Process: Locking transparent pixels

This week Monkey shares how to lock transparent pixels in Photoshop to make coloring things easier.

Okay, so recently I found out about locking transparent pixels, a feature in photoshop that allows you to change the color of your linework very easily.

So the screencap below is some calligraphy-ish type lettering I did for my friends' wedding invitations that I'm working on. However, they're not too keen on just black lettering, as it doesn't go with the rest of the color scheme, so I needed to change the color. Rather than go and repaint the lettering with a new color (and what if the color wasn't right?), I decided to try out this new (at least to me, PS noob) feature.

So as you can see (if you click on the image to see a larger version), I've circled the toggle button for the "lock transparent pixels" feature. Basically, what you are doing is that for whatever layer you are editing, you are making it so you can only edit the pixels that already have information in them. You can now no longer paint where it's transparent (until you unlock the transparent pixels). This lets you freely color in the pixels that have information (ie. your line work).

You can see in the above screencap that I'm now just using the brush tool to quickly swipe in color..I'm replacing the black with red.

Other applications for this would be when you are digitally painting and you are working in many layers. Say you are painting someone's face on a single layer. You've got the proportions down and you want to quickly replace some color on the edge of the face. Instead of carefully filling in color over your painting, if the background is transparent then you can lock the transparent pixels and then just paint away!

Anyhoo, I hope this helps a bit (it's really useful for logos!) and feel free to leave questions/comments/clarifications in the comments! Thanks for stopping by!

We're Graduating!

So Monkey + Seal have a confession to make - the pictures above are not from Academy of Art's graduation ceremony. They're actually from 4(!!) years ago when we both graduated from UC Berkeley.

However, the big news is that after meeting with our awesome department chairs, we have successfully petitioned to graduate! Yay yay!

So we should be walking come the end of the Spring semester, but since we are both not taking classes in the mean time we'll be making art for art shows (we hope to have another show lined up in February, and we're working on a March show as well) and keeping busy! Thanks to everyone who has supported us through the past few years and for understanding when we disappear for months at a time to focus on our classes. Congrats to everyone else graduating this Spring!

Vote for the CPAF on FB today!

Monkey + Seal just heard (via Disgrasian, etc.) that the Center for Pacific Asian Family is in the running to get a $1 million dollar grant from Chase in their FB charity contest.

With budget cuts and all these other shenanigans marking our crap economy, CPAF needs your help! They're an awesome LA-based org that provides 24-hour multi-lingual hotline, emergency shelter, counseling and outreach services, and a transitional living home for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Regardless of who you are, your gender, your sexual orientation, if you have not been affected by domestic violence, rape, or sexual assault, chances are someone you know and love has. Especially in patriarchal communities (ie. nearly all of them), silence is enforced by fear and shame. Help the CPAF break that silence and make a change so that no person has to live in fear and that we can start holding the perpetrators of these crimes against humanity accountable.

So yes, you have to dl the stupid FB app, but this one allows you to vote and really do something positive with all that time we all spend wasting on Facebook. It's super quick and easy, and really, it takes like 20 secs to do.

If you still aren't convinced, listen to all these famous people preach it:


Sweet, and thanks for voting ahead of time.

Links:
CPAF official site
Get the app to vote here!

Sam Tsui Sweetness

We might be a bit late jumping on this bandwagon, but if you haven't seen it, here is the video of Yale student Sam Tsui doing an a capella medly of Michael Jackson - with himself.



Monkey likes this as besides the fact that he has a great voice, there's also uber video-editing. Anyone know how he did this? Monkey would love a tutorial.

Process/Review: Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

Seal is currently reading this book that she borrowed from a friend. Whether as a painter, a writer, or any kind of artist, we are constantly trying to communicate our vision. This book gives easy-to-read insight into why some ideas "stick" better than others and how we can use it to help us be more effective in our art. The two brothers Chip and Dan Heath, authors of the book, have spent many years researching . . . why is it that we remember the latest fashion trend, or the workplace gossip . . . and urban legends, myths, and conspiracy theories spread faster than our memory of an important healthcare bill. This book is for anybody: an artist trying to appeal to a gallery, a parent trying to pass on an anecdote, a nonprofit trying to secure a grant. . .

