No Cheating.

70 Million by Hold Your Horses ! from L’Ogre on Vimeo.

Since I have already sang their praises,  this is more of an introduction to Crossbrowsertesting.com than a review. Best described as a Browser Compatibility Lab, this online service offers a place to test a website on just about every browser- operating system combination. It offers two types of testing: interactive (to test ajax, javascript, and flash) and screenshots (which verifies layouts across all browsers).

The site offers three (3) pricing plans which all include access to their automated screenshot factories, interactive live testing and 1 hour free trial.  These pricing plans are  distinguished by the alloted monthly usage :

• Basic  150 minutes 19.95/Month (US$)
• Professional  600 minutes 49.95/Month (US$)
• Business 300 minutes 199.95/Month (US$)

One hundred fifty (150) minutes might seem inadequate for a web designer , and it would be, if the service was slow or unreliable. It isn’t. I managed to pull 14 screenshots in less than 10 minutes use (bumbling-around time included) and the website tracks your usage in your account section. This also makes the seeming paltry 1 hour free trial a more generous trial period than expected.

For that reason,  I chose the Basic Plan. It fulfills all of my browser-check needs and I suspect that most web designers would feel the same. Keep in mind that subscriptions are renewed automatically. Since my design work encompasses both print and web work, this might be a bad thing if the company wasn’t so customer-friendly.

When I emailed Kenneth Hamric, one of the founders of Crossbrowsertesting.com, about this, he responded:
“We have a 30 day, money back policy.  If you are not happy, you forgot to cancel, whatever the reason (or no reason at all)… and you ask for your money back, we give it back.  We are not trying to keep money from customers that do not like / want the service.  We like, and want, happy customers!“

I believe him. My recent experience with this company (described here) leads me to believe that  they will do anything to accommodate their customers’ needs, within reason. I doubt they will walk your dog for you.

I would definitely have the need to activate and cancel my subscription at will. Keeping my overhead low makes it possible to charge affordable rates. Last year, during the height of the “great recession”, I was booked solid, double-booked even, from May through November. December was dedicated to finishing some straggling details on projects and planning our holiday. So far, this January, I have booked 1 job and bid on 3 more. I suspect that is the story of most freelancers- the result being that we need flexible plans to accommodate our flexible schedules.

Automated Screenshots

The most straightforward part of the service is the automated screenshots. You check the appearance of your website by taking screenshots of a URL in just about any browser- operating system combination. The added bonus? Easily accessible list of recent screenshot tests. This is especially handy if you are checking more than one url.

Choosing which combinations can be as easy as choosing any of the default options:

• Popular browsers – default : offers 10 combinations which can be further refined by screen resolutions.
• All browsers :  offers 50 combinations which can be further refined by screen resolutions.
• Select the individual browsers and operating systems

Each option has a monitor resolution option and you can save your preferences for future use. You can organize screenshots by client, grab the link to resulting screenshot for reference, download a zip file of all the screenshots for a particular URL or create a slideshow of the screenshots- all great options when presenting the results to your clients.

Interactive Live Testing

Sometimes static shots are not enough. Interactivity errors are difficult to track if you cannot experience them through various browser/operating system combinations. While the monitor sizes are limited, the combinations are not. The list of combinations are comprehensive enough to instill confidence in the results.

Bookmarklet

One extremely handy amenity is the bookmarklet- simply drag the button marked “DRAG ME” to your toolbar. Visit a webpage that needs checking and clik on the CBT Launcher Button for a dialog box where you can choose either automated screenshots or an interactive live text with a list of options ready to go.

For those much smarter than me, there is also the option of accessing all this data through their API which is documented here.

The company policies are clearly delineated:

• No minimum contracts, signup fees, or cancellation fees.
• You can change packages at any time.
• Free trial limited to 1 hour usage, 1 per person.
• Usage of services is tracked to the second.
• No question asked 30 day refund policy.

I am a fan.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Browser Compatibility Testing Guide: The Best Tools And Services To Check How Others See Your Web Site (masternewmedia.org)
• How to Test Websites in Different/Multiple Resolutions Without Changing the PC Resolution (techie-buzz.com)

I gravitate towards that word “disciplined” because I am an analytical and systematic individual. My trusty Mac computer dictionary provided the following:

With that in mind, I have to add I also like insights into the actual step-by-step thoughts in the designing process for a photographer, and I look for good illustrations and well-written tutorials done by an enthusiastic photographer. All of these are well covered in Build A Better Photograph: A Disciplined Approach to Creativity. Add a DVD with additional images, 360 degree panoramas of studio shots in progress, some short videos of photographic sessions, references, and tutorials and you have a concise and worthwhile package.

