
Today in Titanic History - with Searching
Today in Titanic History Sunday, March 9, 2025 | 1867 - 1st class survivor Miss Grace Scott Bowen was born.
1864 - 1st class survivor Mr Algernon Henry Wilson Barkworth was born.
1870 - 1st class survivor Mr Edwin Nelson Jr. Kimball was born to Edwin Kimball and Emma Cook Kimball in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
1980 - 3rd class survivor Miss Helen Corr died in The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA at the age of 84.
1997 - The sinking scenes for James Cameron's movie "Titanic" were filmed from the 6th to the 12th and were the most expensive filming days in motion picture history.
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Making graphics pop II
For the second half of my two-part series on the difference between average and
professional graphics, I decided to cover fonts and layers. They may require
Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro.
Fonts:
Collecting and downloading fonts is relatively easy once you know where to look.
My favorite stomping ground for fonts is the Font Ring
(http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=fontring&list). There is a
dramatic difference when you use an uncommon font on your graphics. The perfect
font can change the mood of the piece entirely. Some graphics are best
remembered just for their font, so they'll remember you the next time they see
it.
Most fonts are in zip format. (Save them to a folder other than
"C:/Windows/FONTS" for you Windows users.) After you're done downloading your
fonts you need to unzip the files with WinZip, or a comparable program. Simply
open the zip file and extract it to your primary font folder (Windows users
should place them in "C:/Windows/FONTS" now). Open a graphics application
(Photoshop, etc.) and add text just like usual. The fonts should appear in your
existing list of fonts.
You can never have enough fonts, it sets you out from the crowd to use something
other than Arial, Helvetica, New Times Roman, and the other fonts we've seen
before. Don't get me wrong, they have their place.
A special note to webmasters: If you display the new fonts you've acquired on
your page as text, as in font face="NewFont'sName", you will be able to see the
font. However, unless your visitors have that font, they will see no
difference.
Layers:
When I first got Photoshop, I was uneasy using layers, but the program forced me
to at least explore it. I never looked back. Layers are separate images on top
of one another. Say you had one layer with Jack Dawson's face on it and a
second with text on it. If you feel like changing it to Cal's face, you can
without disturbing the layers above or below it. On Photoshop, you can turn
layers "on" or "off" which is boundlessly useful. The best part of layers,
especially when making custom graphics, is that you can go back later. I've
gone back and made simple changes when the webmaster wanted a different picture,
or for something to be lighter/darker. This will save a lot of time compared to
using flattened images.
Animations can easily be made first in Photoshop. Make all of the frames for
the animation within the layers. That way when it comes to moving it over to
your animation program you just need to Copy Merged and Paste.
Keep in mind layered image files are much larger than jpgs of gifs. Whenever
possible keep the layers to a minimum.
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Making Waves
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