Create Contemporary Art Work To Make A Statement

This is a fun piece of contemporary art work that will literally make a statement. The bonus is the low cost and it's also a quick art project that doesn't require great skill or expensive tools. Make a statement with your own unique contemporary art work.

Instructions

1. Prepare the plywood for this contemporary art work by sanding the surface well. Round over the edges slightly with the sandpaper. Wipe with a damp cloth and let dry. Count the number of letters and words in the phrase to plan how many horizontal lines will be needed.

2. Use the t-square ruler to mark level horizontal lines across the wood. Three rows were drawn on the piece of plywood shown. Allow 3" height for each of the lettered rows in this contemporary art and subtract 9" from the total height of the wood. Use the remaining inches to figure equal spacing of top and bottom margins and in between rows. Mark lines lightly with the pencil. Apply painters tape under the bottom of the top row for accuracy.

3. Cut around the letters for the art work ensuring adhesive backing remains in place. Do a rough layout of the lettering for this contemporary piece before figuring the approximate spacing between the letters and words. Note the spacing on any sign will vary, depending on the phrasing, the size of the sign and the letters.

4. Beginning at the top row, pull off the adhesive backing and apply the first letter of the first word and the last letter of the last word. This process makes the application easier. Position the remaining letters on the first line and continue.

5. Run your fingers along the vinyl letters of the contemporary art work and press to ensure a good adhesion before continuing. This is done to lessen bleeding under the letters when the finish is applied.

6. Slide the sandwich bag over your painting hand to prevent staining the skin. Pour a little polycrylic into a clean, recycled plastic container. Add a few drops of fabric dye and gently stir until any lumps are dissolved. Do not shake the mix or stir vigorously as air bubbles will develop and may alter the finish.

7. Apply a thin coating of the polycrylic mixture onto the top of the plywood first and continue on all four sides. Keep the coating thin. Allow to dry well.

8. Remove the vinyl letters from the statement piece by pulling them off in the direction of the woodgrain to avoid splintering. Hang the contemporary art work or lean against a wall wherever you wish to make a statement.

Make A Good Anime Plot

Drawing a character before writing a character synopsis can help you visualize her character traits.

Mechademia, an annual collection of scholarly essays on Anime, publishes articles that contain "imagined history," and "gothic politics" in their titles. The titles of these essays suggest a complex plot structure that uses satire and fantasy to make a larger point. But at the basis of plot-driven Anime is fundamental storytelling. According to Kathleen Dinneen and Maryanne O'Connor of the Yale-New Haven Teacher's Institute, a story begins with character development.

Instructions

1. Write a summary of each character. The summary will include a brief background and the current objectives of the character. The summary will include aspects of the character's personality which will later determine the character's decisions within the story. For example: A character who is a strong fighter but often acts before thinking may make decisions that change the direction of a story. Drawing rough sketches of the characters as you work will help guide their development.

2. Create a conflict. Your characters must have a conflict to overcome to keep the audience's attention. Refer to the work of Tezuka Osamu, one of the founders of Anime.Tezuka's stories Triton of the Sea and Phoenix 2772 use conflicts inspired by traditional fables and fantasy to tell epic new stories. Conflict such as war or unruly spirits will give your plot the foundation of a story from which the characters will be forced to make decisions.

3. Write your plot using only action. Sometimes actions speak louder than words. The actions of your characters will inspire the words they choose to use.

Make A Gingerbread Man Book

Make gingerbread cookies to accompany your gingerbread man book.

Explore the lore of a mischievous little cookie that tries to outsmart the townsfolk he is running from. The Gingerbread Man taunts the people and animals he runs from by demanding that they try to catch him and bragging that no one can. In the end he is outsmarted and learns a valuable lesson. Recreate this story by making a Gingerbread Man book for kids to read and color on their own.

Instructions

1. Make your gingerbread man book using either card stock or construction paper. Card stock is heavier than regular paper and will hold up longer. Construction paper works well if you put each page into a plastic sleeve to protect the paper. Use crayons or markers to draw the pictures in the story book.

2. Design the cover of the book with your students. Ask each child to draw a gingerbread man or give them the option to draw another person or animal from the story like cow chasing the gingerbread man or the cunning fox. Label the cover of the book "The Gingerbread Man."

3. Ask your students to draw a picture of the old woman baking the gingerbread man in her oven on the first page. If your students are old enough, ask them to write that the woman was making a gingerbread man for her and her husband to eat. They can include what she used for the eyes, the nose and the mouth of the gingerbread man. Write the story with pencil to erase mistakes if necessary.

4. Illustrate the gingerbread man jumping out of the oven and escaping through the window on the second page of the book. Older students can write a sentence or two about the old woman telling the gingerbread man to come back and how he was running away into the forest.

5. Decorate the third and fourth pages with images of the pig and the horse the gingerbread man runs past. Older students can write that each animal he passes wants to eat him and begins to chase the gingerbread man. Include the famous phrase by the gingerbread man saying, "Run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me. I'm the gingerbread man." On the fifth page, draw the horse that the gingerbread man runs past.

6. Show the river that the gingerbread man runs into as he flees the the hungry people and animals on the sixth page. Introduce the fox on the seventh page and show that the sly fox states that he does not want to eat the gingerbread man. On the eighth and ninth pages, draw the fox crossing the river with the gingerbread man on his tail at first, then his back next. The tenth page will show the gingerbread man standing on the fox's nose. Older students can write that the fox convinces the little cookie to climb higher up his body as the water from the river gets deeper.

7. Draw the cookie inside the fox's mouth on the final page of the story. Older students can write how the fox finished crossing the river only to devour the cookie in peace after pretending to help the gingerbread man.

8. Bind the book together on the right side using a stapler. Staple once at the top, once in the middle ans once at the bottom of the book. If you use plastic sheet protectors instead, slide each page into a separate sleeve and insert the pages into a three-ring binder.

Make A Gargoyle Dragon Bat Wings Costume

Make a Gargoyle Dragon Bat Wings Costume

When Halloween rolls around, people get to pretend they're whoever they want to be, including, sometimes, creatures with wings. Gargoyles, bats and dragons are popular Halloween ideas, but making a set of convincing wings for these creatures can be a problem. Fortunately, with a little guidance, they can be pretty easy to put together, with some things you likely have in your house. The only thing you need to do is choose the right fabrics: green or red for dragons, black for bats and stone gray for gargoyles.

Instructions

1. Lay out the long-sleeved shirt on your work surface with the arms pointed up.

2. Measure and cut two semi-circular pieces of fabric that extend from the end of the sleeve to the bottom of the shirt. The circle should be at least as wide as the sleeve is long.

3. Sew the pieces together. Try the shirt on and see if the wings open easily and correctly, then lay the shirt out on the work surface again.

4. Cut the wire coat hangers to make pieces that extend from the armpit to the edge of the fabric. Straighten out the wire as much as possible. You need a total of six pieces.

5. Lay the wires out across the wings to form the bones inside the wings. Place them so they all meet at the armpit, and are spread out evenly around the semi-circular edge.

6. Use electrical tape to stick the wires to the wings. Make a wide, even splash of tape to hold the wings down. Reinforce the tape around the tops and bottoms of the wires so they don't poke out and injure people.

7. Cut scalloped shapes out of the wings, inverted arcs between the pieces of wire.

Make A Funny Stick Figure Cartoon

You can give your stick figure some comedic flairs by giving it wacky facial expressions.

Not everyone is born with artistic talents, but that doesn't mean you can't draw and doodle for fun. One of the easiest things for children or adults to draw is a stick figure of a person. There are certain flairs you can add to your stick figure --- like giving it wacky hair, facial expressions or making it look like it's running.

Instructions

1. Draw a circle for the head of your stick figure. Make the circle large enough that you can draw in eyes, a nose, and a mouth. To make the stick person cute or funny, draw two big circles to give it large eyes, a small squiggly line for a nose, a wavy smile or draw a line of squares for teeth. On the outside of the head you can draw squiggly lines or scribble wildly to make hair.

2. Draw a long vertical line starting at the bottom of the head circle and going down. This line, which will act as the main part of the body, should be at least double the length of the head circle. As an alternative, you could draw an equilateral triangle with the top tip of the triangle positioned at the bottom of the head circle. This triangle would act as the "dress" for a female stick figure.

