While researching on the Web for this digital image, which was done in Photoshop, I learned that my name in Chinese is apparently "Wang Da Li," or in English "Wang reaches an advantage."

DAZ Studio

I started experimenting with a remarkable new software gift from DAZ Productions. I say gift because the software is free. It is a virtual photography studio in which you can place digital models and props, pose them in any position, shine lights on them, look at them with cameras from any position, and, when the scene is complete, export to photoshop or other software for additional painting.

In the picture is Victoria, my favorite digital model, dressed as a fairy and ready to be posed for a new picture. Victoria can be posed in any position a normal human can assume. Using controls, I can change her facial expressions and body type. I can change her into a black woman, a man, a fat oriental woman, etc., etc. She has a large wardrobe and her skin can replaced with chrome, lizard scales, and so on.

Besides Victoria, I have many other digital models, including men and children, as well as animals. For props, I have guns, bugles, umbrellas, and all sorts of objects that can be placed in a scene.

New art works

Two different color schemes for the same image.

I spoke with a wildlife person who has been watching this rare sand hill crane since it showed up near Mount Gretna, Pa. Although it seems OK physically, there is something unusual about it since it allows people to come right up and touch it. The wildlife person expressed concern that coyotes might get it

Snake

After five years of living in this area, the only snakes I have seen are black snakes and garter snakes. Black snakes are very slow but garter snakes, like the one shown here, can take off like a rocket and disappear into the weeds.

Coyote

I saw a coyote today on the Greenbelt just north of the Harrisburg State Hospital. It was in plain view just 50 feet away and it seemed startled when I came around the curve. It turned sideways and stared at me for a while, then when I was fumbling to get my camera ready it jumped into the woods.

Donkeys

Not all of my scientific experiments have been going as planned.

Looking at the calendar I notice that September 11 has come and gone. It has been eight years since the attacks, and the World Trade Center is still a hole in the ground. Why? Who is in the way? What are their names? It seems to me that replacement buildings should have been completed years ago. I think the people should demand to know exactly who has been doing what for EIGHT YEARS, and what benefits to the public have been achieved due to this activity. We should know this already. Why don't we?

New pic and thoughts about pastels

This is my new creation, now on sale at ImageKind.com.

I have been looking at my pastel collection with the idea of using them for a new artwork. Although I have several good brands, my favorite are Nupastels by Prismacolor. They are very hard compared to other brands, but you get far less dust on your hands and clothes. You have to do more work to get the pastel on the paper. My favorite papers are Canson Mi-Teintes. I discovered that one side has more texture than the other, and for me the less textured side works out better with the hard pastels. I have used Winsor & Newton Artists' Workable Fixative, which causes little or no change in the colors. "Workable" means that you can apply more pastels on top of the fixative. This brand also works with charcoal and pencil.

About Pencils

I bought a pack of 18 Ticonderoga #2 pencils, lured by "The World's BEST PENCIL" on the package. The claim is credible, based on my experience. The pencil makes marks smoothly and it erases cleanly.

By far the worst #2 pencil I have ever used is the Paper Mate American. It is noticeably gritty and the eraser makes a dark smudge on the paper instead of removing graphite. I threw most of them in the trash.

For artists, an interesting pencil is the Staedtler Mars Lumograph in 8B, which is extremely soft. This pencil makes marks that are very dark , almost black, and much less shiny than most other soft pencils I have tried.

Another completed artwork

Another view of Victoria in the same jazz dance pose.

Imagekind Gallery

I am starting a new gallery on imagekind.com to sell my prints. Their prints are supposed to be much better than what I can do at home. I will be using this service to make prints for myself, but anybody can buy them.

This is Victoria, my digital model. I put her in a jazz dance pose, made a digital simulation of a pencil drawing, then colorized it with Photoshop filters

Hawk Mountain

I visited Hawk Mountain this morning. Since it was raining hard I decided to not climb the mountain but to just stay in the visitor center. A woman and her daughter brought in some birds, including a huge european eagle owl they called Big Mama. These things are all feathers. I stuck my finger into her head quite a long way before reaching her little skull. The lady described how they can kill and eat small deer.

There were two other owls, one of which was small and had to be kept away from Big Mama to avoid its becoming lunch. There was also a raven, which had a lot of fun playing with paper napkins. The 12-year-old daughter, shown here, is named Talon and is able to make bird sounds.

There was a chart showing that on one day fifteen bald eagles were seen here. They also spot golden eagles, ospreys, and a lot of hawks.

I am back to making artworks. This one is the culmination of my research into ways of coloring line art in Photoshop. With my method I can quickly change any of the colors to find a color combination that works.

Another eagle sighting

I saw an adult bald eagle again today. This one was carrying something - a squirrel, I think - and had several crows after it. I was wondering if the crows were trying to get rid of the eagle, or were trying to get its food.

Eagles are coming back. This one was in Lewisberry but I only had ny cell phone camera.

Rare Animal Sightings

I recently saw two rare animals at Pinchot Park. Today (Jan. 13, 2009) I saw a herd of 7 deer, one of which was piebald (having a lot of white patches). They all ran away, the piebald being, significantly, the last to flee. Piebald deer, and perhaps piebald animals in general, have a reputation for being very tame. The theory is that they have very low levels of epinephrine, the fight-or-flight hormone.

On Jan. 6 I saw a bald eagle at almost the same place. It was standing in the middle of the lake, probably on a rock, and flew away when I got out of the car. I got a good look at it, though.