Monday, August 17, 2009

My online portfolio


Hi
Well if anybody wants to look at some the work I've done since about the past two years,
they can take a look at the following links.
http://www.sabamangal.com/shreela/Emailers.html
http://www.sabamangal.com/shreela/For_Myspace.html
http://www.sabamangal.com/shreela/templates3.htm
http://www.sabamangal.com/shreela/myspaceprofiles.htm
http://www.sabamangal.com/shreela/Posters_justforfun.html
Ofcourse I've done a lot more, but that would be too much to post, and I think
these samples are enough as an overview. I hope to add some kickass work
over the next few months, until then chew on dis :P

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Positive energy

I was beginning to feel lost again, so looking for something inspiring, I went on youtube and found Dr.Judith Orloff's video. Side by side, I googled 'positive energy' and randomly clicked
away, only to find myself reading an article that was also written by Dr. Judith. Wat a
co-incidence. Actually I definitely dont believe in co-incidence at all.
Thank God, there are people like Judith, who care enough to write such things. I am a big
sucker for self-help. Its not that the books tell me something that I dont know....but they
remind me of the things of i hv forgotten. I dont knw abt u guys, but i have lost my way
so many times. But everytime I have recovered a bit faster than the previous time. It really
is like a spiral staircase - that goes round round and up, up at the same time..my life. I grab all the help I can get. A month or two back, I had come to the conclusion that I've read all the
self-help I needed. And then, jus like that, I just happened to read Louise Hay. Wow, I changed so much, againnnn, after that. I had forgotten so much, dat book gave me a much needed push.
And this kinda push I need every once in while. I think my Dr. Judith is going to push me next.

Heres the article googled gave me :

By Judith Orloff, M.D.Adapted from Positive Energy,
Harmony Books, April, 2004
A basic dynamic of energy is that we attract who we are--the more positive energy we give off, the more we?ll magnetize to us. Ditto for negativity. It works like this: Love attracts love. Grumpiness attracts grumpiness. Passion attracts passion. Rage attracts rage. The explanation? This human form of ours is a subtle energy transmitter. We?re constantly sending out signals which others on similar frequencies pick up on, and gravitate towards--an instinctual call we may not be aware of. Why opportunities do or don?t show up in our lives is a function of this. Energy doesn?t simply have an on-off switch. Just as a radio has a volume control, you can adjust your energy. Here?s how to boost your positive signals.Identify your best parts and speak from themPinpoint your finest qualities. Perhaps irreverence, sensitivity, compassion, humor--then project them to the world. By speaking up and stepping out of your comfort zone you?re enlarging your energy field. Before meeting new people or going to important events prime yourself. Take a break for an inner pep talk. Think, ?I?m not going to focus on my insecurity but on a strength; I?m going to feel and trust the positive energy inside me. I?m going to claim my full power.? Such a selective attention device puts your best parts front and center. Then, perspective shifted, it?s easier to confidently move forward. You can?t overdo this approach. Use it routinely. Making a choice about where you?re coming from focuses your energy.

Extend heart energy outward. Love creates an irresistible charisma, a warm glow that makes us and others happy. You can send it in any situation, a nurturing that won?t drain us. How? Focus on your heart center (see Chapter Two?s
meditation), and envision something you love. A flock of seagulls. Your son?s smile. A blooming rose. Then, during a conversation, inwardly ask, ?Let love flow through me.? Feel it rise from your chest; notice a sense of heat, serenity, a radiance. These vibes move outward. People soften around them, feel safe, want more. So, when standing by your boss start pumping away. Loving energy smoothes the rough edges of any circumstance, facilitates rapport. Try it even if you don?t like someone, but seek to get along better. Our loving heart can melt the feistiest curmudgeons. It conveys the sense of what Buddhists call the ?groundless ground,? an ultimate secure place that stabilizes us from the inside out. Others pick up on this primal draw. Without heart, people are energetically wobbly, despite outer confidence. (For instance, a spiritual teacher who talks a good game but doesn?t emit heart energy is an imposter). The kinder we are to ourselves and others, the more love we communicate.