3. Determine the midway point of your vertical line or equilateral triangle and draw two horizontal lines coming out of each side to act as the arms. You can draw the arm lines straight out or angle them either up or down. If you wish, draw five short lines on the end of each "arm" to act as fingers.

4. Draw two angled lines, resembling the shape of a capital "A", at the bottom of your long vertical "body" line. These two lines will act as the legs of the male stick figure. For the female, draw two straight vertical lines coming out of the bottom of the equilateral triangle for legs. At the bottom of each leg you can draw a small horizontal line for the feet. For some extra comedy, draw the legs of your stick figure bent legs and draw four or five horizontal lines to the side of the stick figure to make it appear like he or she is running.

Make Prints Of Your Artwork

Prints are ideal for art lovers looking for an affordable option.

Making prints of your original artwork creates a more affordable and appealing art option to many consumers. Several websites, such as Imagekind or Artist Rising, will make and sell prints of your artwork -- all you do is upload your digital image to their site and they take care of the sales, printing, framing, packing and sending. This is a costly service, however, with many of these sites charging a monthly fee or taking a cut of up to 85 percent of your sales. You can make your own prints for much less money with a computer, scanner and printer or access to a print shop.

Instructions

1. Lay your artwork face-down on your scanner bed and scan it onto your computer. If your artwork is larger than the scanner bed, scan different parts of it until you're sure the entire work is scanned. Scan the images at 300 dots per inch (dpi) or more and save them in Tag Image File Format (TIFF) on your computer.

2. Open photo editing software such as Photoshop or Pixelmator on your computer and pull up the scanned image you saved. If you scanned multiple images of your artwork, pull them up separately, copy and paste them into one new image file and piece them together. Zoom in as far as possible and try to get the edges to match up perfectly. Perform any cropping, color correction or other editing as desired, then save the image again, making sure it's still in TIFF format.

3. Print the image with your own high-quality laser printer and paper. If your printer isn't up to par or you need a larger print, save the image on a thumb drive or CD and take it to a professional printer, such as Kinko's. They will make prints in a wide variety of sizes and types of paper for an affordable price.

4. Store each print in its own plastic envelope, backed with an acid-free board. This protects the prints from humidity and other damage. You can also mat and frame the prints for a more authentic look.

Ideas For Painting With Oil And Pastels

Painting provides satisfying and creative enjoyment.

Painting provides a fulfilling, creative outlet and a rich means of self-expression. It allows you to create individualized works for yourself and others. There is a world of ideas and possibilities open to the budding artist. A vital first step in developing your artistic abilities is to discover the medium that best suits your sensibilities, your level of commitment and even your budget. Oil paints are enduring in popularity, but may pose challenges for the novice. Oil pastels are an accessible alternative that can be used to wonderful effect, as can chalk pastels and water-soluble wax pastels.

Oil Paints

Oil paints have been the primary medium of painters for centuries. A mastery of oil paints allows the artist to create a myriad of effects in styles ranging from the Old Masters to Impressionism to today's contemporary art. However, with this versatility comes challenges. Painting with oils requires practice, and the initial investment in materials can be steep. Oil painting mediums include turpentine and linseed oil, so good ventilation is of paramount importance. Once these factors are addressed, painting with oils can be extremely rewarding. Stretched canvases and art boards are ideal surfaces for oils. Canvas and board sizes range from smaller than an index card to larger than life size, making them suitable as accent pieces or as a focal point to dominate a room.

Oil Pastels

Oil pastels are crayon-like sticks of vibrant colors made by binding raw pigments with wax. This process creates a media that flows well, retains rich color and is easy to work with. You can draw with oil pastels just like with crayons, but oil pastels can also be blended together in a multitude of colors and shadings. Oil pastels are water-soluble and can be used with turpentine, linseed oil and other oil painting mediums for a painterly effect. They can applied over both oil and acrylic paints. Oil pastels can be used on untreated surfaces such as paper, wood and glass, giving them greater flexibility than oil paints. Because oil pastel paintings never harden entirely, they are generally displayed under glass.

Soft Pastels

Soft pastels are sticks of color made by blending pigments with clay. These pastels are the ramped-up, power version of chalk. Soft pastels are available in a wide range of intense saturated colors, making them ideal for the beginning artist. This array of luscious colors makes creating a pastel painting as simple as opening a sketchbook and applying your choice of colors with no need for blending. Pastels can be used to sketch lightly, leaving areas of paper untouched and showing through. When pastels are applied heavily and in layers, covering the entire surface of the paper, it is considered a pastel "painting."

Wax Pastels

Wax pastels or artists' crayons are not as commonly known as oil or soft pastels, but are well worth discovering. Wax pastels are softer than colored pencils, with more intense pigmentation than crayons. They are clean to work with, odor-free, and can be used on any surface. Because they are water-soluble, it is simple to use a wet brush to add a wash, and combine watercolor and drawing effects in one painting. Wax pastels dry completely so they can be used to create note cards and greeting cards as well as more stationary works of art. Wax pastels offer an affordable, flexible and richly rewarding introduction to painting for the novice artist.

Make A Fish Skeleton

Find out make a fish skeleton out of clay.

Make a replica of a realistic fish skeleton to help you learn about the anatomy of a fish, or a simple one for a macabre decoration. Air-dry clay is easy to work with and you can use a technique to help you bind the fake fish bones together to make a strong clay skeleton. Print out a fish skeleton diagram to help you make a realistic model, or a clip-art image to help you make a simplistic version.

Instructions

1. Download a picture of a fish skeleton from the Internet that looks the way you want your fake fish skeleton to look. Print the image on the "Full Page" setting so that prints large. It's okay if the image is blurry or rough around the edges -- you only need the basic shape to guide you.

2. Mold some white air dry modeling clay into the shapes of the bones and place them on the paper over the image to help you get the right shape of the fish skeleton. Make each no less than 1/4-inch-thick so the clay skeleton is strong. Create the spinal cord and the ribs of the fish this way.

3. Mix some of the clay with water to make "slip," a gooey substance that helps you "weld" separate pieces of clay together. Attach the bones by cutting tiny slits in the ends where they will join with a knife and applying slip to the ends. Blend the ends of the bones and the slip together where they join. Assemble the bones on the piece paper with the image to help guide you.

4. Press an eye socket hole in the side of the skull of the fish with your finger and a smaller hole near the front of the skull with the pointed end of a pencil. Blend the edge of the skull to the end of the spine. Make an arrow shape for the tail fin and attach it to the end of the tail the same way. Wait 24 to 48 hours for the clay to dry all the way and display your fake fish skeleton.

Make A Faux Tortoise Shell Novelty Box

There are as many ways to get a faux tortoise finish as there are tortoises on the Galapagos Islands. Each method involves mixing several colors and using techniques to smear. Before you complete this project, try a test on a sample piece of wood to get the color combinations and designs that you like best.

Instructions

1. Begin by thoroughly cleaning and sanding the box to make certain that the paint sticks.

2. Prime the surface of the box, then begin adding color. Paint the entire surface with the lightest color you've chosen. An umber or muted yellow is good for this step. Glaze the surface once this has dried, to allow ease of muting colors later.

3. Choose the next two colors in darkness for your pallet and make streaks with a 1-inch brush. Two colors that can be used effectively are a burnt orange and antique red or burnt red. These streaks can be long, diagonal or perpendicular to each other. Leave some areas open for the base to show and another color to be added.

4. Add the next darkest color with the 1inch brush. A deep brown or mahogany would be a nice touch. Leave some area open to mute colors with the base.

5. Soften the paint by using a wide bristle brush and brushing the colors together. Blot it afterward with a clean, wadded rag to soften the look even more.

6. Splatter small amounts of black paint onto the box or dot it with a fine paint brush. Blot again with the rag. If you haven't reached the desired effect, brush the surface with a wide brush, one more time.

7. Allow the box to dry and vanish with a coat of glossy varnish.

Make A Fake Pipe

A fake pipe can be easily fashioned from clay.

Pipes have been used for hundreds of years as a way to smoke tobacco. Pipes are made from many different materials, including wood, corn, clay and even ivory. Many costumes call for the use of a pipe, but real pipes can be expensive to purchase just for a prop. You can make a fake pipe from baked clay that will perfectly fit your prop needs. This saves the expense of purchasing a real pipe, and also doubles as a craft project for someone who loves to make things themselves.

