Number One-Hundred-And-Twenty-Three: Snow Trees

Here's another piece based on a shot from a moving car. This was also taken during our drive through a snowstorm on Highway 401 using the iPhone camera. I liked the relative peacefulness of the snow-covered evergreens as compared to some of the more stark photos of bare branches. I tried a few different things with this one but after I cropped it in Snapseed I ran it through the Oil filter in Corel's Paint It! Now and was satisfied. I really like the way the program rendered the snow on the boughs.

Number One-Hundred-And-Twenty-Two: Golden Glass

Here's a nice warm piece to distract us from the spate of snowy pictures I've been posting. It's an iPhone wallpaper that's actually based yet again on the photo I used as a basis for day 106 and day 115.

I imported it into Camera+ and used the Expired filter from the I (Heart) Analog set on it. After that I imported it into NPtR and used a spotty brush on the erase setting and took a screenshot with the original image showing through. After that I used the Illustration filter in Corel's Paint It! Now. After that I imported it into PhotoWizard and used a bokeh Filter from the FX menu, then finished it off with the Bathroom Glass filter from the FX menu.

Number One-Hundred-And-Twenty-One: Snowbombed

Another from our snowy blizzard drive. I'm sure these trees were already splayed out like this before the snowstorm but the way they fall out from a central point looks like some kind of explosion happened in their midst.

All I did for this one was add a Drama filter in Snapseed. You'd think I'd also used a black and white filter on it but no; that's just how winter looks around here!

Number One-Hundred-And-Twenty: Let It Snow No More

Oh, man. As soon as I finished with my Highway 401 photos from the Ottawa trip I took 60 plus shots during our drive on the 401 to Toronto today. It was a very different drive, however. We ended up driving through a very nerve-wracking snowstorm and there were all kinds of accidents and cars off the road. I dealt with my nervousness by taking pictures, I guess.

When we got to Toronto I looked through them all and as I expected not a lot of them turned out. I edited a few in Snapseed, though, with cropping and Drama filters and decided to make a triptych in Diptic to show what our drive was like.

I realize it doesn't actually look like that much snow in these pictures but it was a whiteout for a lot of the drive and the trees were getting very weighed down with ice. I did not like it at all!

Number One-Hundred-And-Nineteen: Down The Road, That's Where I'll Always Be

Today is the last of the 401 series of pictures. I think I've exhausted the possibilities of the photos I took. This one was actually my favourite but since I took all the pictures with the HDR setting on the iPhone camera there were pesky ghost images in moving shots. Which were... all of them, pretty much.

To get around it I first cropped this image in Snapseed and then used the Drama filter to enrich the colours. After that I imported it into Adobe Photoshop Express and used the Reduce Noise filter on it three or four times until I was satisfied. I'm particularly fond of this effect. I like how it feels like a painting and softens all the edges.

Number One-Hundred-And-Eighteen: The Last Light Of The Sun

Today's picture was based on yet another sun-through-trees shot that I took on the 401 on our way to Ottawa a couple of weekends ago. I had cropped it to this particular detail and wasn't quite satisfied with the quality as a 'plain' photo. So I messed around with it in Snapseed for the cropping and Drama filter, then used my usual settings in NPtR to give it a bubbled look. I used the Impressionist filter in Corel's Paint It! Now, then finally combined the original cropped photo with the heavily edited one in BlendCam on the Darkness Priority setting to give it a dark, almost nighttime feel. I wasn't sure how it would turn out but I ended up liking it a lot more than the original!

Today's title is borrowed from my favourite author, Guy Gavriel Kay.

Number One-Hundred-And-Seventeen: More Sky Blue Pink

I am such a sucker for sunset photos. I was out shopping with my mom the other day when this gorgeous sunset happened. I hurried out of the store to get some shots of it, not wanting to miss a chance to catch this crazy pink glow.

I took this photo with Camera+ and when I got home did all the editing with Camera+ as well. I cropped out the buildings and street lights and used the Food filter from the Scenes menu to brighten it up slightly.