Mr. Stern writes in an easy-going style that makes the reader feel that they are in the presence of an out-going teacher who enjoys sharing his techniques and learning experiences‚ both the good and the bad‚ and he is not ashamed to admit to mistakes made in that they provide part of the lessons learned that he would share with the student. It is no wonder that he has had a wide and varied teaching career in addition to his studio work. Among the places that he has taught are Los Angeles Trade Technical College, Art Center College of Design, Glendale Community College, Burbank Unified School District, Julia Dean Photographic Workshops, Studio Arts, Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, and Brooks Institute.

Mr. Stern’s professional career involves some seventeen years working for the Disney Studios, extensive architectural, product, and portrait photography. He cites a deeply committed relationship to Adobe Photoshop and its importance to the digital studio of today.

Build A Better Photograph: A Disciplined Approach To Creativity (ISBN: 978-1-933952-18-5, US $34.95 CAN $41.95) covers four major areas.

The first is environmental portraiture, and in it he delves deeply into the process of designing the portrait and how to load the image’s environment with telling clues that give insight to the depth of the personality of the subject. Along with that he gives serious tips about controlling and predicting color output. Workflows on the computer with an emphasis on organization (remember that word “Disciplined” in the book title?) are considered in depth as well.

The second major area that Mr. Stern discusses is involved in compositing techniques using the computer and Adobe Photoshop. How to light and shoot a myriad of different images and to bring them together in a final composite is painsakingly described with a variety of tutorial screen shots showing the multiple layers and layer masks necessary to produce the final image result.

The third area that is discussed gives lessons on using the scanner in place of the camera and takes a trip into personal style and creativity. It attempts to open up the student to looking at shape and form in the small world in order to sharpen the student’s design skills and to realize that not all images have to come via the camera lens.

The final section of the book looks at product photography and how to light a product in such a way that it is easy to vary background and key colors and to composite separate product images into final images.

Throughout the entire book several ideas continue to travel side by side with the craft and techniques of both photography and Adobe Photoshop as skills. One of those ideas is that the photographer must sell himself or herself continually to the client. This is necessary because there are many photographers who are skillful as photographers but who do not maintain a pleasant working relationship with the client. The job of the photographer is to satisfy the client with both the product and a pleasant personal working relationship. A photographer walks a thin line as he or she trys to promote their own ideas and creativity, and at the same time to deal with the preconceived ideas that the client may bring to the conference table. Satisfying the client in part means that the client must feel that they have contributed to the design concept greatly even if the photographer has promoted his or her own creative design successfully. Each photographer must know when to listen and when to speak (and how to do it tactfully) as the photographer and client come to terms with the final design.

Dealt with indirectly, but explained well, is the difficulty in dealing with the chain of command in large organizations. The filtering process between the ultimate client in the chain and the photographer is a delicate one because each individual in the chain of command feels the necessity of placing their own mark on the final product‚ else they cannot justify their own position in the hierachy. Putting it bluntly, this is hell on the creative process and can lead to difficulties.

I found Build A Better Photograph: A Disciplined Approach To Creativity a good read; it will provide a great deal of insight to the creative process and the day-to-day managerial skills and personality  necessary. Definitely a must read for the aspiring photographer who feels that mastering photographic and computer skills are all there is to the photography business.

His book has been published by Rocky Nook Press. Their books are printed on acid-free paper and the color in their books will survive long after the technical skills described in each volume will be replaced by the advances in our technology. Sometimes we get so caught up in the latest information that we forget how we receive that information. The “how” in this case is also important and should be acknowledged.

Build A Better Photograph: A Disciplined Approach To Creativity
by Michael E. Stern
ISBN: 978-1-933952-18-5
US $34.95 CAN $41.95

Michael Stern around the web:
His website CyberStern.com
His blog is  DigitalBeast.Wordpress.com
Find some excellent tutorials are at  SlideShare.net/Mr_Pixel
Michael Stern at The Brooks Insititute

Arthemis Premium Wordpress Theme

Some time last fall, i decided that i wanted to change the DigitalAppleJuice theme to Arthemis Premium wp theme by Colorlabs Project. I am still a huge fan of the Revolution- Studiopress themes- all my client themes are based on them including all previous Digitalapplejuice themes. for my clients, i have incorporated an auto thumbnailer code i culled from the web. that autothumbnailer code would not work for digitalapplejuice since we have been using dean’s fck editor plugin- bypassing the built-in wordpress image handler. The process of posting a new article used to be every story has to have an “articleimg” custom field containing the url of the 250×250px image and a “Thumbnail” custom field. I had heard wonderful things about the latest timthumb thumbnailer code which has recently been incorporated into a number of Studiopress themes – Agent and Magazine to name two. a recent install of the agent theme made me realize that i would be trading in 2 custom filed headaches for another one so i began looking for other themes with autothumbnailing capabilities when i ran across the Arthemis Premium wp theme.