Instructions

1. Knead the clay until it is soft and pliable. Separate the clay into two sections. Work one section into a pipe bowl shape, with a depression in the middle to represent where the tobacco would go. Form the other piece into a long, narrow pipe stem. Don't worry about making a hole in the stem, because you will not be using the pipe for smoking. Flatten the tip of the stem where it will go into a person's mouth.

2. Use a piece of wire to carve decorations into the pipe bowl and stem.

3. Moisten a sponge and rub it over the end of the pipe stem. Moisten a small area on the pipe body and press the two pieces together. It may take several minutes before the bond is strong enough to hold permanently.

4. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place the pipe on the cookie sheet.

5. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees. When the oven is hot, place the cookie sheet with the pipe on it into the oven. Allow the clay to dry in the oven for 1 hour.

6. Remove the pipe from the oven and allow to cool for 5 to 6 hours.

7. Pour some clay glaze or varnish into a paper plate. Dip a paintbrush into the varnish and paint over the surface of the pipe. Paint all areas, to prevent air from reaching the clay. Allow the varnish to dry for 24 hours. Your fake pipe is now complete.

Make A Drum Head From Plastic Sheeting

Home-made drum heads can give you a cheap alternative to a store-bought instrument.

Drum heads can be made at home with plastic sheeting for a fraction of the price of the name brand drum heads from your local drum head dealer. A home-made drum head that is thicker or thinner than normal will alter the sound of that drum, as well as the feel of playing that instrument. Your home-made drum head may not sound as good as a professionally constructed drum head, but plastic sheeting is one of the most similar sounding alternatives.

Instructions

1. Loosen the tension rods on one side of the drum with the drum key and remove tension rods from lugs. Place the tension rods together and to the side.

2. Remove the drum hoop and place to the side with the tension rods. Loosen and remove the remaining tension rods and drum hoop from the opposite side of the drum.

3. Cut your plastic sheeting four times the drum diameter. If you are using an 11-inch tom, for example, cut two pieces of plastic sheeting that measure 25 inches by 25 inches. This will allow you to make four layers for more durability.

4. Fold the plastic sheeting in half and then fold that half in half again. You should have a four-layer, 12.5-inch by 12.5-inch square.

5. Place this square on the drum shell, where the drum head would usually go. Put on the drum hoop over the plastic sheeting and hold the drum hoop on tight, keeping the plastic sheeting in place. Replace the tension rods and tighten.

6. Turn the drum over and repeat this process for the other side of the drum with your other piece of plastic sheeting. Keep the plastic as tight as you can while tightening the drum hoop with the tension rods. Repeat for the rest of your drums. Tune your drums to your liking using the drum key.

The Art History Of Salvador Dali

The Art History of Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali, an early 20th century Spanish artist, is associated with the Surrealist movement, though it had been founded many years before Dali became a popular artist. Surrealism was concerned with expressing the workings of the unconscious mind and its supposedly superior thought process.

Early Life/Education

Dali was born May 11, 1904 in the Pyrenees town of Figueres, Spain. He began receiving private art lessons at the age of ten. At the age of 18, Dali began studying at the School of Fine Arts in Madrid where he experimented with the Cubist and Dada styles of painting. His first public exhibition occurred in 1919 at the Municipal Theater in Figueres. It was around this time he began a passionate friendship with the poet Frederico Garcia Lorca. In 1926, Dali was expelled from the School of Fine Arts.

He traveled to Paris and met Picasso through Joan Miro, an artist and mutual friend.

Introduction to Surrealism

In 1929, Dali joined a Surrealist group of artists living in Montparnasse. The Surrealists appreciated Dali's ability to tap into his unconscious mind to create his art. Dali's 1931 painting, "Persistence of Memory," is one of the most well-known Surrealist pieces. In August of that year, Dali met Gala, a Russian immigrant who would be his future-wife.

Politics

With the onset of World War II, artists worldwide became increasingly political. Dali and Gala were now comfortably living in the United States, and they were not politically active. Artists like Andre Breton reviled Dali for his seeming apathy. Spending his later years in Catatonia--ruled by Franco at the time--further riled the more radical groups of artists. As such, his popularity waned in his later years.

Themes/Symbols in Dali's Art

Dali was extremely interested in Freudian psychology and often used its symbols in his paintings--including representations of the phallus, the Oedipus Complex and the myth of Narcissus. Rhinoceros horns are symbols of chastity. Ants represent death. His limpid watches represent the power of time and the desire to transgress that power. Dali also used Christian religious symbols.

Works in Other Mediums

In addition to his paintings, Dali produced two films, "An Andalusion Dog" in 1928 and "The Golden Age" in 1930. Both are considered iconic works of Surrealist cinema. He worked with Alfred Hitchcock on the film "Spellbound." In 1942, he published "The Secret Life of Salvador Dali," an autobiography. Dali also collaborated with many famous photographers and designers.

Sell Art To Poster & Tshirt Companies

You can sell your designs to t-shirt companies.

One of the ways a freelance artist or graphic designer can earn a living is to submit work to companies that manufacture t-shirts, posters and even bumper stickers. With the advent of the Internet, there are more of these opportunities available than ever before. T-shirt and poster companies are always on the lookout for something new and original, twists on old designs, and interesting artwork they can use for their products. If you have a talent for drawing or painting, selling your ideas to these companies can be your way to earn a living with your art.

Instructions

1. Get a current copy of the "Artist's and Graphic Designer's Market." While you can browse the Internet and locate many companies that may consider your work, this market guide can be an indispensable tool to help you market your art to t-shirt and poster companies. It includes contact information and submission guidelines from companies looking for artwork specifically for t-shirts, posters and other items. The book also features articles by established artists offering tips on sell your art.

2. Read the submission guidelines for the companies listed in the guide. The guidelines tell you exactly the type of art each company looks for, submit your art (usually on disc in a high quality image format such as TIFF), and how much they will pay you for your work. Write down the names and addresses of the companies that look as if they purchase the type of art you create.

3. Prepare your artwork according to the guidelines. If the guidelines state you should deliver both a computer disc with your image and a hard copy of your artwork, that is the way you should submit. Include a brief cover letter with your submission regardless of whether the guidelines request one. Introduce yourself, write something about the artwork you're submitting, and thank the recipient of the cover letter for taking the time to consider your work.

4. Package and send your work to the companies you've chosen. The guidelines will typically give you an estimated response time. Do not follow up on your work until after the response time has passed; then it's appropriate to send an email asking about the status of your submission. In the meantime, continue to submit other work to other companies. The more work you have in circulation, the better your chances of selling your art to these companies.

Make A Dog Show Catalog

Make a Dog Show Catalog

A dog show, also called a conformation show, is an event where dogs are exhibited and judged according to a breed standard. Dog shows may have hundreds or even thousands of dogs entered. A catalog provides information on each dog entered and allows stewards, exhibitors and spectators to keep track of the dogs as they are shown.

Instructions

1. Review the American Kennel Club (AKC) dog show rules and determine what size to make your catalog. Most catalogs range from five-and-a-half by eight-and-a-half inches to full letter size.

2. Design the cover and title page of your catalog. Be sure you include the information required by the AKC dog show rules, such as the date, times and location of the show and the name of the show-giving club.

3. Place other information regarding the show on the next few pages. Include the names of the club officers and event committee members, the name and contact information of the judges, show veterinarian, a list of prizes and trophies offered and the schedule of judging. You might also want to include information on special events, show ground rules and club policies in the front section.

4. Arrange the entry forms by group, breed, varieties and class in the order outlined in the AKC dog show rules.

5. Assign armband numbers to each dog and write them on the entry forms. Do not assign the numbers one through four, to avoid confusion or prejudice in class placements; some clubs prefer to skip one through ten. Each breed numbering starts over at the beginning.

6. Type the information for each dog in the catalog, in order. Include the dog's armband number, registered name, registration number, date of birth, breeder(s), sire and dam, owner(s) and handler, if any.

7. Include the schedule of points after the class entries for each sex, in each breed. If your organization has one point schedule that covers all breeds, you can put it in the front of the catalog.

8. Create a list of all the owners, with their addresses, cross-referenced to the dog's breed and armband number. If the organization does not require you to print addresses in the catalog, consider leaving them out to protect the entrant's privacy.

9. Add other information required by the AKC dog show rules and any other items you choose. Some clubs opt to add information on future shows in the catalog.

10. Insert advertisements in the catalog, if you are allowing them. Place them wherever it makes sense; for a multiple-breed catalog, ads are often placed at the start of the listing for the relevant breed.

