This is a quick tutorial for my artist friends (and anyone, really) who have asked me how I set-up my friendly Google Plus link: http://gplus.to/nikkismith
If you are unfamiliar with Google Plus, it is a social networking and sharing website rich in photos and content, much like FaceBook however without the annoying ads and with (in my opinion) a nicer way to group and sort contacts into “circles.” It is gaining popularity with artists and photographers as well as the general public. However, one feature that is sorely lacking is the ability to create a short and friendly link for your account that can be used in printed materials like business cards or told to a friend over the phone.
A friendly link like this: ” http://gplus.to/nikkismith ” is both more memorable, more professional and a lot easier to communicate than the link Google Plus provides you when you first signed-up.
So if you are ready for a friendly Google+ link, let’s get started!
Step One: Log-in to your Google Plus account (or create a new account) at: https://plus.google.com/
Step Two: Look at the URL in the address bar of your browser. It should look similar to this, though it may be even longer:
Do you see the number that I’ve highlighted above? This is your Google Plus ID, located right after the “.com/” and before the next “/” slash sign (ignore anything else — the link you see may be very long, but this first number is the important part.) Highlight this number with your mouse and press the “Ctrl” and “C” keys at the same time to copy it (or if you are on a Mac, press “Option” and “C” at the same time.)
Step Three: In a new browser window, open this website: http://gplus.to This is a company (independent from Google) that provides a URL-shortening service for Google Plus accounts.
Step Four: You will see a short form with two boxes (see below). First, click in the “Your Google+ ID” box, located on the right. Press “Ctrl” and “V” to paste your Google Plus ID (or “Option” plus “V” on a Mac).
Step 5: Next, click in the “Nick Name” box. Your nick name can be between 3 to 25 characters long and should not contain any special characters (only Latin characters and numbers). For example, try your first and last names, etc.
Step 6: Click on the “add” button. If no one else has claimed that nick name, then it’s yours! Otherwise you will be prompted to pick a different nick name.
Congratulations! You now have a short and friendly URL for your Google Plus account! Copy-and-paste it into your browser address bar and you will be instantly redirected to your Google Plus account. Add it to your email signature, print it on your business cards, or use it wherever you need to share your Google+ link.
If this was helpful and you would like to see more tutorials like this in the future, just leave a comment below and let me know what you would like to see! Feel free to introduce yourself and share your friendly Google+ link in the comments below.
I’m lovin’ the paper necklaces that my friend Andreea and I made on our art date last week. The concept is as simple as can be (though it requires some patience) and the resulting jewelry is stunningly elegant, lean-in-for-a-closer-look, touchable and oh so fun!
We were inspired by a project by Jason Thompson in his book, “Playing with Books: The Art of Upcycling, Deconstructing, and Reimagining the Book.” (I highly recommend it!) Of course, we put our own spin on the project and learned some tricks and tips along the way. If you would like to make a similar necklace for yourself, here’s how:
Total project time: 2 to 4 hours.
Ingredients:
Paper — Fun ideas include: sheet music, a recycled book, old maps, colorful magazines, text in foreign languages, an illustrated children’s book, etc.
Paper punches – A hole punch and a circle punch or other fun, simple shape. I used a double-heart paper punch instead of two punches. While not identical, this is the closest I could find online:
Tip: Determine how many pages your punch can cut through at once. I started out punching these shapes one at a time (yikes!) and it would have taken me days to complete if I hadn’t realized this simple time saving trick. My friend was able to cut six sheets of paper at a time with her newer punches, while the double-heart punch I used could cut about four sheets at a time.
If you are using a punch that already has a hole in the middle (as I did with the double heart punch shown above) then line up your papers and start punching. Otherwise, begin by using the small hole punch to make the holes for the centers of your paper shapes. Next, turn your circle or shape punch upside down so you can see through it and line up the punch so that the inner hole is as close as possible to the center of the final shape.
Punch, punch, punch and punch some more… (Turn on some tunes!)
Bonus Tip: My hands got tired and sore after a few hours but I was determined to keep going. Then it dawned on me that I could also punch on a hard floor using my foot and the heel of my shoe rather than the palm of my hand. This won’t work with every style of punch, but it sure helped my hands feel better.
Optional: I placed my cut paper shapes on a wooden skewer with a piece of cork at the end for easy storage while I continued punching.
Now for the fun part! There are a few ways to proceed from here, depending on what style you like best…
Version 1: String your paper shapes onto the necklace and try it on. The paper shapes will tend to lie flush with each other, perpendicular to your skin.
Version 2: Use beads (or even paper beads) to space the necklace out.
Version 3:This is my own variation, which I love! To make the papers overlap nicely so that details can be seen all along the necklace (as shown in the photos here), you will need to glue a few small clusters of paper shapes together and space them around the necklace. I took groups of four to six hearts and threaded them on to my wire necklace, gently overlapping them. I applied a small amount of glue (I used ModgePodge) with a paint brush to where the papers overlapped and then let the set dry on the wire. You can see one of these clusters in the lower-right corner of the photo below. I made about eight of these clusters and spaced them around the necklace. All other hearts are loose, individual papers. The clusters have the effect of forcing the other papers to lay at an angle and overlap. Beautiful, and so touchable!
I hope you have enjoyed this little tutorial! I believe this is the third sheet-music necklace I’ve made, each in a completely different style. One was a charming little booklace (mini-book on a necklace) as featured on CraftGawker, and another was based on a tear-drop shaped piece of vintage sheet music coated with ice resin for a transparent look. I’m passionate about music, and I love expressing this passion in my artwork, especially in such a touchable form! How have you incorporated music in your artwork?