I'm really enjoying Camera+! It's like an offspring of the iPhone camera and Snapseed, although Snapseed's capabilities feel limitless at times.

Number One-Hundred-And-Sixteen: Cookie Monster Photobomb

Today's photo is yet another of the supremely photogenic Mongkut. He, like every cat, loves to sit in comfy spots and Essie's Sesame Street foam chair appealed on this day. I took the shot with the iPhone Camera and used a Snapseed Drama filter on it after using the Straighten function as well.

Number One-Hundred-And-Fifteen: Snake, A Snaaaaaake!

Today's picture was drawn in NPtR. First, though, I started with a photo of the wall that I'd taken in Toronto; the same one I used for day 106, actually. I imported it into Camera+ and used the Expired filter from the I (Heart) Analog set on it. After that I imported it into NPtR and used a spotty brush on the erase setting and took a screenshot with the original image showing through. After that I used the Illustration filter in Corel's Paint It! Now and finally imported it into NPtR again. I covered the picture with black, then used a line tool on the Scratch setting with a round brush to draw this snake.

I was going for a rough look; like something you'd see on ancient pottery maybe. I liked the way the round brush and the background picture kind of suggest snakeskin.

Number One-Hundred-And-Fourteen: Quiet Time

Today's photo was taken with my iPhone camera, capturing Mongkut and Shelley in a peaceful moment. A peaceful moment taking an illicit nap on the dining room table but peaceful nonetheless. I imported it into Camera+ to play with the I (heart) Analog FX filters that I just downloaded. I'm not a huge fan of in-app purchases but these ones are worth it, I think. I used the Pinhole filter and liked the way it reduced the shot to its most important elements.

So far I like Camera+ quite a lot, but keep forgetting to use it to actually take pictures!

Number One-Hundred-And-Thirteen: Iced Trees

This is another of the pictures that I took from the car on our way to Ottawa last weekend. It's actually a detail from one that didn't work out quite so well, but I loved how the sun was shining through the ice on the branches of the trees. So first I imported it into Snapseed where I used a Drama filter on it. Then I cropped it down in Adobe Photoshop Express and used the Reduce Noise filter a few times until I was satisfied with how it looked. I like the almost watercolour effect this gives to pictures that are too noisy.

Number One-Hundred-And-Twelve: Attack Of The Dining Room Chairs

I have mentioned Shadow A Day a few times before now and have talked about how intriguing I find Shadow's project. It really is fascinating to focus on shadows and how they change the subject! Essie is very interested in shadows currently and so when she was making shadow ducks on the dining room wall I couldn't help but notice how the shadows from the dining room chairs suddenly turned into marching aliens with antennae and toothy mouths!

I got out my iPhone and took a few shots with Camera+; an app that had been suggested to me by a friend when I complained about Gorillacam's lack of flash control. I haven't used Camera+ much yet but so far I'm very pleased with it. After taking the picture I explored the app's extensive editing capabilities and ended up using the Purple Haze filter in the Effects menu. I think it really sells the attack of the aliens, don't you?

Number One-Hundred-And-Eleven: Merciless

Today's picture was taken on the 401 on our way to Ottawa this past weekend. It was a bright, sunny day and incredibly cold out. Days like those are strikingly beautiful (especially when everything is covered in snow and ice like it was that day) but also kind of scary in their starkness. The sun is a bit of a joke when it feels like living on Pluto.

I took the picture from the moving car with my iPhone camera. It's set to HDR so there are ghost images of trees but I kind of like the effect, plus the radiating light from the sun. I imported the picture into Snapseed, cropped it and used a Drama filter on it to highlight the pinks and blues in the light halo around the sun.

I especially like the bird nests in the trees, just waiting for spring.

Labels

I realized a while back that I should have been adding labels to each post so that there would be a handy way to see which posts used which apps. I finally got around to adding them today, so now over on the left there's a list of all the labels so that you can search by app, sorted alphabetically.

Number One-Hundred-And-Ten: Blowing In The Wind

Here's another piece I drew in Zen Brush. I really enjoy using this app and the sketches I like most are the ones I put the least time and effort into. It requires simplicity!