11. Proofread your catalog carefully and ensure the armband numbers on the entry forms match what is in the catalog.

12. Print your catalog, using card stock for the cover. Copy and collate as many catalogs as you need and staple or bind them. Alternatively, you can put your catalog on a CD or zip drive and have your local printer make the copies for you.

Raise White Wood Ducks

White wood ducks are a variation of the popular ornamental wood duck breed.

Wood ducks are one of the most common ornamental duck breeds. A close relative to the Mandarin, white wood ducks are extremely hardy, are easy to raise, get along well with other duck breeds and are a good duck for beginners, according to duck breeder Mandarin Lane Farms. Ducks are generally easier to raise than other poultry because they are less susceptible to common poultry diseases. People raise wood ducks solely for exhibition or hobby purposes.

Instructions

1. Set up an area for ducks in the building of your choice; a garage or barn will do, or you can house wood ducks in a chicken coop. Ducklings require half a square foot of floor space for the first two weeks and 1 square foot of space for the next two weeks. If ducklings are confined for the entire first month, they will each require 2 square feet of floor space. Grown ducks need 3 to 5 square feet of indoor floor space per bird.

2. Cover the coop or duck area floor with soft, clean litter. The floor covering can be corncob litter, wood shavings, chopped straw or peat moss. Keep the litter clean and dry and remove any molded floor covering material immediately.

3. Provide grown wood ducks with raised nesting boxes. Wood ducks are cavity nesters, so require raised boxes at a ratio of three nesting boxes for each nesting pair.

4. Purchase an incubator. If you brood and hatch your own ducklings, you can use a broody chicken to hatch the eggs. It's easier, though, to use an incubator. You will need to turn the eggs three to five times a day until three days before they hatch, so buying an incubator that automatically turns eggs is recommended.

5. Place hatched ducklings in a brooder. Ducklings require double the brooder space per duck than chickens require. The brooder needs to be heated with a 250-watt heat lamp. Brooder temperature should stay steady at 90 degrees F. for newly hatched ducklings. Lower the temperature by 5 degrees each week. Watch the ducklings' behavior to determine if the temperature is right. If ducklings move away from the heat, they're probably too hot. If they huddle together near the heat lamp, you need to increase the temperature.

6. Start ducklings out with waterfowl or chick starter food. It's common to lose wood ducklings at between four and six days old because they often can't find food or understand eat. To encourage ducklings to eat, sprinkle feed onto the floor or onto the ducklings themselves. You can also smear moistened food onto the sides of the brooder, or float feed in pickle jar lids of water. You can also feed ducklings live mealworms to encourage them to eat. Once ducklings are eating regularly, place food on rough paper; slick paper can cause leg injuries.

7. Use waterers ducklings can't get into. Ducklings are easily chilled when they get wet. Buy duckling waterers or use pans and troughs with wire guards to prevent baby ducks from getting wet. Adjust waterers as the ducklings grow. When ducklings are fully feathered, their water source should be wide and deep enough for the bird to dip its entire beak and head into.

8. Switch to pelleted chicken grower feed. For adult ducks and 1 month and older ducklings, pelleted chicken feed supplemented with cracked corn should be available at all times. Ducks also need constant access to grower-sized insoluble grit.

Make A Digital Art Portfolio

J. Bond Jewelry

Making your own digital-art portfolio is a matter of following a few basic steps. First, you'll need to produce photographic images of your art. Consider presentation and lighting and compose photographs with an attention to detail, paying attention to such elements as background, perspective and place in a series.

Instructions

Creating a Digital Portfolio for Your Artwork

1. When collecting the art pieces you want to include in your portfolio, group them according to categories that are easy to sort, such as landscapes, portraiture, and three-dimensional versus two-dimensional. Consider how you wish the viewer to progress through the portfolio. It may be helpful to include a narrative for each piece, as well as specific information such as size, medium and asking price (if artwork is for sale).

2. With your outline for the overall presentation developed, you can then begin to produce images of the artwork. For most Windows computers you can choose to show thumbnails, instead of lists or icons, of the photographs by specifying so in the toolbar, next to the search icon. These images can be manipulated in Photoshop (or any photo editor) to produce Web-ready photography.

If you are using a scanner, the scanned image can be saved to your desktop so you can quickly access it. If you have a card reader that will download camera images to the desktop, give each image a unique name for easy identification. Once you've loaded the images you wish to include open the files in your photo-editing program.

3. Editing the photos is simple. In Adobe Photoshop, open the "Image" tab, scroll to "Image Size" and adjust the pixels. The image size determines how quickly the image can load through the Internet when you open the portfolio for presentation and allows you to change its quality if it is destined for print media.

As a general rule, any image can be adjusted to 600 pixels per square inch without compromising its quality, in terms of the way it is seen by the human eye. Reducing the size of each photograph allows you to standardize and format the portfolio contents.

4. As you work through the images in Photoshop, be aware of any variations in light and color that may distract from the artwork. These can be adjusted using the "Image Adjustments" tab. Also look to fine-tune brightness, contrast and color balance.

Save the original and edited version of each image, giving them unique names, so you will always be able to return to either one.

5. Adobe Acrobat, which is compatible with Macintosh and Windows operating systems, will place your images in separate files. In Adobe Acrobat Professional there is a button in the toolbar with a plus sign that says "Combine Files." This is an easy system for packaging all those images you've created into a single document that you can then attach to any email or link to any Web site. From "Combine Files" click "Add Files," and if you've saved everything to the desktop, then this is where you will go to add them into your Adobe Acrobat PDF.

Make A Dalistyle Melting Clock

Salvador Dali was an artist whose works of art are iconic. One of those iconic pieces is the melting clock. It's possible to create your own Dali-style melting clock very inexpensively. This eHow can help.

Instructions

1. Choose a record that you would like to use. It can be an album of a group you like, or a record you found at the thrift store. Also, find a piece of PVC that you can use when creating the clock. You may be able to find this at the thrift store as well.

2. Preheat your oven to about 220 F degrees. Pull out a baking sheet that's large enough to accommodate your record. Place the record on the sheet, and place it in the oven. Keep an eye on the record, and determine when it begins to look as if it's melting. Quickly remove the pan from the oven and put it on a protective pad on the table.

3. Press the edge of the record against the edge of the table, and allow the record to hang down. Make sure the label is aligned as you would like. Let the record curve as it would like so it will look very much a Dali-style work of art.

4. Purchase an inexpensive wall clock. Open it up and remove the hands and the clock movement. Secure the clock movement in place on the back of the record with hot glue. Attach the hands to the front of the record by slipping it on the clock movement's pin that extends through the hole in the album. You may have to cut the arms of the clock a little short so that you can see them easily against the color of the record's label. You don't have to use the second hand.

5. Drill a small hole on the portion of the clock so that you can attach it to the edge of a bookcase or a mantel.

Draw Stairs In A Floor Plan

This detailed floor plan has one curved staircase in the top left corner of the image.

A floor plan is a bird's-eye view of each floor of a building abstracted as though there is no roof and only a few basic structural elements in the building, such as walls and doors. Because stairs are so common in architectural floor plans, there are shorthands and symbols for stairs that make drawing them a simple and straightforward task. The main difficulties are drawing to scale, using the correct measurements for the stair, and making the design decisions about where the stairs should go.

Instructions

1. Decide where the stairs should go in the floor plan. Consider the layout of the building and which places are convenient to move between floors.

2. Determine the distance the stairs have to travel upward. This action plays a huge role in determining how long the stairs have to be because the risers and treads of the stairs are always the same height and width and the stairs have to be comfortable to walk up or down. For example, a room with a 9-foot ceiling would have stairs that have risers that are 7 inches tall and treads that are a standard 11 inches, calling for 15 treads. This translates into a bit less than a 12-foot long stairway.

3. Convert your stairway length into the scale you're using for your floor plan. For example, if 1/4 inch on the drawing equals 1 foot in real life--a common scale for blueprints--a 12-foot stairway would be 3 inches long in the drawing.

4. Draw a rectangle of the right scaled dimensions to the stairway you wish to build. Draw an arrow parallel to the long side of the rectangle and inside the rectangle. Point the arrow in the direction the stairwell is leading in the building. The arrow always points from the base of the stairs to the top.

5. Draw parallel lines dividing the rectangle into the treads. Draw about seven treads and then draw a diagonal line dividing the rectangle and cutting through a couple of the treads. Insert a jagged line into the diagonal line so that it looks like a seismograph reading. This is a symbol that indicates a stairwell and is a shorthand method for drawing stairs in a floor plan.