You can find the book at any bookstore. I recommend used bookstores like Green Apple on Clement & 6th in SF.

Monkey + Seal know that successful branding is one of the most crucial elements of any successful business, so every little hint and trick helps. Especially as a collaborative creative team, Monkey and Seal have been struggling with our brand identity. While we each have our own distinct style (see below), we do try to keep our colors consistent for our promotional stuff, and we stamp our heads on everything and use the same font. However, in the next few months we are going to be developing more collaborative work - so keep your eyes peeled and good luck making things stick!

Rough recipe - Vegan Hamburg Soup

So although the title seems pretty contradictory, Monkey + Seal got creative in the kitchen the other night and came up with this new tasty soup! While perhaps the photo doesn't really capture the full appetizing nature of this, we never cook for presentation, but for taste!

Monkey really missed French Onion Soup (one of his favorites when he ate meat), but after being vegetarian for the past couple of years, he hasn't tasted any in a long, long time. Thus, he figured he might simulate some of the pleasing qualities of the soup with this creation.

Since Monkey was trained in a Co-Op kitchen and learned how to cook by seasoning to taste, he never got the hang of writing down recipes - especially not exact quantities. So please bear with him as he (tries) to teach you how to cook this awesome vegan delight.

Ingredients:
-4-5 cloves of garlic
-oregano
-basil
-salt + pepper
-rosemary (or rosemary salt, yay!)
-vegan soy mozzarella
-1 big leek
-1 vegan beef patty (we used Morningstar Vegan Grillers)
-crap-load of vegetables (note: crapload is the technical term for a whole lot of stuff...we did a celerac root, a handful of chard, 4-5 small radishes, 1 large watermelon daikon, a head of broccoli, some carrots, and a small potato. You can really put whatever you want...think italian soups..)
-1 hamburger bun
-some pasta (1/4 to 1/3 pound of whatevs)

1. So in a soup-pot-thingy, boil some water and cook the pasta al dente (ie..almost cooked, but still pretty tough). Drain in a colander and set aside someplace. I'd also run some cold water on it so they don't all stick together.
2. Dump the water from the pot and dry it. Put some veggie oil in it and loosely chop the garlic cloves and leeks. Throw the garlic in first, let it cook a bit, then add the chopped leek. Stir so they don't burn. Once they're sorta cooked, add about 1/2 pot of water to the pot. Bring to a boil.
3. Chop the veggies (the smaller the quicker your soup will be done) and put them in according to how slowly they cook (the roots went in first, the leafy stuff later).
4. Season. Yes this is oversimplified, but you just take it as it goes. I used dried oregano and basil, and added about physically as much as the pepper and salt.
5. Let the veggies cook til they're as soft as you want them. Add in the pasta and turn down the head to medium (like a 3-4).
6. Tear up the hamburger bun into tiny pieces and mix them into the soup.
7. Slice the soy cheese into strips and lay them down on top of the soup. I kinda pushed them down just under the surface of the soup so they get nice and gooey, cuz I like cheese that way.
8. Once the cheese melts to your desired consistency, remove from heat, spoon into bowls, and serve!

The soup pot we make served two. Note that we ONLY ate soup for dinner (and an olive baguette from La Boulange) and also I am a ravenous beast that tends to have a hearty appetite. So, from what I've seen, if you're serving this as just part of a meal, then it can probably serve 6-8 small-medium eaters, or maybe 4 hungry souls.

Anyhoo, that's enough cooking with Monkey. Stay tuned for more art!

Screenprinting Squeegees!

So after a huge delay (that was unfortunately mostly Monkey's fault) he finally got his squeegees in. Monkey had previously been using the equipment at the Academy of Art, but now that he finished, he was slowly building up his collection of screens. However, he had forgotten that he needs squeegees as well, and the ones they sell at art stores by Speedball really just don't do the job properly.

So, he ordered some from Creative Screen Technologies in San Leandro (where he also got his screens) and due to a hectic work schedule, the squeegees were sent back to the manufacturer, then resent back = double shipping charge and an extra week and a half of delays.

On the good side, now all Monkey needs to do is get some heavy-duty screws for his clamps and he'll be back in action printing from home now!

Monkey is looking at a few options in SF to rent studio space, as having all the fancy equipment is nice, but at least he's made sure he can do it from home!