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Magenta

Magenta

Senior Member
#21
Jul 3, 2015
59,912
29,292
113
#21


I would move the various elements around in the image to see where it worked best,
alter the font style and color (this font is darker and sharper and therefore easier to read :))
plus add and/or take away things, what I call the various elements, the individual pieces.
They are digital collages, and I do not draw the individual bits. The frame is one piece,
there is a twiggy arch, the dove, rays and fireworks coming off the dove, the flower bar
foreground, the park backgrounds, and the cityscapes in the distance... plus the dragonfly
and deer, representing how our soul thirsts for God after we are called out of the world
(which is why there is a separation between the figure and the cityscapes); this all would
take hours to make and then a few weeks later I'd be like, I need to make a new one :ROFL:

I started making Scripture panels around the same time, with the first ones being very
simple compared to what they are comprised of now (some people complain that my
panels are too busy), and have gone through phases with them as well... my "flapper
phase" at the beginning of 2020 was fun, and it was during that time that I really started
to concentrate on making my own figures out of various pieces. I stopped constructing
figures representing Jesus because they offended some people (sorry!) and then began
and have really stuck with constructing female figures, most of which look like angels.

When I add an element I often make many adjustments to it such as color, hue, contrast, size etc.

Collecting the various bits and pieces has taken a huge amount of time over many
many many searches... and now, a few years later, at last count, I had in my file folders:

My Templates folder has 1,613 Files in 9 Folders
(I had to separate them by book because there are so many of them.)
These are the finished files, in two sizes each (one for posting), plus the working copy.

My Template Items' folder has 3,916 Files in 3 Folders
One sub folder is florals only = 915 Files
The other sub folder is human elements = 1,344 Files
That is where all my faces, wigs, eyes, arms, clothing, jewelry etc are
The main folder has butterflies, special effects, birds, clouds, fruit, lots of stuff
I try to name each grouping similarly so things are easy to find

Then there is my Backgrounds' folder = 894 Files

Next is my Christos folder= 1,092 Files
Angels, wings, halos, statuary, doves, halo effects, lions, lambs, and LOTS of Jesus faces and figures

My Equus folder has 376 Files
Most of my very early panels almost always had a horse/Pegasus/unicorn in them :giggle:

Frames and Borders' folder = 1,355 Files
When I start a panel now, it is in this folder named by date begun until nearing
completion with verse citation, then it is renamed + moved into the Templates folder :D
Plus, frames and border elements :) I often just make my own frame :D

9,892 files for panels altogether :oops:

There is also a pictures folder with 2,106 Files, of which at least 1,306 Files are personal pics :)
Some of the other images in this folder are older backgrounds :) That count is from March 27, 2021

So it is quite a bit of stuff to try to keep track of which becomes quite difficult when I am not
designing for whatever reason... like right after my first surgery last August, it took about three
months before I had the energy to begin designing again. It is very intensive work/play :D

TMI? :ROFL:
 
Chilidogs

Chilidogs

Member
#22
Aug 2, 2021
82
70
18
#22
Magenta said:
Good day, Timothy! My apologies for my tardy reply, as I did not see this sooner... I did work as a photo printer my whole adult life, so was exposed (haha pun not intended LOL) to much beauty there for the past oh my goodness, it was 44 years until I got laid off last year mid March due to covid and having just received my cancer diagnosis... I had just turned 65 so it was like being unexpectedly required to retire :D Even at work, when it was not busy, for the last ten years I was there, I was allowed to be online or doing my own thing on my computer, which more and more became designing my own Scripture panels, though I have done a few others as well, such as prayer requests, and perhaps you saw some of the 12 step ones I did? And other whimsical things, some of which are in my Scripture Art thread. Yes, computers were part of my job, more so once digital really started taking hold in the early 2000's, changing everything! That was also when I learned how to do some very remedial things in Photoshop, like resizing, file conversions, digital dusting and touch ups, though those were not normally things I did, as I was more just a printer and color corrector, sorting/checking work for quality control, and yes, I looked at every single one of every picture our customers gave to us! Ha ha.

