tutorial Archives - CLEVERcreating

What is Composition in Photography? 7 Tips to Improve your Images

March 4, 2024March 4, 2024 by Hannie Mommers

During my education at two art academies in the Netherlands, I was trained to look at the composition of paintings and sculptures. That was a big advantage for me when I started taking pictures.

Painters often had a conception of composition that depended on their time. The Renaissance had a balanced, calm structure of the works. In the Baroque, the dynamic composition was usually applied.

What is composition in photography? The usual rule of thumb is the rule of thirds. It’s a great rule to start with, but in this article, I will explain some other possibilities for composition you can use.

Possible Mistakes in Cyanotype and Some Useful Solutions

August 18, 2023July 28, 2023 by Hannie Mommers

If you start a new hobby, you will make mistakes. That’s part of the game, also when you make cyanotypes, and it’s okay.

Some mistakes are final, but that’s “tuition money” most of the time. Other errors can either be covered up or corrected. And some mistakes have a surprising effect. Beautiful results came from accidental errors.

The most important tip is to keep a log so that you know what you did. By the way, a log is also convenient to repeat successful results.

11 Steps to Start a Website for Personal or Business Use

June 28, 2023June 23, 2023 by Hannie Mommers

When you start something new, all the required steps can be overwhelming, to say the least. And this is especially the case when you want to start a new website. I want to break down this complicated process for you in 11 steps.

I won’t promise that makes it easier, but it surely will give you a bigger sense of control, which does wonders for your peace of mind. A relaxed mind can be more creative and productive than a stressed one.

In this article, I describe 11 steps to start a website. I will add some information to each step. Either by describing it here or by providing the link to an extensive article I wrote about that specific issue.

How to Use Layers in Photoshop to Make a Festive Easter Card

April 5, 2023April 4, 2023 by Hannie Mommers

Using layers in any creative computer program is a marvellous way to enhance our creativity. In this article, I will explain how to use layers in Photoshop, applied to an Easter card.

Once you know how to benefit from working with layers, you can use them for any kind of creative expression.

Besides using them for masking, I often toggle between layers to turn them ‘on’ and ‘off’ so I can judge differences. Making variations and looking at which one pleases me most, is easy that way.

Why is Choosing the Right Font Important to be Competitive?

March 31, 2023March 31, 2023 by Hannie Mommers

Fonts have a look that tells something about the character of the person or company that chose them. For me, that has always been the main reason for the letter choices I made for a client. What should their appearance be?

But fonts have more aspects that influence that choice. It is important to know them in order to choose the right font.

While beautiful or ugly is one of those arguments, it is the least important of all. So, why is choosing the right font important?

Ceramics in Magical Colours. How to Use the Colour of Clay Itself?

January 16, 2023January 16, 2023 by Hannie Mommers

Decorating your ceramics can be done in many ways. Your clay object can be glazed or painted with engobes and underglazes. Even screen printing or applying transfers are possibilities.

A pure way of working is using the colour of the clay itself with at most a transparent glaze to emphasize the colours and make the object watertight.

Clay has different colours depending on the substances in the soil of the quarry. The clay you buy in the shops usually has only a few colours: it’s white, red, or ‘black’ (rather dark brown) after firing. Due to the industrialized process, the tones are generally the same every time.

How to Smooth the Surface of your Clay Object – 3 Affordable Tips

January 9, 2023January 9, 2023 by Hannie Mommers

Ceramics can be produced in several ways. Each method will result in a different surface.

You can press the clay in moulds, hand-build an object, or merge slabs.

Depending on completion or decoration it can be necessary to smooth the surface as best as possible.

How to smooth the surface of your clay object? I’ll explain my methods in this article.

How to Make Perfect Slabs of Clay for Hand Building Ceramics

December 23, 2022April 6, 2022 by Hannie Mommers

Handbuilt ceramics, composed of clay slabs, ensures a lot of creative freedom. With slabs of clay, you can make vases, pots, and free work of all shapes and sizes.

For a professional ceramist, it is not a question of how to make perfect slabs of clay. He or she uses a slab roller. Such a device is very similar to a printing press and makes perfect slabs that are the same thickness everywhere.

It is impossible for a hobbyist to purchase such a device. It takes up too much space and is too expensive. Hence my tip, which gives just as good results.

Attractive Combining Handmade Frames with Photoshop Editing

October 29, 2024March 19, 2022 by Hannie Mommers

Combining Handmade Frames with Photoshop Skills

In this article, I explain how to make a handmade frame and combine it with layers in Photoshop in an easy way. The end result appears to be the outcome of masking, but it is actually the result of selecting and deleting.

In the starting years of the availability of computers for everyone, I met a professional illustrator who said he had bought a computer and some illustration programs because he was sick and tired of getting dirty hands while drawing.