Project: Oil Tank 3.0

Project: Oil Tank 1.0
Project: Oil Tank 2.0
Project: Oil Tank 4.0

I was able to paint some yesterday but the rains started in the afternoon and they're predicted to continue through the week.

Color science is very complicated and I won't even pretend to know much about it. If I did know more, I might be more comfortable using color. I do know that the color you see on your computer screen or in a projected image is entirely different than color you get in paint or color pencils. I bring this up because my design was created on the computer. A computer monitor creates color using light. Color on paper is created by mixing ink pigment. That's why your printouts don't look like what you see on the computer monitor. These are two different color sciences.

Color palette for the front of the tank.

Color palette for the side of the tank.

Here are the "color swatches" for my design. Even these don't look totally accurate. That taupe color in the Front swatch (RGB 139, 104, 76) is really a red mauve and the black in the Side swatch (RGB 0,0,0) is kind of dark brown. Color is tricky.

The night I traced the areas for the red mauve color, I started out using a red based prisma color but, at night, I couldn't see my pencil marks so I couldn't tell where I was at. I quickly had to switch to a blue prisma pencil that I could see in the projection. When I started painting the yellow, the brush sometimes picked up the blue prisma color and blended into the yellow making green. This is something I thought might happen but, there's so little blue getting mixed in, I don't think it'll be a problem with a couple more coats of yellow.

I was also worried about the prisma colors creating a resist to the acrylic, sort of like trying to paint on waxed paper. There's been little trouble with this except for the yellow prisma color. It's interesting that the yellow pigment created more of a resist than white, blue or red.

The paint is going on kind of thin. Since the background is black, the paint is somewhat transparent, so, I'll need to put on two or more coats to get the colors opaque. My original plan was to completely finish all the white and then move on to the next lightest shade and completely finish it. This became kind of boring so then I switched to covering up all my trace lines with the appropriate color.

This turns out to serve second purpose. Getting my design traced using the paint will help preserve the design. I have it covered in plastic and I don't think the prisma colors will wash off easily but with seven days of rain I didn't want to take any chances. Even if the tank just ended up with splatters of dirt and mud, it would be impossible to get off without ruining the prisma color lines.

Tracing in all the colors also showed me how complicated my design is. Looking at a yellow line I'd know that either to the right or the left of that line is suppose to be painted yellow but the other side is suppose to be painted mauve. But which side? I'd have to trace the yellow line back or check the print out of my design to figure out which.

During the rainy days to come I'll probably read my backlog of library books (all due 9/22), write to my blog, and put together the curriculum for my PowerPoint and Word classes. I also need a new art project after this one!

The next step is to order the laquer sealer, mix the colors for the frog and then paint, paint, paint.

(As I write this I'm enjoying a cup of Iced Hazelnut coffee from McDonalds.)

Project: Oil Tank 1.0
Project: Oil Tank 2.0
Project: Oil Tank 4.0

At the end of week 3

MORE ON MIXING PAINT
I took the RGB values (the way color is formulated with light) from my computer design and tried to get a CMYK color (the way color is formulated with pigment) to match it as closely as possible (To do this I used this tool by Peter Forret). I thought the CMYK would help me with mixing the paint. For instance, the yellow color (CMYK 0, 0, 17, 0) has 0 Cyan (blue), 0 Magenta (red), 17 Yellow, and 0 blacK. Since the color is a tint of yellow I figured it was 17 parts yellow and 83 parts white. This theory worked o.k. with the first two color mixes but was way off when I mixed the red mauve (CMYK 49, 51, 78, 2). I did not need 49 parts blue! I ended up adding tons of red and some more yellow to get the shade right. Oh, well, it was an interesting experiment. I was just glad I got the colors mixed fairly easily in the end.

Some other helpful web sites regarding color charts and colors for web sites, try these:
HYPE'S Color Specifier
VisiBone's free color services (scroll to the bottom of their home page)

My model.

Project: Oil Tank 2.0

Project: Oil Tank 1.0
Project: Oil Tank 3.0
Project: Oil Tank 4.0

Most of my crazy projects are done for two reasons: to do something fun and to learn by doing something totally new and experimental. There's been a lot to learn from my oil tank project.

This past week I got the entire design traced onto the tank and started painting.

First, I altered the colors in the design. When I tested the projection of the design against the tank, it was hard to distinguish the white areas from the pale yellow so I change white to blue.

It only took two nights to trace the design: one night to trace the end design and one night to trace the front design. Our friend, TJ, owns an A/V company and he generously gave me a long term loan of one of his projectors: a Panasonic PT-LC76U LCD. I had to do all the tracing after sunset and I only had one shot to get the design done. There was no way to do part of the dog's face and then come back and finish it on another night - it would be impossible to realign the projector exactly where it was the night before. The largest part of the design took me a little over two hours to trace. The very exciting 21 second video below is me tracing the end design and swatting away bugs attracted to the light.