This one took slightly longer than the others I've made using Zen Brush simply because all the dots were more time consuming. Even so I tried to make sure I used as few brush strokes as possible (just one, actually) and as few dots as I could to communicate the idea of seeds on a breeze.

Number One-Hundred-And-Nine: Scaredy

We were up in Ottawa on the weekend yet again, this time helping my sister to move. My mom and I went to the new place to wait for the cable guy and while we were there I looked around for their two cats. I couldn't see them anywhere and figured they'd hidden themselves away in closets out of nervousness, having been there since the night before. Eventually though we discovered the more shy of the two way up high on top of some kitchen cupboards, trying to pretend she didn't exist.

I took a picture of the poor little thing with my iPhone camera and later edited it in Snapseed, cropping it and tweaking the ambiance a couple of times to lighten it up a bit.

Don't worry. Leyla will be fine.

Number One-Hundred-And-Eight: Emily On The Stairs

On our last day in Toronto we visited Andrew's aunt and uncle for dinner. His cousin Emily was also there and it was a great visit. Essie enjoyed herself despite being pretty exhausted from a week away from home and had a great time climbing on the wooden staircase. She doesn't get as much chance to play on stairs here at home so when she does it's always fun. She and Emily had some quality time there toward the end of the evening and I snapped a few shots.

Unfortunately not many of them turned out well. Essie was moving a lot and I couldn't use Gorillacam since there seems to be no way to turn off the flash and it decides to use it when it thinks the light is too low (even if I don't.) I used the iPhone camera which seems to be happening more and more often these days. Anyhow; one photo in particular caught my eye because of Emily's pose so I decided to use PhotoWizard's mask tool to change the background while leaving Emily alone. First I masked out the background, inverted the selection and used the Bathroom Glass effect on the background. After saving that I used a Drama filter from Snapseed to finish it off.

I loved the result. Emily seems caught in some odd parallel universe or something.

Number One-Hundred-And-Seven: Otherworldly

I'm having a really fun time lately using combinations of lots of different apps to produce one piece of art. It's interesting, but somewhat tedious when it comes time to list links to all the apps here on AOMi! Ah, well. It's worth it.

Today's piece started out in Fluid Monkey on the Mud setting using orange and blue paint. I took a screenshot and then imported it into NPtR where I scribbled over it with a spotty brush on the draw setting. I took a screenshot of that and imported it into Snapseed where I used a Drama filter on it to give it more depth, then finally imported that into Corel's Paint It! Now where I used the Illustration filter on it.

I can't quite decide what this one puts me in mind of. Part of me gets a microscopic world vibe from it, and another part of me gets the chills from being reminded of some deep-sea underworld. I don't know.

Number One-Hundred-And-Six: Abstract Oil Bokeh

Today's piece started as another that I took of a bedroom wall while we were in Toronto. The light was coming through the blinds and making interesting lines on the wall but after fiddling with the results for a while I just wasn't coming up with much I liked. While playing around kind of aimlessly, though, I ran it through the Pointillize filter in PhotoWizard set to the largest size and liked the rows of coloured dots it gave me. I saved that and imported it into Snapseed to see what else I could do with it and ended up using a Grunge filter on it. I liked it but still wasn't quite satisfied, so then imported it into (you guessed it) Corel's Paint It! Now where I used the Oil filter on it.

I like the result so much that I'd totally hang it on my wall if it were a real painting!

Number One-Hundred-And-Five: Perfect Colours

Today's piece started as a photograph of the bedroom wall in the apartment. I was going for something artsy and minimalist that included the shine on the paint from the overhead light. It wasn't as visually interesting as it could have been on its own, though, so I decided to play around with it.

First I imported it into NPtR and used a brush on it on the Erase setting, then took a screenshot of it with the original picture still showing through. I imported the screenshot into Corel's Paint It! Now and used the Illustration filter on it, then saved that. Finally I imported it into PhotoWizard and used the Thermal Camera effect on it on the Orange Flood setting.

