The Weekly Birdbath for August 20th - 26th

August 20th - 26th, 2011
by Cobra405/Mizagorn/Redstar/Mpeutz

So complex, yet very easy to listen to, we would like to play AlenVan's Seeing tomorrow for you:

Seeing Tomorrow.egg on Aviary.

Beanepatch

One thing we really like about Aviary is watching artists grow. One such artist, Beanepatch is one we enjoy keeping an eye on. You never know what he will come up with. His sense of humor is contagious, his love to create unwavering and his enthusiasm touches everyone. Always up for any challenge and a really nice human beane (someone has been hanging around mizagorn for too long) we want to draw attention to Beanepatch this week because he has over 1100+ creations and each one is as unique as he is. Stop by his gallery, its a blast of color and imagination. Glad you're here BP! Some of our favorites:

Try this really cool challenge presented by Bheid that can be as complex or as simple as you like. Here is a taste to whet your creative appetite:

We are trying a new system with the Aviary mentoring program, hopefully this will speed things up a bit for anyone asking for a mentor. So if you need some help with any of Aviary's apps then head on over and bag yourself a mentor

There is a brilliant new web comic being created on Aviary by TheDoctor7777 and two (as yet mysteriously unnamed) co-creators, by the name of Young Mr. Arthur Gashlycrumb. It's about a lonely boy who is being raised by his Auntie in her spooky old mansion. It's dark, it's funny, the drawings are amazing and there is something scary in the garden. You don't want to miss this so be sure to tune in.

There is an awesome new tutorial from Alpha13wolf on how to make clouds with Peacock. This is an adaptation of the steps he posted in the forums. Definitively check it out and post your cloud creations in the forums.

Tip - Creating and Moving text

[youtube width="550" height="344"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSTmnp4_png[/youtube]

Tip Tuesday - Getting started with Roc

This week's tip is chock full of steps and tips for beginners to learn how to use our one-of-a-kind online music creator Roc. [youtube width="550" height="344"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGJegMHxM3U[/youtube]

The Weekly Birdbath for July 30th - August 5th

 

July 30th - August 5th, 2011

by Cobra405/Mizagorn/Redstar/Mpeutz

UH! clap, clap. uh huh. psheeeer! Rims and kicks, FX, shakers and blips. Here's a fascinating master mix that's house, beat box, or hip hop - take your pick. Our phenom man tashuan16 humbly presents an enjoyable groove that stirs your dance emotion. Take a listen, and be prepared to wish you, too, are on this island getaway.

beat box island.egg on Aviary.

TheDoctor7777

Do you like quirky, out of left field, why didn't I think of that art? Well so do we and that is why TheDoctor7777 is in the spotlight this week. Steampunk, fantasy, weapons and some wild inventions will leave you shouting for more. Pop over to his gallery, the adventure is just beginning. Some of our favorites:

While I was mentoring LunaOwl and trying to help her create a seamless tile in Phoenix, I enlisted the help of our resident Peacock wizard, mpeutz. Mike created an Offset Blackbox and a video to show us all how to use it. Looks like the mentor needed mentoring. See the tut here along with LunaOwl's amazing seamless tile image.

Peacock is a great way to create almost anything your imagination can come up with. But what if you have a challenge that limits the resources you can use? Redstar came up with this amazing hubs Minimalist challenge... use only Spirolina, Drop Shadow, and Shape Draw. Enjoy these entries, be inspired, and see what YOU can come up with!

Have you ever looked at Undiscovered Creations? (Go to Discover creations -> Undiscovered Creations from the main menu.) We're trying to decide if this area is a great place to find new talent... or is it a place for inappropriate material? Is it a boon or a bane? Weigh in here with your comments!

Tip - Getting Started with Peacock

Peacock is an awesome application - and my first love on Aviary! However, it can be a bit daunting for new users to jump into. This week's video is a quick primer on how Peacock works. If you still have questions after watching the video, you should head on over to the Aviary forums and ask for some tips from our awesome community

[youtube width="550" height="344"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G94a3SQN1zA[/youtube]

Blackbox Collection: Box 1

This week's Blackbox will warp your images into the shape of a box. Well, technically it's more of a package, which makes this a perfect way to visualize how your design will look on a package! You can use it with a texture to get an idea of how it could look applied to a 3D object... or you could just have fun inventing a new breakfast cereal box! Experiment and have fun.  As always, feel free to post your awesome creations in the forums.

Just search for "Box 1" in the Blackbox browser (Go to File -> Import Blackbox) and start making awesome creations!

If you're not sure what to do, check out this beginner tutorial on how to use Blackboxes!!

The Weekly Birdbath for July 23rd - 29th

  July 23rd - 29thby Cobra405/Mizagorn/Redstar/Mpeutz

At Aviary, we like to spend a lot of time showcasing new talent. If you've seen and listened to more than one Birdbath, then you know what we're talking about. That's the way we roll at Aviary.

