (thank you, exercise). But part of it is that I’ve been finding excuses not to write. I’ll be too tired or there’s something else I need to do (or just wind up doing instead). (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Up until this year, I’d tracked my activities in a spreadsheet as they related to my writing career. I’d track words written, time spent illustrating, time spent working on the blog(s). I wanted to see how this year was s…
The Compromise of Art
I’ve been hard at work finishing up the illustration work for Derrick the Dog and so haven’t posted in a bit. However, I read a forum topic yesterday about traditional versus digital art . I guess it bothered me more than I thought, hence the reason I’m awake at 2:30 AM, writing a blog post instead of sawing logs. Comparison of Leonardo's self portrait and the Mona Lisa based on Schwartz's Mona Leo (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) You’ve probably heard the argument: digital art isn’t real art. Those digital guys cheat, letting…
One Year In: What I’ve Learned
On Illustrating In my last post , I talked about what I’d learned in my first year of writing for publication. I learned a lot in that first year. I’ve also learned a few things along the way in regards to illustrating. It’s been an exciting time, and I’d like to share my top 6 tips for aspiring artists. I hope they help. Digital art is freaking awesome! As long as you have the right tools, that is. Have you ever tried to draw with a mouse? That’s an exercise in frustration. With a good drawing tablet, it’s sublime. My fabulou…
When do you find the time to write?
Writing’s a marathon, not a sprint. English: Chris Derrick at the 2009 United States Cross Country Championships (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Work, commutes, after-school activities , family time, TV , meals, exercise , shopping… what am I forgetting? Oh, yeah, sleep and writing . Doesn’t it seem like there’s never enough time for everything, especially that last? In fact, to get the writing time in, it seems like sleep is often the only place to carve away a little time. Finding the time for the writing job has been tough latel…
My thoughts… On DRM
And why I don’t plan to use it. DRM, for those who don’t know what it is, stands for Digital Rights Management . In a nutshell, it’s a technology that can be attached to electronic intellectual property , such as software, ebooks , and movies. It basically attempts to restrict what can be done with that intellectual property (ip). Some would say it’s primarily aimed at reducing or eliminating digital piracy, but not everyone . So, why wouldn’t I want to use a technology that’s going to help keep my ebooks from being stolen, robbing me of…
Wacom & ArtRage
Hello Web Denizens, If I seem a little punchy this morning, it’s because my insomnia returned with a vengeance. I’ll try to remain coherent. I only slept about an hour tonight, so I’m pretty tired. Too tired to work on the novel I have in progress (I know because I tried; it wasn’t pretty), but I did manage to finish a drawing I’d been working on, off and on, overnight. I’d been meaning to write a post about my Wacom tablet and ArtRage , so this seemed like a good time. Here’s the finished drawing: I think I’ll break this…
