NEW WALLPAPERS!!

     These wallpapers are some of my favorites. They both really capture a mood and feeling. The first is called The Shrouded Chapel. The chapel is actually a tracing of a church I made. The second is just a skull with the name of yours truly carved on it. It is called The Artists Skull. Check out my Newgrounds page by the name of Crazystuff HERE and don't forget to pass on this blog!

Photoshop Overrated?

     I am a proud and active member of the best flash site on the web Newgrounds. I have decided to post more on the newgrounds forums. My first topic is about Photoshop. I started it to ask people if Photoshop is really all it's cracked up to be. What is your opinion? Check out the post HERE

I Have Created It! The Eye of the Artist!

     This wallpaper was really a stroke of genius for me. I was inspired by listening to The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn soundtrack. Yes I am a man and I like Twilight. Do you realize how much of a chick magnet that is? Anyway, I absolutely love this wallpaper! 

     I started with the idea of an eye, something that I like to put in a lot of my art. I took an image off of Google of an eye. I posterized it to three levels, then used a greyscale mode. Using the wand tool I selected the greyish eye and used it as a brush. It was very cool and gave a very angry feel to the picture. However I wasn't satisfied because the picture didn't fit the mood I had intended. So I decided to use a picture of my own face. The picture was not simple enough to easily posterize it, I believe it was 13 levels. I greyscaled and used the wand just like I did with the original eye. Instead of selecting the entire eye I just selected part of my face and the pupils. overall, I like my eyes better than the eye I found on Google. It just had the look and feel I was looking for when I thought of the idea.

     

     This was a very simple wallpaper, but I personally think beauty is simplicity. Some of the most recognizable logos are very simple, the Apple logo for example. It's so simple and very easy to recognize and remember. If a logo or picture is easily forgotten, it hasn't done it's job in terms of advertising and likely isn't very good on the artistic side. Some of my favorite flash games and movies are very simple. Think of it as a really short poem, each line needs to bring a deeper meaning because the poem is so short. Artistic games and movies and art need to make meaning very potent in order to make the work stands out. 

     Now that I have shared my wallpaper, I want to remind everyone who reads this to pass the blog on and read it more often! More page views means more Blogz! Also, please feel free to comment and leave your ideas, you will get credit! Thanks! 

My First Wallpaper!

     I finally finished the first wallpaper I have ever made in Gimp! I am satisfyed with how it turned out. I got the tree brushes Here, but everything else was done by me. Hope you all like it! Read about my process below.


     When I first created the wallpaper, I simply created a blank canvas and started doodling. After drawing the grass I decided that this wallpaper should be entirely colorless. Once I drew the grass I started drawing a sun, and quickly decided such a gloomy picture doesn't need a sun. I then started playing around with Gimp's lighting effects and created three Supernova effects. Once I made those I used the Smudge tool to basically smear them all over the canvas, these slowly became the clouds. 
     When the clouds and grass were all done I became stumped as to what to do next. I decided to look for some brushed made by other designers. I have done this before, but I usually change the brush so it no longer resembles the original. The first brush I used was actually a lightning brush, but for some reason I didn't like it. Then I came across the tree brushes and decided to use them in my wallpaper. Once I used the brushes I did a little blurring and smearing and created the finished .jpg. 


     I used other peoples brushed to finish my wallpaper. Seeing what type of things other people have shared is a great way to get ideas and inspiration. I have often seen a picture and been inspired to make one that has a similar mood or color scheme. If anyone has any idea's they want to share feel free to do so! I will always give credit for the idea! If anyone wants to start designing themselves download Gimp Here!

       P.S.  share this blog!!!

This blog is about all kinds of creative media!

     So all of my posts have been mostly about games just because thats one of my favorite forms of art. However I also want to let you all know that this blog is more than just games. I personally LOVE using Photoshop and Gimp. I made this Blog's banner and background using Gimp. Pretty soon I am going to start submitting wallpapers made by yours truly! the first one just might be done by tonight! Stay tuned For some wallpapers to pump up your desktop's style. 


