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by jon
2012-03-23
Update

Making Dirt with Inkscape and Open Clip Art Library

dirt film simplifed

Its Friday and I want to make a fun post! Last night while working on a project with Christopher, I mentioned that we should add more dirt to some of our designz. He asked me how, so I made a quick HOWTO make dirt using our beloved Inkscape drawing software and then uploading the results, as scalable vector files to our project, Open Clip Art Library.

dirt bubbles on film

Check it out! If you like this post, please try to make your own dirt and upload to the Open Clip Art Library:


  1. Download image of dirt from a source like Google Image Search or Flickr.

  2. Download and use Inkscape, the free drawing tool!

  3. Import image in inkscape (I usually embed the image for now)

  4. Select Path > Trace Bitmap...

  5. Play with options (prefer simple black and white)

  6. Convert image to paths by clicking "OK"

  7. NOTE: At this point you will have some dirt. You may want to delete the image source material you imported now, or later.

  8. To create dirty type or make some shape dirrrty, then...

  9. Overlay shape or type on the dirt path.

  10. Then, play with path operations in the Inkscape Path menu like intersection, exclusion until you get a desirable result

  11. Have fun! Undo and Redo menu operations are your friend

  12. Upload your saved SVG (without the image in the file) to the Open Clip Art Library.

dirt bubbles detailed

Check out my growing collection in my Dirt Gallery (some of you who have known me for some time will get that KC comment ;).

Category: open clip art library

Tags: dirt dust film fun grain inkscape openclipart openclipartlibrary

by pete
2012-02-20
Update

Come Draw With Us: Open Clip Art Library 3.1 Released


Greetings, friendz,

Thank you for all the great art and thumbs up to everyone contributing to the Open Clip Art Library! The community is blossoming.

We're very happy to report that over the last few weeks we've had a massive jump in users who give us a Facebook like, surpassing the 3,000 mark. We'd also really appreciate a follow on Twitter @openclipart or Google+.

Stylised Lighthouse Scenery

Regardless of what platform you choose you'll be able to follow current news and uploads to the ever-expanding database of YOUR art how YOU want it. We can always use your help growing our library, and thank you again in advance for telling your peers! Let's all keep the practice of sharing in the forefront of our minds.

Abstract Landscape
Abstract Landscape by Viscious-Speed (/user-detail/Viscious-Speed)

What's particularly great about this Open Clip Art Library 3.1 release:


  • Our new favoriting system

  • A better landing page including more main page features and the most popular clipart.
    Collections have been improved

  • Our server has been moved to a big linode box, thanks to gandi.net for supporting our development

  • We added imagebot image editing to each clipart page simpy click the "Edit Image" button on a Clip Art detail page.

  • Now you can set the resolution of the raster art you desire to download by entering a number into the white box on a Clip Art detail page and by pressing the orange [PNG] button. You can copy the link in that box and use it as HTML anywhere on the web.

As we look to the future, Open Clip Art Library is absolutely commited make it easier to upload, download, and share. Please participate in the development of the project today.

Please enjoy the Open Clip Art Library 3.1, and keep on sharing. Also, please consider donating to support the infrastructure which keeps our community running! We need your help to make the Open Clip Art Library the best public collection of Clip Art that "anyone may use for any purpose" in the world!

Category: open clip art library

Tags: announcement art clipart community fabricatorz library openclipart openclipartlibrary projects release sharism

by jon
2011-09-07
Update

Sharism Makerlab Exhibition Sprint at Creative Commons Global Summit 2011

We are also super excited to formally announce the first Sharism Makerlab at the first Creative Commons Global Summit in several years! Fabricatorz all-starz along with many Creative Commons friendz and local talent will be on hand for two intensive days of sprinting towards hosting an exhibition on the first night of the Creative Commons Global Summit in Warsaw, Poland! If you want to participate in the event, please RSVP on the facebook page and/or also RSVP.

Plac Zamkowy, Warszawa - The Castle Square, Warsaw, Poland


Pre-Creative Commons Global Summit, Sept 15-16, 2011, Warsaw, Poland

The SHARISM MAKERLAB will be held in Warsaw on Thursday, September 15 and Friday, September 16, 2011, right before the Global Creative Commons Summit. Our two-day event joins international makers, progammers, artists, musicians, designers, and thinkers with local collaborators, to work towards the goal to start the day with ideas to share, media to select (Audio, Video, Objects and Web), and an end goal to produce work to be shown the following night a public exhibition. The event starts with an overview, and then participants are to work in teams to make projects during the day. At the end, they come together to share their creations to Warsaw and visiting Creative Commons guests in town. The entire event will be live streamed, photoblogged, and massively tweeted. The event is free and open to the public. Registration prior is encouraged. If you are interested in hosting a Sharism Makerlab, please email the sharism team.



Reasons to Share


  • Learn Open Source Software: Inkscape for Illustrations, Open Font Library for making Fonts, Ardour for Audio, PD for Audio, HTML5 for Programming, KiCAD for Objects

  • Work with Global Makers: Work alongside Michelle Thorne (Mozilla), Christopher Adams (Fabricatorz/Sharism), Jon Phillips (Fabricatorz), Nathan Kinkade (Creative Commons), Mike Linksvayer (Creative Commons), Greg Grossmeier (CC), Jakub Jankiewicz (Open Clip Art Library), Bassel Safadi (Aiki Lab) and more

  • Be Active, Not Passive: Learn by creating real Audio, Video, Image, Text and Objects with the GOOD pressure of Friday night opening exhibition.

  • Release into Public Domain: There is a workshop on the public domain, and all audio, video, image, text and objects will be released into the Public Domain.
  • Get Credit: We don't do demos, we do realidad. What better way to improve your job prospects and join the Sharism Movement, other than by doing real projets.


