Making Simple Shapes: Star, Cloud, and Sun

Cloud, Star, Sun

Here are some more simple shapes that you can make on Muzy.

Star

What did your teacher stick on your paper when you got an A? A gold star, of course. Muzy is a gold-star kind of place. So let’s look at how to make a simple star. Read the rest of this entry »

Making Simple Shapes: Heart and Flower

Want “stickers” to put on your photograph? Why don’t you make your own custom one? After all, what is collage but a super-sticker machine? Here are some simple iconic objects that you can make in Muzy collage to stick anywhere, using a little shading and a few simple 2-dimensional shapes.

Heart

Let’s start at the “heart” of things, as it were. Hearts are everywhere. There are plenty of hearts on Muzy, but why not make your own? Personally, I prefer the swirling, free-style hearts that are off-center and tumbling over themselves toward something amazing… but let’s start with a balanced, geometric heart. Read the rest of this entry »

The Wonders of Muzy Collage

Reflections on the Nature of Life by 1918underwood. Click to view.

We’ve got tutorials for using the collage editor, but I wanted to post a video of the whole process of making a (fairly complex) collage that involves manipulating images, editing images, and (a little) drawing. So, I recorded a video the creation of this collage, “Reflections on the Nature of Life,” which started with a background made in Muzy’s photo effects editor for inspiration.

Thanks to all the people who contributed fantastic items to the making of this collage: qtgillie, Suntan, Tee, Miyuki, mafer, visK, smws, Cooperweb,  alynch66, leech, amagic2u, babsblueeyes, Gerbear, mike, jameegrisham, tiatodd, Riff,  and Meno. Read the rest of this entry »

Making an Alphabet

"The Alphabet" by qtgillie uses a block template as a starting place for creating each letter. Click to view.

Muzy has a number of alphabets. Making one is a large undertaking, since an alphabet has twenty-six letters, and more, if you’re feeling ambitious. That’s a lot of inspiration and perspiration. If you want to take on this task, here are some hints, tips, ideas, and inspiration.

What will your font look like?

There are many font decisions to make. Most Muzy fonts are specialty graphic fonts. On the other hand, smws’s amazing font renders a serif font beautifully in a comprehensive set of hand-drawn letters, numbers, and symbols. Read the rest of this entry »

Textures, Patterns, and Fabrics

concrete by smws. Click to view.

Muzy has acquired many textures, patterns, and fabrics that have exquisite uses. There is always room for more. Look around you: tabletops, chair backs, your favorite pair of jeans, the sand at the beach, the wall or ceiling or floor, the intertwined twigs of an empty winter tree… all of these things are fascinating textures and patterns that can be put to creative use on Muzy. You’ve got a digital camera somewhere, right? On your phone? How about a webcam? Find the intriguing patterns and textures around you, and send them to Muzy. Read the rest of this entry »

Making Simple Shapes: Three Dimensional Shapes

3-D Shapes by 1918underwood

Three dimensional shapes are the real-life objects we see around us every day. This is the world that we interact with: height, width, and depth. If you can draw simple three-dimensional shapes, you’ve got the building-blocks of drawing the three-dimensional world.

Cubes and Rectangular Solids

A cube or rectangular solid is like an extension of a square or rectangle into three dimensions. Rectangular solids surround us: buildings, filing cabinets, stereos. Read the rest of this entry »

Making Simple Shapes: Two Dimensional Shapes

All Around by bldalton. Click to view.

Simple shapes are great additions to Muzy. After all, every complex shape is made up of simple ones… Here are some tips and ideas about making simple shapes.

Straight Lines

Lines are the simplest shape, aren’t they? They’re useful for so many things. Of course, drawing a line is as simple as putting down your brush and moving it on the canvas.

A straight line is a little tougher. On Muzy, you can draw a straight line by holding down ctrl (or command on the Mac) before you start drawing. You can also hold down shift to lock your line into 15 degree increments. This lets you draw a straight line at a perfect angle, if you desire it. Read the rest of this entry »

Kaleidoscopes of Color in Muzy Collage

"Red Mandela" by Gerbear. Click to view.

If you’re looking for something truly cool to do in Muzy collage, here’s an idea inspired by and in honor of muzier Gerbear. Gerbear has made a few of these unique and fantastic kaleidoscope-like collages on Muzy. Though she is the master, I thought I’d try my hand at it, and let everyone know about my experience. A warning: this is my own personal take on the “kaleidoscope,” inspired by Gerbear. Muzy’s collaging capabilities lend themselves to creating kaleidoscope-type images, so this is a fun and challenging activity, with pretty impressive results. Read the rest of this entry »

How to Make Annoying Toaster Pets

"Sparky - The Annoying Toaster Pet" by Cooperweb. Click to view.

Is the era of the Annoying Toaster Pet on Muzy gone? Perish the thought. What, a new Muzier might recklessly ask, is an Annoying Toaster Pet? The name is self-explanatory. An Annoying Toaster Pet is a pet, such as a fish, bird, dog, or less identifiable small creature, that is (1) annoying and (2) a toaster.

One of the first Annoying Toaster Pets was Sparky, the Annoying Toaster Dog, but more soon followed. Muzy is filled with animals of the annoying toaster variety, including elephants, cats, fish, birds, and snakes. Read the rest of this entry »

Fun Activities: How to Make a Jigsaw Puzzle

Muzy’s collage editor gives you the capability of making a fun kind of puzzle: a jigsaw. Jigsaw puzzles are perfect for remix activities. To start a jigsaw puzzle, simply place the picture for your jigsaw on the collage canvas. The best pictures for jigsaws cover the whole canvas. Use the “Add to Collage” button to place your picture exactly in the center of the canvas. Use your own drawing, someone else’s, or an uploaded picture. You could draw an image especially for your puzzle, but it’s easiest to save the image separately to use while you’re building the puzzle. You can delete it after you’re done with the puzzle, if you prefer.

Start by placing an image in the center of the canvas.

Read the rest of this entry »