The Arthemis’ top featured story section is an impressive alternative to the Featured Content Gallery slideshow  plugin incorporated in the Studiopress themes. The only real question for em was whether the integration of the timthumb code would make the Arthemis theme a viable choice for us. After I found a huge discount offer for the Arthemis Premium last fall,  I decide to make the purchase knowing that, if it didn’t work for DigitalAppleJuice,  I could at the very least use it on a client’s site and re-coup my investment. Then I got booked on 4 projects back to back and testing Arthemis on DigitalAppleJuice was quickly forgotten.  Months later, right after Xmas, I decided to tackle the Arthemis Theme tweaks and install when I realized I had no idea where I had placed the Arthemis Premium Theme zip. I emailed the designer and within hours had a response. I was very happy to find that the Arthemis Premium Theme  was able to render thumbnails and preview images from the first image within a post with very few exceptions. The choice was made.

My quick list of tweaks:

1. Ad Column: 125px ad bar to the right of the main body – normally an easy tweak: 2 additional DIVs and 6 lines in the style sheet. Add a thumbnail for the latest tao and desktop theatre
2. Author’s Page: change code author img
3. Change coding from Adsense to Adbrite.
4. SIngle.php:  widening of the single post to 600px so i wouldn’t have to resize every image in 700+ posts archive. Add tags, add link to author’s profile.
5. Footer.php: replacing the video in the footer gallery with the latest panel of The Tao Of IT Al, resized to fit

time to check the browsers

i have learned so much about CSS in the last year or so, embracing the doubling of margins in certain IE circumstances and tricking DIVs to expand without content. Even so, browser checks are a must.  Way back in 2008 before I knew anything, I wrote about the consequences of a non-conforming web and suggested Browsershots.org and NetRenderer as solid resources. I have been using Browsershots regularly these last 18 months – even signing up for priority service when booked on more than one job a month. So it was only natural that when it came time to check the Arthemis Premium tweaks I should turn to my old standby- Browsershots.org. I spent two days trying to get screenshots for IE 6, 7, 8 on any Windows platform with no joy. I thought I would have better luck if I signed up for priority service (at $29.95/month). Still no joy. I emailed Jack Zhao from Browsershots to ask if there was a problem with the renderers.

In the meantime, knowing that at any time one of my bids could turn into a solid job with a deadline, I googled for an alternative. I found Crossbrowsertesting.com I signed up for Crossbrowsertesting almost immediately as it  looked very attractive at $19.95/month with a 7 day trial. As luck would have it, the system was resistant to my  screenshot requests – implying that i would have to provide a url ending with .html. If .html extensions were required for an URL, then this service would incompatible for any wordpress sites (which are the bulk of my gigs). I cancelled my account and contacted crossbrowsertesting’s support to confirm that this was the case. I received a response from not one but two people- tom and kenneth- within hours.

The Polurnet Blacklist

In a flurry of emails  and checks and tests we determine that the Crossbrowsertesting.com and Browsershots.org  server IPs were blacklisted. Polurnet’s tech support kindly volunteered to remove them from the blacklisted. This was easy enough when it came to Crossbrowsertesting.com but Browsershots.org was unable to provide me with IP addresses since it has more than 100 factories around the world (most in US and Europe) taking screenshots which are then uploaded to a central server. They suggested we change webhost.

My issues with Browsershots were isolated to the Windoze IE renderers but I wasn’t going to push the point. I don’t know how and why these particular screenshot factories ended up on Polurnet’s blacklist. It could have been just a security response triggered by the number of screenshots I requested in such a short time, but I was NOT going to change webhosts.

Polurnet has set the webhost standard for me,  especially since not a single one of my clients hosted on Polurnet was hacked during the great wordpress 2.7 hacking season of 2008. All my clients hosted on Hostgator were infiltrated.

I decided to stick with Polurnet and asked for a refund from Browsershots. It was done immediately. No question asked. Thanks Mr. Zhao.

Customer Service In A Nutshell

crossbrowsertesting.com

• immediate response from support; answered questions quickly, took an honest appraisal of the situation and proposed ideas & solutions
• during discussion of my problem, offered to extend free trial due to issues and offered a refund in the event i was unable to cancel service in time

browsershots.org

• quick response to support request
• refunded fees without argument

polurnet.com

• I love these guys. I could go on and on about what great service Polurnet provides
• quick response to any email request for support
• i have yet had an instance where they told me “not our problem” as so many other web hosts have been known to do.
• not a single one of my clients have been hacked

arthemis wordpress theme

• their integration of timthumb code meant that i didn’t have to do anything to get most of the thumbnails for our articles to work.
• customer service is responsive and the theme is well documented and the forum is available for additional questions.

Disclaimer: Madbadcat and DigitalAppleJuice are in no way associated with Colorlabs Projects, Crossbrowsertesting.com or Browsershots.org, nor have we received consideration for this review. Madbadcat and DigitalAppleJuice are proud to be part of Polurnet’s affiliate marketing program and standby our endorsement of Polurnet.

UPDATE:

I received this note from Polurnet Tech Support offering a solution to issues described in this article:

“By the way, if you needed us to disable the firewall temporarily while you process your screenshots, that’s fine. Also, while Browsershots don’t need to provide the exact IP addresses they use, if they can tell us a range, we can whitelist it as well.

Hope that helps

Regards,
Administrative Representative
PolurNET Communications”

And that is why I love these guys.

Rocky Nook produces beautiful volumes printed on acid-free paper that reproduce the dynamic tonalities of the fine-art prints that they showcase, and the long-term viability of their volumes mean that they will be as visually dynamic a number of years from now as they are today. This is particularly valuable when examining Mastering Photographic Composition, Creativity, and Personal Style because the beauty of this book almost makes it a coffee-table volume as well as a thought-provoking intellectual examination of the mind of the creative photographer. This is a blending of art and technique in that the artistic concepts more often used in the discussion of paintings are combined with the technology and craft of the camera, lens, and printing processes.

Briot says it best:

"…you can control the colors in your photographs as if you were a painter in contol of your color palette rather than a photographer at the mercy of the camera."

It is the point where the photographer has added his style, viewpoint, and emotion to a photograph that the photograph moves from merely factual to artistic. An artistic photograph is actually more about the photographer and their viewpoint than it is about the actual subject of the photograph.

An examination of the way Briot has arranged the book will give you insight into his thought process and his philosophy of art.

He begins with the differences between what we see and what the camera sees. In order to understand how he produces art with his camera you first have to learn that the camera has limitations as a tool and it is the control of those limitations that separates forensic or scientific photography from Art photography. What the camera sees is a version of reality, not necessarily the exact reality. That reality is certainly not the emotional state that comes from the photographer who shapes reality into Art though the use of the camera as only one of their tools. The other tools are composition in both color and in shape; in other words the selective and designing eye that first "sees" and selects and then manipulates color and value to load the composition with emotion, and not simply to accept what the camera saw as a machine subject to the limitations of the sensor and lens.

Briot discusses the differences between composing with light, composing with color, and composing in black and white. He considers the elements of a strong composition and the creative process, and he gives us insight into finding inspiration. By examining a series of images he leads us through exercises in creativity and developing a unique vision for each individual photographer. That vision becomes a personal style.

A well-developed personal style is a saleable commodity if the photographer analyzes their audience and matches their style and the audience. How to deal with the practical aspects of print numbering, presenting images, and the art show circuit are considered.

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Finally, Briot gives us a technical and creative checklist that will help develop a skill level that defines the difference between a good photographer and an Artist. This comes about when technical competence has reached a level that allows the photographer to devote most of their energy to design and creativy and the technical is merely a palette that the Artist draws upon to produce an emotional translation of what they saw when they first approached the subject of their photograph. The technical takes place in the field and should result in shooting to the photographer's hearts' content. Then, in the studio at the computer, comes the analytical time where images are selected, comtemplated and modified. Early on, Briot suggested that the photographer keep a written notebook with both technical, compositional, and emotional descriptions of the scenes being photographed. In the studio the photographer can then attempt to modify the image that the camera made within the limitations of lens and sensor to bring to life what the photographer "saw" at the moment the photograph was made.

I, personally, sometimes wonder when looking at files what it was that I saw when I shot an image? Written notes would alleviate that sense of negative wonderment that comes in the studio days or weeks after a particular exposure was made. Briot has explained some pithy things about color, camera sensors, the printing device, the human eye, and the creative process that have given me some serious thoughts on the creative process as it applies to myself. While the goal of every photographer is to get out and shoot images, simply shooting without thinking seriously about the technology limitations and the goal of the images is a waste of time. I consider the time spent reading Alain Briot's Mastering Photographic Composition, Creativy, and Personal Style as being time very well spent to improve a photographer's understanding of both themselves and their technology. It is this understanding that allows the development of the full potential of any image, and that full potential is the difference between mere representation and Art.

