I am with the Postmen!

I read this article yesterday and I have to say it makes a lot more sense to me than the current coverage in the press.

I've long been wondering how the mail volume can be down when everyone is ordering stuff on the net. People might not write as many letters but they certainly shop on the internet and receive parcels and jiffy bags from every corner of the world.

It makes me think why the press isn't really looking into this? Surely I can't be the only one wondering why postmen are sacked and replaced by part timers and casual workers when the post office is always heaving with people whenever I go in. Well, that of course might be because there aren't that many post offices left because they closed most of them.

This brings me to the ultimate question, if the mail isn't really down in volume, and lots of people are using the post offices to send their parcels and jiffy bags, then why would we need less post offices and fewer postmen?

Maybe I am not looking at this the right way and it's all about business. On the other hand, if it's about business, then surely nowadays customer care is paramount and the Royal Mail would be making sure that our post arrives on time and we always have a post office near us so we can post all our mail.

Interesting, isn't it? Makes me wonder what is really going on. Makes me wonder who has an interest in running the Royal Mail into the ground and who would profit from that.

Well, I like my mail being delivered by a postman. At least he knocks and waits for me to get to the door. At least he makes sure I get the right mail and I get it in perfect order. Every day.

I am with the postmen. I think they don't just deliver the mail and they're important. I am not going to complain if my mail doesn't arrive on time, because I think the postmen are doing the right thing fighting for what they've been promised.

Tutorial - Prepare image for t-shirts (transparent background)

There are many ways to create a transparent background for an existing image and many different image editing programs that will allow you to do this.

Any image editing program that has a masking feature will work for this. I have used Photoshop CS4 (TM).

This tutorial is particularly useful if you are preparing images for transfers, e.g. t-shirts, mugs, or similar or for photo collages as it allows you to isolate parts of an image.

Here it goes.

1. Open the image to be edited.
2. Create a new image with a transparent background. For a t-shirt on Redbubble, make it 2400 pixels wide by 3200 pixels high with a resolution of 72 dpi. For other items follow the instructions given by the manufacturer (Zazzle etc).
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Next, select the original image and copy & paste it into the new image you just created.
4. Click on the Layers panel and ensure that your new image is above the background.
   
   
   
   
   Image on transparent background:
   
   
   
   
5. Select the original image layer and click on the mask button to create a new mask.
   
   
   When you create the mask, the Toolbox will change to look like this: black is selected as the foreground colour and white as the background colour. A mask icon is at the bottom.
   If you accidentally leave the mask editing mode, you can double click on the thumbnail of the mask (next to the thumbnail for your image) in the Layers box.
   
   
6. Now, choose a large brush at 100% opacity - the size depends on the detail in your image. However, most images will contain some larger areas that can be removed with a larger brush first. In my case, I want to get rid off all the white areas. Roughly paint out all the areas you can remove without removing the detail.
   
   Don't worry if you miss some areas. You will remove those in the next two steps.
   
   
7. Next, add another layer and fill it with a colour that is not in your image, I filled mine with turquoise. This makes it easier to see areas that are still white. The transparent background pattern often makes it hard to see stray pixels.
   
   
   
8. Now, change your brush to a much smaller size and remove the remaining bits. In my case, I remove the areas right next to and around the stem, petals, leaves and ground.
   
9. In the next step, you will need to ensure that the 'grey' areas in the outline of the image are removed as well. To do this we change the turquoise layer to black. This will show you any remaining problem areas.
   
   Note, how the mask layer thumbnail changes during the process.
   
   
   
10. In this final tidy-up step, you will need to change the opacity of your brush:
    
    Change the opacity to 50% and tidy up any remaining grey outlines and stray areas.
    
    
11. In the final editing step you will need to apply the mask. To do this, right-click on the mask thumbnail (next to your image thumbnail) and select the command Apply Mask.
    
    
12. In this final step of the tutorial you will save the image. I always make two copies, so I can go back to this stage and make more edits if they are necessary.
    
    So, first, save your image in the file format native to your image editing program - e.g. .PSD.
    
    Then, click on File, Save As and click on the file formats drop down box. Select .PNG. Click on Save.
    
    I have shown here both the Save As dialog box and the little PNG Options box that will pop up after you click Save As. In the PNG Options dialog, make sure that Interlace, None is selected before you click OK.
    
    Your image is now the correct size and format for a t-shirt on Redbubble and you can upload it and see how much better it looks without a white background around it. ;-)
    

Have fun!

Fin - L'Oiseau series

This is the final in my L’Oiseau series – although I am not quite sure about this yet. It feels as if there’s on more lying in wait…. So you’ll have to watch this space.

It refers to the following lines:
‘The eyes are not here
There are no eyes here
In this valley of dying stars
In this hollow valley
This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms.’
From T.S. Eliot’s poem ‘The Hollow Men’. All paintings were inspired by this poem.

It is available as prints and greeting cards on Redbubble.

Here you can see the other images in order:

Panier Avec L'Oiseau

 Tete-A-Tete

 

 Metamorphose

 

Posters, Goth Designs and T-shirts

Two new designs I made for my new Goth kit (still a work in progress).

The first design was inspired by the 'Day of the Dead'.

The second is inspired by tattoos. I wanted it to be funky, gothic and romantic all at the same time.

I liked both designs so much that I decided to make them available as prints and t-shirts on Redbubble.

I am still working on the kit. It will be divided in two - one part will be the original Gothic and the second part will be the 'new' Gothic.

Fire in the Sky - Photo Collage

Another of my photo collages. This one is inspired by Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth Series and depicts the carnage wielded by the chime of fire.

Photos:

Zagreb cathedral
Sky at the Suffolk coast
Flowers (night picture)

Pattern:

Snowflower (from my L'Hiver Scrap(k)it see my other blog)

Textures:

Big Light Textures by HinataTentenAnkoRul
Grunge Textures by Buzillo-Stock
Various Textures  by Sirius-SDZ

Prints as always available from Redbubble.com

L'Oiseau Series - Métamorphose

The third in the series.

The series was inspired by T.S. Eliot’s poem Hollow Men, especially by the following lines:

“Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow”

The first in the series is Panier-Avec-L'Oiseau
Prints of this painting are available on Redbubble.

The second in the series is Tête-à-Tête
Prints of this painting are also available on Redbubble.

The fourth painting in the series 'Fin' should be ready soon too. So watch this space. :-)

Arthur - Photo Collage

King Arthur sleeping under the lake.

My all time favourite legend. I've been fascinated by it since I was a kid.


Photos:

Picture of a stone head (taken at Ely Cathedral)
Picture of a lily pond in the Botanical Gardens in Zagreb - both taken by Steve and now mine for a cup of coffee. :-)

Textures:

Three of the fabulous textures by Sirius-sdz
One of the Smoke textures by MySnapz