Althouse: Things to learn in the Summer of '10.

May 12, 2010

Things to learn in the Summer of '10.

Photoshop.
iMovie.
Corel Painter Sketch Pad with Intuos4.
How to tear myself away from the computer...
...

45 comments:

EnigmatiCore said...: Kegels.; 5/12/10, 5:56 PM
avwh said...: Hmmm. Aren't those first three (learn software on the computer) in direct contradiction of the 4th (learn to stay away from the computer)?; 5/12/10, 5:58 PM
Paddy O said...: I love using Painter with my intuos3.

Let us know how you like Sketch Pad.; 5/12/10, 6:02 PM
traditionalguy said...: The Althouse style would be a perfect match to the game of golf learned one lesson at a time. It lets your competitive juices flow in a socially controlled place that is so beautiful that only God could have thought it up. And it is all play time.; 5/12/10, 6:03 PM
Unknown said...: I bet Meade want's see if you can learn the Venus Butterfly. Just sayn'; 5/12/10, 6:04 PM
rhhardin said...: Ballet.

Tear yourself away from the computer to take the dog out.

Return minutes later with dog photos to upload.; 5/12/10, 6:05 PM
Unknown said...: Or maybe he has to learn it. I forget.

But I thought all lawyers knew it.; 5/12/10, 6:06 PM
traditionalguy said...: And Rush Limbaugh needs to play a round with you and Meade to sharpen up his skills.; 5/12/10, 6:12 PM
Irene said...: 5. Learn canine freestyle.; 5/12/10, 6:33 PM
sonicfrog said...: Guitar!!!!; 5/12/10, 6:37 PM
Unknown said...: If you learn 20% of all the Photoshop features and tools, you'll be ahead of everyone else. The other 2 I don't know, but a person with a Fine Arts background should find the world opening up for her - which will make number 4 this side of impossible unless Meade decides to take you on a driving tour of all the battlefields of all the Indian wars fought inside the United States.

Or something equally comprehensive.

"Althouse, do you know how many states allow outdoor -----"; 5/12/10, 6:40 PM
Paddy O said...: "Aren't those first three (learn software on the computer) in direct contradiction of the 4th"

Not necessarily. At first, sure.

But they all are tools that use the computer to work with non-computer sights and experiences.

You need to go places to take videos and pictures--and the more beautiful the place the better. And you need to find something to sketch. Sure you can sit at your desk at home, but it'd be fun to take a laptop and a pad to go to a museum or almost anywhere else. Once you get the basics these are excuses to get away from wasting time staring at the computer.; 5/12/10, 6:54 PM
Michael Haz said...: Visit each one of these places during summer. Several may be combined into one trip.; 5/12/10, 7:12 PM
master cylinder said...: Gotta do it, photoshop.; 5/12/10, 7:51 PM
al said...: Tear yourself away from your computer and learn IDPA; 5/12/10, 8:00 PM
Anonymous said...: 5. ????
6. PROFIT!; 5/12/10, 8:09 PM
Unknown said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/12/10, 8:25 PM
Unknown said...: The Dark Arts of Politics Proper (as opposed to "political punditry"... but these pundit-studies might come in useful for ideas). Study these Dark Arts so that you can slowly begin the process that will ready you for the national stage in time for 2012. Kaus has broken through the glass ceiling holding back the Iconoclastic-Democratic-Blogger Demographic. It's On! Play your part in the "Great Democratic Reclamation of 2012" (aka "the End of the World" ...as we know it. And yes, I feel fine.

WV: mingle: See? it's dark-poli 101, "mingling".; 5/12/10, 8:35 PM
mRed said...: Photoshop. Go with your strength. Seriously. Oh, and what you love you BFA'er..