I wasn't quite sure what type of pen or pencil was going to write effectively on the tank. It could be permanent as long as the acrylic paints would completely cover it. It couldn't be too sensitive because it would probably take me a couple of weeks to paint the whole design so it needed to hold up to the afternoon sun. I have the tank covered in plastic so hopefully it won't get wet. By accident, I discovered the most effective drawing tool was Prisma color pencils. (See below for more details on the pens I tested.)

Now that the design was on the tank, I could work in the day time when there were fewer bugs!

To save money I bought only white, red, yellow and blue acrylic paint (I already had black). Even though my design only has seven colors, at around $9 a tube, it was going to cost a lot so I'm going to see how difficult it's going to be to mix my own colors. Buying the four colors in a set was like getting one tube free.

I start by painting the lightest color first. The first day I painted I got most of the white finished.

Next I will need to mix the remaining paint colors and store in air tight containers.

Stay tuned for updates on this project.

(As I write this I'm enjoying a warm Duncan Hines Peanut Butter Cup Candy Shop Brownies and a side of Breyers All Natural Homemade Vanilla ice cream and a bottle of Le Bleu water.)

Project: Oil Tank 1.0
Project: Oil Tank 3.0
Project: Oil Tank 4.0

DESIGN IN CORELDRAW

I created the original design for Art Unleashed 2006. Here is what I remember, step-by-step, of that process from two years ago using the CorelDraw Graphics Suite software.

1. Snap several pictures of your dog until I find the one you want to work with.


2. Upload the pictures to your computer.


3. Open a new document in CorelDraw.


4. Select Import under the File menu and import the picture.


5. Double click on the picture to open it in Corel PhotoPaint.


6. First, I cut out the image of Willa (cutting out all the background) using the Cutout Lab under the Image menu. Cutout Lab works best if you are zoomed in tight on your image, especially if you're dealing with hair or any fine textures. I made my nib size at least 15 and then traced around Willa's head. (Click image to enlarge.)


7. When finished tracing, click Ok. The Cutout Lab window will close and the traced image, minus the background, will appear.

8. Fix any red eye, if you have any.


9. Save the cutout and close Corel PhotoPaint. The cutout should now appear back in CorelDraw.


10. Next I did a PowerTRACE. Right click on the image and select Trace Bitmap/Low Quality Image. There are several options to choose from here. You need to decide how much detail you want in the traced image and how many colors you want to use (I used 5). You just have to play with this.
    


11. Don't forget to save your work.

PROJECTION ISSUES

• The design is very complicated so I need to project it onto the side of the tank and trace it. My friend Erin asked me if I was going to use a tracer projector. I didn't even know these existed but, sure enough, you can buy a simplified projection system for enlarging and projecting. She said she got hers for about $30. I found some on DickBlick but you could also use the weekly A.C. Moore 40% off coupon to get one.


• The initial color of the tank was gray. The background color of my design is black. What I had to test first was whether my design would project onto a black surface. When it comes to color and light, I know a lot less than color in print. While the tank was still gray, I projected my design outside onto a piece of black cardboard. The design showed up clear as a bell. This was great news because it meant that I could paint the black background before starting the design not after it was finished which would be much more tedious.
  


• It would be even more impossible to trace part of the design then set up the projector the next night and line it up to what had already been done. Projection is way too sensitive for that (zoom, focus, tilt, horizontal level, etc.), not to mention positioning the image source in the exact same spot as well. Even while I was tracing the design, I noticed it would creep a little. How and why is still a mystery to me.

PENCIL TEST

I tested several writing implements to see which would:

1. semi-permanent to permanent
2. not be affected by heat
3. not be easily rubbed off
4. covered over easily with acrylic paint

Here's how the test went:

• Sharpie Metallic, silver- Works great but the tip is too broad and there aren't enough colors.
  
• Sharpie Poster Paint, white - Worked great but the only store where I knew they were sold has gone out of business.
  
• DecoColor Opaque Paint Marker (extra fine tip), silver - Difficult to work with; expensive for this kind of use.
  
• Conte Pastel pencil, white - Too delicate; easy to rub off.
  
• Stabilo All, orange, yellow, green, red - More brittle than I expected. Worked better than anything else but I only had three colors.
  

The Winner - Prisma color pencils
Not too soft, lots of colors, and I can sharpen them to as fine a point as I want.


PAINT


This set comes with a color wheel poster with instructions on how to mix paints.

Project: Oil Tank 1.0

Project: Oil Tank 2.0
Project: Oil Tank 3.0
Project: Oil Tank 40

You've heard the phrase "putting lipstick on a cow?" Well, that's kind of like my current project.

Last year when the nights were beginning to get really nippy, we scheduled to have our heating oil tank filled. When I got home that day I knew something was terribly wrong. The air outside wreaked of heating oil and inside the house was just as bad. It turns out that our oil tank was too old to handle the weight of 240 gallons of heating oil and sprung a tiny leak. This is the hard way to find out that your heating oil tank needs to be replaced.

