Wow – what a strange looking item! I’ve only seen Challenge 21 and 22 so it’s going to be interesting to see what y’all come up with.
Yes i may have to sleep on this one. 😉
Robert,
Way ahead of you…
See mine tomorrow. <G>
Bob
Robert,
I think this picture is going to generate a lot of ideas once it gets going…:)
Do you have one of these toys?
Pete
Pete,
Have you ever SEEN one of these toys? I myself have not had the pleasure.
Nanny
Pete,
In the mid 90’s I had to go to Prague for work and walked into a shop where wood carvings made by Czech people were sold.
Apart from the cyclist there was a witch on a broomstick and a parrot that could roll across the room on a string. I thought that the carvings were different than the ones you normally see, so I bought the cyclist.
Robert
Hi Pete,
I don’t currently own any of these toys but over the years I have had quite a few — lost some, gave some away to friends. I wish now that I had kept some of the older ones.
These come in an amazing variety of forms including various animals, trains, other vehicles, etc. The people who made them were very clever. You don’t see them very often anymore though. Too old fashioned and quaint I guess. It’s a shame.
Bob
When I was about 9 years old we had a neighbor that was a retired cabinet maker. He made these toys to sell and gave the kids in the neighborhood quite a few also. He gave me a helicopter. The rotor spun as it was pulled accross the floor. Wish I still had it. Sometimes I wish I were still 9 years old.
Terry
At times I also wish I were 9 years old. The problem is I’d have to go thru my teen years again and they were waaaaaaay too difficult. Once was enough.
Nancy,
You seem to have some pretty good ideas on your own but I am going to offer a suggestion for this challange image if you don’t mind.
Break it down in pieces ….. With a BFH. (Just kidding about the hammer and sorry about the bar room slang). But seriously, use layers for all the pieces, one for his head, one for legs etc. Now you can start and piece it together just like playing with childrens building toys like "bill dings" or similar building blocks. Build him standing up; Put his head on sideways; ………
OK that’s enough. I don’t want you to have the exact same entry as me:-) But will not mind if you do though. The possibliities are endless once you seperate him from the fixed positionin that ‘car’.
Pete
Robert,
"so I bought the cyclist".
Wow. That is great that you have it. You don’t happen to have two do you? 🙂 🙂
I think that is in the same class of toy as a metal firetruck I have that sits on a plant shelf in my living room. On a coffee table there is an antique toy book that featues that firetruck on its cover and pages inside. But the really great thing is that it was actually used as a toy by family members going back well over 50 years.
Pete
Terry,
That is the great thing about the challenge images; Through those images we can be nine again 🙂
Pete
PETE,
Great, now you tell me. I wish I had more time this week to take the little ding-a-ling apart. JO ANN,
Hello, and I hope you sent in your picture. I agree on the 9 yr old thing…don’t want any part of those heavy steel arch braces and clod hoppers.
NANCY,
All your struggling pays off (and it doesn’t look at all like it was a strggle)
Marty,
If you would really like to try taking it apart just make a bunch (6 or 8) duplicate layers and erase. Erase all but the head, erase all but the leg…..
Goes quick and easy. And that reminds me of… Ahhh, that’s a story for another time:)
Pete
IRENE,
I hope I haven’t missed your previous entries but this one is very nice. I had a dance teacher named Irene and though it’s a pretty name it seems to be forgotten. (Unless it’s sung…"Goodnight Ireme, goodnight…"
JOANNE A,
Somehow you certainly brought out the facial expression, wrenkles and all. Marty
Pete, what is it about that toy that makes one want to take it apart?? I started doing that(selecting pieces and putting them on their own layers) about three hours ago, before I ever saw your post. Gave up, though, when I realized I really didn’t have the hand-eye coordination to do that sort of thing… but looking forward to seeing it done by someone!
Chuck
Pete, just like to fiddle with things ? R U sure ’bout that or dreamin ’bout that ? I like your entry ! Never thought to stand him up…great Job !
Marty ! That is soooo cute. Love the dabbled paint and the colors !
Splodge and weary always on the last pages though always at the top of the Challenge piramid…imo
This may turn out to be quite an interesting challenge. I fiddled with different ideas and still ‘fiddling’ with others. Can’t wait to see the rest…everyone just put there guard down for this one…good !
