Friday, September 11, 2015
Epic Sound
I got some exciting news I want to share with all of you. My sister, after several years, has finally made her music debut! Collaborating with composer BlauDisS, she lends her vocals in his latest track, Submerged, and I got to tell you, it's positively epic! Check it out, and if you like it, please give it some love and share with your friends. :)
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Crown of Ravens Unleashed!!!
It took some time, but at long last, I can finally announce that the second book in The Heart of Light Trilogy, Crown of Ravens, is published! Links are below description for any of you to order from Amazon.
***
In a world of proud elves, haughty kings, mythical beasts and terrifying nightmares, the power of evil has never been more deadly. Only the Azmaril, symbol of Elosha's Light, stands as a silent beacon to give hope to the hopeless.
Elaine has lost everything she cherished and loved. Her home is in ruins, her family lies cold in their graves, and the man she loves has disappeared and could possibly never return. Battling both despair and grief, Elaine is forced to put aside her own inner turmoil and rally for the sake of her country and the entire realm. As the power of the Azmordan is unleashed and darkness begins to spread across the skies, Elaine looks to the tales behind the Crown of Ravens and the source that gave rise to the legend. With little hope of success or guidance and trying desperately to hold onto her faith, she and her friends begin a dangerous journey into the accursed Shadow Forest—a journey Zar’ul himself is determined to stop.
Darvir has faced more than any man can endure. He’s survived the Death Circles, slavery and mental torture under Ruval, The Brotherhood of Hallomon, and even a deadly hound of the Shadow. But separated from Elaine and faced with the possibility of never returning to her could be the breaking point. Journeying to the homeland of his father, he is confronted with the decision to either accept his destiny and the One behind it or allow himself to fall into the Darkness waiting to engulf him.
Faith and forgiveness, love and death, all weave together in a tapestry that enfolds two people whose choices will either save their world or doom it to eternal dominion under the Shadow.
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
GIMP POWER
A cover is an important thing to have for one’s book. It’s the teaser of the story, the banner inviting people to take a closer look at what you’ve written. It’s also one of the hardest things to acquire, depending on your wallet. Photoshop is touted as the best software for digital art creation, but it also comes with a hefty cost. If that wasn’t bad enough, even when you buy the program you don’t get some of the fancy filters unless you buy those.
That’s where GIMP comes in. Most of you probably know about it already, but for those of you who don’t, the program is freeware, which means it’s 100% free to download and use without paying a cent. Ever. Now, there are many who will knock GIMP as being clumsy and primitive compared to Photoshop. I respectfully would like to disagree. I haven’t used Photoshop, but I do use GIMP, and while perhaps it is not on Photoshop’s level, I think it’s closer than most like to think. There is also the benefit of extensions like GMIC and MathMap that give all sorts of special effects and other things that you can do once you master them. Even more, if you visit Deviant Art, you can actually find Photoshop brushes that work with GIMP, as well as unrestricted stock that allow for greater possibilities.
GIMP does come with a learning curve, but let’s face it, anything you do in life has to be learned or you won’t grow. If you are willing to take the time and effort, I highly recommend visiting Youtube and Deviant Art for tutorials. I do need to point out that I haven’t found a lot of useful ones, or least ones that can teach me something I don’t know, on Deviant Art. As most look on GIMP as inferior, a lot of people on Deviant Art tend to give tutorials on how to do really simple and basic things, which is fine if you’re a newb, but terrible if you’re looking to craft something more creatively challenging. I recommend browsing the Photoshop tutorials. Those are better for creating more elaborate pieces of art, and you can take what you learn and apply it to GIMP.
The point of this post? To let people know that there is an alternative to the programs you have to pay out of your nose for—an alternative that is just as good as the paying stuff.
I started a page on Deviant Art for my artwork, and I decided I’d post a few samples on here so all of you can see for yourself just how good GIMP is and what it can do. Now all of these are photomanipulations (rough ones too) only. I haven’t learned yet how to paint digitally, but it’s one of those things I will be learning, just like I did with photomanipulating. Here is my work, and hopefully this will encourage some of you to give GIMP a try. To download GIMP, just go to their website and download it as well as the help manual:
(All art shown is copyrighted and not to be used or reproduced without my express permission.and those whose resources I use.)
That’s where GIMP comes in. Most of you probably know about it already, but for those of you who don’t, the program is freeware, which means it’s 100% free to download and use without paying a cent. Ever. Now, there are many who will knock GIMP as being clumsy and primitive compared to Photoshop. I respectfully would like to disagree. I haven’t used Photoshop, but I do use GIMP, and while perhaps it is not on Photoshop’s level, I think it’s closer than most like to think. There is also the benefit of extensions like GMIC and MathMap that give all sorts of special effects and other things that you can do once you master them. Even more, if you visit Deviant Art, you can actually find Photoshop brushes that work with GIMP, as well as unrestricted stock that allow for greater possibilities.
GIMP does come with a learning curve, but let’s face it, anything you do in life has to be learned or you won’t grow. If you are willing to take the time and effort, I highly recommend visiting Youtube and Deviant Art for tutorials. I do need to point out that I haven’t found a lot of useful ones, or least ones that can teach me something I don’t know, on Deviant Art. As most look on GIMP as inferior, a lot of people on Deviant Art tend to give tutorials on how to do really simple and basic things, which is fine if you’re a newb, but terrible if you’re looking to craft something more creatively challenging. I recommend browsing the Photoshop tutorials. Those are better for creating more elaborate pieces of art, and you can take what you learn and apply it to GIMP.
The point of this post? To let people know that there is an alternative to the programs you have to pay out of your nose for—an alternative that is just as good as the paying stuff.
I started a page on Deviant Art for my artwork, and I decided I’d post a few samples on here so all of you can see for yourself just how good GIMP is and what it can do. Now all of these are photomanipulations (rough ones too) only. I haven’t learned yet how to paint digitally, but it’s one of those things I will be learning, just like I did with photomanipulating. Here is my work, and hopefully this will encourage some of you to give GIMP a try. To download GIMP, just go to their website and download it as well as the help manual:
(All art shown is copyrighted and not to be used or reproduced without my express permission.and those whose resources I use.)
All images my own.
Door stock by StormsStock ; Fire stock by TeaPotMysteries
Model stock by Marcus Ranum ; glitter brush by Obsidian Dawn
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Blogging Again
I know, it's been ages since I was last on here. I've largely neglected here in favor of my other blog on wordpress, but I figured I really shouldn't let this blog fall by the waste side. So, to start with, I've changed my blog's design to make it a little less clunky and easier to read without getting eyestrain, and I'll be posting a couple things on here that won't be tag oriented. Let's face it, THAT was getting old. Anyway, here I am, and hopefully all of you like the new layout of the place. If any of you got suggestions for further tidying up this blog, feel free to leave a comment below.
P.S: This marks my thirtieth post on here. :)
P.S: This marks my thirtieth post on here. :)
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