I can't even express how much I love PhotoWizard. I especially love the masking ability and have plans to post some pictures soon that make good use of it! It's a very strong editing and special effects app and the full version is so, so worth the money.

Number One-Hundred-And-Four: Bed, Window, Bricks

The joys of trying to fit a large bed into a small bedroom. You sacrifice either usable space or aesthetics. And never win.

I did like the layers it gave this photo I took in our Toronto bedroom, though. The Ikea bedframe against the utilitarian blinds and the building across the alley. It kind of epitomizes how I feel about apartment living in Toronto; trying to bring individuality and softness on a budget to a space that has seen so many hundreds before us, scoured and repainted each time someone new comes along. The cramped feeling of all this humanity crowded into buildings that are crowded against each other.

I took the shot with Gorillacam and straightened and cropped it in Snapseed, finishing it off with a Drama filter of course. I then imported it into Corel's Paint It! Now and used the Oil filter and saved the result. Then I combined the Snapseed and Corel's Paint It! Now pieces in Blendcam using Darkness Priority. I really liked how it preserved the detail in the bricks while still giving it some of the paint details.

Number One-Hundred-And-Three: Starry Bubbles

A couple of nights before the full moon Essie was very impressed with how bright the waxing moon was in the sky and so I tried to get some nice shots of it for her. The actual moon part of the pictures didn't turn out so hot but I played around with the tree branches in Adobe Photoshop Express, taking some grainy details of the photo and using the Reduce Noise filter on it a few times. After I did that I saved it and opened it up in NPtR, creating two different versions using two different brushes. I saved them both and used Snapseed's Drama filter on the one I liked best. After a little while, though, I decided to see what the two looked like if I combined them using Blendcam set to Balance. I was very happy with the result and after using Snapseed's Drama filter one more time I had what you see here!

Phew. I'm glad I remembered all that!

Number One-Hundred-And-Two: Essie On Tichester

So we're in Toronto for a few days. I am a bit of a wimp about traveling with Essie, especially now that she's at that funny age where she understands a lot but isn't convinced that 'no' really means no when it's about something she reeeeeally wants to do. For the most part, though, she's lovely and game and excited about seeing and doing new things. We're here to help pack up the apartment we used to live in and there's not a whole lot for her to do here, so last night when we left to go do some shopping she ran excitedly ahead of us down the hallway and I whipped out my iPhone to get a few shots with Gorillacam.

I was pleased with the pictures and picked the one with the most movement. I opened up PhotoWizard and used the Straighten tool, the Sharpen filter and then decided to use a Light Leak effect on it just because I liked the way it looked. The end result gives me kind of a 'The Shining' vibe.

Number One-Hundred-And-One: Sploosh!

I first drew today's piece in my Jackson Pollock app. I almost always draw things in that app knowing that I'll be using the Oil filter from Corel's Paint It! Now as a final step since the saved photos from the Pollock app don't turn out so well.

This had exactly the effect I was hoping for, though. The Oil filter softened and blended the colours and gave the impression of them mixing that I was intending.

Number One-Hundred: Reworking An Old Favourite

It's day one-hundred! Woo hoo! I'm very excited to meet a bit of a milestone with AOMi. I love doing this project so much and every entry makes me happy. Thanks for following along if you have been, and if you're new please keep checking back!

I decided for today's entry to pick one of my favourite previous photos and do something with it in NPtR. I played around until I had an effect I liked, then flipped it. I liked the feeling of fire over water it gave, like some fantastical storm of fireflies or something.

Number Ninety-Nine: Belated Christmas Cheer

Awww. Today's piece started as a photo of Mongkut and Shelley snuggling under the Christmas tree. They were pretty convinced that the fancy tree skirt was there for their benefit. I took it with the iPhone camera then used the Reduce Noise filter in Adobe Photoshop Express a bunch of times and cropped it to focus in on my sweet boys.

I like using Adobe Photoshop Express but it's extremely basic and I do wish they'd make a fancier app with more of the filters that make the full Photoshop such a great product. I used to be a Paint Shop Pro user but I know that Photoshop is similarly fun to use and would like to experience it on my iPhone, understandably scaled down of course. That said, the Adobe Photoshop Express app is easy to use and very intuitive so for a free app it's pretty exceptional.