6. Repeat steps 1 through 5 to create a circular stairs except instead of drawing a rectangle draw a circle with your compass and use your architect's rectangle to draw the treads, which in a circular stairs look like slices of a pie.

Textured Painting Ideas

Texture can strengthen a painting in many ways. It is used to create tone and add interest to an image. In addition, texture gives the painting a tactile presence and interactive quality for the viewer. Texture turns the painting into something people will be tempted to touch and ponder beyond the image it portrays.

Paint Layering

Vincent Van Gogh had this technique down cold. Paint layering creates a crusty, disorderly effect that calls attention to the paint itself while keeping the image intact. In other words, this technique forces viewers to look at the painting both as an image and for what it really is: globs of paint.

Creating textures by layering paint with acrylic is easy--almost more easy than trying to maintain the illusion of a pristine smooth canvas. Acrylic paint dries quickly, and blending can become complicated for painters. The more paint the artist globs onto the canvas, the slower it will dry and the more easy blending becomes. To create textured layers, use especially thick brush strokes. Laden your paintbrush with paint. If you're concerned about the cost implications of using that much paint, start by covering the blank canvas with a light, thin layer of color just to cover up all the white. This will allow you to use thicker brush strokes without worrying about filling in every section of blank canvas.

Oil paint is slightly more complicated, because the artist must follow the rules of fat over lean. Basically, oil paint is composed of pigment and oils. Some oil paints--usually the oil-heavy mixtures--dry more slowly than others. If a fast-drying layer of paint is applied on top of a slow-drying layer of paint, the top layer will crack as the layers beneath harden and settle into their final positions. To avoid this effect, the artist must spread the faster-drying layers of paint (the "lean") on the canvas first. Slower-drying layers of paint ("fat") are applied on top. If this rule is followed appropriately, the paint will dry easily.

Textured Canvas

Some artists stretch and prime their own canvases, while others simply buy pre-primed canvases from arts and crafts stores. If you prime your own canvas, you have a perfect opportunity to texture the canvas with gesso. Use different tools to apply the gesso. Brushes, sticks, palette knives, even fingers will work. Start with subtle textures and increase intensity as needed. Even subtle marks like strokes made by the bristles of a paintbrush will show up through the image (unless you are adding texture to the painting on top).

Alternative Textures

Another method altogether is to paint on alternative surfaces. Try a painting on a cinder block wall, an old door or a multipaned window. Try to match the image in the painting to the surface you are painting on, either literally or thematically. Use the texture of the surface you are painting on to your advantage; give thought to the placement of elements of the image, and use all of these working parts to create a fully realized and balanced design.

Depiction of Texture

The final and possibly most obvious way texture may be added to an image is by painting it into the image. The objects in a painting are textured, and it is the responsibility of the painter to portray that texture through depiction. For example, a teddy bear may be painted as fuzzy, a pine cone may be portrayed as prickly and a tomato may appear to be smooth and slightly wet.

Draw A Skeleton Hand

A skeleton hand drawing is complex and simple at the same time.

The human skeleton hand has 26 bones, which is more bones than in any part of the body. The pieces all attach together in separate parts to build the fingers and the wrist, secured with tendons. Drawing a skeleton hand is simple and complex at the same time. While there are many pieces to create, each piece is generally very easy to draw. Another bonus is that there is very little shading, compared to drawing other skeletal pieces, such as the skull.

Instructions

1. Run a pencil over the top of a piece of drawing paper, creating a very general line structure that is shaped like a human hand. Make a single line for each finger, long enough to run through the finger itself and through the palm to the wrist.

2. Add in each individual piece of bone to the outline, drawing them directly over the line. The very tips of the fingers have sharper bones that are slightly triangular in shape. From there, the bones form through each of the three joints on each finger. They continue to reach downward, each bone long and tubular, to join with the cluster of wrist bones. Depending on how realistic you'd like your drawing to be, you may want to use a scientific diagram of the skeleton hand to ensure complete accuracy.

3. Erase any evidence of the initial line structure. Use the side of your pencil to shade lightly the very outside edges of each bone, darkening slightly whenever near a tendon.

Make A Comic Book On Microsoft Word

Creating comic strips can be an educational activity in almost any subject.

Whether you're adapting characters from history or popular culture or creating your own super hero universe, comic strips combine words and pictures to form a unique medium for creative expression. Making a comic book on Microsoft Word can be an enjoyable educational activity for students of all ages, or a creative hobby for children and adults alike. While there are many ways to create a comic book, Microsoft Word provides many of the basic tools needed to produce and format words and images so that anyone with a computer can become a comic book author.

Instructions

1. Open a new file in Microsoft Word to begin your comic book project. Use word art or plain text to write the title of the comic and the author's name at the top of the page.

2. Create the comic strip template you will use for your images and words. You can either create a table for uniform comic strip boxes or you can draw the squares individually. If you want to use a table, select "Insert" and "Table" and decide how many rows and columns of comic strip boxes you want. If you want to draw your own boxes, use the "AutoShapes" function to draw a box the size you want. Then copy and paste to reproduce the box to form a strip.

3. Modify your boxes to a standard size by right-clicking on the box and choosing the option to format the image. Enter the specific dimensions you want for the shape. You can also resize tables and shapes at any time by clicking and dragging the corners or sides.

4. Insert pictures into your comic strip by placing the cursor in the box where you want the image to appear, then selecting "Insert" and "Picture." You can choose clip art images or images that you have created yourself. Prepare images ahead of time by drawing them in the Paint application or by hand-drawing pictures and scanning them into your computer as image files.

5. Format images so that you can move them anywhere in the box by selecting "Tight" as the text-wrapping option after you have inserted them into the document.

6. Insert callout boxes using the AutoShape feature to give speech or thought bubbles to the characters in your comic strip. Right-click on the callout to add or edit the text, and resize the callout to fit the amount of text by clicking and dragging a corner of the shape. Click and drag the yellow box on the tip of the callout pointer to match the speech or thought bubble with the appropriate character image.

7. Number the pages by selecting "Insert" and "Page Numbers" if you want to create a comic book with multiple pages of comic strips.

8. Save your comic and print or share the file.

Make A Collage With An Acrylic Medium

Small bits of paper create a collage that displays an image.

Collages are a creative way to combine paint, photos, drawings and other media. An acrylic medium can be used in a variety of ways. An acrylic medium can add texture to paint, adhere photos or paper to the canvas and act as a protective coating. Acrylic mediums come in matte, gloss and super gloss finishes and can be a gel or liquid consistency. Use an acrylic medium in your next collage project for a smooth, professional look.

Instructions

1. Select a color or colors of acrylic paint for the background of your collage. It is likely that some of the canvas will show through under your collage. Choose a color that coordinates with media that you will be using in your collage.

2. Pour a quarter-sized amount of paint onto the plastic plate. Mix in a dime-sized portion of acrylic medium with a paint brush.

3. Paint the canvas with the acrylic paint and acrylic medium concoction. Mix coordinating colors together to make the background more interesting. Let the canvas dry.

4. Place your images and other media onto the canvas after it is dry to the touch. Move the pieces around until you are pleased with the layout. Gently remove the media and set them to the side. Lay the pieces out in an order that will help you remember where you had them placed on the canvas.

5. Squirt a generous amount of acrylic medium onto a clean plastic plate. Dip your brush into the acrylic and paint onto the portion of canvas where your first piece will go. Place the media onto the canvas. Smooth the media with your fingers or a craft roller.

6. Continue to layer the pieces in a similar manner.

7. When finished, dip a wide foam brush into the acrylic medium. Coat the entire surface of the canvas to seal the collage. Use a glossy acrylic medium for a polished look.

Make A Collage On Picasso

Create a collage centered around Pablo Picasso.

Renowned Spanish artist Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) is known for his innovative Cubist style that helped to sculpt the definition of modern art. Create a collage that captures Picasso's life, works and historical innovations for a class project or as a present to an art lover. Although it might seem like an intimidating task to capture a painter like Pablo Picasso in a mere collage, these hints and tips can help you through the creative process.

Instructions

1. Look through art magazines for images of Pablo Picasso's work. An easy way to gather images for the Pablo Picasso collage is to purchase a magazine or book on Picasso.