Alain Briot
Mastering Photographic Composition, Creativity, and Personal Style
Rocky Nook
ISBN: 978-1-933952-22-2
352 pages, paperback
US $44.95, CAN $ 53.95.
This volume was provided for review by Rocky Nook, Inc.
Read (PDF) Excerpts:
- TOC
- Sample Chapter
- Preface

We’re going to call this fixture a SPIDER, you’ll see why in just a moment.

Here is my original collection of parts.

A 3” clean-out plug serves as a hub for the sockets.  My original idea was to attach the clean out plug to a 3” bushing that would be attached to the front of the 2” tee fitting.  The power cord would run out the back of the tee and the light stand would attach to the base of the tee.

I measured and marked the clean-out plug and drilled it with a 5/16” bit.  I made a simple jig from scrap wood to hold the fitting in place.

Using a 2” lamp nipple and a pair of channel locks, I carefully cut the threads for the shorter nipples.  This is where the working characteristics of PVC came into play.  You can cut threads into PVC with a bolt and a little patience, instead of using a tap and die.  I chased the threads all the way through the side of the fitting.

Here is the clean-out plug with all of the lamp nipples fitted.  I chose a clean-out plug as opposed to a regular cap so that I could access the wires more easily.

Each socket was wired and the wires passed through the hole of the mounting bracket.  The design of the bracket and the lamp nipples allowed me to keep all of the wires hidden.

Above is the front of the SPIDER WITH the wiring in place.

Above is the back of the SPIDER with the wiring in place. The sockets were wired in pairs, then the pairs were wired together.  I used wire connectors instead of soldering so that a socket could easily be replaced if it failed.

LOOK; it works! 

At this point I realized that my original design was way too front-heavy.  I needed to move the center of gravity farther back.  So, I’m off to Home Depot yet again.

I found a 3”-3”-2” tee fitting that solved my problem of balance nicely.  I added a 3” to 2” reducer to the back of the tee fitting and a 2” to1.25” threaded reducer to that.  A 4” circle of plywood and a 1.25” male fitting is attached to the reducer and this holds the speedring to my Paul C Buff OCTOBOX™ firmly in place.  A 2” to .75” threaded reducer is mounted at the bottom of the tee for the light stand fitting.

Here’s the light inside the OCTOBOX™.  It throws a very even lighting pattern, even without the diffusion panel.  It’s well balanced and easy to handle in the studio.  I’m working on an improved version for my still photography.  Stay tuned…

Kirk Draut
Director of Design
Aarthun Performance Group, Ltd.
281.580.5705

In the last couple of years, I have cooled to Apple’s hip reputation for quality and innovation. My Intel iMac’s motherboard needed replacement just 13 months after I bought it. Since I forgot to renew my Applecare, the cost of replacing the motherboard was $900. Nine hundred dollars is a very hard bill to swallow when the problem was nothing more than a bad ethernet port.

A quick search on the web opened up a world of people complaining of defective this or that and, while I applaud Apple’s innovative designs, I have become increasingly concerned with Apple’s reliance on Chinese manufacturers for their products. At the risk of being called a jingoist, the last year in the news proves that quality control is not China’s strong suit.

Despite the recession, the time was quickly coming when I would have to upgrade but I hadn’t really considered what I was going to upgrade to. I just didn’t want to think about it. And I didn’t. This mac monster was a very generous gift / investment from a long-time mentor and collaborator.

I have fallen in love with Apple all over again. And its all because of this most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

Quick like a bunny.

Fast? Oh is it fast. The once maddeningly-sluggish Firefox launch sequence now occurs in an instant. Photoshop loads so fast it makes me warm in places I don’t care to elucidate.

Bright Young Thing

I keep the lights off in my office, not for any other reason than I like my monitors very bright and my Imac just wasn’t bright enough with the lights on.  The 24-in LED Cinema Display is so crisp, so bright, i have had to dim the monitor a bit, and still, the colors are rich and the blacks deep and velvety.

Migration Assistant

My last computer purchase was a white Intel iMac but I don’t really remember the migration of my computer files to the new mac. I remember being afraid and putting off the migration for months because I knew it would interrupt my workflow. Always a bad thing.

I do remember that, when I finally upgraded from my eMac to my Intel iMac, I had to painstakingly  swap folders in the library so I could preserve my email archive. My desktop- which would frighten the most compulsive data spelunker- was difficult to recreate. If there was an easier way, I was not aware of it. My blood pressure rose, my workflow shriek to a stop.

After the first  Mac Pro tower’s startup sound, I was completely prepared for another messy move. I actually made the first transfer and was dumbfounded at thought that I would have to merge some folders and replace others. I was actually cursing Apple for my own stupidity.

