Magic Stones

Creativity Block Busters

2009-10-09T11:45:18-07:00

Today I'm spot lighting a site called "PHUN" that can help you get those creative juices flowing. Sometimes all we need to break through a creativity block is to provide our brains with some out-of-the-ordinary visual or auditory stimuli. This site offers several fun ways to engage your brain.

My favorite is playing with the colored balls. (Click the "Balls" link) Move your cursor over each dot and watch them magically split into four smaller dots ad infinitum.

Warning: It can be addictive!

Screenshot:

While you are there you'll find several other fun visual "games" like the Fractal Tree:

Each time you click the "regenerate" link a new beautiful tree emerges before your eyes.

So go explore all the site has to offer, but don't say I didn't warn you, you may be distracted far longer than you intend.

Have fun! Then go out and create something.

Exploring Online Graphic Tools: Peacock by Aviary

2009-08-13T15:58:46-07:00

Can't afford one of the high dollar Adobe Creative Suite packages? Looking for free or affordable alternatives to help unleash your inner masterpieces? For artists on a tight budget or for those of us who are constantly exploring new ways to flex our creative muscles; Aviary provides a powerful suite of browser-based design tools that deserve a closer look.

Today I'm focusing on one of Aviary's Tools called "Peacock". Peacock is a hub (node) based effect/pattern generating application. It runs entirely inside your browser, so it's cross platform compatible. Peacock does so many amazing things that Aviary calls it their "Visual Laboratory". Experiment with pixel-based images in completely new ways. Check out the new user-created wiki for in-depth documentation.

Peacock gives you a set of hubs (tools) that are separated in five different groups:
Generator hubs - used to create base elements used to construct files.
Effects - used to alter any of the generator hubs.
Controllers - Used to alter the direction rotation, size of hubs.
Resources - Imported bitmaps.
Blackboxes - Used to load and manage blackboxes into the file

Here is a quick overview of the powerful set of Generator Hubs included in Peacock:

Camera Hub - Imports a snapshot from your webcam (if available) as a resource to be used in a peacock file.
Color Field - Fill the entire canvas with a single color
Coons Patch - Warp and shape input bitmap.
Dynamic Resource - Use a Dynamic resource as input for a black-boxed file.
Fractal Plasma - Create a random pattern. It can be used in conjunction with the terrain hub to create landscapes.
Fractal - Draws a Mandelbrot fractal that can be used to create interesting patterns.
Gradient - Make gradient fills
Histogram - Produce different fills and fill colors from input bitmaps.
Noise - Fill area with static type noise.
Perlin Noise - Create varied types of noise fills
Plaid - Use to generate geometric, fabric, and even water patterns
Resource - Import bitmaps into Peacock to use in the creations of images. You can import images from Flickr, Picassa, Facebook, a URL, Aviary Library, or your computer.
Simple Shape - Shapes can be used as building blocks for other shapes, or as masks.
Spirolina - Similar to a Spirograph a spirolina draws several different types of epicycloid, hypocycloid, or quasicycloid. These shapes are drawn by a point rotating in a circular direction that is also traveling in a circular path.
Terrain - Create 3D like landscapes and shapes.
Wave Generator - Use wave generator to create precise gradient or even psychedelic patterns.

In addition to the Generator Hubs you have full set of Effect Hubs at your fingertips including:

Kaleidescope, Auto Painter, Posterize, Quilter, Several types of tiling effects, Bevel, Glow, Edge Effects, and many more.

Peacock is so full of features that it can be a little daunting at first. Don't let that stop you, dive right in and start experimenting. While Aviary tutorials currently only cover their flagship image editing tool, "Phoenix", the Peacock User Wiki provides useful information to get you started. After you checkout the user wiki, head on over to the Peacock Forums and ask the community for tips and tricks.

I used Peacock to turn this image of Serafina the Bearded Dragon from my Flickr photostream:

into this Kaleidescope Mandala:Blue Mandala August 13.egg by iseevisions on Aviary

Aviary is free, but upgrading to a Pro Account for only $24.99 per year gives you:

Full access to entire suite of applications
More file privacy
Enhanced file sharing and collaboration
Play with unreleased apps
Full watermark control
Get higher quality thumbnails
Unlimited storage
Exclusive support access
Support a thriving artist community

Now go create something. If you play with the Peacock tool I'd love to see what you come up with. Be sure to come back here and share your creations.

The Cove Movie Opening in Select Theatres August 7th

2009-08-08T11:43:24-07:00

Winner of audience awards across the world, including Sundance, SilverDocs and Hot Docs, The Cove follows a team of activists and filmmakers as they infiltrate a heavily-guarded cove in Taiji, Japan. In this remote village they witness and document activities deliberately being hidden from the public: More than 20,000 dolphins and porpoises are being slaughtered each year and their meat, containing toxic levels of mercury, is being sold as food in Japan, often times labeled as whale meat.

The majority of the world, including Japanese citizens, are not aware this is happening. The Taiji cove is blocked off from the public. Cameras are not allowed inside and the media does not cover the story. It's critical that we get the word out in Japan. It's critical that we get the word out—everywhere. We believe that once the Japanese people know, they will demand change.

What Can You do to Help?

1. Send a letter right now to President Obama, Vice President Biden and Ambassador Fujisaki, Japanese Ambassador to the United States, urging them to address this issue. Sign the letter here then share it with your friends.