Well, just sent off my second entry into "The Challenge". Many thanks to Grant Dixon for enabling The Challenge. Wow, there’s some talent that show’s up there, what a bunch!
I do have one question, not directly related to the Challenge, or to PSE, but rather to the folks that hang around this news group. Is it preferable to post via Adobe’s Forum site, or directly to the newsgroup? I’ve seen conversations involving one, the other, or both!
Many thanks to all who post here (either way). I’ve been lurking for a couple of weeks and have already picked up a bunch of tips and suggestions.
Kyle
Ottawa
I knew I’d flatter you with that one 😉
Thank You Jodi. Now I owe you one huh?
Pete
JoAnn,
Nicely done. Both are very good.
On the second (and the one I like the best), Do you happen to drive one of them?
Pete
Kyle, Really good. Nice idea and you got the shadows there.
Pete
Thanks Pete!
You and the other "Challengers" sure do inspire!
I’ve got to give credit for the shadows to my first issue of MacAddict (Apr 2003, page 72)!
I’m just getting back into photography, after a 20yr hiatus, and have gone digital, so I’m going to have to get used to the new "darkroom"! Besides, after seeing all the variations from everyone, this is COOL!
Kyle
I sent in *two* pictures! That little guy really has my neurons firing. The bad thing is the very first thing I thought of was rather……. well, indelicate. Not nasty, just twisted. 🙂
No, I drive a Toyota, not a Saturn. (I know – that was really awful, wasn’t it?)
Incidently, I’d like to thank NASA for the lovely shot from the Hubble.
Thanks Marty,
This is my first entry. I’ve been in the lurking mode and found so many talented people in this newsgroup.
I know the song although I’m not a native English speaker, my foreign guests have actually sung it to me : ))
Irene
JoAnn …. "indelicate"…. "twisted". Oh wow,… that sounds inviting (and has my neurons firing).
Now you have to send it in…. gotta see this now. (If you feel uncomfortable with that then just send it to me) 🙂
Pete
Pete,
Lovin’ my DSL for sure, what a difference!!
I just sent my image to Grant and so was free to see what everyone else has done, going gallery gazing…
Nanny
Pete,
Oh forgot…a huge thank you for thinking of me and providing a suggestion for my image. Had I not already been underway with an idea, I would have gratefully accepted. You’re a fun guy, thanks Pete.
Nanny
Robert S,
Your images blew me away…you have true talent. A begineer you are not! Truly impressive. Thank you for sharing them with all of us, I was dumb struck (in a good way@#%)
Never mind what I said about finding tutorials on the internet…totally inappropriate! I am so glad we have another member with such talent, glad you found this forum…you are definitely an asset and inspiration.
Nancy
Juergen, The flying corps is really enjoyable; good one!
Jodi, That latest…. Ahhgh!…(Sorry, I was thinking about something from the past). That is another "Jodi". You seem like you are more comfortable with this image than the past few weeks. Lookin good baby!
Pete
Pete, thanks. I guess it’s more that I’m getting comfortable with myself again. Past few weeks are better left in the past.
Pete,
Thanks! This Challenge image was crying out for animation, even more so than the others.
The cyclist seems to have taken a shortcut and gone off-road down the slopes of the Colarado Continental Divide…he’s really picking up some speed there! I shot that image years ago and thought, it’s perfect for this animation.
I’m happy you enjoyed it!
🙂
Barb
Barb, Wait wait ! me too, i enjoyed it too !! Can always count on you to animate my weekend 😉
Nanny Goat, …. that is just great. And you said you were having a little difficulty getting ideas:(
If I had kids I would print that, frame it and hang it on their bedroom wall. (I might do that for my bedroom wall:)
Pete
Jodi,
"Spedia layers styles" entry is amazing,… so artful. And the little girl….. just enchanting:)
Pete
Pete,
Thank you. Just think of it as a somewhat strange rendition of Mary Poppins. That’s were the umbrella came in. I did have a problem with the proper perspective, however…
Juergen
Nancy, your entry is fantastic !!!! Really reminds me of the ‘GUMBY’ days …..the ‘FIRST’ clay animation children’s series. Of course this is far off from clay gumby and blockhead but the idea is there and as Ray will tell you this is what has inspired me on this one. Anyone remember the horses name ?
