Computer Art Fun #1
Learning To Draw Fun
Pictures
And Animations On Your Computer
Go to: (Welcome) (Introduction) (Story Index) (True Friends Story)
(Magic Berry Story) (Santa's
Plight) (Invasion Force North Pole)
(Art Lesson 1) (Art Lesson 2) (Kid Safe Rings)
(Credits, Links) (Hints And Tips ) (Contact Us.)
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Lesson One. Using Your Computer To
Draw Pictures
This page will load slowly because of the many animated pictures being downloaded. When the dots beside the first picture start to blink, all of the pictures have downloaded and the animations are running. You may begin reading while this is going on.
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Lets do a practice computer picture together. I like the
Microsoft Paint program. If you use another program you will have to alter
these procedures to fit your program.
Set the picture size. A good size to start with is 3" high
and 4" wide or 360 by 480 pixels. The pictures on this page are smaller to
the reduce download time. Select New from the File pull down list. Your work
area is now illuminated. I have selected red to draw my medium thickness lines.
Lets start with drawing a straight line. Click on the straight
line icon and move the cursor to the drawing area. Hold down the left mouse
button and pull the line to where you want it to be and release the mouse
button. You can always Undo if you don't like the line.
The starting point for the line remains in one place, but the
length and angle of the line change as you move the mouse.
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~ Dot Blinks When All Files Are Downloaded And Animation Is Ready
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Next lets add a Circle to our computer art. There are two circle icons. One makes an outline and the other makes a filled in circle. Click on the circle icon that you need and move the cursor to the point that you want to start your circle. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the circle to the size and shape that you want. It takes practice to get the shape and size just the way you want it.
Release the mouse button and admire your work. You can click the Undo if you are not pleased with your results. Can you make two circles just alike?
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Now we can experiment with the square. There are two icons for
squares. One makes an outline and the other makes a filled in square. Click on
the icon square that you need and move the cursor to where you want the top left
corner of the square to be. Hold down the left mouse button and stretch the
square out to the size and shape that you want. Admire your work again.
Squares are fun and easy to make on your computer. Do some more
squares and enjoy the shapes that you have drawn.
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Are you ready for the really tricky one now? Select the curved
line icon and move the cursor to the picture area where you want to start the
curved line. Hold down the left mouse button and stretch out a line. Release
the mouse button and move the cursor to a point on the line that you have just
drawn. Now hold down the left mouse button again and pull the line into the
curved shape that you want. Now double click the mouse button and your curved
line is in place. I have to use the Undo a lot with this one.
It is a lot of fun to make the curve bend here and there. Are you
getting some ideas for your own pictures?
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Lets add some color to our art now. Select the color fill icon
and click a color on the color chart. Move the cursor to the first area of your
picture that you want to fill and click the left mouse button. Notice how the
entire area fills with color. Select a different color and fill another area.
If there is a tiny gap between the lines, the color fill will
spill into another area. Undo the color fill and select the Line or Pencil
setting. Now select the color of the line that you want to extend. Move the
cursor to the spot that is not completely closed then click and draw in the
rest of the line.
If you are not sure of the color of something, just select the
color sampler icon. It looks like an eye dropper. Move the dropper tip to the
color you want to test and left click. That color is selected from the color
chart for you.
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You can magnify the picture to see the small details of your
drawing. You may see some small things that are not just right. Use the pencil
setting and color selection to change individual dots in the drawing. All the
other functions such as color test, spray, fill and erase also work when your
picture is enlarged.
Save your computer art to a floppy disk or hard drive. This is an
original computer art object by you. Think of a good name for it and show it to
your friends.
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Here is the secret of how to made your pictures move. It is
called animation. At each step in creating your picture save a copy to disk of
what you have done so far. Give each step or frame a different name like Art01,
Art02, etc. Then use a special program like the GIF Construction Set (see their
ad on the credits page) to put the pictures together and make a short movie
like the one below.
The delay on the first and last frames of this movie were set to
200 in the GIF Construction Set program. For the other frames the delays were
set to 75.
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If you select Opaque Draw and Replace With Background your
picture will look like the picture below. Notice that the background shows
through until that area is colored in. Making an animated picture takes a lot
of work and time, but it is fun to watch your picture change as an animation.
This is how cartoons are made. Each frame is drawn with little
changes to make it look as if it is moving. The background parts that don't
move are added later. Can you imagine someone drawing thousands of pictures?
Each one must be the same with only little changes to show the motion.
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Enjoy your new computer art skills.
Yours truly,
Levant E. Smith
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Please
take me to the next page, True Friends Art Lesson Two.
Go
to: (Welcome) (Introduction)
(Story Index) (True Friends Story)
(Magic Berry Story) (Santa's
Plight) (Invasion Force North Pole)
(Art Lesson 1) (Art Lesson 2) (Kid Safe Rings)
(Credits, Links) (Hints And Tips ) (Contact Us.)
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Please visit my Home And Garden Party Site
Lee Smith
"Home & Garden Party, Inc."
A New Party Plan. Work From Home,
At Your Pace. No Inventory. No Delivery.
Shop The Fabulous Catalog. Become a Designer.
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Copyright 1997-2005
Modified