Welcome to Resourcefully Yours "Show and Tell".A bi-weekly Article concentrating on the exposure of the Resource gallery for the true Treasure Trove that it is.

"Show and Tell" will give you an insight to the large and diverse selection of the fabulous Resources that have been made available to us by our dedicated Resource providers here on devaintART.To do this I have set up a small teams of "Resource Hunters" to go out into gallery to hunt and play with resources and applications they would not normally use by encouraging them to step out of their "safe/comfort zone” and try something new. Below you will see what my nifty team has come up with and what they had to say about their newly discovered Treasures.

Presenting my forth team of “Resource Hunters” .


hdrtry by

Before After

This was my first try with HDR,it was something I never tried before, but I said hey why not give a go at that.
So I browsed dA and found some HDR tutorials.I tried first with photoshop but I didn't like the result as the end result was pretty noisy.I looked a bit at the other HDR tutorials and saw that a software called photomatix was great for HDR.I downloaded the trial version and tried some photos.



I found HDRI field guide by *ZephonSoul for photomatix.
The interface presented in the tutorial was a bit different compared to the version I had but the processing was still the same.
The results that I got were better than with photoshop for my taste (less noisy).
I am not quite sure if I like HDR as I prefer to post process my photos with the standard options.Maybe I need more practice and to know how and when you must use it,if someone teaches it to me maybe I'll change my mind...


Behana's Button Icon by



I confess that when searching for something new to try it was extremely daunting. However, after browsing through the Resources Gallery for several hours i was amazed at the variety of resources on offer. I was genuinely stumped on what to pick. In the end i settled for an icon/button. (I'd been getting tired of my old icon and decided it was time for a change.)

I started by browsing the avatar tutorials (and there are some really good ones) but i wasn't that confident and am ImageReady handicapped so they didn't work out. Whilst looking in the animated avatar section i came across a button tutorial and this sparked my creativity! I loved the look of it and decided this was what i wanted for my new icon.



Finding a good tutorial was a different and harder matter altogether. However, after a while i did find Glossy Button Tutorial by ~xlabs This is a brilliant resource for beginners like me, and peoeple who need things in simple and straightforward english. Easy to understand with bright, clear pictures! I did use some variation when it came to shapes and improvised the text.



When I'd reached the end of ~xlabs's wonderful tutorial i realized something was missing the "gloss effect".I decided to try a different resource. In the end i found Advanced Gloss Effect by ~Xilon Right now to be fair, this was a lot harder to understand and not really for a beginner like me (who had never used the pen tool in her life!) so i kinda improvised a bit more and concentrated more on the pictures than the words. But nonetheless it still helped.

This was so much fun to create. You just can't imagine how inspiring and fresh trying something new can be, it really freshens your outlook on your own work. Gives you a break from the constant monotony of Photoshop (manipping in my case.) I would thoroughly recommend trying something new today!


Resource Hunt No. 1 by



Well, how shall I start...
First I wanted to use some vector flower resources and brushes, because I haven't used vector resources or brushes before.



I then remembered having seen Tutorial - Painting Trees by `jezebel which I wanted to use some day. This day now came earlier.I changed my mind and decided to try this tutorial and combine it with three sets of brushes.I had chosen this tree tutorial because I think it shows very descriptively how to draw nice trees. And I've got to admit that it seemed to be rather easy (this turned out to be a misjudgment, because trees aren't easy to paint at all).



After I had chosen that tutorial I needed some packs of brushes. Because ^znow-white had encouraged us to enter new realms, and getting out of our comfort zone. Brushes were definitely something new for me. Although I already had faved some of them previously,I never had downloaded or used them.I searched for some brushes, that might go along well with my planned tree,and what might suit a tree better than a meadow? Therefore I searched for grass brushes and found a beautiful pack.Grasses and Plants PS Brushes by *redheadstock




And as I often had admired fairy brushes I wanted to include some fairies, too. And not only did *redheadstock create these awesome grass brushes, she also offers Pixie - Fairy Brushes a pack of lovely fairy brushes.



And for the last resource I decided that some spider webs would look neat. Therefore I looked around again and found Spider Web Brushes by ~miss69-stock

After having decided on my resources, I began to apply the tree tutorial first. It turned out to be really difficult to paint a tree that looks at least to some degree consistent. It took me hours to paint only one tree. Later I added a meadow painted using some of the grass brushes, added some fairies and some spider webs. I'm not content with the painting so far. I think I'll continue working on it. But it was fun anyway and I've learned a lot about creating a tree, which doesn't look too flat.

Regarding the brush packs I used the GIMP versions. In the description of my deviation I've credited both versions.


Broken Love Letter by



When ^znow-white asked me along with a group of others to do this, I was slightly apprehensive.As much as I love photobooth, I'm a n00b of the worst kind.But being the adventurous person I am, I decided to give it a shot.



When I saw window drops by ~smokedval-stock, I had to use it. I knew right there that I wanted to have blood or bodily fluids part of my main piece (I'm kind of dark, in an odd, non-morbid way).



My next step was to find a paper texture that I really liked, and the first time I saw Old Paper Texture by ~Saykee I knew I found exactly what I was searching for. The third texture in the package was just perfect.



All I needed now was some text fitting a letter written in the worst of times, and that was Rankaze's Handwriting by ~Mabak
The rest came from my head and my Photoshop Elements 4.

ps. It's been a really long time since I've actually written anything, so advice is welcome!





I would like to thank my team of Resource Hunters for playing along with the “Show and Tell” for this time, and of course not forgetting the Resource providers that never cease to amaze us with their generosity for providing us with the best Resources anyone could ask for.











If you are interested in joining my team of "Resource Hunters"
you are all welcome to join in , just drop me a note.

Znow

Resourcefully Yours // Show and Tell #3
Resourcefully Yours // Show and Tell #2
Resourcefully Yours // Show and Tell #1