Then I had a "Duh!" moment.

I used Migration Assistant to do the data transfer. When it was done, I gave the new User Account admin privileges. Then I logged out and logged back into the new admin account. At this time, you can either delete the old admin account or you can make the newly migrated  admin account the automatic login. (Some uber apple geeks suggest keeping a spare admin account for future troubleshooting.)

This method won’t work if you have been working on one admin account and import your old set-up into a new admin. I still don’t know of an easy way to merge two admin accounts and I am not sure how what i would have done if I had waited a week or more to migrate.

The Sleek and Pretty Keyboard.

The keyboard’s low, flat profile is a comfortable size and the angle of rise is just perfect to encourage a more ergonomic wrist bend. The con? It is one of the loudest keyboards I have had in the last few years. Oh Gawd, please help me adapt to the metallic clacking of the space bar.

What’s not to love?

A cynic by nature, I am looking for something to dislike about this machine. I haven’t found it yet. I have had some frustrating moments while setting up the mac pro tower. I can however, trace all these frustrations directly to Adobe. I am still pissed at Adobe for coercing an upgrade to CS3 when I bought my Intel Mac. At the time, I didn’t need the added expense or interruption in my workflow.

That frustration was revisited when I was now faced with the re-activate thing for my CS3 products. Add the now famous licensing error For CS4 products … ooof.

Even so, this machine, this magnificent machine is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Even more so ’cause its mine.

So here is one I tried DeNoise with; it was shot with a 3.1 megapixel point-and-shoot camera in Morocco in the summer of 2000. Look at the color artifacts in the shadow under the palm leaves and in the shadow on the floor on the right.

Going to Filter > Topaz > DeNoise we get the panel below.

The default in the Main>Noise Suppression is 1.0 when it opens.  You can use the Reset button on the bottom right to force Noise Suppression to open at 0 if you choose.  We’ll take a look at all the adjustments possible before we make corrections.

The Advanced panel allows us to make adjustments in (1) Color Noise, (2) JPEG Fixer, (3) Smoothness, and (4) Add Grain.  It opened with a default of 0.05 in Color Noise.

The third panel, Presets, gives us the options of settings for (1) SRAW Normal, (2) JEPG High Quality, (3) Large Grain Noise, and (4) Supersmooth. Choosing and Applying one of these presets will make adjustments in the Main and Advanced panels.

Finally, the About panel will allow us to reach (1) Tech Support, (2) On-Line Resources, (3) Check for an update, and (4) enter our registration Key if we have not already done so.

Now, we’ll go back to the original image and the noise in the shadow and brick areas.

In the following image the Noise Suppression was set at 2.88.  Remember, the default was 1.0.

A slight amount of curves was applied to lighten the shadow area.

Now, here’s the detail close-up so you can see the original grain in all its gruesome glory.

Here’s the example with the Noise Suppression at 2.88.

Now here is a completely different means of removing the Color Noise. 

Pretend you ignored all the steps under the Main  panel and went directly to the Advanced Panel and chose to make your corrections through the Color Noise and Smoothness adjustments. You will get results similar to the ones below, which are not identical to the answer you received working with the Main panel and Smoothness.  But this simply shows that there are more than one way to reach an acceptable answer to the noise problem.

On the left side we can see an area corrected only by Color Noise and Smoothness sliders.  The original, grainy, image is the right side of the image.

Here we have the image totally corrected by using the Advanced panel and the Color Noise and Smoothness sliders.

I think we have another winner here. I’m going to use Topaz BeNoise to save many of the photographs I took with the 3.1 Megapixel  point-and-shoot camera while we were traveling in Morocco.
 

Check out DeNoise at http://topazlabs.com where it is priced at US $79.95 as a download.  A CD with the program can be ordered at extra charge, but saving the download with a copy of the key which is emailed to you after purchase can be done in only a few minutes.  After all, the DMG file is only 5.2 megabytes and is a quick download even on dial-up.  DeNoise is another good additon to your toolkit and workflow.

Sunday the doors opened up at 1 pm (now that’s an artist schedule!), and the true meat of the conference began.  Before the opening keynote, Massive Black CEO Jason Manley stressed to the crowd that Reverie would address the economic climate woes through exploring the various markets where an artist can sell their work. Though this flexibility, artists can gain more opportunities and independence.  This was echoed further in the opening keynote by Lorne Lanning, creator of Oddworld.  When film went from silent to "talkies", there was a need for content that caught Hollywood by suprise.  That is, once audiences were exposed to films which had sound, there was a demand for talkies and less interest in silent films.  Hollywood did not plan for this, and still had a backstock of silent films for the upcoming film season.  Walt Disney latched onto this opportunity by offering his animated films, which could have sound quickly added to them.  From there, Disney had its foot in the door and as the cliche’ goes "the rest is history."

