I have been busy designing brochures for the Missouri Corrections Association and a headstone for a friend who lost her son, so I thought I would do something I enjoy with XARA.
A fly. Man I love bugs! What's up in Xara land?
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I have been busy designing brochures for the Missouri Corrections Association and a headstone for a friend who lost her son, so I thought I would do something I enjoy with XARA.
A fly. Man I love bugs! What's up in Xara land?
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Here's the wire frame.
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That fly doesn't live in Xara land, does ti?!
Joking aside, that's a great drawing, Mark. =D>
Really nice rendering Mark!
Love the style of that.
I half expect a speech bubble and for it to say something!
That's a really good drawing, Mark.
Thank you gentlemen, one and all. It's been awhile since I've done anything fun with Xara.., well, everything's fun with Xara, but it was nice to do something besides work.
Nice. Can I swat it. (Kidding)
By all means, Gary. But your monitor may not fare so well. LOL
Hi Xara people. This time my small thing is a tiny gray tree frog that just lost it's tail and is resting on a leaf.
Though it didn't have as many small parts as the fly it took longer to get the look I was after. Fills and Gaussian
blurs were useful to achieve the look of depth I was after.
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For you Xaraphiles.
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And a cute little guy he is, Mark.
Thanks Gray.
For my newest addition to Big world, small things I created a grasshopper. I like the fly and the juvenile tree frog just as well as this rendering, but I think I captured more detail in this one. It required many small images and a few different fills. I found out some new things about Xara when I was creating this so it was a great learning experience as well as fun, and though it took several hours to complete it was a much quicker go from start to finish than my first two entries. Getting closer to the look I'm after, actually passed it up when I was looking for it to upload because the thumbnail looked like a photo. I was practicing drawing faces over the weekend using my other drawing program, but ended up drawing one in XARA. I liked it better than any I drew with SBP. Seems like the more I learn about what can be done with Xara the less I use the others. Lovingly created from scratch with XARA, man I love this program.
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Incredible work Mark, would have loved to see a time-lapse of this being created!
You are a Xara master.
Paul
Thanks Paul, I hope someday I will reach the level I aspire to. Even sped up it would be a very long time lapse. LOL
That is just marvelous Mark.
Thank you Larry. I was really happy with the way it turned out. When I first started this thread I thought it might be difficult to achieve an organic look with Xara,
but I proved myself wrong and I'm glad I did
because I really like the feeling of control I have with this program. My other graphics programs may end up orphans. LOL
I've been over at Xara resources downloading some of those sweet brushes. There are some really nice ones!
That's a terrific drawing, Mark.
Glad you think so Gray. Thanks
This weeks entry for Big world, small things is a Pyralis firefly beetle. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.
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That looks like you've chopped open the head to show the brain!
LOL. Funny you should mention it, that's what I think every time I see one of these, Paul. Strange looking little beetles, my granddaughter Rylee usually talks me in to filling a jar up with them once or twice a year for the light show. I wonder what the neighbors think when they see me flitting about the yard with a net. LOL :)
I wonder what the neighbors think when they see me flitting about the yard with a net.
Probably best to wear some clothes next time.. ;-)
Probably best to wear some clothes next time.. ;-)
Paul, I knew I'd forgotten something! :D
PS I'm excited, just realized Xara posted one of my illustrations on their Facebook page. Very nice to be included among such wonderful people/illustrators. Thanks Xara!
Excellent job on a strange looking bug, Mark. I used to chase these things around when I was young.
This week I'm adding a cicada to my Big world, small things thread. Got to a point with this one that I finally had to stop because I found myself in a circle of reworking everything. I also figured out that I can apply blurs to shapes without converting them to bit maps first, wish I had caught on to that sooner. Had a lot of fun with transparencies drawing this and love the fact that everything I need to create these images is right there in Xara. Need to move on to a different project, maybe another frog this time, can't wait to get started.
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Thanks Gray. I can always count on you for positive validation, may seem silly but it means a lot coming from someone whose work I admire so immensely. Just wanted you to known that.
I spent many hours chasing them as youngster also. Most of my best childhood memories were of those endless summer days and evenings wondering at the things around me, such as fireflies. This drawing brought back many of those thoughts.
Great images of the firefly and cicada Mark. I remember playing with both when I was a kid. We used to take the glowie part off the firefly and stick them on our finger and pretend it was a glowing ring.
Yeah, that's great stuff Larry, those memories. We use to paint our faces like glow-in-the-dark Indians. The cicadas we would carry around by the wings and let 'em vibrate and buzz.
Was your part of Missouri witness to the emergence of the 13 and 17 year cicadas together that we had a few years back? That was something I will never forget, truly a event to behold.
This addition to "Big world, small things" is a male Argiope spider. Although he looks big in the drawing this spider is actually about a quarter of an inch long. It's pretty crazy how you make such a small unnoticeable critter look so cool in a larger than life drawing. So here's your view of an arachnid you'd probably never give a second look otherwise. Remember, the next time you plan on stepping on one it could be a work of art. LOL
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PS - Getting faster and working smarter, this one only took about 10 hours total.
We are now so used to seeing great illustrations, it's hard to know what to say anymore. You've certainly become very accomplished at what you do.
Great job!
I find myself in that situation quite a bit around this forum, so I know what you mean Paul. It's still nice to her from you folks and receive feedback. Thank you so much.
Thanks Larry, great to hear from you sir.
It was lots of fun creating this one.
What I see is not only an adeptness with the tool (Xara), but also yet another unique expression of creativity in the hands of an individual. There's "trendy art", and there's "oh, that looks like it was Photoshopped", but it's rare and a treat to see a unique individual's thumbprint on a piece of computer art.
Big League, man. Big league.
My Best,
Gary
Thank you for the great review Gary. You have an way with words sir.
No matter the size spiders still give me the creeps. Even so I still appreciate your work on this.
Nice work on the spider, Brian. I especially like the little hairs growing off the legs.