Sunday, April 22, 2012

Diva Challenge #66 - Laura's Auras


 The challenge this week - read about it here - is to play with the Zentangle embellisment Auras, using either tangles that incorporate auras or to use auras to enhance your Zentangle.  As an added challenge for myself I wanted to use tangles that do not have auras as part of the design and I wanted a tangle that would have a straight line aura.  I started out with BB as the main tangle - I kept trying to keep it small but after a few attempts I just let it grow however it wanted and then filled in with a bit of Keeko.  Considering the size of BB this one might have worked better for the Biggify Challenge a few weeks ago!

Laura's Auras

click image for larger view

A note about the framing - no I didn't actually frame it with a matte.  I use an online photo editor (no interest in Photoshop) to clean up my scans and to resize them.  I had used Picnik for years and was very disappointed when Google (who purchased it about a year ago) decided to shut it down.  I've been testing out a few alternatives - most were OK but none as good as Picnik - until recently that is.   Seems a few of the former Picnik folks have started a new endeavor called PicMonkey  It's still in beta- more features to come. It's free and I'm sold but I will gladly pay for it if they offer a premium version.   That's a long explanation for how I came to frame this challenge tile.

One of the features is the ability to add frames - I usually just add a simple thin black frame and round the corners but today I wasn't liking the way it looked - with  BB being so prominent it just seemed very harsh.  I played with the different frame options - while BB is still large using the Museum Matte frame option seems to tone it down a bit.

4 comments:

ledenzer said...

Thanks for the information about Picnik, I so miss it, they have tried to duplicate some of the edits onto picasa but it is not the same. I love how you used the patterns you did to emphasize the beauty that auras can bring!

Alice said...

this border is perfect! you needed something bolder than a thin line, so it wasn't conflicting with your design. and thanks for the heads-up on PicMonkey. i have some homeschool photography students that always edited in picnik that are wondering where to turn. i'll have them check out PicMonkey :)

Cathy said...

This is so stunning. I love how bold it is.

Amy in TN said...

What a cool tile! I love how you challenged yourself to use tangles that do not usually feature an aura, and that you chose straight lines as a qualification, too.
Thanks for the info on your digital framing process. My daughter loved picnik, but I didn't know about it until it was just about to end. I don't know if I should be glad about that or disappointed! I guess I am a little of both. I'll have to check out PicMonkey.

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