When digital first came on the scene it was not very attractive to me because people did not seem to know what they were doing and lots of images were way too pixelated, but things improved quickly, and I discovered that it was a lot of fun playing around with images. At first it was mostly very simple stuff, finding fonts, adding text and borders to existing pictures, etc etc, but eventually, and this is the maybe kind of weird thing, because I was looking for fonts after resetting my laptop back to factory conditions after it fell on the floor a couple of times from my desk at work... so I was looking for fonts when I started coming across other things, image files online, that I could use if I were designing images myself, which I had not quite yet started doing at the level I am now... and then I found out later that I did not even need to get fonts again, but only reinstall the ones that were still on my computer! What I am trying to convey is that it was like a series of accidents that led me into it, though in truth I do not believe in accidents LOL. Some of the first things I designed here were welcome panels for new members. I used to custom make them by adding the member name to a panel I had already designed that was undergoing constant upgrades, and that was back in the day when we had loads of people joining, especially on the weekend. That got to be a bit much so I designed a number of welcome panels over a span of time and finally settled on the one I am using now in conjunction with the music videos and Scripture panels.



Ah! I finally found one of my early welcomes :D That is from January of 2018 :)



I used to make them all purple :oops::giggle:
Click to expand...
Oh my goodness -- that is sooooo cool!!!! I am NOT computer savvy. I mean I know how to send GIF but even then, I still can't do it right lol. I grew up on a farm so I can do tools. But computers? noooo way. Its very intimidating for me. I actually recently started a new job though with the State and they will give me free classes after my probationary period. I want to take word, excel, and a whole bunch of others.
 
Magenta

Magenta

Senior Member
#23
Jul 3, 2015
59,912
29,292
113
#23
Chilidogs said:
Oh my goodness -- that is sooooo cool!!!! I am NOT computer savvy. I mean I know how to send GIF but even then, I still can't do it right lol. I grew up on a farm so I can do tools. But computers? noooo way. Its very intimidating for me. I actually recently started a new job though with the State and they will give me free classes after my probationary period. I want to take word, excel, and a whole bunch of others.
Click to expand...
The first time I sat down at my own personal computer I did not even know how to turn it on! LOL. So there is a very sharp learning curve at first, just to get basic keyboard commands and navigate the web, and let's face it, many would have no real need of a computer if not for the www! I have used both WORD and Excel, but not for quite some time... I do keep documents because I save all my urls (image file addresses), so I can repost them as desired without uploading them again to an image host, as well as a few other things, but Notepad handles those needs quite handily.

Growing up on a farm sounds neat! My mother's only sister and family lived on a farm, as did some of her hometown friends, and my dad also grew up on a farm. My dad had a dozen brothers and sisters. I have ten brothers and sisters :D My dad got a pass on being conscripted into the 2nd world war because he was needed on the farm, and we used to go to weekly farmer's markets, some in the city, and some in the country, real old fashioned farmer's markets with auction yards and everything, to sell produce all year round, which I volunteered for as an eight year old to escape the housework LOL. I gotta go for now but it has been lovely meeting you and sharing with you! Best of luck with your computer courses :)
 
Magenta

Magenta

Senior Member
#25
Jul 3, 2015
59,912
29,292
113
#25
TabinRivCA said:
I bet the gals will like it too:)
Click to expand...
I do not normally post the older ones any more (I was just showing some of the older ones to Timothy ;))... during the time I was constructing/designing welcome panels, though, I made quite a few different ones, and the welcome panel I use now went through at least nine incarnations before it got to where it currently is :D:giggle: I know that partly because of the file name (awelcometocc9p) :unsure::whistle::unsure: There comes a point in time where I just have to stop trying to improve something and move on to the designing of the next one. I was watching some movie or documentary recently and one of the characters said something like this of his artwork: "They are never finished; I just stop working on them." Oh!!! I could so relate! LOL. And the beginning of the next one is sometimes a bit of a scary moment, because I never know what they are going to look like, and sometimes I feel like I have no idea of what I am doing because my creative process is all very spontaneous, and I wonder if this next one will look as good as the one I just finished, or if one day I will simply have lost whatever it is that makes it all go in the first place :oops::LOL: Having said all that, I try not to overthink it LOL. I liked one of my panels so much I tried to sort of copy its style, but I was so unhappy about that panel not being as original/unique that I decided not do that again, or at least, not to make a habit of it LOL. Still, there is a methodology and pattern to the construction and certain elements do get used over and over again... and I know there are some elements in my folders which have never been used at all o_O

Here is another of my older welcomes :D



^ ^ That is also from early 2018 :)
 
HumbleOne

HumbleOne

Active member
#28
Jul 10, 2021
132
70
28
#28
I understand room mate stuff, welcome!
 
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