This week, however, to inspire and motivate you, we're going to focus on and shamelessly plug the two best music artists we have. The amount of time these guys spend mixing brain-blowing good music is phenomenal. Each of them actually deserve a special spotlight, but for now, you can get a taste of delicious audio delight right here.

First off is Jdogg247, who not only is a killer music manipulator, but is also a fantastic Raven artist. Add humor and helpfulness - you've got one of Aviary's top favorites. Let's explore "Plastic" - a totally original, tripped out journey into the unreal side of thought. Multiple effects, clip reversals, and a superb use of massive amounts of Roc instruments:

Plastic.egg on Aviary.

Next is our freakingly, unreally talented styromus. This artist quietly creates things you wouldn't believe possible with Roc soundbanks, imported sounds, and an unconventional ability to make engaging original music that appeals to everyone. Listen and be prepared to want to be like styromus while you delve into River Rush.

River Rush on Aviary.

Worth1000 was all so cute this week with the Raven: Kawaii 2 contest. All of the entry's were awesome but here are the top three awesomist ! is that a word, it must be look at these....

1. StillDunno 2. Yggdraassil 3. ivanildo

There is also a new Phoenix Color this 2 contest just started (scratches head, is this weeks BB tip just a coincidence) so head on over join in and maybe even win a trophy or some credits.

Bheid

There is a new kid in the flock and if you haven't met him yet (and if not, where have you been?) let me introduce you now. His username is Bheid and he has taken to Peacock like a duck to water. Not just a Peacock artist, Bheid has also created in Phoenix, Raven, Myna and Roc. Friendly, helpful and supplying some good challenges, check out his gallery to see some amazing images from someone here only 3 months. Some of our favorites:

This week's Aviator's challenge is called It's about time and you guessed it the images or songs have to have some connection to time. It was a lot of fun and it's not over yet so hop on over, there's still time Some of our favorites:

Deadmau5 VS Michael Jackson - Do You Remember The Time? - (2Jac Mashup Remix) .egg on Aviary.

Tip - Coloring Line Art

This week's tip shows you a quick and easy way to add color to your sketches and line art. It's really useful for comics, logo art, and anything else hand-drawn you want to spruce up professionally. Enjoy!

[youtube width="550" height="344"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7e0G93sqw0[/youtube]

Sweat Equity Education Integrates Aviary Design Suite for Google Apps

Sweat Equity Education, an education innovation founded by Marc Ecko, is on a mission to give students real-world projects to help them realize the importance of education and entrepreneurship. They're also part of the extensive Haiku Learning program, a community dedicated to making learning and teaching online as simple as possible.

To offer their users more power and creativity, Sweat Equity Education has integrated Aviary Design Suite for Google Apps. It will allow students and teachers to easily create images in Aviary, store them in Google Apps, and incorporate them into their Haiku class.

It's a great use case to show how Aviary Design Suite for Google Apps can help increase creativity for you and your classroom! The video below demonstrates how easy it really is. Visit Haiku’s post to learn more!

 

Tip Tuesday: Enhancing Eyes

This week's tip will teach you how to enhance the eyes within your portraits - something  a lot of Aviary artists have asked us for help with. We have a full written tutorial on this technique that explains some additional steps to make the eyes stand out in your images, but this video should be helpful as a quick method for achieving the look you want! [youtube width="550" height="344"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf802aCIE4o[/youtube]

The Weekly Birdbath for July 9th - 15th

July 9th - 15th, 2011by Cobra405/Mizagorn/Redstar/Mpeutz 

Back before the days of Nintendo, Xbox and PlayStation... there was Atari, Vic-20's and even Colecovision. Catfishsaysmeow shows us what we automotons busted a move to when programming in Assembly Language...

Atari Dance Club.egg on Aviary.

Not a mashup, not a mix or edit of clips from other artists, not a top 40 hit that will pass - we believe this is ultimately one of the best truly original creations by an Aviary music artist. By now, we all know the wonderfully gifted artist known as styromus. Featuring a stunningly cohesive and intricate mix of Roc instruments and percussion edited and effected in Myna, Sunbeam is an amazingly uplifting example of the power and wealth that Roc and Myna have to offer. If you don't feel life pouring into you while listening, you might want to check your pulse...

Sunbeam on Aviary.

There is a tournament going on as I type that is a first ever for Aviary and Worth1000. Six 2 artist teams, made up of one Worth1000 Photographer and one Aviary Peacock artist, are competing to create an image for the theme Love Notes. Voting is still open so make sure you go over to the Worth1000 contests to check out the great entries, and of course vote while you're there

.

It has been quite a while since we featured a musician as Artist of the Week... But what if, and how about, a Roc Artist? Is there anyone that good? We thought you'd never ask.