The old tank was in our basement which caused the whole house to smell. The new tank is installed outside to avoid this kind of problem. After installation, we were informed that the tank had a primer on it but would need to be painted within a year to ensure longevity. Paint, you say? Sounds like a canvas to me.

I immediately hatched a plan to paint a mural on the oil tank. I just love this idea of private graffiti.

Since the tank sat for almost a whole year before I started the project, it had already developed some rust. First step, sand away the rust with a wire brush and some medium grade steel wool pads.

The next step was to spray Rust-oleum Professional Gray Primer on all the scoured places.

The background color of my mural is black so I put one coat on the entire tank using a roller and paint brush of Behr Premium Plus Ultra Exterior Satin Enamel that Home Depot mixed to a shade of Lamp Black.

Next I will need to trace my design onto the tank using a projector. This will be followed by painting the design with artist acrylics, and then sealing it with lacquer.

Stay tuned for updates on this project. Currently it's raining.

(As I write this I'm enjoying a bowl of Ben & Jerry's new flavor, Imagine Whirled Peace, and a cup of Krankies Decaf Costa Rica Cafe Vida.)

Project: Oil Tank 2.0
Project: Oil Tank 3.0
Project: Oil Tank 4.0

DroolontheFrog Logo: Part II

Last month My Geek and I worked on his new web site. I didn't do much, actually. He coded the whole thing but I finished the frog logo for the site and exported it to a web site gif. I also suggested some color schemes based on his preferences. I think it's a great looking site. It'll grow as his business grows but I think it has a great core design. Check it out.

DroolontheFrog Logo design

My Geek is taking the DroolontheFrog title for his new computer business. In the works is a web site featuring some software he's written and a technical blog. Of course, he needs an identity, which is one of my favorite things to do.


We didn't talk a lot about what he wanted it to look like. He mentioned using Willa in the design. I was willing to do it but it just seemed too home spun. The design would really have to be smart. My instant vision was of a frog in mid leap rendered in just green pixels. It looked great in my head but I couldn't get it to work out. The pixels were too scarce to convey the image of the frog I wanted.


I wanted the image to be simple, clean, smart and modern. Nothing cartoonish but not dry, boring or too formal. He wants to be taken seriously by big companies but approachable by private clients also. With the added pressure of a deadline, I opted for a flat, one-color rendering of the frog in my head. It has some nice geometrics to play with. I know My Geek had some of his own ideas so I thought I would be making several revisions but he loved it. He wanted very few changes.

I was also really pleased. The process was a blast and I just felt like I was in my element. Now I'm working the logo for use on the web and golf shirts.

Free Stock Photos - Respect Copyright

I agree with Napolean Dynamite's brother, Kip, "I love technology." The majority of my work, play and volunteer work is done using a computer.

One of the things I need to hunt down frequently are photos. Typically since these are for my own personal use or for a charitable organization, I need to find things that are free. But just because it's on the internet DOES NOT MEAN IT'S FREE.

I am a big respector of copyright so I've done a lot of research to find true, free stock photography. Finding them can be confusing because there's also Royalty-free photography. Very simplistically, there have three levels of obtaining photography:

Rights managed has the tightest restrictions. The purchase agreement is very specific about how many times you can use the photo, what size it can be, etc. Basically, you pay for every instance you use the photo. For example, you can purchase the photo of a girl eating ice cream to use on the cover of your newsletter but you can't turn around and also use it in your logo, on your letterhead and on your web site unless you paid for those uses.

Royalty-free photos must be purchased but there are typically no restrictions on how many times you can use it. This means that you can use the same image in newsletters, brochures, business cards, letterhead, web sites, etc.

Free photos are free of charge but that does not mean they are free of use restrictions. Some don't allow use in mass produced marketing mailers, others restrict you to personal uses only.

No matter which you use, each stock company has their own use policy. Some want credit in your publication. Almost all of them restrict the images from being used in political material or in an offensive way. None of them allow you to resell the images. Be sure to read the fine print. It's tedious but it's your responsibility to respect other's work.

In the right hand margin I have added a list of links to Free photo stock sites. If you have any favorites, PLEASE, send me your links.

T-shirt Arrives!

I got the Drool On The Frog t-shirt in the mail today! Whew! And I got my sister’s shawl in the mail too – and it’s beautiful. How lucky am I?

Overall, I would say that CafePress does a great job. I can’t believe that I got an original design put on a t-shirt and mailed to me so quickly! This is just too cool.

My only complaint is that the colors are kind of dull. But the forums on CafePress’ web site spoke to this. Their printing process is called direct printing:

With Direct Printing, we print direct-to-fabric with no transfers. The result is a matte image that moves with the garment because the ink is actually embedded in the fabric for ultimate wearable comfort. After a few washes, you will notice the great durability of Direct Printing. That means greater image staying power.

The negative of this process is colors are not as vibrant. I think it’s an o.k. trade off. I like the direct printing finish so much more than transfers – it doesn’t look cheap; it looks professional. I can’t wait to design some more.

So go out there, you crazy kids, and design your own t-shirts. Or, better yet, buy mine!