2. Cut out images of Pablo Picasso and his works, using scissors.

3. Look through the art magazines for words, phrases and adjectives that describe Pablo Picasso. Some examples of words to include in the collage are: "Cubism," "Blue Period" and "avant-garde," all of which are common characteristics of the artist's work. Cut out the words and phrases using scissors.

4. Arrange the cut-outs on the poster board. Mix them up and re-arrange them until you create the desired work.

5. Take a picture of the collage using a digital camera. Remove all of the clippings from the poster board.

6. Spread glue over the poster board. Place the clippings onto the glue-covered poster board, using the image from your digital camera as a guide.

7. Allow the glue to dry completely before transporting the collage.

Draw Clothing Patterns

Draw Clothing Patterns

By drawing your own clothing patterns you can recreate your favorite items of clothing or design new pieces to fit your wardrobe. You need very few supplies to draw out some patterns and you can stow away the ones that aren't right for this season and take them out again when the items become trendy again. There several ways you can make your own patterns for clothing, a few of them are outlined here.

Instructions

Using Measurements

1. Measure around your shoulders, chest, waist and to where you want the shirt to end. Measure from your neck line to the end of your shoulders on both sides and comfortably below your armpit to whatever length you want your shirt to be.

For pants or shorts, following a drafting guide on pant making will help guide you to wards the best way in taking your measurements.

2. Write each measurement down and add about one centimeter for seam allowance.

3. Draw out your pattern on newspaper or large sheets of paper. You should have a line for your actual measurements and the one centimeter seam allowance outlining them. Tape them together if you need more than one piece. Use another article of clothing as a guide or create your own unique design.

4. Cut out your patterns just outside of the seam allowance line.

Using an Article of Clothing

5. Find an old item of clothing you'd like to duplicate and wouldn't mind ripping apart.

6. Rip your seams using your seam ripper and mark each section. For instance, once you have removed your left sleeve, mark "LS" or something similar on it.

7. Lay your fabric pieces onto your paper and trace about once centimeter along the outside, making sure to mark the paper the same way you marked your fabric. Continue this until you have each section cut.

8. Cut out your pattern.

Make A Clay Garden Flower Pot Using A Mold

Create a clay garden flower pot using homemade clay and household objects as a mold. Decorate the finished clay pots with acrylic paint, stained glass nuggets, beads, tiles, buttons and other weather-resistant objects. Waterproof construction adhesive works to hold glass, metal, plastic and ceramic objects to the clay pots. If you decorate the garden pots with paint, apply a terra cotta sealer. Because clay is absorbent, you'll use less paint if you seal the pot first.

Instructions

Making Modeling Clay

1. Combine 4 cups salt and 1 1/3 cups water in a saucepan. Mix the ingredients thoroughly and heat on medium for five minutes.

2. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add 2 cups of cornstarch and 1 cup of cold water. Stir the ingredients until the mixture is smooth.

3. Heat the mixture on medium until it thickens; continue stirring to prevent the clay from sticking to the pan. Remove the saucepan from the heat after the clay thickens, and allow the clay to cool completely.

Making the Flower Pot

4. Coat the outside of a medium size glass, plastic, stainless steel or wood bowl with a release agent. Nonstick cooking spray, petroleum jelly or vegetable oil works, but you also can use a commercial release agent. The outside dimensions and shape of the bowl will create the shape of the flower pot.

5. Cut 1/8-inch diameter wooden dowels into four 3-inch strips with a craft knife. Cover each dowel with a release agent.

6. Press the homemade clay onto the outside of the mold until the clay is 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick.

7. Press the four dowels through the clay at the bottom of the bowl until they touch the mold to create drainage holes. Space the dowels evenly.

8. Place the wet flower pot in a warm area. Leave the clay undisturbed on the mold for 24 to 36 hours, until it hardens. Remove the dowels and the dried clay from the mold.

9. Decorate the flower pot or leave it in a natural finish.

Color Art Lessons

Use old crayons to teach students about primary colors and how they create secondary colors.

Teaching children about art gives them a chance to discover how colors work together to create images. While letting children have free time to simply draw to learn about colors can be beneficial, children will also enjoy structured activities that teach them principles of color and art.

Learning About the Color Wheel

One of the basic tools in teaching about color is the color wheel. Teach students about the color wheel so that they can understand how colors work together. Choose a corner of the room, or a group of objects, and have students draw them with a pencil. It is okay if the drawings are not exact. Explain to them that colors that are the opposite of each other on the color wheel are called complements. That is, they work well together. Show your students a picture of the color wheel. Students should choose two complementary colors, and only use those two to fill in their drawing of the area or objects they drew. They can use crayons, markers or colored pencils. Ask students if using the complementary colors makes the drawing look prettier. What do they think makes complementary colors so appealing together?

Blotter Bugs

Teach small children about primary colors by allowing them to create colored bugs. Explain that the primary colors, red, yellow and blue, can be combined to create other colors. Have paintbrushes, washable paints and water ready for children. Encourage them to dab a few drops of two of the primary colors onto the center of a white sheet of paper. After they fold the paper in half, they will see their new color. For instance, red and blue will make purple. The paintings should dry overnight. The next day, children can cut out the colored blots and add embellishments to make them look like bugs. They can use markers, googly eyes, colored pencils, stickers and more.

Melted Crayons

Students can create new crayons with muffin tins and old crayons. Have students gather old crayon pieces in the primary colors. In muffin tins, they can put several pieces from two of the primary colors in one tin. For instance, they might combine two greens and one blue. Once each tin is full, place the muffin tin in an oven pre-heated to about 300 degrees. Allow the crayons to melt; this should take about ten minutes. Once they are melted, pull the tin out of the oven and let it completely cool. Once cool, children can pull their new colored creations out of the tin, see what new colors they have made, and use the new disc-shaped crayons to color.

Colors and Emotion

Many colors represent emotions. Ask students to share some of the emotions that they feel when looking at some colors. For instance, yellow might mean spring, and black could mean evil or death. Give them some time to create a self-portrait, and ask them to only use the colors that represent the emotions they are feeling. When they are finished, ask them to explain what each color means to them.

Animate Walking In Flash

Every animator will need to make characters walk sooner or later. You have a number of approaches available, depending on the degree of complexity or realism you require. At its most basic level, you can animate walking in Flash with nested clips and a motion guide.

Instructions

1. Design your character. You should use a profile or three-quarter profile to keep things simple. Focus on five elements: the head and body, the two arms and two legs. You might want to practice with oval shapes before you move to human figures.

2. Create your five elements and assemble them in one layer on stage. Place the body/head above one arm and leg and the remaining arm and leg in place over the body. Convert each object to a graphic symbol ("F8" with the "Graphic" option selected). Select all five objects together and create a single movie clip ("F8" with the "Movie Clip" object selected).

3. Double click on the movie clip object to open it in an editing window superimposed on the stage. Add four layers to the movie clip and name them from bottom to top: "bottom leg," "bottom arm," "body," "top leg," "top arm." Move each symbol to its own layer and position it as you want it to appear as the step begins.

4. Select all five layers in frame 24. Add a keyframe ("F6"). You must do this first to establish where the step cycle will end). Now select all five layers in frame 12 and add second keyframe. In frame 12, rotate each arm and leg 90 to 120 degrees from the top object's top center to create the ending point of the step (you want to keep the shoulders and hips aligned).

5. Select all the frames and apply a motion tween. Play the animation back. The arms and legs should appear to swing back and forth. Tweak the keyframes until the motion is smooth for you.

6. Return to the main timeline. Select the movie clip layer and click the "Add Motion Guide" in the timeline. Draw a motion guide from where you want the character to start walking and where you want it to stop walking.

7. Add keyframes to both layers 30 or 40 frames further down the timeline. Add motion tween to the character layer. Drag your character to the beginning of the motion guide in the first frame and to the end of the motion guide in the last frame. Test the movie ("Command" and "Return") to see your character walk.

Make A Cheer Bow

These two cheerleaders are wearing fancy cheer bows which complement their outfits.

Cheerleading is a popular sport for young girls and older girls alike. Whether it’s Pop Warner, high school cheerleading or competitive cheerleading, it is likely that at one point or another cheer bows will be necessary. Cheer bows class up a cheerleading outfit by giving a distinct style that helps to set each cheer squad apart from the others. Armed with creativity, a glue gun, ribbons, barrettes and ponytail elastics, you can make cheer bows at home for a reasonable price.

