An Ode to the Graphic Gods
A new year, new resolutions, and cleaning out old junk. Because, you know, aging is a pain and politics can really cause some wrinkles.
On my one computer, I browsed through the gazillion programs I have installed, and discovered eighteen different photo editing programs. Many I've never used before, just downloaded it way back because I liked the magic its creators promised. It was time to uninstall some, but first gave them a last chance by checking them over again.
Chalk, couldn't find much about it on the internet, yet quite a nifty program with many features and a proper handbook. Like a simplified Gimp, one can say. Seems discontinued years ago, yet still available. Kolourpaint, very good as well. InkScape, still hate it, but will keep it for the time being. Krita, great too, but more for painting. And many more, not to even mention the forty – for real – photo editors I have on my one Windows machine. But this article is not a review about them. One program I have installed everywhere is GIMP, or The Gimp, or just Gimp.
While some people really puts on weight after leaving a building that's called a house for some mysterious reason, most software actually gets better while putting on some features.
I detested Gimp since years ago, because it had windows all over the place and looked really difficult to use when one wants to create a masterpiece in 30 seconds flat. But some time when I wasn't looking, the developers behind Gimp made some changes. By default, it now opens in one window only, which I like. One can still detach the panels and turn them into windows, which I won't do. The UI now looks better, and in my opinion its features matches what Adobe PhotoShop can do, and the software is free and open-source. Check, check.
Gimp is not an easy program, especially if you want to learn photo editing properly, which is one of my goals for the year. It's like a Boeing cockpit, little buttons everywhere. Many are even ‘hidden’ in plain sight. That I found out after I went to YouTube to get some proper tutorials. One can make someone unrecognizable. Handy hint for all you bank robbers and pastors out there.
Came across a guy on YouTube that does not know how to smile, and that changes his hair for almost every one of his 200 videos. His name is Mike Davies, from Davies Media Design, and he is the absolute master on this planet when it comes to photo editing. Not only does he know graphic editing to the tie, he also knows how to explain it, in clear concise language, and one can follow any tutorial along easily.
His favorite software appears to be Gimp. I downloaded a hundred or so of his tutorials – or so it felt, and I'm not that far off – with each being around 10 minutes. Bite-size. Also downloaded several other videos from other Gimp masters, but none of them match Davies when it comes to explaining like a pro.
That's when I discovered that graphic designers are gods. Not in a million years would I have guessed what they can do with photos. Magic! I now understand why giving credit for photos is so important; the photographers slash magicians working on it really put in effort they could only have gotten from hard-earned experience.
Davies even made a waterfall on a photo come alive, mist and moving water and everything, and then saving the former still photo as a .gif. Imagine what you can do with a photo of a deceased relative, and you only have that one photo of them.
A discovery I also made is that one can doctor faces. :D This will change the internet as we know it, you just watch. Okay, fine! I knew that since years ago, I just didn't know to what extent the real masters can do it. Of course, you need to be laser-focused on your end-goal, then aim at it like you're a shark.
I'm not talking the type of changes one can do with some apps, I'm talking about the way graphic designers are doing it. They even use very specific colors to add a specific feel to a photo of a politician, to put him in either a good or bad light to viewers. Oh so subtle, but I got the message again how news media with an agenda can play on the prejudices of readers and viewers in the subtleties hidden in photos. Crop out a tiny part, add some extra subtle light on skin flaws or tired eyes, and so on. One just do not think about these things when you read the news online. Photos are visual and have a huge impact on our subconscious minds.
I'm just starting out with this new graphic design hobby of mine, so my attempts are beyond amateurish, but the results do make me chuckle. Therefore, fun to be having with politicians is underway. They'll grant me tax breaks not to mess with them. LOL. For the time being I'll still be jumping among the different photo editors I kept, till I can make up my mind which one to crown the king. Gimp is ahead in the race so far.
Now, I don't want to start a conspiracy here, but is there a possibility that Donald Trump is actually Angela Merkel's sister?
And while we're on the topic of women, can you guess who this is?
PHOTO SOURCES:
I modified Trump in various ways (and hillbillies won't love it). The original photo of Donald Trump I found here
Vladimir Putin may need to flee to Argentina after WW3, so I thought plastic surgeons may want some suggestions. Will do a future post of his photos I modified, those turned out epic. Original photo is here
Melania Trump, original photo
Image of the hypocrite Pope, that tells people God will protect his children but then gets driven around in a bullet-proof vehicle just in case, I found in a LADbible video I screen-grabbed. We need to laugh a bit before overpopulation kills us. They got the photo from Alamy
Hillbilly-kid: You may have recognized this photo from all over Facebook, it's common in memes. Got no idea who the photographer was, and with it being used in so many memes I deem it public domain. Which, coincidentally, is where the kid was. I added some hair and glasses, so it is a new photo now, right. Regarding photo quality, I still have to learn how to improve that.
I did try my hand at a Joe Biden photo, but it looks a bit sleepy. Will try some more before using it for another article.
I'll greatly appreciate it if you can upvote my post, the higher my rep score gets, the more photos I can post. Feel free to use any of the photos I created for your own posts (contact me if you want it without my watermark on it) or if you want to meme it. Also, any advice you as a graphic designer can give, pop it in the comments.
TAGS:
#Photography #Editing #GraphicDesign #funny #trump #putin
This post was supposed to first appear on my Ecency blog, but because Hive's resource credits system shit SUCKS, I had to post this article first here on SteemIt and thereafter on my default Blogspot blog.