One of the most powerful tools in PhotoShop for artists is the ability to install and use custom brushes. Here is a handy tutorial that walks you through the process:
STEP 1: Locate brushes.
There are many great places to find PhotoShop brushes including a Google Search or one of my favorite resources: Deviant Art.
Tip: Pay attention to the licensing of the brushes you discover. Many brushes are free to use in any way you wish while others require attribution or are for personal use only.
STEP 2: Download and save the brushes (“.abr” files) to your computer. NOTE: If the brushes were compressed in a “.zip” or “.rar” file, then after you download it you will need to un-zip the file to find the .abr brush files.
STEP 3: Place the “.abr” brush files in the following location:
Windows Users*:
Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop X\Presets\Brushes
* replace {username} with your username, and change the X above to match your version of Adobe.
STEP 4: Open PhotoShop and select the Brush Tool (see 4A below). Next, click on the small down arrow in the Brushes Palette next to the preview of the selected brush (see 4B below).
Next, click the right arrow in the upper right corner and select “Load Brushes” (see below).
In the dialog window that opens, choose the brush you wish to load.
Congratulations, your brushes have been installed! Use the scrollbar to scroll through the active brushes and click to select your new brush:
Now you are ready to paint!
I hope this tutorial was helpful to you. If you are stopping by after reading my article in Somerset Digital Studio (Spring 2013) magazine, welcome!
My Found Poetry self-portrait is published in the current Jan/Feb ’13 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine!
To create this mixed-media self-portrait I rescued a severely damaged and abandoned book and upcycled it into fine artwork, selecting a word here and there and piecing them into unique, original poems and stories. Here are a few samples (but not all) of my poetry in this piece:
“one raindrop fell,
and then many,
a perfect circle expanded
perhaps a little breathless
you chose this moment
to kiss me”
“she licked
some rain
from her lips
in slow-motion arcs
a sudden thought
a kiss. a smile.
memory”
“just dance.
crazed like fire-flies.
it was like a vision
it made me feel
sexy as hell.”
“I was deeply in love with
my own idea of love.”
And, surrounded by my swirling breath in gold paint: “I imagine no more words were necessary”
I highly recommend viewing the piece close-up to read further poetry hidden within the artwork. You can do so by visiting this link and clicking anywhere on the artwork for a detail view.
The following step-by-step video tutorial is designed for artists who want to create a video slideshow of their artwork, complete with music soundtrack. You can then share your video on YouTube, your blog, or social media sites like Facebook, Google Plus and more. The (free) software used in this video is Windows Live Movie Maker.
This tutorial is a companion to my “Getting Technical: Video Simplified” article in the current Jan/Feb 2013 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine. I hope you enjoy it!
Of course, I turned down the business. Fortunately, he tried to hire me again six months later when my work load wasn’t so heavy and this time I said yes.
That man? He’s the father of my children and the reason I’ve taken so many leaps into the unknown; the reason I decided to give my artistic inclinations room to grow. If I had stayed home from that lousy party years ago my life would have taken so many different turns that I’d probably be a corporate wage-slave somewhere rather than a successful entrepreneur, a mother and an artist.
Thank-you, Serendipity, for weaving your music into the story of my life…
This fall, over thirty artists donated original artwork in support of breast cancer research and the National Breast Cancer Foundation. While some of these pieces (including mine) have already found new homes, there is still time to support this great cause and check out the amazing artwork for sale in the Artists Give Back shop!
Today I wanted to share with you one of my all-time favorite handbooks. It has the most organic, touch-me vibe!
This book was featured in the 2012 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors PAGES, shown above. (If you haven’t seen this magazine, you should definitely check it out! I also have a fun tutorial article published in the same issue on how to make an accordion book with envelope pages.)
I love everything about this book! The interior pages have Turkish map-folds so that they explode open. Each page spread was decorated with organic forms made of custom printed tissue paper. (See the upcoming November/December 2012 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors for my tutorial on printing your own custom tissue paper from your artwork. It’s super easy!)
The book has wrap-around covers in four directions – you can see how it opens up below:
And below is the cover with the beaded closure. Check out that amazing texture!
The cover incorporates custom printed tissue paper as well. Here, I’ve used tissue paper to create a large sheet of papercloth (also called fabricpaper) from which the cover was cut:
Watch this blog for a tutorial on creating your own papercloth in early November!
OK, I was feeling a bit brave and daring! I loved my guitar series so much that I just had to do a self-portrait… So, what do you think?
Music Was My First Love, Self Portrait by Nikki Smith (Digital Art Watercolor) Copyright 2012 Nikki Smith of BookSmithStudio.com; All Rights Reserved. Model is Nikki Smith – me, myself and I. Fine art prints available up to 45″ x 60″
My husband likes the photography version, but I’m not quite *that* brave! Seriously, though, I love the positive energy vibes that I get when listening to great music. I feel like it is racing through my veins and I can do anything. Nothing is impossible with the right sound track!
P.S. ~ if I ever do get a tattoo, this would probably be it ~
As a book artist, I love exploring new book forms, structures and bindings. I have found artist books to be the perfect creative art form, with limitless possibilities for artistic and personal expression.
I also love learning new techniques and experimenting with other art forms. My Wee Planet photography series is a current passion!
~Nikki Smith
My Wee Planet Tutorial is published in Cloth Paper Scissors Mar/April 2012 issue!
The Eagle ran a two page article about my artwork on Sun, Nov 6th, 2011
.” (I highly recommend it!) Of course, we put our own spin on the project and learned some tricks and tips along the way. If you would like to make a similar necklace for yourself, here’s how:
instead of two punches. While not identical, this is the closest I could find online:
Music in My Soul, © 2012 by Nikki Smith; All Rights Reserved. Fine Art Prints Available.
