Tag Archives: art

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Doodling of the Future – In 3D!

“Old fashioned” 2D doodling not enough?  Never fear – the wave of the future is here!  This new pen will literally lift your work right off the page!

I know that I definitely want one of these when they come out.  I’ve dabbled in sculpting in clay before, but it never seems to quite comes out the way I would have drawn it on a page.   Don’t get me wrong – it’s still fun and uniquely beautiful in its own way, but I’m more naturally inclined to brushes and pens (or mice for digital art).   On the other hand, this pen looks like it was designed to function in 3D the same way that other pens function in 2D.  With it, creation seems like a combination of drawing and building 3D models where the pieces are then welded together.  It’ll be fun to see what I cam come up with.  Mind you, I’ll probably burn through the first few bags of plastic on day one, but it’ll be fun ;D

Find out more about the 3Doodler.

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Design: Dazzling Glow Lotus

Dazzling Glow Lotus by Seas Reflecting Starlight.

Inspired by my Illuminating Lotus photo, but with a very different feel from my similarly-inspired Rainbow Etching Lotus, this art piece has a glow that radiates outward.  Of the three, this one seems the most otherworldly and mysterious, akin to a latent inner nature just waiting to shine.

Continue reading →

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Surreal Art by a Broken Polaroid

When technology fails, people are often quick to throw out the old and replace it with the newest model. But occasionally the results of such glitches and malfunctions are nothing short of spectacular.  Such is the case of a “broken” Polaroid camera that, while not able to function in the conventional sense, is now able to do something new that the original could not: create abstract and surreal art.  The photos have soft watercolor wash style backgrounds, combined with areas with great detail that really pop.  Many of the detailed areas have a crystal effect.  Part of what is alluring about these photos is that it is impossible to tell what the original subjects might have been – they are completely unique creations unto themselves.  While an article mentions that the photographer has learned how to  get the most out of the specific “defects” that the camera has, the results are always unique and unpredictable.

Click here to see the full gallery of broken Polaroid photos.

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Happy 2013!

Happy 2013 from Seas Reflecting Starlight

It’s an exciting new year here at Seas Reflecting Starlight!  Have a sneak peak on what to expect in 2013:

  • More original art and photography!  In addition to continuing my current topics (such as Buddhism), I will be expanding to include images of animals, East Asia, and Hawai’i
  • Contests and give-aways – stay tuned for an upcoming announcement about this month’s contest (and prizes)
  • More art tips and tutorials – art, photography, digital image editing, and more
  • More reviews about art/photography events, museums, and interesting online content
  • Subscribe to stay informed!  Available via the “+ Follow” button in the lower right corner to follow by email and/or WordPress accounts, or through RSS feed or Twitter.

Have ideas on what you would like to see here?  Vote in the poll!

Examples given in poll: Illuminating Lotus, Halloween post, Amida’s Golden Chain of Love

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Up to 65% off Art on Zazzle

2-Day Massive Sale on art at my Inner Bodhisattva art store on Zazzle,using the code: CONQUERLISTS

65% OFF

60% OFF

50% OFF

40% OFF

30% OFF

20% OFF

10% OFF
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40% Off Zazzle Shirts – First Come Basis!

A combination of two discount codes will give one lucky person 40% off their custom Zazzle shirts!

I have a unique one-time-use code for 20% Off Shirts that I decided to offer as a gift to my readers.  The first person to use the code gets it.  Please use my referral link (costs you nothing!), and feel free to check out the shirts and other products in my Zazzle store.  The code can be used to buy any shirts on Zazzle, not just the ones in my store. Most shirts can customized, and you can buy as many as you want (in a single order) with these codes.  Finish your holiday shopping early!

ONE-TIME USE CODE: BEKCNTOHWGWNKEKSDEFC  (Valid through: 11/27/2012 4 AM PST; 20% off all shirt orders except screen-printed shirts)

AND through Monday this additional code will give you another 20% off your shirt order:  60ZCYBERSALE

ETA: As of Sunday afternoon, these codes are still valid and available.

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Design: Jizo

Jizo by Seas Reflecting Starlight

Jizo (地蔵) is a Buddhist bodhisattva known as the guardian of travelers and children, particularly children who die before their parents die. He is one of the most popular figures in Japan, with statues commonly found along roadsides and in graveyards. Parents praying for the health of a sick child, or grieving and seeking protection for their child’s spirit, often clothe the statues. This art piece was inspired by a stone statue of Jizo at Daihonzan Miyoshinji (大本山妙心寺) in Kyoto, Japan.

Jizo is also popular in other parts of Asia, where his names include:

- Sanskrit: Kṣitigarbha क्षितिगर्भ
- Chinese: Dìzàng 地藏
- Korean: ji jang 지장
- Tibetan: sa yi snying po ས་ཡི་སྙིང་པོ
- Vietnamese: Địa Tạng Vương bồ tát
- Thai: Phra Kasiti Khappha Phothisat พระกษิติครรภโพธิสัตว์

Continue reading →

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New Gallery Page for My Art and Photography

I’ve recently added a new Gallery page to make it easier to browse through my art and photography, with all of the thumbnails linking to their respective pages (preview below).  I’ve also heard rumor that Zazzle will be offering a major Black Friday sale, which means that there will be great deals on everything in my Inner Bodhisattva store.  So if you’d love a poster, t-shirt, mug, messenger bag, mouse pad, stationary, greeting card, or anything else with my art on it, you can find a bargain this Friday. If you have any specific requests, leave me a message and I’ll get back to you.

Gallery Preview:

Browsing for a specific piece of my art? This gallery of thumbnails link to the individual pages about the images.
Art available at my Inner Bodhisattva store:

Other original art:

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The Art Behind the Disney Princesses

Ever wonder what historical artistic influences contributed to the art style of many classic Disney movies?  Even as a little kid I noticed the stylistic differences between older movies like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and (relatively) newer movies like Beauty and the Beast (1991).  Yet it wasn’t until later that I picked up on how much the art and character designs were inspired by classical paintings and fairytale illustrations spanning centuries of European art.  I then found a three-part article that illustrates both the final Disney designs, and the historical art pieces that contributed to their conception, side by side while explaining the process and thought behind their design choices.

Part I – Golden Age (Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty)

Part II – Disney Renaissance (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin)

Part III – Modern (Hercules, Giselle,  The Princess and the Frog)

Which movies do you like the artistic style of the most?  The least?  Are there any styles that Disney has not used yet that you would like to see them use for a movie?

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Always more to learn

No matter how experienced people get with art programs, there is always more to learn.  After using MS Paint for at least 17 years (and other graphics programs before that), I thought I’d learned all that the very basic (but useful) program had to offer.  Then I stumbled upon a new trick the other day that I’d somehow missed.  I’d used the setting of foreground/background colors for the purposes of transparencies when copying and pasting, but I’d never tried using them for a simple recoloring with an eraser.