blog.martinlucas.co.uk

In an effort to make my Tumblr blog more about everything I do,...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:34:55 +0100

In an effort to make my Tumblr blog more about everything I do, I’m going to add my monthly podcast mixes on here. I’m currently mixing one a month and you can find them all on my Musical Rant blog, on iTunes, recent ones on SoundCloud and from this month onwards they’ll also appear on Mixcloud.

Enjoy!

May’s highlights. A tiny bit annoying — I had found the...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:26:08 +0100

May’s highlights.

A tiny bit annoying — I had found the first track I wanted to use (Hey Ho by Lennon Stella & Maisy Stella from Nashville), then a week later it appeared on the Voice UK, sung by Andrea Begley, now I’m sure that everyone’s thinking that’s how the track was discovered. It wasn’t. So there!

Blank Canvas. New drawing, on Sketchbook Pro on Kindle Fire HD.

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 14:01:22 +0100

Blank Canvas. New drawing, on Sketchbook Pro on Kindle Fire HD.

Fresh new T-Shirts just arrived from the printers - they look...

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 12:33:47 +0100

Fresh new T-Shirts just arrived from the printers - they look awesome! Will take a few more photos later. – View on Path.

April 2013 — Episode 35, getting close to 3 years of monthly...

Wed, 29 May 2013 12:39:34 +0100

April 2013 — Episode 35, getting close to 3 years of monthly highlights and these little videos of our lives since Finley arrived.

The second new T-Shirt I’ll be adding on Worm Sign...

Wed, 29 May 2013 12:33:09 +0100

The second new T-Shirt I’ll be adding on Worm Sign T-Shirts — hopefully later this week or next week at the latest — this came together really quickly and I’m really happy with it. I’m going to get this on a number of different colours and also on Society6 as various different printed products.

Something I’ve finally found time to work on this...

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:23:27 +0100

Something I’ve finally found time to work on this afternoon - new drawing for a T-Shirt. – View on Path.

Adobe Replacements — Pixelmator

Wed, 15 May 2013 11:23:29 +0100

I’ve used 3 apps from Adobe since the late 1990’s, Photoshop, Illustrator and up until a few years ago — and sometimes still for the occasional old client’s website update — Dreamweaver. But now Adobe are moving to the Cloud and to a paid monthly subscription model for their software, I thought I’d use this as an ~~excuse~~ reason to find some alternatives that’s are a little more affordable.

The 3 replacement apps I’ve purchased and started using are Pixelmator, Sketch 2 and Komodo Edit. I thought I’d write a post for each on my early thoughts and how they stack up to their ‘industry standard’ rivals. First up…

Pixelmator

I use Photoshop for everything — in many cases I use it even though I know I should probably use Fireworks or Illustrator. I use it every day, I know it so well and don’t have many issues with it. So, why am I looking to swap — well, £17.50 per month and every month to use it is beyond me. Pixelmator has been on my radar since the early releases and I’ve always liked the look of it and have been tempted to switch to it before. At only £10.49 the price point is dramatically different to Photoshop, so I took the plunge and made a purchase.

I like…

The layer grouping is nice, select a bunch of layers then right click on one of them and choose ‘Group’ to add them to a group of layers.
Moving objects around a canvas is nice, there’s plenty of information and feedback regarding space to nearby elements and the current object will snap to other elements, this makes it good for interface design and layouts.
It’s quick, really quick!

I don’t really like and would love to see…

No ability to lock a layer, the only way I’ve been able to not mistakingly edit or move a layer is to turn off ‘auto-select’ on the selection tool. Not ideal.
I really don’t like OS X’s colour palette being used within Pixelmator, they need to create their own version. Also, a lack of foreground / background colour is a really limitation, when working on a website layout the over night I wasn’t sure of the colour currently being used for various tools.
Colour management needs to be better implemented, in Photoshop I default to Adobe RGB (1998) as my colour space, but in Pixelmator you have to select and apply a colour space to every image you open and work with.
A visible undo history would be nice, I’m missing that from Photoshop
I use Levels in Photoshop a lot, within Pixelmator I’m having to use 2 or 3 filters / effects to accomplish the same level of control.
Two big requests — one of which (layer styles) is coming later this year — first though, Adjustment Layers. I use these all the time to have a non-destructive work flow for editing artwork and photographs, being able to edit the levels or brightness, carry on working, then go back and make a tweak to those levels is a must. Next up is Layer Styles, I think this has been a big ask from all wannabe Pixelmator users who want to use the app for layout work and I’m so glad it’s finally coming this year.
I keep going to use the cursor keys to increase and decrease the values in effects and adjustment panels and it doesn’t work — being able to just up a percentage number in a field a couple of notches rather than keep typing in new numbers is so much nicer, plus the previews don’t jump about when going from 55% to 60% as you’ll see 55% then 5% then zero % and then 6% and then finally 60%, this makes it really hard to judge the difference you’re applying.