Number Ninety-Eight: Fluid Mood

I created today's picture using a neat app called Fluidity, inasmuch as taking a screencap of a pleasing design is called 'creating'. Fluidity is meant as a "beautiful interactive realtime fluid dynamics simulation" and it is definitely that. What it does is generate fluid that moves as fast or slow as you set it and in it are glitters and bubbles and various flashes and colours. You use your fingers to manipulate the fluid and bits of pretty stuff and it's all very hypnotic and soothing.

Of course my goal with apps like these is always to create lovely patterns that I can save and use for artistic purposes. My first thought with Fluidity was the promise of many lovely iPhone wallpapers and this is one of the ones I've made. I saved it, then imported it into PhotoWizard where I used the Clone tool to erase the menu toggle at the bottom left hand corner. I have a few of varying colours so when my mood changes so can my wallpaper.

Number Ninety-Seven: Looking At The Moon

This is another of the photos that I took while we spent some time in Ottawa over the holidays. Essie gets excited every time she sees the moon in the sky and this was no exception. We had a very nice view of the crescent moon and here she's pointing it out to her dad.

I love the way Andrew's reflection makes him part of the scene, and how you can tell how excitedly Essie is pointing at the moon. I took the shot with the iPhone camera and used the Drama filter in Snapseed to brighten it up.

Edit: Here's the requested improved version:

Number Ninety-Six: A Picture That Is Worth At Least Three More

Another go-to sketch that I use when trying out a new drawing app is trees. I draw a lot of trees (as you may have noticed by now) and they're a good, predictable way for me to test out the horizons of a new drawing tool. I've had this app, Photo Draw, on my iPhone since early on but haven't really done anything with it until now. It's supposed to be used more for creating collages than actually drawing pictures but I was having some fun with it today and used a few photos from my picture album to draw the sky, grass and a tree. It looked pretty rough and blocky even set to the smallest picture size so I figured why not see what happened if I introduced it to my old friend; Corel's Paint It! Now.

They got along pretty well after discussing the Oil filter. I ended up with this sturdy, solid-looking tree that I feel is a counterbalance to Number Ninety-Three's delicate, spindly look.

Number Ninety-Five: Emergency Pull

Today's piece is sort of a companion piece to Day Ninety-Four. After taking yesterday's picture I turned and took some shots of the light coming through the blinds against the wall. I cropped this one down to include just the emergency pull cord in PhotoWizard (we were staying in a senior's residence for the night) and used the Thermal Camera effect on the Orange Flood setting. I feel like it really did give it some panic.

Number Ninety-Four: Blinds Wide Shut

I apologize! This is the first entry that I've been late submitting to AOMi and there was really no excuse since I had it ready to go. I had dental surgery today, however, and did not count on the drugs they gave me causing me to lose most of the day to a pretty heavy fog. It's past midnight now and I feel much more alert, so here is the 2nd's entry. Let's all pretend it's yesterday, shall we? *wink wink*

I took this picture with Gorillacam in the room we stayed in while we were in Ottawa recently. I cropped it down from a larger shot with Snapseed because I liked the decrease/increase feel of the perspective of the blinds and the sky outside. It felt appropriate, somehow, for the drawing close of the year.

Number Ninety-Three: Anticipating Growth

Happy New Year! I am looking forward to so many wonderful things in 2012 and keeping up with this project is definitely one of them. I'm loving AOMi and in just the short time I've been at it I've learned a lot. Thank you so much for following along so far and please stay with me as I try more and more apps and techniques. I want 2012 to be all about growing creatively and personally especially in the areas of productivity and time management. Here's hoping I'll do it!

This tree was created first in Harmonius where I used green, blue and brown on the Chrome setting to sketch everything. When I was finished there I took a screen shot then imported that into Corel's Paint It! Now where I used the Oil filter to fancy it up even more. I like the dreamy quality it gave it.