No one man can tame a herd of art elephants.

After a vigorous workout at the gene-splicing table, we move on to cloning. My assistant eGor (all assistants have that name!), got accidentally locked in the cloning booth, there was a boom, a gawd awful smell and; "eGor, what's that clone you're wearing?" (Sorry, Mel Brooks meets the Muppets!)

Actually, I need a clone or two, plus a symbionic mind link to multiply my ability to explore all the Linux graphics applications. Today I have installed "FreeCad". It is an 3d Cad program the likes of SolidEdge. Now I have used AutoCad for years to do schematics and other 2D drawings. FreeCad and Blender both do 3D, what is the diff? FreeCad is precision optimized (engineering) and Blender is more fuzzy (scenes, games, animation). I hear there are scripts being developed to give Blender the precision for cad work. I think the math engines in the programming are diff so they can do what they each do best. I will have to read through the docs and learn the work flow before I'll be able to do anything useful with FreeCad and practice like crazy.

Wow, GIMP, Inkscape, Blender 3D, Krita, Synfig, My Paint, Xara Xtreme, KD3, FreeCAD,..............egads eGor!
In all, you can see my problem, too many drawing applications doing too many differing kinds of drawing, not enough time and too few of me. If I spent all my time exploring I'd never get good at anything.

The main problem in taming the herd of art elephants is us users. Who among us, born in the industrial revolution, has not been indoctrinated, trained, programmed, brain imprinted with the posture of the typewriter cult. It is an iconic image that endures without fanfare, persons hunched over a keyboard (I saw it in Egypt! (pyramid shaped office building, Pharoah Street, nth floor)). OK, you got the proper posture down......hmmmmmm! (ergo-nomics, egor-nomics, extremes of the same thing!?). You go to the office, sit at your machine, a voice in your head tells you to "assume the position" before you type. At the keyboard I always have flashbacks of high school typing class. I could never get it right. I guess I am more eGor than ergo. I see there are more typing/mousing casualties than there are football injuries. Bouncing fingers up and down on keys was bad enough, now figgiety mouse moving from side to side and back and forth.........

I got a Wacom Graphire 2 pen tablet years ago. I am back to playing with it. What a relaxing relief for my hand, wrist and forearm. And I can't believe how programmed I am. It is traumatic learning to use it, my body wants to say, "hey, I remember pencils but it's so not a mouse." So, if you do a lot of graphics and do not have a pen tablet, you will devolve from Ergo to........... eGor.

I am working on a hardware project which may require one of those tiny keyboards. How tiny can a keyboard get before it dawns on you that you can't "assume the position"? When will typewriter entrenched hardware critics stop judging tiny qwerty keyboards by the "touch typing" standard? "It's a qwerty but it's too small to actually touch type on it!". Double duh! Our logic defies logic at times. It is OK to hunt and peck on a small device. If you are typing a term paper, a business report or translating War and Peace using a tiny keyboard, perhaps your fingers are not the real problem. Please send $25,000 and I will send you my book "Typewriter Cult Deprogramming Guide" and tickets to attend my seminar "End Pain by Using A More Appropriate Computer Input Device". As a followup, if you act fast, I will send you a CD titled "When Body Language Cusses You Out, Know the Signs". Actually, I am trying to wake you up, you keep doing this to yourself!

So, to sum it all up, if you are suffering the casualties of making do on the computer input devices you got, it may be time to consider alternative means. The pen (digital pen) is mightier than the mouse, especially in drawing. That picture of the elephant in panic over a mouse under foot, guess who gets trampled?

The Leap - actually just stepping off the curve.

We've talked about what Linux is and that it has a desktop (just like the other guys). For you it is the same point-n-click except things might be in different places under different icons. Why? Because MS and Apple get very upset if Linux had the exact same desktop as their copy-righted products. Look at all the various ink pens and cars that all do the same things (write and move your body). It is the same for operating systems, applications and computer hardware.

So when you are looking to acquire a PC/Mac your main concerns are cost and available applications. To yours truly, Linux offers the most bang for the buck and a wide variety of free software. The caveat is, learning to accept the Linux world. But the greatest of all compromises is Open Source Software. For the most part, Open Source Software is free and of course cross-platform. There are versions of applications that run on Linux and well as Microsoft PC's and some for Macs too. So, don't be pressed to switch platforms unless you really want too.