The negative points are outweighing the positives and for that reason ~~I’m out~~ I’m going to be hanging on to Photoshop — restricted to the latest version I have, CS5 — and using it as my image editor of choice. I will keep checking in with Pixelmator and the updates from the App Store, the support forums are really great and there’s plenty of people requesting some of the features I’d like to see added, so I hope the team behind Pixelmator are listening — if they are and implement some of the points above — I’ll be giving it another serious trial to replace Photoshop in the future.

Snippet of a logo project I’m currently working on. – View...

Tue, 14 May 2013 13:12:31 +0100

Snippet of a logo project I’m currently working on. – View on Path.

Custom Sorting Within taxonomy.php

Wed, 08 May 2013 21:02:18 +0100

I’m currently working on a WordPress e-commerce website in which the client wants a little more control of how products are displayed within their categories. I’ve created a custom taxonomy.php theme files for the product categories — which are called Types, so the theme file is called taxonomy-types.php — and I’ve created a custom field using the Advanced Custom Fields plugin called product_order which is just allows my client to insert a number, the higher the number the higher up in the category page the product will be displayed, it works in a similar way to WordPress’s own menu order for pages.

Now for some code, above the loop in your taxonomy.php file, add the following lines of code;

<?php
global $wp_query;
$posts = query_posts($query_string . ‘&orderby=meta_value_num&meta_key=product_order&order=DESC’);
?>

The orderby=meta_value_num makes sure you’re sorting the meta_key=product_order by number and not alphabetically so that 11 doesn’t sit below 2 on the page.

I Like Netflix but I'd Love it if...

Mon, 06 May 2013 22:24:20 +0100

it had a couple of extras that would help me find, save and watch content a little quicker.

Following on from my last blog post about watching more unscheduled television via services such as the iPlayer and Netflix, I thought I’d follow it up with a couple of things I’d love to see added to Netflix. First up;

Wishlist (or watch later)

Such a simple yet much needed addition. We use Netflix through Apple TV, it’s pretty easy to browse through different sections of cotent; genres, recently added, recommended and recently watched, but remembering all the content that’s available and bookmarking something to watch at another time isn’t something that’s available to do. You’ve either got to remember that it’s on there, write it down somewhere (!), I add it to my IMDB watchlist, or I’ve seen a couple people mention hit play and it will immediately go into your recently watched page — not ideal and not what that was meant for. I’d love to see a simple wishlist implemented, one that I could add to via Apple TV and through the desktop website, iOS app and Kindle app that we use.

Collections

I ripped our entire DVD collection to a hard drive a year or so ago, I now see a lot of those films while browsing their library — first I think why did I bother taking 2 hours to rip that film when it’s sitting right here on Netflix, then I think wouldn’t it be great if I could rebuild my DVD collection within Netflix. Films and television shows I’ve gone out and spent money on in the past, but have since packed away after discovering the benefits of switching to a hard drive or cloud based collection, I’d like them in place where I could watch then again in the future at a touch of a button within a service I often use. It’s not quite a wishlist, but a library of all your favourite content you’ve already watched before and would want to revisit again.

So there we go, if Netflix added these two little pieces of functionality I’d definitely fall for the service and use it a lot more than I do at the moment.

iPlayer iOS App + Apple TV

Sat, 04 May 2013 21:16:59 +0100

Equals a great little remote control, idea of the near future?

The BBC iPlayer iOS app has Airplay support and it works really well; choose a programme and send it over to your telebox. We’re watching less and less scheduled television these days, the majority is Netflix or recorded or catchup. This kind of simple control over what you want to watch right now, it’s great.

I really hope other video / television content apps add similar functionality - allegedly specific rights over content is stopping 4OD from Channel4 implementing Airplay - I’m wondering if this is how Apple’s TV (which we all know is coming, right?!) will work.

New T-Shirt design I’ve been working on this week for Worm...

Sat, 04 May 2013 12:58:25 +0100

New T-Shirt design I’ve been working on this week for Worm Sign, not sure on colours yet but hoping to add quite a few variations.

I’m thinking that I should start to Tumblr everything I do...

Fri, 03 May 2013 11:38:00 +0100

I’m thinking that I should start to Tumblr everything I do and create, this blog is fast becoming more like my ‘home-page’ than my actual portfolio website — and if I ever stopped freelancing I would certainly use this as my home on the web. Ease of publishing definitely helps keep the enthusiasm for a service and website topped up.

So this is my latest Musical Rant podcast mix, 58 minutes of deep and tech house. Enjoy!

I was asked last week if I could add a T-Shirt design for my...