Pt. 1: The Conference | Pt. 2: The Workshops

Sessions were divided among traditional and digital art lines (three areas each) going on simultaneously.  A thing I was struck by was the informality of the sessions. Due to the layout of the Fashion Gallery, everything was open and no doors were closed.  People freely went back back and forth between areas.  Professional artists continued to man sketching areas and demonstrated their skills while being available for questions.  Thoughout Reverie, a live model area similiar to last night’s was open for folks to take a break and practice their newly-learned techniques.  For those who brought their laptops and wacom tablet, tables and power strips were provided to create impromptu "islands" of attendee artists.

Monday sessions I attended were:

"Nude Life Drawing with a Focus on Anatomy and Structure"

This session was dual headed with a digital painting demonstration by Massive Black artist Andrew Jones and an anatomy Q&A by fine artist Michael Mentler.  Mentler teaches regular seminars in Dallas at The Society of Figurative Arts and is known on the Conceptart forums as "The Bone Doctor" for his extensive knowledge in human anatomy and construction.  He took questions and produced various diagrams, methodologies and shortcuts beyond the typical "head measuring" scenario, as well as pointed out common mistakes people make in constructing heads and posing figures.  On a personal note, he aided me with how to properly measure a foreshortened figure by mapping it to a perspective plane.

"Flower and Flow"

Speaker Jenova Chen of That Gaming Company held a talk about how they got off the ground with their game "Flow" and the development of their new game "Flower." Chen’s background is in film, and approaches games in terms of the emotional experience that one would get from a movie experience.  He posited that entertainment is driven by a hunger to experience different feelings.  At the moment, games are focused on primal power fantasy models (such as first person shooters.)  This leaves the game market largely untapped in other user experiences.  In "Flower" the character is the landscape in a conflict that involves the interaction between the wild and urbanized environment.  The user is in a journey as they navigate with objects they pick influencing the changes in the landscape.  In "Flow," the character is a microorganism that dives through levels evolving and interacting with other microorganisms.  It’s start was as a Flash game which was developed as part of Chen’s thesis.  Like Disney, a technological opportunity came up in the form of the Sony Playstation 3.  Sony needed downloadable content for their new platform and online store.  They were able to approach them with a game that had an established user base, and Sony hired them for a three game contract.

Tuesday workshop intensities peaked, and I took the advice of one of the veterans to feel free and move around from panel to panel. Highlights:

“Creating interesting characters, npc’s and world histories from scratch.”

Writer Josh Sawyer for the gaming company Obsidian Entertainment opened describing the writer’s side of the character and world creation process, using an ensemble cast of characters for an undisclosed upcoming game.  The background of the game is based in a hard science environment and consists of military-based characters. Influences into the story and characters came from a combination of both Sawyer’s own degree in History, and from pop culture and keywords given to the characters.  The ensemble cast was created to be racially diverse; however, it really started to come together after the medic character came forward in development.  He acted as both a foil and a standard to measure up the others.  Sawyer also talked about the back-and-forth relationship of this development with the artists.  For instance, a concept art sketch of an African-American military character had a mechanical bracer.  This was done by the artist as an visual interest affectation.  From that, the writers asked themselves why it was there and proceeded to brainstorm a back story of him being a test pilot, an accident leading to a loss of a limb, and his resulting distrust of scientists and technology.

“Sequential Art and Storytelling for Entertainment.”

Afterwards, artist Marshall Vandruff took the main stage.  The centerpiece of his lecture was “Little Nemo in Slumberland” created by Windsor McCay.  McCay was a cartoonist who created "Nemo" in 1911. His background was in circus posters and stained glass.  But his work was ahead of his time, as he solved many film framing and editing conventions prior to cinema!  Using McCay’s work as a touchstone, Vandruff talked about how visuals work in terms of giving information, panels and scene construction, how style affects mood, composition and visual metaphor.  Please visit his website for more on this topic and references.

“Google Sketchup 2d/3d Concept Design Process”

Held in one of the smaller Digital Arts rooms by Massive Black artists Kemp Remillard , Rich Doble, Sam Brown.  Remillard spoke on the use of Google’s lightweight and free 3D software package in mechanical/technological constructs in illustration.  Models would be constructed and have basic lighting applied in Google Sketchup, and then inserted into an illustration (Photoshop-generated in this case) for detailing such as paintwork, insignia, or battle  Having an initial model gives one the  option to rotate and tweak to your hearts content without having to redraw a complicated structure or struggle with perspective problems.