Regularly Meditate Happiness can be increased by meditating. Cutting edge brain research confirms that we all have a certain mood set point, a range of feelings we usually inhabit. But with regular meditation, it?s been shown that we can alter our habitual moods towards the positive. Use this method. When feelings surface during meditation, monitor them. Focus on what?s uplifting, not the swirl of negative emotions. As you?ve done before, use the breath to center yourself. This inner turnabout transmutes pessimism to something higher. Subsequently, your vibes change; others will respond.Commit to Emotional HousecleaningA fact I?ll keep trumpeting:
healing negativity prevents toxic build up in your energy field. As I emphasized in Chapter 4, consistently chipping away at the negative makes room for more light in your being. Self-awareness is our greatest ally against fear and its bullying cohorts. When these brutes appear, it allows you to say, ?I know you. Now scram!? Psychotherapy, introspection, meditation, journaling, and/or talking with friends all work to further healing. As negativity remits, your energy becomes more alluring.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

My first wacom achievement!!!!!!!

hey
Me and my sister were talking about making tshirts for ourselves with prints of our choice.

But the only problem was creating high-res illustrations on the pc. With my new wacom intuos4, that prob is solved foreverrrrrrrrrrr. Ok, I admit that this one is a tracing and composition

rather than an original piece of art, but people, the point is that I could never have achieved
this with a mouse. Do you know what this means? It means now I can make my own original
designs/illustrations on paper and then get them on to photoshop. Exciting!!! I swear looking
at this topiwali girl, I feel all my 18500 is vasooool. Wacom ne meri zindagi badal di!!


Friday, August 7, 2009

See wat I got!! A Wacom! :)

Hi All,
After watching a lot of wacom tutorial videos and reading a lot of reviews,I finally went and bought a wacom intuos4 for myself. After using it,I seriously felt, "Why the hell I dint do this before?". I used to feel so restricted with the mouse u know, I think it affected my career. Anyway, the tablet feels just like you are drawing on a piece of paper, with the added advantage of photoshop layers and all those wonderful powers that photoshop gives you. ( Mmmwah to Adobe for that! ) Anybody who is serious about graphic designing and illustration should get a graphic tablet, its really easy to use and saves sooo much time n effort, its not funny. I bought a wacom intuos4 medium (6x9) from access electronics, lamington road, for Rs.18500. Thats a lot of price difference with the Andheri showroom, who are selling it for Rs.21280. My pocket has become a lot lighter, but I am sure this was a wise wise decision.There is an illustration that I had made with a mouse, now I'll make the same with my tablet and pen. I'll put that up, so you guys can see the difference for yourself.Stay tuned. Ciao!

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Drawing from Archies

Hey,
Like I had mentioned before Archie comics is really the best source to learn figure drawing from.You can find archie and gang in many many different natural postures, and the illustrations are really clean and simple to follow. And lot of times, the characters are on the beach, so you can find them in bikinis, so they are easier to draw. See the pic above this? I tried to draw them and heres what I came up with. Hehe..m jus learning ok. I wish I could draw like this from memory.





Amy Dresser - Awesome professional retouching

Hmm..well the Charlies Angel photoswap job I had done got rejected. Why?1. Coz i charged a 1000 bucks 2. Coz the job is not flawless (!?!). Well, I am realy serious about photoshop, and when someone says my photoshop is not good enough, it really drivesme to do more. Grrr. I wanted to see what a top class photoswapping job would look like.By photoswappping I mean sticking Peter's head on Micheal's body. Well, I dint really find that, but what I found was some first-class photo retouching.I got the link to Amy's website from my favourite photoshop site:
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/
The images below are taken from the portfolio of fulltime retoucher Amy Dresser. Based in Los Angeles, Amy has worked as a freelance photo retoucher and illustrator for the past seven years. Jeeze her work is amazing, Omg! I am so inspired!!!! My jaw dropped when I saw this one.



You can see rest of her at : http://www.amydresser.com/

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Photoshop fun: Charlie's new angel


Hey,
Sticking people's faces in unlikely places is fun :D . I hadnt done dis in a looooong time. Check it out...took me a while, but enjoyed it. The girl's posture in the original image, and Lucy Liu's posture was almost the same, sooo this charlies angel wallpaper was the perfect choice for
the 'morphing'.

The Result:


The Subject: