Digital Art Wonderland: Creative Techniques for Inspirational Journaling and Beautiful Blogging

I have been a fan of Angi Sullins & Silas Tobal of Duirwaugh Studios since I first saw their art appear in one of the Stampington publications. It is magical in color and theme with so many layers of color, image & texture that I had NO idea how they created such intricately detailed images that still seemed to blend into the one whole. No matter how many times I study a piece, I always manage to see more details and nuances that I'd somehow missed the last time.I ordered the book knowing that if nothing else, I'd be happy with so many of their art pieces to look at. I had high hopes of learning some great techniques and insights, but there have been many books in my past that taught cursory techniques that in no way brought about the types of art pieces that the books showcased.I am THRILLED BEYOND MEASURE with Digital Art Wonderland. This book reads like a conversation with a couple of enthusiastic friends who are thrilled to show you just how easy it can be to create stunning digital collages - even walking you through each of the steps necessary to achieve their actual art. There are step by step detailed descriptions as well as close up shots of both the art & the tools or layers being worked within Photoshop. Nothing is skimmed over.Their enthusiasm is contagious in their excitement about the creative journey they are on as they grab you by the hand & creative spirit and sweep you off into their Wonderland of Color, Imagery & Photoshop. Nothing is intimidating. You will know & believe that you can do this too. "Play, Play, Play!" she tells you again and again.You will learn new things in new ways but you will also learn some old things in NEW ways. Fresh ideas will infuse your own library of techniques. New insights into ways to play with old tools.At times they take a partially created paper collage and scan it in to then be manipulated digitally, however, if you're not a cut & paster, these rough collages can easily be constructed digitally. They take you through various ways to combine disparate parts, they even clue you in on workflow shortcuts they've learned along the way.I am not a rube when it comes to Photoshop, but there were times I was left thinking "they can do that???" to which it was quickly replaced with "HEY! I can do that!"There are artists in the world that hoard their secrets & techniques, not wanting to share the behind the scenes of how they create their artwork, there are other artists that try to make it all sound so very snooty & superior. This is not the case with Angi and Silas. They are right there with you each step of the way, cheering you on, their excitement & enthusiasm always prodding you through your own tentative steps. They let you see their own meandering through the process, why this works & why that doesn't but letting you know it's all going to be OK and you'll land safely on the other side of each courageous new maneuver.There is a chapter on general blogging guidelines and another on typography, but I think this book is more about the digital techniques of creating your own digital masterpieces.I have to say that I adore the final chapter "On Spontaneity and Happy Accidents". Angi gives you some small challenges to kick-start your play, bump you a little out of your usual comfort & work zone and to give you 'new eyes to see' as you go through your own supplies, art & processes.I give this book 5 stars, 2 thumbs up and a whole hearted "Hell Yeah!"*Woooo Hooooo!!! she screams as she throws her hands up in the air and plunges back into the Wuirbaugh Wonderland*

Before I launch into how visually stunning and down-to-earth helpful this book is, I should explain. I am a Photoshop dork - as one of the authors calls herself! - and I have been poking around, making advertisements and other graphics for work, starting with banging my head against the screen and completely ignoring the manual that did NOT come with our corporate copy of CS4, to now being proficient with masking, layers, the pen, paths, etc. But I feel like I am using Photoshop like I use my brain, and that there is a large percentage of capability there I just don't know how to use. So I looked at books at the bookstore, and combed through online searches here at Amazon, but nothing really spoke to me before now. I wanted to elevate my digital collage abilities and make vibrant, impossible, stunning collage art. I wanted to be inspired. I wished for a book that would SHOW ME EXACTLY HOW TO MAKE THAT COOL DIGITAL STUFF!And then one day - IT APPEARED, for pre-order (darn!), then magically appeared on my doorstep two weeks earlier than promised! Digital Art Wonderland! - it's where I want to be! Yesterday I tore open the padded yellow envelope with abandon. I love this book. It is all of the techniques that I need to know to specifically accomplish such beautiful works written in a voice that makes me think I can do it. Every page of every tutorial is geared toward this genre of artwork, rather than it being relegated to a single chapter in technical books on Photoshop. It addresses every aspect of collage, down to typography and composition.The authors speak to you as though you are an artistic peer, though clearly I have a lot to learn to be on their level, and they encourage you - they come through as just plain nice people. The instructions are clear and concise as one can imagine with all these Photoshop terms flying about, but any skill and technique must be practiced to be learned. I am only part way through but have already learned things that will help me in my day job, great tips and tricks, and I can't wait to learn more about the once murky world of "blending." Some techniques I am already quite good at, I just didn't see how to apply them to this kind of artwork. Others are quite easy, but weren't intuitive, until now.This book is put together a lot like a physical collage art book, with a supply list of images you'll need to complete the project. So you'll bring your own versions to the work, instead of duplicating the authors' work exactly. Unless I blew past it, there are no lists of resources like "get your public domain images on here" or anything, so you'll need to do some hunting on your own (google "the graphics fairy" while you are at it.) I think this will lead to a lot of what the authors term "happy accidents."It is based on Mac version of CS5, which is fine for me on my PC - use the online help to find what you are looking for and play around with settings if they aren't exactly the same as shown in the book. Some basic Photoshop skills are encouraged by the author. Minimum photoshop version CS3 is recommended. Upgrade from Elements is recommended.Thank you thank you thank you to the authors for putting the time and energy into showing how it is done. I am staying up all night tonight to play with photoshop and this book, again!

I was hoping they would share there sources.

i enjoyed this book on two levels, firstly the creative ideas were quite inspirational, and I can see that although this is fantasy themed the techniques could be equally applied to other genres. The technical aspects of using photoshop were fairly straight forward (maybe not on a novice level) but for a competent user there were some new things to be learnt and once again I can see this creative process being applicable to other subject matters.

This book really talked me through Photoshop and got me familiar with the program in a way that a manual alone could never do. I only have Elements 9 but, with a manual to assist, all the procedures are do-able just occasionally a different set of commands. I wouldn't copy these ideas slavishly, just enough to get me familiar with the options available to me but the photos are very inspirational and certainly got my creative juices flowing. The author uses a step by step approach which teaches as you go.

This is the first book I have purchased on the subject of digital art that expresses art so fabulously as I had hoped to find. I'm so pleased to have purchased it. It may take me along time to learn how to actually create such wonderful works of art but it will be a pleasure learning if I use this book.

An excellent book if you are familiar with using Photoshop.This book uses Photoshop CS5 and I have Photoshop7 which is an older version, but I can still do most of the exercises. My only criticism would be that all the work displayed tends to be on a similar theme, but I guess that the authors are inspired by these themes and most people will find this book inspirational and will learn much from it.