     I also love to take peoples ideas and suggestions and paint them out on Gimp. If anyone has any suggestions give them to me! I will make sure You get credit for any ideas I happen to choose. I have a few locked in my crazy head and those are going to be put on to the digital canvas soon! 


     P.S.  share this blog! 

ZOMBIES!! AND GUNZ!!

     You have got to love a good zombie game. You have also got to love a good shooter. This game is both! I ran across this game on Newgrounds and decided to give it a try. I am so glad I did. This game is a mix between a Call of Duty game and Left 4 Dead if they were turned into flash games. 
     The game has a Rank system that makes you want to play even more. With every rank the game got better and better! In order to unlock all the guns you have to rank up and unlock them. Even at rank one the game was fun and challenging. I have encountered many games that are just boring at first because there isn't anything cool until you get to higher levels, and at that point you are usually bored of the game.  
     
     To make it even better: this game has multi-player! I joined MochiGames through Facebook just so I could save my progress, and I'm glad I did because you get a free M1 Garand! Multi-player offers a way to use teamwork to gain money and XP. I noticed when playing multi-player my XP and cash skyrocketed because there are more zombies and more area to cover. My first time playing multiplayer was a bit of a shock. I was plunged right into a wave of zombies attacking an airport, and only three other people helping me fight them. I discovered shortly after that one of them was AFK (away from keyboard). This was a bit angering at first, but then I realized that all the barricades he failed to fix went to me, which meant more cash! Once the four waves were over I leaned back and thought "Woah! This game rocks!" 
    
     While this isn't meant to be a scary game, it has its frantic moments that give u a burst of adrenaline. I love the music, the weapons, and the overall feel of the game. Sit back, turn the lights off and play! 

Back to the art!

     Now that Halloween is over, it's about time I get back to featuring my favorite types of games, artistic games. This next game is one that captured my eye and my mind right away. It's called Coma. The art, music, and relatively simple gameplay just screams differnet. this might be one of my favorite artistic games of all time. Like many artistic games, it revolves around puzzles. Try this game, you will not be disapointed. For me, I found the best time to play this game was at night with the lights off and the sound medium, but load enough that you can definatley hear it. Play Coma at the one and only Newgounds. Use the Pop-up option and then use CTRL+scroll wheel to make it big. Enjoy! 

Happy Halloween!

     Halloween is upon us! scary games rule, and yet they are very hard to find. This game however may not scare you as much as the last two, but it is one heck of a game! The game is called The Last Stand. There are three games in the series. The Last Stand, The Last Stand 2, and The Last Stand - Union City. These are great shooter games, and get better with every game. When I played the first game I was hooked. I completely lost my weekend playing them. Once again, turn the lights down, and the sound up, and play! 


     Now that I have that out of the way, I can talk more about the design of my blog. Rome was not built in a day, nor was Newgrounds designed in an hour. My blog isn't as aesthetically pleasing as I would like it to be but it's a work in progress. I plan to improve it more and more as time goes on. Does anyone have any ideas on my blog? I like the color scheme, but the background and title look like they can be worked on. A year from now i want to look at this post and how my blog looked and laugh, but for right now lets work on making it look unique and pleasing. 

Another Scary Game!

     True scary flash games are hard to come by, I know a few that made me jump, or gave me chills. There is one game similar to Ghostscape that scared the crap out of me. Its called Exmortis. There a few reasons I like this games. One, the game's art is fantastic. Two, the audio has a way of sneaking up on you when you don't expect it. Last but not least, all the elements of gameplay come together and feel right together. I have played some scary flash games that are only slightly scary because something in the game just doesn't feel right. I played a game with good artwork, story, and sound. I loved it until the game picked up more and the UI (user interface) was introduced. the art was very dark, and the UI was very bright and flashy, and it pulled you out of the game. Exmortis does a wonderful job blending all the elements of the game together. Play it here: http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/189227  remember to turn the lights off and sound up!

Halloween time is here!

     I love Halloween! It's one of my favorite holidays ever! For me, its all about being scared. I have a few games  I know of that will do just that. Here is the first game, Ghostscape! Its one of the many escape games out there, and one of the few that can scare you! Turn down the lights, turn up the sound, and play away! More scary games should be on the way!