“Toy Making for Independent Artists and Professionals”

The collectible toy market is a growing market, with potential for many artists.  And it’s not just someone’s sculpture of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  You can see many outsider artists creating original works.  Scott Wetterschneider of Big Shot Toy Works held an open forum question-and-answer session for artists interested in entering the field.  In short, artists work with companies such as Big
Shot Toy Works by submitting their designs either by full sculptures or 2D concepts for the company to make a prototype from.  Before entering the field you do want to research heavily into the market and have a plan for promoting your works, otherwise you will have about ten thousand vinyl toys in your closet.

“The Art of the Graphic Novel and Comics”

Marko Djurdjevic, senior concept artist and cover illustrator for Marvel Comics, talked about his work for Marvel’s Blade, Thor, Ghost Rider, and other titles.  The typical comic book cover is typically a dramatic action scene coming from the pages of the comic.  Instead, Djurdjevic would take the story and make a visual idea of the story. This would be done with simple solutions, with avoidance of excessive detail.  Compositions of multiple characters (in terms of size and placement) would relate to the context of the story, as well as body language.  As Djurdjevic talked, Massive Black concept artist Jason Chan drew up a mock superhero "Massive Black" comic cover from scratch.

Sunday was business oriented with last chances for networking, opportunities for portfolio review by Marko Djurdjevic and Massive Black artist Coro Kaufman. Various recruiters were also on hand taking resumes and portfolio/demo reels.

On stage were two panels which ran back to back:

"The Business of Art and Entertainment– Understanding Contracts and the Art of Negotiation"

Panelists were Jason Manley, Games Producer Sherry McKenna, and artist Shawn Barber. McKenna brought in a wealth of experience through her current role as a producer and her past work in the visual effects industry. She challenged the audience to think what their goals were…fame? money? getting your foot in the door? McKenna advised that of all things, you must offer a fair deal through the standpoint that one is providing services for the client. Should the client have a request that causes an issue, one must approach with discussion on how that request affects delivery of a quality product. Ego has to be left at the door. Manley led the audience through the contract process and the common pitfall areas in NDA agreements, change orders, contractual information, payment, and copyright violations. Both McKenna and Manley advised to document every conversation with the client with time, date, who said it, and who it was said to. If it was a face-to-face meeting, type up an email with a quick wrap-up and double check all the details. Be sure to include a tactful time limit in a note stating that if one does not hear from them in a day that all is correct. And everyone on the panel advised that above all things, do not be late. This was a very information packed session, and I’m very glad I took the four pages of tiny print notes that I did.

"From Commission to Completion: The Basics of Freelancing"

Panelists were Irene Gallo (art director at Tor Books,) and artists Shawn Barber, Bobby Chiu and Greg Manchess. The panel advised to avoid the jack-of-all-trade approach and find a niche. This especially will meet more succes in a portfolio as it shows focus. However, a good workaround is to have several different portfolios which address particular markets. They recommended beginners should stress figural work as the human figure is a good benchmark of technical ability. Portfolios should start with the best piece, but one will be hired on the strength of their worst piece. On websites, they should be updated regularly. Gallo in particular advised against Javascript or Flash galleries as she has a hard time going back to find a specific piece in a Flash thumbnail gallery, much less show it to an editor. She would prefer to have the ability to give an editor a specific link to the image. Manchess advised that in general, it was good to create a five-year plan of where you want to go with milestones along the way. All agreed that in the process there is the need to stay diverse in cients or avenues, as market wells may dry up. Of note, they added that the current state of the games industry is undergoing a business model shift into having a core team with outsourced contractors.

At the very end of Reverie, professional artists were invited to particpate in the Artist Thunderdome where the topic picked was the organization of H.O.P.E.’s work in Africa. H.O.P.E. stands for Helping Other People Everywhere and works to use artists and their contributions to create and support existing social charity projects around the world. Artists were given an hour to create their work while the audience watched. Unfortunately, I had to leave at this point but I’m told that the winner was Andrew Jones. We should see his work come up either in the forums or on the charity’s website soon.

View Slideshow of Reverie Here

The workshops are only a smattering of what was available. Please check out the convention website for further details on their curriculum. I strongly urge anyone in the art community to get involved with the Concept Art forums, as they have much to offer. You do not have to be a fantasy or science fiction illustrator to be a participant as it is mainly a group of people who want to improve on their technical draftmanship and art skills. Photographers and fine artists are also welcome on the boards and have their own forums. Today, you no longer have to daydream about getting to the field. It is now right at the tip of your keyboard.