Uber-talented beat maker AlenVan has spent the last 3 months setting beats, adjusting velocities and selecting just the right library of ambient instruments to create some true ear candy. A wide variety of thoroughly enjoyable music styles is available right here in short loops that you will listen to over and over again. We're hoping that AlenVan will post his work in the Roc Beat Rookery for everyone to be able to share and use! Don't miss out on hearing even more.

Quick Sand.egg on Aviary.

Mystic Glow.egg on Aviary.

Bodies Bodies.egg on Aviary.

Creatures Gone.egg on Aviary.

If you haven't joined in the fun of this weeks Aviator's Challenge of the Week, do not pass go, do not collect $200.00. Go directly to the Awesome Fractal and BlackBox Challenge and show us your stuff! Posted by yours truly, watch for more Generator and Black Box challenges in the future. There is so much to explore in Peacock, so dive in if you are new, and learn as you go. Some of our favorites (but really they are all fantastic so it's hard to pick):

Having problems downloading your music creations? With different browser technologies available, it might be a bit confusing. Find out how it works!

Plus, it's always best if you have the absolute latest version of the Flash Player installed! Just like any other software, having the latest usually prevents most kinds of problems and issues you might encounter.

New to the forums? Say "Hi!", meet peeps and introduce yourself here!

A new tutorial from our very own Peacock_Feather shows us how to create amazing maps using Peacock and Phoenix. In 3 parts, its a must to see and do. You will love the results:

Part 1 Creating the mapPart 2: ColoringPart 3: Old Time Map

Tip - Quick Crop

Over the next few weeks, our weekly tips will be focusing on how to do quick, simple edits of your images with Aviary's tools!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsfCxtSf6q4[/youtube]

Aviary Chrome extension Aviary Firefox extension

Tip Tuesday: Quick Crop

Over the next few weeks, our weekly tips will be focusing on how to do quick, simple edits of your images with Aviary's tools! [youtube width="550" height="344"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsfCxtSf6q4[/youtube]

Aviary Chrome extension Aviary Firefox extension

The weekly Birdbath for July 2nd - 8th

July 2nd - 8th, 2011 by Cobra405/Mizagorn/Redstar/Mpeutz

Vibe to this supremely potent mix by Beamer2327. Like the best of MC's, Beamer uses Myna to mix multiple clips from no less than 7 QuantumTracks sources into a cohesive mix. It'll make you want to get out on the dance floor after quaffing a few rootbeers!

4655.egg on Aviary.

Definitely check out this Awesome Roc beat by Kajihi. She has created a mellow but still quite melodic beat using just a few notes. We sure would love to see her mix this along with other Roc creations into a full-blown Myna mix. It's gorgeous!

Something, guitar 4.egg on Aviary.

Another Peacock abstract contest has produced a batch of fantastic creations. Some of the most incredible creations are born form these abstract contests, where there are no limits to creating. You can join in on contests at our sister site Worth1000. Here are some winners and faves:

Most of you peeps have heard of Aviary's incredibly gifted artist called marksromano by now. He's already been featured in multiple Birdbaths, even though he's only been with us since April. A truly up and coming Phoenix wizard, your mouth will be agape from his use of colors, textures and photographic sources to create some truly stunning visual enjoyment. If you haven't before, now is the time to slowly peruse and marvel at a really wonderful gallery.

We are going to be adding a section that will highlight mentors and proteges from the Aviary mentoring program. We will periodically showcase the growth and progress from the week long mentoring session of brilliant teams.

This week's challenge is the Natural Terrain challenge set by Alpha13Wolf. In this episode, you were asked to create a natural landscape using the terrain hub within Peacock. The stunning power of the Peacock app and the skill of the artists are apparent with these brilliant terrain generated creations:

Alpha testing - just makes you want to be in the know as to what's going on. Catch up on the latest enhancements (and maybe even a little bit of birdish bug eating) to Aviary's suite of free art and music apps (hints - path filters in Raven & multiple clip selection in Myna) right here!

Groups are fun! Plus, they keep the public forums focused on just things art and music. For games and discussions outside of Aviary-related topics, there is no better way to relax, have a Facebook and Twitter kinda chat blast, exercise your god-like powers, and just get to know each other than by creating your own group. Here are some popular examples from the group FTMI (For The Musically Inclined):

Word Association Birthdays!!! Welcome to the Group

Remember the old versions of Time Magazine and Better Homes & Gardens publications? Even if you don't, ever wish you could easily make a retro looking version of your photo art? Maybe this isn't a real tutorial per se, but you gotta take a look at the latest from our now world-famous Blackbox Collection for Peacock: Retro Magazine Effect

 

Toucan Color Palettes

This week’s tip is the last in the Smart Layer series. Though it technically isn’t a real smart layer, the Toucan palette importer will allow you to have instant access to your saved Toucan colors in other applications, just like a smart layer!

[youtube width="550" height="344"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbyxRRS4db4[/youtube]

Let us know in a comment if you would like to see more video tips, and if there is something specific you would like us to cover.