Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Configurations

I use a two monitor configuration when I am on my laptop at home. When I stay at my MIL's in Florida, I haven't got the second monitor. I'm debating the merit of taking it with me when I head south on Friday. My laptop and monitor will fit on the table that I have set up in the Florida room down there. But the house will be full of family, I won't have that much time to scrap and I'll haul it back up north before New Year's.

As much as I love my dual monitor set up, December is not the right time to haul it down to Florida.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Buy it or Style it?

Included in the bundled kits I've gotten recently are styles. I can put glitter on something, I can make it into a plastic item, I can make it felt textured or whatever. Since all I need to do is apply the style, I don't need to buy an element that is glittered, or plastic, or felt textured.

This is a concept to mull over. I'm sliding down that slippery slope to creating my own stuff. If I am not creating my own stuff, then at least, I'm not limiting myself to using the elements in kits as they arrive at my laptop. And that's good.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Is it Disaster Worthy?

I got the latest kit from Lori Davison and when I looked at the shadowed elements, I had to laugh. If the light is coming from the front, the shadow should not fall forward. And it isn't just one element with a shadow problem, there are several. Thank goodness Lori also provided non-shadowed versions, so I can add shadows that fall correctly. Unfortunately, I don't think Lori used a consistent light source for the entire kit. Mixing and matching elements is going to be a PITA. There are lamps and candles included in the kit. I'll have to put them in to provide light from a different source.

Fact. If the light is coming from the north, the shadow must fall to the south. It cannot fall to the west, nor can it fall to the south-east. It must fall in a straight line that is created from the light source to the object. Physics does not make exceptions.

I've noticed problems with Lori's kits before. In one, she had issues with perspective and the vanishing points didn't converge. What I saw was a room that had walls that didn't angle correctly. If I looked at it for too long, my eyes crossed.

Fact. There is only one vanishing point in any scene. If there is more than one vanishing point, the scene is a kluge of several mushed together. And in my lexicon, 'kluge' is not a good word.

I caught Lori's once a year sale. Once a year and it ran for two whole days. The kit with the shadow issues was not included in the sale. I paid full price for it.

Lori does not include any 'folder' images with her kits. Since I have set up Photoshop so I can search the folder images, I have to go to the Scrapbook Graphics website and download them separately. This is a significant annoyance. Lori does not name her files so they match the kit name and that is also an annoyance. I tag files with the kit name and can find them in Bridge. But I cannot find them by the file name.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Spelling Always Counts

Sneak. As in sneaking around, it is a subterfuge, a ploy, something hidden, not to be seen or noticed by everyone. Peek. As in take a peek, peek though the lens, peek a boo. Peek, as in looking at something briefly. Peak is the highest point of a mountain, the apex, the tallest part. Take a peek at Everest. Can you see the peak?

It is "sneak peek" and not "sneak peak."

Thank you, I don't care to tippy-toe my way to the top. I'd much rather get a glimpse that isn't for everyone.