Pete, I think you have the sweetest mouth…always giving me such praise. How have i ever managed without you ?
Jodi,
You took it apart, and did it expertly. What attention to detail. You are so good.
Pete
Marilyn,
I thought I hear you working away on this image. That is one great image! The lighting, the shadows, the ripple’s……just wonderful. (Hope we have not seen the last of your entries this week).
Pete
Jodi,
The pony’s name was….Pokey!! Remember he mostly just sauntered along but on occassion the producers would get some good ‘clip-clop’ sound effects going especially if Gumby was in trouble…Pokey to the rescue!
Your images are extra special this week. Loved the Kisser checking herself out in the mirror and pulling the hill with a communal rope. Excellent and prolific!
Every image on the site was a treat to view. I think a couple of people aren’t too far behind you with their art…I see people’s growth in the short 6 months of the Challenge. What fun new friends just keep dribbling in…love the variety. (I liked the sneakers Pete put on his figure with the exquisite body language, umbrella toting, V-shaped fliers above Switzerland I would guess, the animation, our new Robert’s paintings…actually I found the variety incredible as always.
As they say…"You done good folks"
Nancy
Marilyn,
Not "hear" you ….. I "heard" you. (I hate when that happens and I don’t catch it)
JODI,
Hope you and Grant get your wheels oiled soon. Anyway don’t worry, most wood will float. Love the ‘Lion King’. 100, wow, and I’ll be watching for the next 100.
JUERGEN,
I like the Mary Poppins and friends!
KYLE,
Mt biking looks peaceful. I appreciate the biker images. Our road is at the beginning of a long ride through the knobs and gobs of bikers enter.
ROBERT J,
Oh my, such a graceful thing…ha ha.
ROBERT Sch…,
Spaceship’s nice but I love the "hello"
At least he had sense enough to stop (unlike my dummy)
NEWBIES,
Sure would like to know what you look like. Our Artists pages are like Jodi’s do-dad…they’re stuck.
Marty
Marty,
Which one, the ballet dancer or the gymnast on the balance beam???
Bob
ROBERT J,
Oh my, such a graceful thing…ha ha.
With apologies to Connie Harrington. I have made an error in labeling her fine Challenge entry. It has been corrected and now has the credit it deserves. My mind must have been on the return of my wife and not on the Challenge.
grunt
Stanley, That is good. Got a chuckle from me.
Pete
Nancy,
umbrella toting, V-shaped fliers above Switzerland I would guess
They are flying above the Koenigssee in the Berchtesgaden area in Germany. That perspective is really not that far fetched since there were a bunch of para-sailers flying around that area. 🙂
Juergen
Maybe just a little off topic but Office Max as well as Office Depot have UPS (battery back ups) on sale this week! (Grant?) Max has a 350V for $24.99 and Office Depot has a 500V $34.99. (If I recall correctly).
If you don’t own one …. someday you will…. right after an outage costs you lost time and work:)
Pete
Pete, thanks for posting this. I have made up my mind that I will be purchasing a UPS soon. I will not defrag again until i have one set up. Grant tought me a good lesson. Oh by the way..love your latest challenge entry. I see you took it apart as well. Good job 😉
hmmm
Off to Office Depot.
Grant
How do I receive these challenge photos?
"Jodi Frye" wrote in message
Pete, thanks for posting this. I have made up my mind that I will be
purchasing a UPS soon. I will not defrag again until i have one set up. Grant tought me a good lesson. Oh by the way..love your latest challenge entry. I see you took it apart as well. Good job 😉
Many thanks. I have to admit I dropped out of the forum for a few weeks. Partly because we did a remodeling of our kitchen. What was supposed to take a week, took two. But after writing checks for close to $13,000 we have a new kitchen. My wife is happy, though the bank account is not. After the kitchen was done, "we" deceided "we" needed a new stove. So, guess what ?
Another reason and perhaps the real one. I got a bit discourged seeing all the fantastic work people were doing. I simply do not have the eye for the artistic the way some do. Jodi is the one that truly is an artist.