As you all know I am a digital art dabbler and in my present economic condition I can't justify paying for Photoshop or Paint-Shop Pro for that matter, just to have so-called professional graphics programs. Does this stop me from developing my interest and talents in pixel pushing? NO!! Of course if you are working in a commercial capacity, the industry standard software would be an advantage for you, if they required it. But who is to say what software produced a digital file if the format is one you can use. I have accepted the fact that when and if I need those MS Windows based professional programs, I can if I must, get them. A strange thing happens though. If you use GIMP as GIMP, without constant comparison to Photoshop, it becomes your favorite when you are using it. Sometimes a new brush (or graphics program) brings a new perspective on honed skills. If you are a big Photoshop fan, why is your life and livelihood threatened by GIMP? It is just that some are so stiff on using MS Windows and Photoshop. Are you convinced that Linux and Open Source Software based graphics is a futile dream or a form of social protest? And by the way, I do hug digital trees!!

I went on a noontime excursion to the local library. Rummaging through the Microsoft software books looking for signs of Linux life, I found a couple of new books. Linux for Dummies (at last). This is a very good book but it is not for dummies. It's more for tech savvy but don't know Linux type folks. I think the "for dummies" people try to explain too much at once. Then Ubuntu, How to Do Everything. I'm still flicking through this book, looks interesting and is closer to the Linux for Dummies idea. It shows how to do desktop stuff with Ubuntu Linux.

I am tipping my hat to the library people for buying more Linux books. We need more stuff on open source applications too. I am still waiting for a book on GIMP to grace the shelves. A few books on digital graphics that are not about photography would be a plus. Digital art, digital painting, etc. There are as many books on Photoshop alone as there are on MS Office software. Then if you flick through those books they center on photos and photo manipulation. There are none that explore drawing and painting. I guess some people still don't think of a computer as being an artist tool. Thank goodness for inter-library loans, we'd be lost without it!

Well if I absolutely must use MS based software for graphics I guess I can, but my aim is to explore, use and produce graphics with Linux software. Why? Because I can and I am. So, with Linux there is no problem making the art, but marketing and selling will take further study. We will see what develops!

Over coming FOSS assumptions

I have touched on many topics users encounter in their approach to Linuxville. If you can get past the Mac and PC Burma-shave marketing noise, you enter into a place with new sights and sounds. The three most common remarks, "I didn't know Linux looked like that!" and "I didn't know you could do that in Linux!" or "Can I run my MS software in Linux?" Well, each operating system creates a world around itself, Linux is no different. The reason is to provide many solutions and meet the needs of the various kinds of users. Why one operating system should accommodate the applications born on another is a mystery only users dream of. Then there is Free and Open Source Software or FOSS. The idea is that software can be compiled or ported to run on different platforms. Some companies are reluctant to allow their applications to be ported to run on other OS's. Many of the applications born on the Linux platform however do not have this problem. Linux itself is free and for the most part open source. I say wow, an application like Open Office.org, will run on MS, Linux and Macs. Open source software gives you an added layer of freedom. You can move your files and your user work experience across platforms.

"I am uncertain of difference and change." I know the feeling. When ever I bought a new car, I struggled with the new car smell and feel, it's just not like my old car. Finally I come to grips, it has a steering wheel, brakes and gas pedal, the gear shifter (might be different), it sounds a bit different and the response. After a test drive I get the confidence, I can adjust to this, it's not that bad. The best car I ever had was a Pontiac 6000, roomy, zoomy and that startling orange dashboard back-lighting! Switching computer platforms can be like that.

