Erstellt am: 19. 5. 2009 - 11:12 Uhr
Today's webtip: Phone Art
As a 21 year old, I had a dream of being able to have my very own media production suite in my house. In 1990, that would have cost immense sums of cash and would have needed an entire room. It's one of those goals I used to have that stuck with me because it was on a list of goals I wrote down and carried with me for several years.
A list I dug up again one day while working at a festival for FM4. It was a goal I had not only achieved but surpassed. I had a complete media production suite in my bag. And it cost me less than a Mac IIfx with a 16" monitor and hand scanner back in the day. Much less.
Of course, these days, that same suite could fit in my pocket. In one device.
My phone.
Okay, it might not yet be broadcast quality, but the fact of the matter is that the basic hardware has been there waiting for several years. Windows Mobile Phones had been hacked into functioning as recorders for reporters a few years ago, and even basic SE phones offer basic video editing and recording.
But the software almost always sucked.
Until now. One of the greatest things about the Iphone has been it's ability to attract developers. Developers who have been anxious to attract some cash, and have been doing it by making some pretty nifty and innovative apps. Apps that have made my phone a viable device for artistic creation. Once again, WM devices had one or two options available, but in the end they were hard to find and the hardware rarely lived up to it. Now we have some alternatives that actually manage to work well together.
There are several apps out there that let you get your photo-manipulation needs taken care of, from basic image adjustment to full on photo compositing. But the ones that really take it to the next level are the painting apps. actually, it's the hard work of some amazing artists that are taking it to the next level.
Xoan Baltar
Xoan Baltar for instance:
He seems to be one of the masters of the Brushes app right now. Brushes is just one of several painting apps available, and the only one I have tried out myself. Needless to say, I am still fighting with the fact that I can't even draw, let alone paint. But it's fun, and watching other peoples painting animations has been a pretty good education. Flickr has a massive pool dedicated to Iphone art that could keep you busy for a while. Of course, if you just want to jump to the top of the list, you could check out Xoan's work right here.