Instructions

1. Choose a ribbon that is complementary to the cheerleading outfits. For example, if the primary color of the outfit is navy blue with accenting colors such as white and gold, find a white or gold fabric and accent it with the navy blue. You need approximately 20 inches of ribbon to create a cheer bow.

2. Add another fabric to the ribbon. Many indivduals like to place fabric behind the ribbon in order to give it a different style such as illustrated in the picture above. You will need an 8 by 10 piece of fabric. If you decide to do this, you will need to cut the fabric into strips and attach it to the ribbon. You can do this by placing the ribbon on top of the fabric or gluing pieces of fabric to the outside of the ribbon. This step must be completed before you proceed and the glue must be dry.

3. Decide whether you want to use ponytail elastics or a barrette. Ponytail elastics tend to stay on better during performances. However, barrettes are easier to make and often easier to fix.

4. Create the ribbon. Now is the time to get creative and make your cheer bow flashy. If you want to add sequins, glitter or other decorations, use a hot glue gun to attach it to the ribbon. Allow everything to dry.

5. Tie the ribbon in a tight bow. Make sure it is exactly the way you want it because this is how the ribbon will look once it is attached to the hardware.

6. Attach the ribbon to the hardware. Use your hot glue gun to attach the ribbon to the barrette or ponytail elastic. Allow the glue to dry. For extra security, wrap another ribbon around the center of the bow and tie it in a knot. The part that shows on the front of the bow should be smooth. Either cut off the excess ribbon or leave it attached and use scissors to create curls.

7. Test the ribbon. Attach the ribbon to your hair or another individual’s hair and see how it looks. Jump around a little bit. The ribbon should not bend or move. It should stay in place. If you’re not satisfied, make adjustments and retest it.

Make A Character Map

Create a map for the character you relate to.

Character mapping is an excellent way to help students get to know the characters in the book you are studying. Students creating a character map will be tasked with describing a character from a novel or short story, then providing evidence to support their description. Character maps can be created either on the computer or on a sheet of paper with a pencil, whichever works best for your situation and better promotes your learning and understanding.

Instructions

1. Read an entire novel and choose a character you feel you understand. You should feel confident that you can accurately describe many different characteristics of this person. You may have more success if you choose a character that has many sides to his personality.

2. Write the name of the character you chose in the center of your sheet of paper and circle the name. Don't write the name too largely, as you will need a lot of space around the outside of the circle to describe your character in detail.

3. Draw a line connecting the character's name to a box containing one of the characteristics of your character that you would like to highlight. Repeat this step until you are satisfied that you have incorporated enough descriptors into your character map. You should have no less than five traits to describe your character, unless otherwise instructed by your teacher.

4. Provide evidence from the novel to support each of the claims that you made about the personality of your character. Try to find specific passages from the novel that reflect each characteristic. Record the page numbers and include the entire quote as evidence.

5. Include details about how you feel about the character and other personal opinions if your teacher instructs you to or if you are interested in doing so. For younger students, this style of character map may be the only type used.

Paint A Sunset With Acrylic Paint

Sunsets are a favorite subject for landscape painters because of their dramatic beauty and color. Learning to paint a sunset isn't hard, but producing one that doesn't look like it belongs on the wall next to a hotel bathroom isn't as easy as you might expect. Sunsets may appear generic or unimpressive if care and thought isn't put into the piece. As with most things, practice will improve the quality of your product. The more you paint, the better your paintings will become.

Instructions

1. Select a picture of a sunset to work from or, better yet, set up your materials where you'll have an excellent view of a real sunset. Sunsets are ubiquitous in nature, so producing one from memory or imagination isn't hard for most people. However, working from an image of a real sunset is recommended because imagined sunsets, when painted, tend to look generic.

2. Sketch onto the canvas the approximate location of the sunset and whatever large objects may appear in the foreground.

3. Working quickly (because acrylic paint will dry very fast) lay down a light, quick wash of warm tones where the sun is setting on the horizon. Acrylic paint is water soluble, so you may thin down the paint with water if desired.

This wash will be primarily warm tones, with an intense spot of white-yellow where the sun is over the horizon (or on the spot over the horizon where the sun just set, depending). As the wash gets farther away from the sun itself, the tones will become cooler and darker, moving from yellow to orange, orange to pink or red, then to violet and blue. Apply as fast as possible in order to blend the colors appropriately, and always refer to the sunset in front of you when putting down the paint. Paint what you see, not what you think you see.

4. Apply a dark wash over the objects in the foreground, which will mostly be in silhouette. This means that most of what you see will be either black, brown or dark blue, or highlighted in certain areas, depending on particulars of the location and the position of the sun.

5. Now the entire canvas should be lightly painted, all the way to the edges. With a flat brush, begin to apply a thicker coat of paint. Use long strokes. Don't be afraid to apply several layers. This may be especially necessary with acrylic because of its fast drying time.

You may need to use a lot of water to blend the tones of the sky appropriately. Solidify the edges of the clouds where appropriate. Puffy clouds will be more textured than the relatively smooth colors of the sky, so allow your paint brush to work in smaller strokes, and use a smaller, pointed brush. Some clouds will stand in stark contrast to the rest of the sky, whereas other clouds will be more wispy. The wispier clouds may require a flat brush.

6. Apply a harder edge to the line of the horizon where the land meets the sky, then a thicker coat of paint over the land in silhouette. Again, use longer strokes and a flat brush, but use a fine pointed brush for the edges and thinner lines of highlighted detail.

7. When you've finished your sunset for the time being, step away for a while and return later to fix any issues and add any extra details. This will give you a fresh perspective.

Octopus Crafts

An octopus consists of a bulb-type head and eight legs.

The octopus is a sea creature with eight legs. Called tentacles, the legs are attached to his head, and he has no bones in his body. Some species of this creature are small, while others are known to grow to 10 feet from the head to the end of the tentacles. Children can make a variety of octopus crafts for display or for play. The crafts work well for home, school, Scouting, camping and vacation Bible school.

Hiding Octopus

Use a hiding octopus toy to teach children that this creature hides in the darkness of the waters, watching for smaller creatures to eat or to hide from predators. Provide a two-piece plastic egg for each child. Have the children fan-fold (accordion fold) eight 1/4-by-4-inch strips of paper. Tape one paper tentacle on each of eight evenly spaced places around the inside edge of one of the pieces of the egg. To hide the legs, fold them inside the egg and put the other piece on to make an egg-shaped hiding place. To have the octopus come out of hiding, the children should separate the two egg pieces and set the empty one aside. Shake the octopus slightly so the legs will stretch out.

Octopus Sun Catcher Mobile

Give each child a clear, disposable plate. They should cut pieces from colorful plastic shopping bags. Have the children glue pieces of plastic onto the plate in a mosaic style. Then have them cut and glue eight plastic strips for tentacles around the edge of about half of the plate. Stand the plate on the edge where the tentacles are, as this will be the bottom of the mobile. Glue or staple a loop of string to make a hanger for the mobile. If desired, the children can glue large craft eyes to the center of the body.

Braided Octopus

Kids can make a small or large braided octopus with plastic lacing and a metal ring.

Have the children cut 24 pieces of plastic lacing in same-sized lengths. They should fold three laces in half and place them together over a 2- to 6-inch metal ring. Pull the ends through the folded loop of lacing and pull tightly to hold in place. Have them braid the three pieces of lacing together and tie the ends together. Repeat seven times. For eyes, cut a piece of lacing slightly longer than the diameter of the ring. Tie one end of lacing onto one side of the ring. Tie one knot one-third of the way across the lacing and the second knot two-thirds of the way across. Tie the leftover end to the opposite side of the ring. The knots will look like eyes.

Octopus Glove Puppet

Have the kids make a two-handed puppet from gloves. Give each child two canvas gardening gloves. Tie the two thumbs together. Have the children color their puppets with permanent markers. To play with the puppets, they should slip their hands into the gloves, avoiding the thumb area. Their gloved fingers will become eight movable legs.

Learn Animation For Free Online

Learn Animation for Free Online

Animation is the art of bringing drawings to life and adding motion to the drawings. There are several types of animation styles that range from Flash animation to animated cartoons and 3D animation. Regardless of the type of animation that an animator ultimately decides to work with, learning the art of animation starts with initial lessons. With the invention of the Internet, online courses allow new animators or those interested in learning animation a chance to learn without the expense of formal classes or the purchase of books.