WV: suble. Suble I ain't; 5/12/10, 8:58 PM
Steve said...: You might try Photoshop Elements; it is cheaper easier and probably has all the functionality that you might need.; 5/12/10, 9:29 PM
AllenS said...: 5. Making sure that you have your car keys in hand when entering the house.; 5/12/10, 9:39 PM
John Hawks said...: If you can afford one, I highly recommend a Cintiq instead of the Intuos. I do know many artists like the Intuos, but I love to be able to draw directly on the screen like an actual sketchpad.

Didn't you get an iPad? You can get Sketchbook Mobile for it very cheap and sketch with your fingers, if that appeals.

Painter is fun and not too hard to get going quickly.; 5/12/10, 9:43 PM
MamaM said...: This whole post had me laughing, but it's dog dancing that drew a crowd.

Rhhardin's entry led the way. I continue to be surprised by the contrasts he presents. Humor in dryness. Poetry in succinctness. Loveliness in the everyday.

Beautiful dog ballet and fun advice.

Irene: Gin's freestyle was beyond imagination. It's amazing to watch an animal perform for the joy of doing so. Thanks for the link!

wv: joyst; 5/12/10, 9:43 PM
chickelit said...: @Althouse: If you figure out how to slice and dice DVDs (e.g. converted 8 mm home movies) using iMovie and then make videos with sound, please do share the know-how. I think Amba wants to know how to do this too.; 5/12/10, 9:49 PM
Known Unknown said...: iMovie sucks ass. I might be the simple worst program Apple has ever put its name to. They've actually made it less intuitive over the years.

Get Final Cut Express if you can. Much more effective and intuitive.; 5/12/10, 9:53 PM
Known Unknown said...: I also think you should learn gunkata.

WV: joketa - Stand-up Comedy Martial Arts?; 5/12/10, 9:59 PM
Irene said...: MamaM, my favorite part of the clip is when Gin responds to Simon's praise.

I have been trying (in private) to work through some freestyle routines with one of our poodles. Impossible: the boy is too strong willed and independent. He is somewhat more obedient during thunderstorms because he gets clingy. Opportunity knocks.; 5/12/10, 10:30 PM
chickelit said...: Kegels.

Leinenkegels; 5/12/10, 11:03 PM
reader_iam said...: Dear Althouse:

Do what you have to do. If you can respect other people along the way, so much the better.

Warmest regards,

Lori; 5/13/10, 12:33 AM
bagoh20 said...: I agree with sonicfrog; learn guitar (or piano). An endless supply of challenge, discovery, success and bliss, even for us with no talent.

The other unparallelled learning experience is learning to fly. If you are good with math,
multitasking and rich, learn to fly planes. If you just want to fly like a bird, try hang gliding or paragliding. You can actually fly the thing on your first lesson and when you finally fly solo at altitude from a mountain or towed up by plane, there is nothing like it for pure love of life in this natural world.; 5/13/10, 1:20 AM
bagoh20 said...: By the way, hang gliding is virtually unregulated, with no licensing or taxes and the oldest active pilot in our club is 80 and still flying...and drinking. Very few things that are that exciting, beautiful, free and accessible to virtually everyone with a bit of moxie, which our host clearly has.

I recommend mountainous areas like Los Angeles, Kentucky, Chile or the Alps, but they do it everywhere including flat places like Florida and Texas where the record flights of over 400 miles are made.; 5/13/10, 1:32 AM
GV said...: I started with a bootleg copy of Photoshop 3. Don't try to learn Photoshop. I'm still learning it and I use it a lot.

I'm now paying the price for 10 years of disorganization and ad hoc approach. The multiple hard drives got unmanageable.

Read the DAM book on digital asset management. Ignore the book's recommendation and get Adobe Lightroom as both your cataloging and editing software.

People not already invested in learning Photoshop should use Lightroom if the primary use will be photo editing. If Lightroom isn't enough, get Photoshop and export to it to do things that Lightroom cannot do.; 5/13/10, 7:58 AM
Sissy Willis said...: You will LOVE Photoshop! Promise. ;); 5/13/10, 8:48 AM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/13/10, 9:26 AM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/13/10, 9:27 AM
Balfegor said...: 3.Corel Painter Sketch Pad with Intuos4.