The people of Japan will be able to send letters to their Prime Minister and Minister of Health, urging them to help.

Signatures from letters to both U.S. and Japanese leaders will be displayed in the Secret is Out widget to show our strength and unity in saving these dolphins.

You also can expose the secret by posting this widget on your own blog, MySpace or Facebook page.

We will be posting the Secret is Out widget on the top social networks, websites and blogs in Japan.

Text the word DOLPHIN to 44144. We will send you the letter to sign from your phone. You can pass it along to friends’ phones and these signatures can also be displayed in The Secret is Out widget. You will get mobile updates on the campaign, clips from the film and breaking news.

2. Learn more about dolphins in captivity

3. Choose the Safest Fish to Eat Learn what fish is safe for you and safe for the ocean. Watch the clip from The Cove about mercury in dolphins. If you are in the U.S. you can Download and print a Safe Seafood Pocket Guide for your area to help you make the best seafood choices.

Are you a Sushi lover? Print out the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Sustainable Sushi Guide

4. Read more about the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Program, follow them on Twitter

5. Support Save Japan Dolphins.org

6. Learn more about The Oceanic Preservation Society and help support their efforts.

Mind Boggling Sculptures That fit in the Eye of a Needle

2009-08-05T11:44:28-07:00

Art so tiny, it can't be seen by the naked eye, beautiful sculpted figures created under microscope by nano-artist Willard Wigan. As a child Wigan was severely dyslexic, yet he went undiagnosed. In an attempt to escape the harsh words of his teachers, he hid out in a nearby shed were he made miniature shoes and hats for his new found friends, the ants. "It was a fantasy world I escaped to where my dyslexia didn't hold me back and my teachers couldn't criticize me. That's how my career as a micro-sculptor began"; says Wigan. Today, his escape into his own Lilliputian world, has earned him national honors and critical acclaim, proving that some treasures can't be seen with the naked eye. Working on such a small scale necessitates the use of innovative tools such as the hair of a fly, or the eyelash of an ex-girlfriend for paintbrushes.

Website: Willard Wigan's homepage

Follow Your Dreams, Let Ruby the Birthstone of July Show the Way

2009-07-25T17:42:53-07:00

Rubies are one of Mother Nature's beautiful gifts. I find raw ruby crystals to be just as alluring and desirable as the highest quality faceted gemstones.

History: Throughout history, the ruby has been one of the most prized gemstones in the world. In ancient times, rubies were only considered a stone of nobility and were often referred to as "the king of gems". Legend speaks of warriors implanting rubies under their skin to bring valor in battle and to give invulnerability from wounds. The wearing of a ruby was said to signify manhood, nobility and valor in a man, and pride & passion in a woman. In Renaissance Italy rubies were considered eight times more valuable than diamonds. Today, rubies have numerous applications: as styluses in turntables, as tiny bearings in expensive wristwatches, and in rod form, they form a crucial component at the laser's core.

Geologically speaking, It is a mineral in the corundum group, it crystallizes in the form of tabular and hexagonal-rhombohedral, prismatic crystals. It has a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale.

Its name comes from Latin, Rubeus, for the color red.

The birthstone of July, and the Astrological sign of Leo, rubies are said to symbolize knowledge, wisdom, vitality, romance, prosperity, and courage. It is the traditional wedding anniversary gift for a the 15th and 40th year of marriage.

Metaphysical: Intuitive sources say the ruby is a stone to bring more abundance into your life. (And who couldn't use a little more prosperity right now?) It has been said that as long as one retains a bit of ruby, wealth will never depart.

Ruby enhances passion and inspires love, until recent times, it was commonly used as an engagement stone.

Ruby is prized as a mineral to enhance creativity, wisdom and spirituality. It is also said to give confidence, self-esteem and courage, and to stimulate leadership qualities. Ruby is also said to have been helpful in treating heart and circulatory diseases.

It is said that the power of ruby is in its encouragement to follow your dreams and your bliss, helping you to change your world. Ruby will bring light to the dark places in your life, bringing a spark of awareness to those places where you might still need work, and giving you the opportunity to clear that path. Ruby also heightens our love for life, giving us motivation and inspiration to choose wisely for ourselves and others.

Tap into the power of rubies today!

Elephant Victory Slideshow of Malawi Rescue 2009 | IFAW Web Site

2009-07-10T11:58:01-07:00

The elephants that inhabit the Phirilongwe Forest Reserve and the surrounding area in the Ndowa Hills are all that remain of once large herds that occupied southern Malawi. Today, due to the increasing human population pressures and encroachment into this area the lives of these elephants and the local people are threatened by this deadly human-elephant conflict. More than 30 villages are situated on and around what was once prime elephant habitat. Remaining habitat is being overtaken by these subsistence farmers and elephant migration corridors are being closed off.

The capture itself required darting and tranquillizing the elephants from helicopter and on foot. The elephants were then transported on modified game trucks to Majete Wildlife Reserve and escorted by the Malawi Traffic Department.

View the slideshow to see this historic elephant rescue

Slideshow of Malawi Elephant Rescue 2009 | IFAW Web Site Shared via AddThis

From the very first elephant families that were captured quickly...to the last, massive bulls that filled the trailers completely...to the crowds that gathered to cheer as the elephant caravans passed…and the release of the elephants into their new home where they will be safe and secure for the long term...the move was not only an extraordinary accomplishment, but it was a great victory for animal welfare.