Fox Spokane Pt 3 – Img Types

Posted on November 23, 2009 by Leslie Sigal Javorek | Leave a comment

Posted by: Leslie Sigal Javorek • Date: Mon Nov 23 2009 2:15 am

Most people who use a computer, whether it be a Mac or Windows platform, use it pretty much “as is”, never thinking twice about trying to customize the look of the icons or other graphical user interface elements that they stare at for hours every day. I could find no formal studies explaining this but would guess this situation is either due to a lack of creativity, lack of appreciation for aesthetics, or the presumption that it takes a computer-programming degree (or the average 8 year-old) to accomplish or a little of each. For the rest of us, sticking with our computer’s operating system and applications out-of-the box looks is anathema, no matter how elegant the original interface may be. (For an apt analogy, just imagine someone like Halle Berry (1, 2 ) or Isabella Rosselini (1,2, 3) while they are gorgeous creatures just as God made them, but if dressed in off-the-rack clothes from Sears, unkempt hair, and no make-up, would you recognize them if they passed you on the street ? Probably not.) It’s the “window dressing” we personally apply to ourselves, our homes, our workspaces, and our computers that creates a visual reflection of the essence of who we like to think we are. The result makes us feel comfortable, confident and can even inspire us.

“Modding” the look of your desktop is fairly easy these days. With a Mac, you don’t even need to have any special software or advanced knowledge to swap out an icon used for just about any folder, application or document. If you’re looking to change a large number of icons or want to alter the look of default icons for each time a new folder or document is created, CandyBar is the gold-standard, yet inexpensive, shareware solution that Mac users have turned to for years. For those of you working with Windows or Linux, I personally have no experience working with Windows or Linux, but have been told there are numerous shareware applications that can ease the way for you.

I thought of including a “How To” tutorial on my blog but came across so many great tutorials already out there, there really is no need for another. But if you check my “How To” page, you’ll find a list of links to the best of those tutorials and applications.

Tonight’s “freebie” offering was originally created as part of my “Fox Spokane” icon series (FS-1, FS-2) and is a set of images to use as replacements for various image document types which I personally use as the defaults for Apple’s “Preview” application. They can also be used with any other image viewer. Note: if you swap the icon of an individual document, it will only affect that particular document. If you want to alter the default icons so that all .png (or .jpg, or .gif, etc.) documents display the customized icon, you’ll need to access the default resource in the application’s package. See the tutorials on IconDoIt’s How To Page. Enjoy!

Free Icons of the Day

The following images are reduced size previews. Simply right-click (or control-click) on the preview to save a zipped file to your desktop that contains all images in each preview group (each image is 512px X 512px in .png format) or, in the case of the individual icons, do your clicking on each one you’d like to download.

Solvo Ex Libris (free bookplates)

Posted on November 4, 2009 by Leslie Sigal Javorek | Leave a comment

Posted By: Leslie Sigal Javorek • Date: Wed, Nov 4, 2009 6:45 am

The statistics for the percentage of adults in the USA who read books for pleasure is surprisingly (and dismally) low at only 20%. The percentage of adults in the USA who are illiterate is 15%. I don’t know whether the latter group includes those who are illiterate or not but either way, it strikes me as rather sad that so many people seem to have stopped picking up a book as soon as they got out of school. Now, I’m not one of those who rails against television or movies as I certainly watch and enjoy my fair share. But as an avid reader (generally, a book every day or two when I’m not on chemo) I’ve always thought that there’s something magical about reading a good book that I just don’t get from watching some director’s vision of the author’s words. Imagining the characters, their voices, what they look like, the locations, and being somewhat in control of the pacing makes me feel much more involved in the story (be it fiction or non-fiction) as it allows me to actually feel the tale from the point of view of the narrator. When I’m just watching a film or TV show, it is extremely rare for me to get so caught up in it that I can actually smell the heroines perfume or the salty sea breeze or feel the snow falling on the tip of my nose. But a well-written book will do it every time.

