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

Users of this book are prone to outbursts of wild creativity, visions of a curious nature and adventures of the most spontaneous and extraordinary kind. Do not proceed unless you are prepared to fall down, down, down the rabbit hole of fabulosity.

Now you cant say you havent been warned. So what follows is an invitation, a beckoning, into the mad, topsy-turvy world of your own fierce reality.

We liken our art process to the adventures of Wonderland because no two journeyers are going to have the same experience. While we can direct you through tutorials, tips and tricks, each of you will have your own adventure on the screen. Like Alice, you will move from place to place, chapter to chapter, collecting treasure that will ultimately allow you to answer the caterpillars Who Are You? with your journal, your blog and your art.

Wonderland has no road maps. And while we, with our Cheshire grins, are here to be your guides, we will at some point disappear (leaving naught but our stripes), and ultimately it will be you who decides where to go. This is the most delicious part of the creation process: discovering, finessing and flaunting your personal flair.

Silas and I have received a great many comments on our ability to create atmospheric, captivating art. While I would love to boast that our unique look is the result of our particular genius methodology, the truth is our wonderworlds are often the result of textures, a gathering of many elements often created by accident or experiment. While were responsible for the learning and using (and teaching to you) the basics of the digital art medium, were subject to what chooses to show up on the page. If there is any particular genius methodology in our madness, its this: Most of the brilliance comes from the risky business of play.

And thats what you need to know about this book, and our style, before you proceed. While we can take you from point A to point B all the way down to point W, we are not, nor will we ever be, rocket scientists. There is no one formula for creating what we do. Most days we show up to the canvas and the screen with a big what if on our lips. We start with an idea, a few basic pieces of ephemera or one central image and then play with textures and moving things around until something looks interesting. Because the boundaries within Adobe Photoshop are fairly limitless, we tend to do a lot of experimenting until something on the pageor someonescreams, This way! Play with me! And this is something we cannot teach. This is an intuitive process only you can cultivate.

Our best caterpillar advice? Take our tutorials into your own corner of Wonderland. On one exercise, we may suggest turning the hue/saturation slider up, while you find it more appealing to move the slider down. We may direct you to use a grain texture, while you find a paint splatter more appealing. Well get you onto the checkerboard playing field, but once you have tried it our way, try it your own. Follow your instincts. Befriend uncertainty. Risk your adventure. And by all means, play! Play! Play!Alice