I’m going to have to search my "inner self" to find the artist in me. It’s buried down there some where.
On Sun, 13 Jul 2003 07:35:23 -0700, "Pete D" <Miatapete no spam @Yahoo.com> wrote:
Stanley, That is good. Got a chuckle from me.
Pete
Everyone,
I have been in that camp for years…my UPS has saved my bacon many, many times!
Nancy
Jodi,
Great new images, you’re terrific! Owing to your weekly numerous images, I have to ask, just for my own curiosity, could you give me a ballpark figure as to how long does it take you to create one? On average, I mean…understanding there is variation.
Nancy
Jodi,
As a ‘human interest’ aside…as pertains to our posts of claymation-type figures…
Last winter when we visited the kids in Colorado for skiing I found a small plastic child’s toy of "Woody" from ‘Toy Story’ sitting on top of a snowback and not a person in sight. (I wish I had had my camera with me as it was quite an interesting composition)
I took Woody home and taped him to the dashboard of my pickup because he has an important job to perform for me. When I have to go to town I get very frustrated with the horrible traffic in the SF Bay Area and just glancing at Woody brings a smile to my face and settles the mind.
When I got an idea for my image, I of course thought of Woody. Being retrieved from the truck and set up against a dark background I started taking a few pics with my digital. The look on my husband’s face when he entered the room and saw my ‘setup’ and activities was absolute disbelief. How I wish I had turned my camera to him and captured that expression!!
Nancy
A challenge inside a challenge!
Over the past few days I had a few attempts at enveloping the cyclist in a block of ice that is slowly melting away and thus showing parts of the cyclist that have thawed. I have not been able to get this image to work.
Any body else want to have a go?
I regularly visit challenge 23 just to see what else is new. Most times I am awestruck by the imagination of the images on display and regularly have to chuckle because of the originality and the sense of humour hidden in the images.
Robert
Jodi – May I ask how you changed the colors of the bikers’ shirts in entry #2? I’m a newbie and I think that would be a nice little trick to know.
Off-topic UPS thread – My husband and I both use UPSs on our systems. Until this past Spring I worked for Gateway and I sold many of them to people who worked out of their home. I recommended many, many more but some people didn’t/wouldn’t understand that there is a difference between an $8 power strip and a $99 UPS. Oh well, I tried.
Nancy, i love that story ! …Woody…he was meant to be with you lol I know I already told ya but love your entry !
How long does it take me for the challenge images ? Oh geeze, that’s a tough question. Some take me 10 minutes while other take maybe an hour or hour and a half. I think the longest amount of time i’ve spent on an image was 3 hours…while the least was 8 minutes…that is counting the SFW procedures.
JoAnn, this was actually an easy thing to do because of the straight lines. Use the poly marquee tool and make a selection around the shirt then use the shortcut ‘hue/saturation adjustment layer option ( bottom of layers palette..half moon cookie icon.. lol)and move the hue slider. simple as pie !
Nancy, i give you 100% for being the one who amuzes me the most with your replies. You have to remember something about me; Creativity is me, it’s all i know. Every step in life i take follows a creative path, it always has. Therefor, i suck at everything else that i cannot throw a creative curve ball at. I can’t spell for beans and in Math I was always passing by the skin of my nose but i don’t believe I need Algebra to know that man walked on the moon in ’69…I mean didn’t.
Regardless of what you think; your images are superb. I see the delight in your spirit and the joy of your heart. Ya can’t beat that !
Jodi,
How compassionate you are, you managed to turn my weaknesses into a compliment, thank you.
nancy
Dear all,
In item 67 of this thread I mentioned that I had difficulty with immersing a cyclist in an ice cube. Today I had another go at it and it worked to some degree. The result is posted in challenge 23.
However the idea is to stack up 3 cubes on top of each other. (Don’t ask me why I want this. A shrink would have a field day trying to explain this desire!)
The problem is that I don’t seem to be able to relocate the cyclist and the ice cube at the same time. Any suggestions how to tackle this?
Robert
Robert,
You might try ‘grouping’ or ‘linking’ the layers.
group with previous
link
Nancy
Bob Jones,
Loved your newest image. You managed to give the figure such lifelike posturing!
