Cycles

Round and round we go.
The pace seems not to slow.
It’s important that you know
Some cycles make you grow.

It is always a surprise to me when I do an image search with one of my own clipart creations only to find that it may be new. Pretty much every idea has been explored, and I will not be surprised to have somebody reach out to say, “Aw, I saw that years ago!”

Google search has a reverse image search option in the advanced options, and a site called Tineye.com also provides a way to check to see where work has appeared on the Internet.

In my own case, a search is for fun. The clipart I publish are released using the CC0 license. That license effectively removes all restrictions on reuse. If your work is proprietary, under full copyright, for example, services like Tineye can help you find out if somebody is attempting to use your work inappropriately.

For those who would wish to do their own clipart images, there is no better tool than Inkscape. It is Free Software (FOSS) with a great group of developers. Give it a try.

Permission

Permission

This rhyme is not for sale.
No check need be in the mail.
Now let me put it out there. I care
If you choose to spread and share.

Just share it giving credit
Even if readers will forget it.
Sharing is a good thing
Especially of rhymes we can sing.

Visual Music Punning

On December 30, 2019 a few of us in the fediverse had what I thought was an enjoyable exchange of visual punning with a music theme.

It began when I posted this:

Things moved along over the next hour or so. Some of the response images were created on the fly.

Yes, good eye. You can see sharp.

For those who really wanted it, here’s the whole note.

From here on I’ll just be resting.

In keeping with the unofficial Fediverse/Mastodon Coda conduct, think this should come to an end.

Why can’t I just let things end?

[As you have certainly decided by now. I get wrapped up in my own foolishness. Go on, now. Get on with your own projects!]

Making a Basic Cloud

After making today’s illustration with simple mountains and a clear sky, I spent a bit of time trying to understand clouds in my favorite illustration tool, Inkscape.

Of course, I’m going to share it with you. What else would I do?

Image Update

After I’d posted this morning’s Word of the Day, I went off to do Saturday Stuff™.

When I returned, I glanced at the image I’d posted. I wasn’t comfortable with it. It looked “wrong”. Instead of editing the morning’s post, I decided to add one to briefly describe my process of changing the clipart to look better to me, and I hope you as well.

The pot has not changed significantly, but as I thought about this morning’s post, I got less than comfortable with the clash of perspectives between the pot which was drawn almost straight on and the pill bottle which I had simply imported from its earlier use.

I use Inkscape, a piece of Free Software (FLOSS) developed for users who don’t want to “paint” but rather build designs from overlaying elements to make the final design. Each element is editable. That’s a key feature of the software.

In this case, it allowed me to go back to my design and change the elements so they showed the pill bottle with an angle more closely matching the pot.

While I was at it, I made a small adjustment to the design running across the middle of the  pot, giving it a slight curve.

The point of this post is to provide you a reason to look at Inkscape for yourself, especially if you are reluctant to try to be artistic. Give yourself a chance. Don’t be put off by your early work with it (or any software you have just started to explore).