Who

RSVP'd Makers listed below...


  • Christopher Adams, ,Fabricatorz + Sharism, is a publisher and designer based in Beijing and Taipei. He is a developer at Fabricatorz and works with Neoteny Labs.
  • Greg Grossmeier, Creative Commons, is currently the Education Technology and Policy Coordinator at Creative Commons where he focuses on how Open Education projects can better create, disseminate, and reuse educational materials. He recently moved to San Francisco from Michigan where he worked at the University of Michigan Library as Copyright Specialist and with the Open.Michigan initiative on OER related outreach and policy.


  • Agata Jałosińska, Creative Commons Poland.
  • Jakub Jankiewicz, Aiki Framework + Open Clip Art Library, is a graphic designer and programmer from Poland who primarily creates dynamic, interactive web pages while using SEO effectively.

  • Nathan Kinkade, Creative Commons, has worked and tinkered in the area of computers and technology since around 1997. He has served as an Information Technology Volunteer with the Peace Corps in Belize, and holds a B.A. in history from Emory University.
  • Mike Linksvayer, Creative Commons + gondwanaland, joined Creative Commons as CTO and became Vice President in April 2007. Previously he co-founded Bitzi, an early open content/open data service.
  • Jon Phillips, Fabricatorz + Sharism, is a developer living in San Francisco and Beijing while growing Fabricatorz LLC, Aiki Framework Private Limited, and the Sharism project. His notable involvements include Open Source and Free Culture movements, Inkscape, Open Clip Art Library, Creative Commons, Status.Net, Sharism, and Qi Hardware.


  • Bassel Safadi, Aiki Lab + Aiki Framework + Creative Commons Syria, is a software developer and a 3D technical director with ten years of practical experience. He has extensive experience in open source development including Linux kernel and Apache server. He started web application development in 2000 and 3D visual effects in 2005.

  • Eric Steuer, Creative Commons + MMC + Notthe1s, works with artists, media companies, technology developers, and cultural institutions on the use of Creative Commons licenses and
    CC-licensed content. He is a correspondent for Wired magazine, a member of CASH Music's board, and a musician with dozens of recordings and remixes in release.
  • Alek Tarkowski, Creative Commons Poland, is a sociologist and director of Centrum Cyfrowe Projekt Polska, a NGO building a digital society in Poland and an affiliate institution of Creative Commons Poland.

  • Michelle Thorne, Mozilla,, works for Mozilla as a global event strategist, aiming to grow communities around open web projects through live events.



  • Spencer Young, Fabricatorz + Sharism, is an arts writer for San Francisco Bay Guardian and Art Practical. He lives in San Francisco.

  • Local Artists and Hackers



What


A two day workshop and sprint towards hosting an exhibition of projects on the opening night of the Creative Commons Global Summit, in the creative heart of Warsaw, Poland.



Where


Warsaw, Poland, HEDOCO (http://hedoco.com)

Address: Aleja Na Skarpie 15/18 (http://g.co/maps/v4wba)


When




Why



  • To bring international makers together.

  • To make projects in realtime, with a specific practical goal.

  • To build on top of current projects, in a public format.

  • To have global makers work with local makers.
  • To progress sharing in Warsaw and amongst participants.

How



  • Send RSVP if you are interested in the event.
  • Attend the event!

  • Sponsor the event

  • Attend the opening exhibition on Friday, Sept. 15, 2011



Goal

The goal is to focus on the Audio, Video, Image, Text, and Object rubric for workshop tracks in order to create an exhibition.



Category: sharism

Tags: acawiki aiki aikiframework creativecommons creativity fabricatorz makerlab makers milkymist open openclipart openhardware projects sharism summit

by jon
2011-06-27
Update

Fabricatorz Presentations at FISL12

milkymist one greenish

I will be speaking about Fabricatorz projects at FISL12 in Brazil. Come find me if you will be there! Let's talk projects!

Here are the summaries of my talks from the FISL12 schedule:

Open Educational Resources Roundtable, AcaWiki: The Wikipedia of Academic Research
Thursday, June 30, 2011 @ 3 PM
Recursos Educacionais Abertos - REA
41-A fisl 1, 351 lugares

Qi Hardware Introduces: The Milkymist One Video Synthesizer
Saturday, July 2, 2011 @ 1 PM
40-T fisl 0, 536 lugares

Building Open Clip Art Library and Open Font Library with Aiki Framework
Saturday, July 2, 2011 @ 5 PM
41-A fisl 1, 351 lugares

Category: qi hardware

Tags: acawiki aiki aikiframework brazil fabricatorz milkymist openclipart openfontlibrary projects qihardware

by brad
2011-05-20
Update

LGM 2011 Recap: Fabricatorz Drive New Releases

The Fabricatorz recently capped off an exciting and eventful week at the 6th annual Libre Graphics Meeting, in Montreal. The 4-day Conference was packed with developers and users of free software including Inkscape, Scribus, Gimp, Blender, DeviantArt, and many more. Developer Brad Phillips closed out the Day One talks with a guide to making our unique avatars, as well as announcing the Release of Open Clip Art Library 3.0.

As the talks rolled into Day Two, Christopher Adams revealed the highly-anticipated, refreshed Open Font Library, to much adulation.

The hits kept coming through Day Four, when Fabricatorz Founder, Jon Phillips, unveiled the Milkymist video synthesizer, alongside a vision of an open hardware future for LGM.

The Fabricatorz want to send out a big thanks to all involved in organizing and hosting events for this year's Libre Graphics Meeting. More great events and Releases lay ahead, as we look forward to the rest of 2011!

Category: libre graphics meeting

Tags: artist clipart events fabricatorz lgm lgm2011 milkymist openclipart openfontlibrary