3D Paint

 

Windows 10 is about to go 3D with its Paint programme. The video shows the sorts of things it can do even if it is a bit sugary sweet. The website is better. 3D is where it is all headed and we shall have the tools to do it which will make us think 3D instead of 2D. We are no longer the flat planet even if all our icons and interfaces have gone that way. Bit odd really, but 2D allows for greater speed and delivery and a less cluttered interface.  I am looking forward to this update and I have a 3D monitor now so all is good.

 

Windows 10 Creators Update 

Prisma app

 

Original iPad Air picture

I have just downloaded the free Prisma app onto my iPad and I love it already. The effects are classier than other photo apps I have seen and so they suit design purposes . You would be able to create a better thematic or atmospheric approach with your images and, as a result , Prisma would be indispensable for projects and presentations. You can take your ordinary photos and instantly give them aesthetic appeal. There are people who can use Adobe Photoshop and similar and turn out the most amazingly artistic  images. I’m not one of them . I am always on the look out for things which will lift my artistic input and enable me to create things which have a sense of style. The effects are varied and interesting and so it’s an app which can go to work in different settings and arenas. The Prisma site is where you can download both the Android and iOS versions. It took a little while to settle in on the iPad. I downloaded it and then it took a couple of minutes to organise itself.

 

 

Effect 2 Love this!

Effect 1

Much ado about new Instagram logo

Former Instagram Logo

Twitter has gone off under #newinstagram. Instagram has gone off. Facebook has but to a lesser extent. There is a loud outcry about the new Instagram logo. When it changed I could not even find Instagram on my iPad. I saw a kiddie logo and wondered what it was and there you go…the new look Instagram logo. This is a site which is image centric. It focusses on the visual and the artistic and design input on the site is superb. They are wondering why people are horrified? Don’t like it ? Think it’s a bad move? As usual with the Net, it is assumed that Netizens are wrong, don’t know hat they are talking about, can’t think and are not able to make proper judgements about it. So we get the patronising “Are you over it yet? ” from Instagram and then the talk about people always

New Instagram Logo

complaining when there is change, people not liking change. The Net really can treat us like we are stupid and it really can be very patronising. A bad meal is a bad meal. Not all changes are good. Some changes are ill conceived . A backlash is not necessarily flouncy behaviour. The comments sum it up. People feel it is a bad choice of logo because it is generic, insipid, bland, amateurish, poor choice of colours and design. There is no design. Instagram has been all class. It has had style and has been discerning. The old logo was iconic and had a retro , classy look. I understand that interfaces are returning to the flat , 2D look to save system resource use and enable faster processing. 3D images take more processing power. They also take more skill to design. Pretending we don’t know what we are talking about is not going to make that new logo any more noticeable or artistic. It is poor design, poor colour choice and eminently forgettable. I now have to look for the Instagram logo on my phone and iPad. It used to be in a class of its own. You can’t buy class. You cannot TELL others you have style. People know the difference. A kiddie approach to logos is not going to make them iconic and Instagram was all style. Yes, we shall live with it. Our silence won’t mean the new logo is any better.

Digital colouring in books

They are everywhere. Wherever you go you see the colour art therapy books and they have gained in popularity. It is a nice thing to do. You can get digital ones now too! The Coloring Book Club is offering a free download for you to try. You fill in your email address, verify it and then you can download the pdf file. It then also offers a paid version with all the book club support and community. Your choice. I have downloaded my free one. One of the initiatives our school took was to offer colouring in for students on behaviour management. It made such a difference in my experience. It gave the student time to settle down and process what had been happening so that after a lesson they could talk comfortably about what had been a difficult situation which had culminated in their being removed from class. It meant the conversations after that were logical and rational. Colouring in is a powerful tool for self awareness and management.

Do you instagram?

Bit of an Instagram tragic with only 6 followers but that will change. I started off really slowly on Twitter too and have never looked back. I was advised by the people I asked to set my account to private and let others ask to follow me. I have been on Instagram since the very end of last year. It happened by accident as most social media experience does with me. It is great. A few years back , before the internet , there was a big trend in frozen moments where you could buy ornaments of milk pouring, a glass of beer and so on.

Image : Fake Food Decor

We have always savoured the moment as a human race: watching the waves rolling into shore, seeing birds play in the trees, watching ants crawl up the pergola post. It has always amused and soothed us. Instagram is like that for me. It values the moment. It creates something special from something ordinary. It makes you appreciate the good things in your life. Like when I was sitting out the back the other day and the sun was shining and the whole image was just beautiful. I Instagrammed it. It is a good way to learn languages because no one writes a lot and so some people use it to post things to help others learn their language and bit by bit you learn. It is used for advertising and marketing but there is something more personal and artistic about it. You get to know working people more. You can see their desks, their designs, their plants and coffee, their view from the window. It would be a good way for students to document research projects and long term pieces of work. It would be a good way for teachers to document their day  or week and reflect on it. There is more of an artistic sense on Instagram and to Instagram your day or your week without the people stuff – we have laws in SA which preclude that- would make you take a positive look at any journey through time. At the moment I am posting one photo , at least , a day. Before it was 4 a week and before that I was far too random. Reading my feed on Instagram gives me positive input . Like any social media site it is important to choose the right people to follow so your feed is an inspiration.

Instagram only runs on mobile phones and tablets and they pride themselves on that. In terms of social justice, equity and accessibility I am not sure it is a good idea to be that rigid. Having said that, I find it is making make good use of my smartphone. It is a very positive and practical use of the phone. I have used Dropbox to get photos onto my iPad or Phone so I can post them from my laptop or desktop. It has also meant I have a lot of really positive images on my phone which I can share with people when I see them. That has been a bonus spin off of Instagramming.