What happens when a product doesn't live up to all the marketing hype? Seems the technical crowd go all out to warn users that a product experience might not be so great. And some users like political party faithfuls refuse to believe something is amiss. MS has had a few OS offerings that were not so hot. That Millennium thingy and now Vista are met with regrets. I like many others thought XP was way way better. I've seen some prelim reviews of the new MS Win7, looks promising. But being a Linux guy, I can afford to wait and see. Will MS restore the public confidence to buy their stuff without reservation, because it is on the shelf, the defacto standard? Stay tuned. Will Apple's Macs escape the Unix tractor beam or will Yul Brynner's face fall off revealing a cold kill you cyborg nature? The Borg are everywhere, you know. Then there are the Astronaut Farmer types who pieced Linux together in kits (distros) so you to can have your own low budget space program. Linuxville has more rocket silos per capa than any OS town.

Getting back to FOSS assumptions, the common thought is that if the software is on the shelf, it is approved for use. The shelf is where most go to find a user "product". It is only after folks have spent the bucks, invested in that platforms' economy to upgrade and replace, that they begin to wonder about alternatives. I have seen people buy Paintshop Pro because Photoshop was too expensive. They don't really have a need for the top shelf but feel any notch lower is better that MS Paint. Folks have their reasons to justify the purchase. A lot of the software dubbed free-ware has not been that great. The interfaces have been awkward or unattractive and the tools short of producing the results users want. FOSS has been escaping that low quality stigma. The various software projects are manned by armies of open source developers and users who endeavor to improve and debug FOSS to equal or surpass the stuff on the shelf. Can it be that I can get what I want for free? Not seen on TV or at your local PC merchant's store, but on the net? After all this time, many many people are clueless and could care less, some just don't know. I put to you to do the word of mouth thing.

Here are some results of my using FOSS applications (GIMP and Inkscape to be exact).

And I think I've showed this one before.

The FOSS graphics applications are different than the store bought ones but the tools are the same. I am not a professional working for a commercial concern so I am not needing commercial software. I am an artist, free to use what ever tools I find adequate to express my ideas. Usually the only thing that matters is the file format of the final artwork. Inkscape and GIMP will produce a number of file formats that are compatible with commercial software. I also use Abiword, Open Office.org and other FOSS with no ill side effects. The bottom line is that branding is not the only mark of quality or the stability/certainty of a piece of software. FOSS is called community developed and supported, but realize that they are not a free wheeling menagerie of aimless back-room nerds and code-heads. They are supported by many companies, groups and organizations who donate time, money and salaries to give you the stuff for free. And you can support the efforts, the same as they, with time and bucks, if you like.

In Linuxville you can go to the Linux Graphics Users forum, if you are graphically inclined. I hope I have sparked your interest in FOSS, in that case go here to enter into a whole new world. "Please come to Linuxville in the springtime, babe!"...........

Revenge of the living-dead dust-bunnies!

Of course I've been busy these past few days, the Linuxville desk piled with the daily mess. I'm not much on tidy but after a while you begin to notice the clutter. A forensics team would have a field day, smudges, finger prints and dust-bunnies. Dust-bunnies!?!

I looked down at my keyboard, the key-cap legends worn off and various residues on the edges of keys where my fingers don't touch. Clean it or trash it, I think. The LCD screen is smudged and I don't really have a touchscreen, I touch it anyway. My mouse is well........if your mouse is optical, blessed are you. Cleaning the rollers in a mouse with a ball is no guarantee of lasting better performance.

But the all out worst thing is when I open the PC case (because of techie curiosity) and view the proliferation of dust-bunnies. They are relentless airflow sucking non-life forms. They have the nature of a thermal blanket. They are the total reverse of a Hepa-filter. Besides clogging vents, layering on fans and the motherboard, dust-bunnies coat the heat-sinks on those critical parts. The CPU, video chip, and other components which run better if not encrusted, must be free to dissipate heat. My plan is to clean out the dust-bunnies one day when I'm not so preoccupied. It's one of those jobs your friendly neighborhood PC tech can do for you. A cool PC will run better! (though you may not notice it). It is a wear and tear kind of thing. Believe me thermal inversion is as bad as kryptonite, just ask Superman!

So, if your PC could stand some sprucing up, don't wait for Spring. "Take your hand off that vacuum cleaner!!" A gentler approach is needed here. Get a techie to do the work.

I am thinking new keyboard and mouse and maybe a fancy graphic tablet. My personal wish is for more RAM and a USB hard drive. I've got miles to go before I want a new PC.