Instructions

1. Select a website that offers free animation tutorials. There are several tutorial websites available that offer a wide range of animation tutorials for free. Always pay attention to the website's time limit or tutorial limit before signing up because some websites offer a limited number of tutorials free before charging while others do not charge anything. Avoid websites with a tutorial limit as these might not offer enough information to learn animation for free.

2. Start tutorial lessons. The lessons will differ in computer requirements based on the type of lesson, but most will require some animation software such as Flash or Photoshop. If your computer does not have the software, you will have to get the software and install it before starting. The only tutorials that will not require any software are animated drawing tutorials, which are based on the original animating styles drawn by hand rather than drawn on a computer.

3. Practice the animation. The only way to learn animation online is through practice. Online learning is challenging when compared to classroom learning because there is not a teacher giving time limits or offering help and advice. The only way to overcome the lack of a hand-on teacher is to be self-disciplined and scheduled adequate practice time.

4. Create a personal style. After learning the basics of animation, it is possible to combine different styles to create your own personal style.

Make A Catalogue For Art Gallery Show

Make a Catalogue for Art Gallery Show

Catalogues are a contemporary way to offer patrons a sneak peak of what art pieces will be on display at an art show. They not only increases anticipation for an art gallery show but they will also help to boost sales. With the proper layout strategies, you can generate buzz for your collection and increase media attention for your show.

Instructions

1. Decide what layout features you want your catalogue to have. Think about the cover graphic, the size of the pages, the number of pages you want and the type and color of font you want. You will also want to figure out what the layout of each page will be like. Some of the information that you will want in your catalogue includes: artist information, art piece information and price information.

2. Give a sneak peak of the art pieces that are to be displayed in the gallery during the sincrease interest among the viewers. Keep your information layouts consistent through out the catalogue. For example if you order your information: print artist name, art piece title, description, price, on page 2 you don't want to order the information: print price, description, artist name, art piece title, on page 4.

3. Include an order form on the last page of the catalogue to both encourage and facilitate sales. Include contact information and any web site address that the painter might have.

4. Use sincere words when designing a catalogue for an art gallery show. Superfluous wording tends to push the customers and spectators away.

Proof Book Printing

Proof books are a great way for professional and amateur photographers to showcase their work. Unlike regular photo albums, proof books are custom printed and bound, with no loose photographs or pages. Professional proof book printers such as myPhotopipe and Full Color offer simple, elegant proof books suitable for showing to potential clients. Photo printers like Shutterfly offer a great variety of photo book design choices, and work well for home photographers who want a memory or special occasion photo book for family and friends. When choosing a proof book printer, customers should consider what they want the finished book to look like, including the size, layout and cover choices, as well as the proof book printing cost.

Features

Photo proof books can have simple layouts of one photo per page, or include multiple photos or backgrounds, depending on what design choices the printer offers. For example, myPhotopipe offers 4, 6, 8, 12 or 20 pictures per page, all on a black background with a white text caption. Full Color spiral-bound proof books offer 4, 6, 9 or 12 pictures per page on a black or white background. Full Color offers leather-look or photo covers for hardcover proof books, and custom photo covers for soft cover proof books. These types of books can have any layout the designer chooses, using the downloadable design templates. Shutterfly offers cloth, padded and leather-look book covers, with a photo printed on the cover or a cut-out area to see the first photo inside. Shutterfly also offers a variety of photo background colors, designs and layouts for occasions such as weddings and holidays.

Types

Photo proof books are available in several types of bindings. Some photo printers, such as myPhotopipe, only offer spiral bound proof books, while others, such as Full Color, offer soft cover, lay-flat and hardcover photo books, in addition to spiral bound. Some photo printers, such as Shutterfly, offer only soft cover books in small sizes and only hardcover books in larger sizes. Spiral bindings make proof books lie flat when they're opened for easy photo display, while perfect bindings (the type used in hardcover and soft cover books) give the proof book a more professional, finished appearance. Lay-flat books have a hinged binding that combines the lay-flat characteristics of a spiral binding with the look of a perfect binding.

Size

Most photo printers offer proof books in a variety of standard page sizes. For example, myPhotopipe offers proof books in 8-by-10 inch, 10-by-13 inch, 10-by-15 inch, 8 1/2-by-11 inch and 11-by-14 inch sizes. Full Color's photo proof books come in 5-by-5 inch, 6-by-4 inch, 8-by-8 inch, 8 1/2-by-11 inch, 10-by-10 inch and 11-by-11 inch sizes, depending on the type of binding, while spiral bound proof books are only available in 10-by-13 inch sizes. Shutterfly offers photo books in 4-by-4 inch, 5-by-7 inch, 8 1/2-by-11 inch, 8-by-8 inch and 12-by-12 inch sizes. Full Color has a minimum of 20 sides (10 pages) and a maximum of 100 sides (50 pages) per proof book, while myPhotopipe offers books with up to 75 pages, and most Shutterfly photo books can have up to 100 pages.

Time Frame

Since proof books are custom printed, they generally take more time to print, bind and ship than loose photo prints. For example, Full Color requires approximately 3 business days to print and bind a hardcover, lay-flat or soft cover photo proof book, and 1 to 2 business days to create a spiral bound proof book. Rush service, when available, can have the photo proof books printed up to twice as fast, at up to twice the cost. Shipping takes approximately 2 days. Shutterfly requires about 2 business days to print photo books, and offers standard, 2-day or next-day shipping.

Considerations

Professional proof book printers such as myPhotopipe charge approximately $1.50 to $5.00 per page, depending on the size of the proof book. Full Color charges about $1.00 to $3.50 per page for spiral-bound proof books. For books with 10 pages or less, Full Color charges about $30 to $68 for a hardcover photo book, $53 to $83 for a lay-flat photo book, and $16 to $27 for a soft cover photo book, and about $1.00 to $2.50 for each additional page. Photo printing services such as Shutterfly charge about $12 to $55 dollars per 20 page photo book, and about $0.50 to $1.50 per additional page.

Draw Underwater Animals

Drawing underwater animals provides a fun art project.

The undersea world has long fascinated scientists and has inspired a slew of artists over the centuries, from ancient craftsmen to Renaissance painters to modern animators. The creatures of the sea are varied in design and color and so drawing your own means paying attention to the small details and simple geometric shapes that form the nearly everything under the sun (or in this case, the waves). Although the choice of subject matter is seemingly endless, the following article will cover drawing a basic shark and a Moray eel.

Instructions

Drawing a Shark

1. Draw a slightly flattened oval in the center of your paper, sized according to how large or small you want your shark to be. This shape serves as the basis for the shark's torso. Add a cone shape attached to the left of the oval to create the shark's snout, using smooth contours to your lines versus pointed lines to give the impression of the shark's sleek and streamlined body.

2. Draw a line on the bottom and top of the oval that juts out to the right, carrying the lines outward and narrowing them as you reach the end of the paper. This will create a basic "torpedo" shape. Erase the dividing lines between the shapes to make one cohesive solid shape. This is the shark's body.

3. Add a triangle on top of the shark, about midway between the head and the tail, to create the famous dorsal fin. Remember to round off the top point with a smoother line. Add another downward-pointing triangle slightly above the bottom line on the shark's body to create one of the pectoral fins. Erase any overlapping lines.

4. Draw in the small details like the eyes, mouth and gills near the front of the head. Then add another pectoral fin slightly in front of the other to give a more three-dimensional presentation of the shark. Trace the shark in black ink to make your art stand out on the page.

The Eel

5. Draw a backwards "S" shape on your paper, again sized according to how large or small you want your eel to be. This will serve as the body of the eel. Add a small oval to the top end of the "S" to create the head shape.

6. Add another "S" shape slightly to the left of the first that mimics that same "S" contours, thus fleshing out the eel's body. Make the top and bottom spaces between the "S" shapes slightly thicker than the middle to give the three-dimensional impression of the eel twisting as it swims through the water.

7. Erase the dividing line between the head and body to make the body seem more solid. Add similar "S"-shaped lines both above and below the body that stretch from the animal's head to the first bend in its body. Then add similar lines to the bottom of the "S" curve to create the eel's top and bottom fins.

8. Erase the left end of the oval, then redraw a contoured 45-degree line that angles from the bottom of the head to the top to create the face and jaw line. Add in a mouth line with several jagged teeth jutting out to create the eel's famous, fearsome visage.

9. Complete the drawing by adding a circle with a center dot to create the eye. Then trace the eel in black ink to make it stand out on the page.