Pixel Art Work

Digital art and editing is basically done in Adobe Photoshop. I call it my digital darkroom, as I started out my art career learning photography. Printing in the darkroom was my forte. I did it in high school and college and beyond. Now, I am delighted with Photoshop. Not only can I burn and dodge, and work with tone and contrast as in the darkroom, but I can do "magic." The sky is the limit to what can be done with an image in Photoshop - whether creating a new from scratch or altering an exisitng one, or both as with my Jack-in-the Box. Though, I will never lose my love for the real darkroom with the amber light aglow, the smell of chemicals, watching the image slowly appear on blank paper, and the feeling of peace in the quiet solitude.

Vector Art Work

Vector drawing is another type of digital art though it is a different horse from pixel rendering. It uses strokes and fills, though the strokes (lines) are created by the use of points and bars. Huh? That's what I first said, along with "Grrrrrrrr," because it is challenging to learn and to master. The great thing about it and why it is worth the effort is that, because it isn't pixelated, it can be enlarged to great sizes and still be clear and sharp. Vector drawing is commonly used in the sign industry. Adobe Illustrator is a common software for creating vector art. I learned several years ago with Macromedia Freehand which was eventually bought out by Adobe.

Vector art can be transported from the software where it was created into Photoshop where it immediatly becomes a pixel image, but with a sharp smooth look - like Jack's box.