The Linux graphic's thing is a wonderful adventure. All you Adobe fans will just have to drive your Lexus to the corner store. Inkscape and GIMP are the new "people's car", have enough cup holders and are "ghetto-safe". Here's a shot of my latest play on glass........


Here I used transparent color, layers and the perspective tools. I have to set up a gallery to show off the rest of my work. I am having lots of fun. My wife is starting to worry about me.

Linuxville School of the Arts

Let's see, you took the red pill, went down the rabbit hole and woke up in a whole different place called Linuxville. You've committed to being strapped in to learn as much as you can absorb. The slender neural-net spike inserted, you try to relax but the mixture of not knowing what to expect, curiosity and anticipation makes it all impossible. There is a surge, blinding rapid eye movements and an anguished gasp for air, you cry out, "Man, I know Ubuntu!!".........lol. OK, let's see what you got.........

When I worked for a NASA contractor, I met with a small group of guys who wanted to explore Linux. We decided to start having meetings and open it up to other designers and engineers. There were no questions about what is Linux, just can I do this and can I do that. We didn't know that much about Linux ourselves yet we were grilled as if we were experts. Our various interests in Linux at the time did not include user applications. Except for myself, the interest were in setting up a server with remote access and writing code for small devices. I was more interested in desktop functions and applications. That was back around 2004. A few years later, things have improved greatly and I know a little bit more. Besides having a full compliment of useful applications, Linux has been made flexible enough to accommodate a wide swath of equipment and users. You can use it briefly with a live-CD or be committed with a solid stable installation.

My latest adventure is to explore some of the graphic applications. I used to drool over watching people use Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, Corel Draw, even PhotoPaint and others that ran on the MS pc. Economics and priorities always came into play, so building up a software library was not in the cards for me. Today it is much different, open source has made a way to give decent software for low to zero cost. The quality of software is wondwerful because developers are also in the market for paying jobs at software companies. There is lots of incentive to put out good product. It's like in sport, your performance is being watched. Linux has boasted in the GIMP for a long time. GIMP is still taking critical heat from Photoshop vets. There are rapidly fading limitations with GIMP that make it an application to watch. It is very mature and stable. Another area where computer artist go crazy over is vector graphics. While Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw and other big guns have swept the market, open source folks have put the same tools in various degrees into OpenOffice.org Draw, Sodipodi, Inkscape, Xara Xtreme and a few others I can't think of at the moment. So, you can get the tools, learn to use them for little to no cost and if you want the "pro-stuff" be familiar already in how to use them. With my intro into using these open source applications I don't see a need to own the industry standards. What is the standard part anyway, the tools or the brand-name?? As always people have their opinions, experiences and preferences. But open source gives you a wider cross-platform choice, see what works for you. The secret is that the tools are the same, skills are transferable and multiple interfaces can be learned, no sweat.

One of the things that has vexed me, tormented me since I started using a computer is transferring my pen and pencil skills onto it. In drafting it was a little easier because drafting relies on constraints and dimensions. Doing non-drafting stuff is so different. Using a mouse is like drawing with a bar of soap, and on top of that the mouse is on the pad, the eye/cursor is on the screen. The eye-hand coordination ability needs to be strengthened. I do have a "graphics tablet", with a wireless pen, but it is far too sensitive for my clumsy drawing technique and I've grown accustom to holding the mouse. I think I am more draftsman than a drawer or sketcher. Actually vector drawing works well with a mouse and the control over all the elements of the work is quite amazing. In the future we must consider a direct touch, draw on the screen display to see if that is more natural. Some laptops have that arrangement. The main thing is to fit your idea into the work flow to accomplish it. You will see you can always do things better, with less intermediate steps. Many think drawing on a computer is automatic or a creative crutch or not worthy of serious art. New tools and new media is always resisted with great pomp. Even Disney had to set up the new school next to the old school, then find a way to blend and upgrade at the same time. So now I am going to spend time figuring out how to put the stuff in my sketchbook onto my computer and make something happen. The most wonderful thing is that I am just a casual artist, doing it for fun. I can roam far and wide to the Linuxville city limits and with open source cross-platforms with the same shirt and shoes, roam some more.