Artistic Effects with Stretch

may be by 1918underwood

Muzy’s Stretch app is fun for making distorted pictures of your friends and enemies, but that’s hardly its only use. The Stretch app can create fascinating artistic effects as well and can be used with drawings and collage with equal success as photos.

The image to the left is one I drew on Muzy when I was apparently feeling like some bright and cheery colors. One of the things that makes this image a good one for Stretch is the high contrast. It has distinct areas of color, and so the shape of those areas can be easily manipulated with the stretch tool. I’ve stretched out the figure into a larger head and heart-shaped body, and stretched the dots into elongated shapes.

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 »

Dealing with Artist’s Block

Oh, noes! It's the blank canvas!

What do you do when you don’t know what to create? What happens when the inspiration just flees? How do you get back in the groove of making art? Don’t lose your passion or stop drawing and creating… you know it’s what makes you feel good at the end of the day. So here are some ideas on how to break through the artist’s block and come out creating…

Don’t Fear the Blank Canvas!

The fear of the blank canvas is one of the biggest blocks to creation. Can I make something worthwhile? Will I be able to carry out the great idea I have? Will anyone care?

Throw out those questions, doubts, and fears. That canvas is blank, and your mission is to fill it. So approach it as an enemy to defeat; approach it as a quest to conquer; approach it as destiny to fulfill. But approach it! Start with a line, a dot, a splotch and go from there, because often just starting is a long way towards getting it done. Read the rest of this entry »

Drawing Dottiness

tree by 1918underwood

It’s no secret to any of you that I enjoy my dots, and Muzy’s round drawing brush lends itself to creating dotty drawings. I thought that I’d review some ways to use dots in your drawings.

Dotty Lines and Swirls

One of the ways that I use dots is to create lines, like the ones in the drawing”tree.” These lines are much like any other line you might draw, except that they’re drawn with disconnected dots. Not only does a “dotty” line give an interesting look to the picture, but the use of dots allows you to create a line of varying widths (and also opacity), similar to a line you might draw with a calligraphy pen. 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 »

How to See Who’s Using Your Items

"river of blue" by madisonmorehead. This was made with 19 items, including one of mine... I probably wouldn't have found this lovely collage, if I hadn't been looking for collages using my items. Click to view the collage on Muzy!

Where does all of your karma come from? You get karma from items that you’ve created and that other people have used. It’s eminently gratifying to see the creative works that are propagated from your own works… and those works may in turn inspire you! So here are some tips on how to find and learn about the creative works that are made with your items. Read the rest of this entry »

Fun Muzy Activities: Scratch Drawings

Floral Fantasy by Gerbear. Click to view.

There’s no doubt: Muzy is a fun place. One of the great things about the Muzy environment is that it encourages games and activities that seem to rise up spontaneously in the community. Someone has a fun idea, and soon you’ll see examples of it all across Muzy. So I thought I’d document some of the fun things to do on Muzy, and one of the most fun and interesting is scratchboard drawing. Read the rest of this entry »

Creatively Using Objects in Muzy Collage

Ladybug by smws. Click to view.

Muzy collage does a lot more than just place one item next to another. There is a lot of creativity involved in deciding on a direction or idea for your collage, choosing items, and combining them together using both the drawing/erasing tools and the resizing/stretching/repositioning tools. When I first was introduced to Muzy, I didn’t realize how creative Muzy collage could be. Now, collaging is one of my favorite activities at Muzy.

This ladybug collage by smws is one of my favorite examples of the creative use of objects in a collage. The ladybug isn’t drawn; it’s composed of a mass of objects created separately for different uses, combined in an intriguing way. The end result is surprising and compelling, and even humorous as well as lovely. (Isn’t that a space invader as the ladybug’s head?)

So, let’s talk a little bit about creative collaging. Read the rest of this entry »