Nancy
Nancy,
Tried linking the layers.
All that happened was when I lassood the ice cube to make a copy of the ice and cyclist only the cyclist moved!!
May be I was in the wrong layer?
I will try again.
Robert
Chris,… Good ones! Especially the butcher shop. What "grade" is that new meat? (Those hams look very tasty).
Dave Hamer nice football field….. and Patty Clarke…. Oh yeah,… you are a little "buggy" like the rest of us.
Irene, I like your new "floating" one. Jo Ann, your two newest are very creative. (funny too).
Robert Jones,…. Grant was not kidding when he said he had no rules against nudity:)
Pete
RJ, i love your last one…you know i just love nudity 😉 He is sooooo perfect 😉
For Terry Boyles;
Right on dude!
Kyle (Newbie) White
Pete,
Thanks, I was inspired by Marilyn’s trilogy on 18 so I thought I’d try my hand at telling a story too.
CR
Nancy,
Thank you! I knew what look I wanted to achieve when I started but it still took quite a bit of experimentation to get the figure to look just right.
Bob
Jodi,
Thank you! I just had to see if Grant was serious about the no prohibitions. 😉
Bob
Kyle,
Thanks, I am also very much a Newbie. In fact almost eveything I did with that entry was something I haven’t tried before. It was fun and a struggle also. At least we’re in the right enviroment to find out what we need to know.
Enjoyed your scene in the mountians. Is that Lance Armstrong in the lead?
Terry
Carl,
I believe Jay said something to the effect that he was going to Canada on vacation.
Terry
Terry,
Don’t know if it’s Lance or not, too many yellow shirts!
(I’m working on a reliable way to twiddle that too!)
Kyle
Carl
Jay is not ignoring us, he is just busy with a project and does not have the time for submitting entries (or the forum) just now. I believe and hope he will return soon. (I highly suspect he can’t resist and has probably suffered severe withdrawal pains from not doing the challenge:).
Pete
Thanks Pete,
But in the imortal words of Valentine Michael Smith:
"I am but an egg."
Lots more to learn, including the patience to sit and divide things up!
Kyle
Robert Schraven,
Nice job with the block of ice.
CR
Chris,
Your latest, the monster, (LMAO) That is good. Naw… its great.
Pete
JOHN FINDLEY
I really liked your image, and such an array of colors!
Marty
Ah geeze ! Not sure what happened but I wrote some great things down and I lost my page somehow…now i got to start over ! Basically i felt like a shmuck cause i hadn’t looked at the challenge images in a couple of days. Weary, love the tracks dude…very clever ! Chris, the westerns are fab ! John Findley, wow, what can i say, The Pro Has Joined Us ;)….very cool ! I wrote alot more in the original post but now I’m tired…too tired. This challenge was real fun.
The ice cube is a réal one. It measures a stunning 4 by 4 by 4 inches!
At first I tried to make one up using elements but wasn’t able to.
Robert
Robert > The ice cube is a réal one. It measures a stunning 4 by 4 by 4 inches!
Where in the heck did you get a 4 inch ice cube? If you made it especially for a challenge image you deserve an A+ for the extra effort. (Does not matter though because the entry is really good regardless; wish I had thought of it ).
Pete
Pete,
Actually Jodi unknowingly gave me a hint. I thought that she used an image of discarded "toy-parts" in one entry and that gave met the idea that I could make a picture of an ice cube instead of clumsily making one myself. I had this tupperware square box of about 4 by 4 by 4. Filled it with water and left in the freezer overnight.
Hence the seriously large ice cube.
If I would do this again I would use a diffent background as it is difficult to see the outline of the ice. With a dark grey colour you would have immediately seen the shiny edges of the ice. That way the effect would have been stronger.
Robert
Robert,
Even though you didn’t "make" the cube with Elements, it still required skill and talent to compose the image that you submitted so I wouldn’t trouble myself to much about it if I were you.
CR
I was just glancing back at challenge 23 and saw a nice entry from Greg Cook that I do not recall seeing before. Good one Greg.
There looks to be a few other entries that I had not seen before so take a look at #23 if you have not done so recently.
Pete