Whenever I come across an especially fine read, I like to share it with my friends so we can talk about it. Consequently, I’m often loaning out my books or buying a second or third copy to give away as gifts. In either situation, I always thought it was both useful and classy to have a bookplate attached on the inside front cover that claimed the book as my own or which dedicated it to a special friend. So for tonight’s post, I’ve got something a little different: a choice of 24 different bookplates. The downloadable files are formatted for printing at 300dpi for a finished size of 3.5″ x 3.5″. You can print them out on any kind of paper you want, but they will look best if printed on a semi-gloss or glossy premium photo paper or label stock which is readily available at most office supply stores or via this link at amazon.com. Hint: If you want to write your name on the printed label, be sure to use a permanent marker like this one to avoid smudges.

Just like all of my other artwork made available for downloading on this blog, these are yours to enjoy whether on your monitor or printed out free of cost – but for your personal use only. (If you wish to re-post them elsewhere, the artwork must be attributed to me and you must include a copy of my Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. If you wish to use them in any commercial endeavor, whether in full or in part, please contact me directly to get an appropriate license. I appreciate your respect for those terms and my efforts. Thanks! and Enjoy!

Free Icons of the Day

The following image is a reduced size preview. Simply right-click (or control-click) on it to save a zipped file to your desktop that has 24 files (each image is in .png format for 300dpi, 3.5″x3.5″ printed size).

Declaration of Principles & Russet Icons

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Leslie Sigal Javorek | 1 Comment

Posted by: Leslie Sigal Javorek • Date: Mon, Oct 19, 2009 1:58 am

The main difference between having my blog vs. uploading my icons and clip art to websites which host digital galleries and downloads is the opportunity to share a bit of the inspiration behind my art. I do this, first, to make it a little more interesting and to widen the scope of the potential viewers, and secondly, to hopefully get some dialog going or at least people thinking about subjects or points of view they may not have considered before or done anything about.

If I have any specific agenda at all to proselytize, it is to keep an open-mind; that honesty and integrity are the most valuable assets anyone can strive for (and the ONLY assets that anyone can actually “own”) and that each and every human being has the ability and responsibility to make a positive difference with their lives that goes beyond their purely personal interests.

That message is simultaneously ridiculously simple and impossible to quantify, impossible to define for somebody else. Yet, I truly believe that if we each live our lives with these goals at the forefront, we’ll recognize the opportunities to prove (not just say) what we stand for and substantiate the value of our lives. Whether you’ll be the one to invent a life-saving device on the level of a lightning-rod or be the one person who took the time to be kind to the kid everyone makes fun of, it all adds to a better world that would not have had a chance if you hadn’t looked outside of yourself, seen a need, asked yourself, first, “What if that were me?” and then “How can I help?”.

Ironically, this lovely, grand-sounding “Declaration of Principles” started out as an admission that the set of icons that I’m introducing tonight actually have no deep inspirational or even slightly interesting story behind them – merely a color and texture theme that I started to play with. I tried to retroactively come up with a pseudo-inspiration by doing a web-search on the name of both the color and series, “Russet”, which lead me to a number of both surprising and interesting topics (ranging from a hot copyright controversy about “Russet Noon”; a new iPhone App to read F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short-story “The Russet Witch” (which strikes me as a fodder for a Coen Brothers movie); a bizarre interview with Paula Abdul conducted by a Russet Potato and the methods for making russet fabric for uniforms during the Civil War). But as I’ve already confessed, there were no lofty thoughts behind this series, just a color that I find peaceful and reassuring.

Free Icons of the Day

The following images are either full or reduced size previews. Simply right-click (or control-click) on the preview to save the image(s) of your choice to your desktop. (Unless otherwise noted, downloads are 512px X 512px in .png format). As always, usage of any of the images offered on this blog are free for your personal use while subject to the limitations of my Creative Commons Non-Commercial – Attribution – No Derivatives – Share Alike- 3.0 license. (See sidebar for details)