Thu, 02 May 2013 11:02:35 +0100

I was asked last week if I could add a T-Shirt design for my (500) Days of Summer print on Society6, I’ve previously not added it as I don’t like designs were they’ve just been resized and ‘dumped’ on to the T-Shirt. The sides of the landscape on my poster — and the tree — are cropped off, so I gave it some thought and this morning spent an hour extending the landscape and buildings so 100% of the tree is in the picture. I also changed the grass so it’s not just a block that stops at the bottom of the image. I’m pretty happy with it, it’s available as a T-Shirt in various colours as well as zip-up and pull-over hoodies.

Link: society6.com/martinlucas/500-Days-of-Summer

Retain Hierarchy on WordPress Edit Post Category Panel

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 20:11:38 +0100

I’m currently working on a fairly large e-commerce website in WordPress, I have a custom post type set up for products and a custom taxonomy set up for types that has grown into a large category list with two levels of hierarchy. After creating and publishing a new product which is contained in a number of categories, the hierarchy of those categories is lost and now the selected categories are displayed at the top of the panel without any record of their level.

After a brief Google, I stumbled across the Category Checklist Tree plugin for WordPress.

On the post editing screen, after saving a post, you will notice that the checked categories are displayed on top, breaking the category hierarchy. This plugin removes that “feature”.

It’s one of those great plugins that does one simple job perfectly with no fuss or added complexities, worth installing if you use categories extensively.

Awesome, Camera Awesome

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:15:24 +0100

Continuing my distraction free iPhone and wanting to use it more for what I want to get out of it over something that sucks time away from my life, I have been making my first screen of apps more camera-fied. Wanting to improve the experience I have taking photos with my iPhone, I installed Camera Awesome!

It’s a fantastic camera app that’s free (in app purchases are available for extra filters) and I’ve been using it for the last few days for all the photos I’ve taken. Added functionality such as being able to take a burst of photos — essential for when Finley’s playing in the park — and a split focus and exposure point which gives you much more control over your shot as the ideal exposure area isn’t always in the same place as you want the focus of your photo. The compositional tools are really helpful too, it comes with the Thirds setting like many camera apps, but it also features a horizon level thing-me-jig so you can tell if your shot is nice and straight.

I’ve only scratched the surface with what’s available in the app so far, I haven’t used it for video — which starts recording up to 5 seconds before you actually press the shutter button so you don’t miss any golden moments, I haven’t used any of the filters or one-tap exports to Twitter, Flickr, email, etc.

Something I do need to use more often along with Camera Awesome is the Tiltpod I backed it on Kickstarter last year and have hardly used it - it’s attached to my keys so comes along with me nearly everywhere, so I don’t have much of an excuse not to use it.

A couple of ‘meh’ points that take the gloss off it slightly; photos are saved to Awesome’s own library and you have to export them from there to your camera roll to get them into a photo stream or off your phone via iPhoto sync - not a big issue, just something for me to remember to do each time. Another is Apple’s doing, I often use the camera icon on the lock screen as it is a quick way of taking a photo, I want to use Camera Awesome all the time, so wouldn’t be nice if Apple allowed us to choose which app that icon opened!

Oh The Hypocrisy

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:54:01 +0100

So when the Facebook purchase of Instagram hit the news and the new terms and conditions were published which meant Instagram and Facebook could use your photos in adverts or whatever I jumped ship along with many other users.

Now, quite a few months on I’m tempted to start using it again, not for the personal family photos I used to create, but for using it to (hopefully) promote my drawings, prints and T-Shirts on another network outside of Tumblr and Twitter.

Actually, re-reading that first paragraph really brings out the stubborn side of me and the little voice inside of me is telling me to stick to my guns - don’t use Instagram, but then ‘the other voice’ is saying this is an opportunity to show other people my stuff, people who may not follow me on Twitter or Tumblr.

I’ve installed the app, I’ve set up an account — instamartinlucas — my old deleted username isn’t available to be reregistered which is a shame but it’s the price I pay I guess.

I really like Matthew Smith’s Peak series on Instagram, using the service for one very specific type of content (photo), thinking along these lines I might just use it to take photos of T-Shirts, my ones, other peoples, stuff I like in shops, even ones online - yeah, photos of a computer screen that every loves.

Clearly I’m now just thinking while I type, I’ll stop and I’ll come back later and let you know how I get on.

Why so serious? print run off for auction at 15 Queen Street...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 10:59:46 +0100

Why so serious? print run off for auction at 15 Queen Street this week. at Studio One Frames – View on Path.

My latest alternative movie poster is for Ruby Sparks. Available...

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 10:29:28 +0100

My latest alternative movie poster is for Ruby Sparks. Available on Society6.com as poster prints, canvas prints, laptop, tablet and phone skins / cases and loads more!

society6.com/martinlucas/Ruby-Sparks