YES. Painter is fantastic. Though I haven't seen sketch pad -- is it a stripped down version or something?; 5/13/10, 9:43 AM
Bill said...: "You might try Photoshop Elements; it is cheaper easier and probably has all the functionality that you might need."

Why not GIMP? www.gimp.org/; 5/13/10, 11:42 AM
Unknown said...: If you have more than two-cents to rub together and are at all willing to invest in software for yourself. Skip the GIMP. It is a heartbreaker. And not in the "fond-memories of a doomed romance" kind-of-way. I tried GIMP after I got Photoshop and I would say the difference is night and day, but it's more like the difference between night and day on Earth and Venus. I imagine it's the kind of difference that people who go to Macs experience over PC's. If you like Linux, try GIMP. If you must try GIMP, the best bet is a mod packaged as GIMP-Shop. It's the best at hiding the GIMP-iness of that app (I have used GIMP-Shop for a few projects).

WV: efirever: an effervescent flame that seems to burn forever. eternal passion.; 5/13/10, 1:03 PM
Unknown said...: I came off as a bit harsh toward the GIMP didn'* I? It's not like poison. Unless you've worked with Photoshop. Then it's like poison.

* correct spelling according to my pronunciation.

WV: kagnom: when you have your mongak on backwards.; 5/13/10, 1:15 PM
Ann Althouse said...: I downloaded a trial version of .Corel Painter Sketch Pad. After a month, I'll decide if I want to buy it. I have the Wacom tablet, and I'm interested in making line drawings easily -- especially creating caricatures using a photograph as a jumping off point (and eliminating the photograph in the end)... essentially tracing.

For Photoshop, I have Photoshop Effects, and I don't want to do that much with it. I'm very impatient.; 5/13/10, 2:31 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Note: I have Macs and only Macs. I have a new 27" screen desktop Mac.; 5/13/10, 2:32 PM
MamaM said...: I heard you say "learn" not "do", but projection got ahold of me and this is what came to mind: a physical painting challenge to balance the intensity and focus involved with electronic learning and expression.

Here it is:
Cut a sheet of MDR board in half, set it up on an empty counter with a plastic sheet under it (or dig out an old easel), buy some inexpensive acrylic paint along with some foam "brushes" and set about painting two of your photos, one in an impressionistic Monet style, and the other either a realistic or completely abstract representation.

Oil paints, canvas and good brushes would work too, but they seem less playful and more serious.

I'll admit this vision may be coming out of my own desire to paint again. But I also believe it could offer an opportunity to experience physical freedom of movement and expression on a larger scale--as a counterpoint to creative computer work. (Sort of like Chip A's pop ups).

I find your photos inspiring in the truest sense of the word: to breathe life.; 5/13/10, 4:53 PM
Ann Althouse said...: @MamaM I have spent years of my life painting. I went to art school in college and have a BFA. I majored in painting. If I wanted to paint, I would.; 5/13/10, 9:11 PM
MamaM said...: Ann A: I've been aware of your of your art background and BFA for some time. I too have an art degree and have spent several years painting, but they were my early years. My most recent experiences of creative expression primarily involve a 14" computer screen.

What I wrote came out of an experience I had last week where I met a college student working a large painting with foam brushes. As I watched him paint, I began considering the possibility of working expressively on something larger than a computer as a way to regain some of the balance I've felt myself losing through electronic involvement.

It was not my intent to patronize and I apologize for doing so.; 5/13/10, 11:34 PM
Issob Morocco said...: Hehe, nice touch.

Ann Althouse takes her comedy show, "Blog, Blog, Blog" to the ethernet this weekend appearing at the Madison WI Holiday Inn Express Wireless breakfast nook. Two shows Friday and Saturday 8PM and 10PM and a matinee on Sunday afternoon at 4PM.; 5/14/10, 7:36 AM