A Serious Addiction to Photoshop
I have decided to admit my addiction, which many experts say is the first step to recovery, right? I'm addicted not to drugs, or alcohol or Hannah Montana *shudder*. I am addicted to Adobe Photoshop. Well, more accurately, I'm addicted to Adobe Photoshop Elements, Photoshop's little brother, which has less features but is not quite as expensive. Granted, I got my edition, Elements 2, with my Mac iBook which I got as a present from Mom. But, I digress.
I first started using Photoshop a few years ago when I got sick and tired of using other people's icons and avatars for my profile on the Fuselage, the Official Lost Message Board (cue the trumpets!). So, I figured out how to make my very own, animated icon. It featured most of the men from Lost each spaced out by the lyrics to "It's Raining Men". I have gotten several compliments on my icon and haven't changed it in the almost two years I have been on the Fuse. And so began an addiction to Photoshop. I look at ads in magazines and I can see where they've brightened someone's eyes or whitened someone's teeth. It's a bit of curse really. Now that I have my own computer, it's gotten worse. My roommate pointed out I start and finish a project a day. And for the most part that's true. Only for desktops will I spend more than a day on and that's mostly because they're really big and the flaws can be seen more easily in a 1024 x 768 pixel desktop than in a 100 x 100 pixel icon.
And the cherry on this sundae is that I have started to join stillness/icontest groups here on LJ. I won a Lost icontest but that was because I was the only entry. The contests give me pictures so I don't have to start all the way from scratch and that usually helps me. I'm entering one this week (though I won't tell you which one so I don't ruin my anonymity and forfeit the contest). I don't really expect to win this week but I hope to at least be in the running for the votes. I'm up against some pretty stiff competion so keep your fingers crossed for me.
I first started using Photoshop a few years ago when I got sick and tired of using other people's icons and avatars for my profile on the Fuselage, the Official Lost Message Board (cue the trumpets!). So, I figured out how to make my very own, animated icon. It featured most of the men from Lost each spaced out by the lyrics to "It's Raining Men". I have gotten several compliments on my icon and haven't changed it in the almost two years I have been on the Fuse. And so began an addiction to Photoshop. I look at ads in magazines and I can see where they've brightened someone's eyes or whitened someone's teeth. It's a bit of curse really. Now that I have my own computer, it's gotten worse. My roommate pointed out I start and finish a project a day. And for the most part that's true. Only for desktops will I spend more than a day on and that's mostly because they're really big and the flaws can be seen more easily in a 1024 x 768 pixel desktop than in a 100 x 100 pixel icon.
And the cherry on this sundae is that I have started to join stillness/icontest groups here on LJ. I won a Lost icontest but that was because I was the only entry. The contests give me pictures so I don't have to start all the way from scratch and that usually helps me. I'm entering one this week (though I won't tell you which one so I don't ruin my anonymity and forfeit the contest). I don't really expect to win this week but I hope to at least be in the running for the votes. I'm up against some pretty stiff competion so keep your fingers crossed for me.