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Graphics-Toolbox

Posted on 2010 under art, educational software review, online video class | No Comment

30 Mar

Graphics-Toolbox is designed for people, like me, who see the word “Photoshop” and run screaming in panic. I am not a graphics person. I admire people who can make Photoshop and other graphics programs create the wonderful artwork that we see all over the internet. After watching the tutorials and playing around with the program a bit I am a bit more open to creating banners and buttons for my website, but …. that’s why I have an artistic step-daughter around!

Okay, back to the actual review. Linda Holler, the creator of Graphics-Toolbox, is a really awesome and helpful person. She’s created some of the most fantastic tutorials that I’ve ever used. They are recorded live classes so questions get asked and answered, which is really helpful for the people who view them later. As I told Linda during one of the live classes, I am greatly intimidated by graphic programs so I wasn’t sure how well I’d do with this one.

My then six-year old was my guinea pig on this one and was able to do the simple projects like making ladybugs and other drawings. She was pleased with her efforts and willing to do more, which is a big accomplishment since she hasn’t been interested in computer art before. Now if only the mama could be so confident with using the program.

My major complaint with the program was my inability to resize the program so that I could watch the video and copy what Linda was doing. The program interface occupies the full screen, so the only way to see what the tutorials are teaching is to constantly navigate between the two which becomes annoying. I had less trouble with it than I did with programs like Gimp and Photoshop, so that was a plus for me.

I had my step-daughter Jasmin, who is an artist, work with the program. Although she said that you can definitely use Graphics Toolbox to create the same graphic creations as Photoshop and other high end programs, she was not happy with the interface on many counts.

Her main complaint revolved around the use of numbers for all of the settings. She felt that for someone just starting having to play with so many settings might become confusing and frustrating. In other programs she’s worked on they have graphical displays so that you can see the width of line sizes before you get started. She also felt that, although you can do lots of customizations with the program, it wouldn’t be as easy for children to use as something like Paint Tool Sai. (Please note that Paint Tool Sai is much more limited than Graphics-Toolbox — she was just comparing the interfaces.)

Overall, I am glad that the tutorials are still available because I finally came up with a workaround for my resizing the program issue. If I put the tutorials on my husband’s computer I can then follow through the steps on my own computer. Linda is such a great teacher that I’m sure with a little practice and visually following her instructions I’ll soon be a graphics wizard.

There are so many cool things that you can do with Graphics-Toolbox once you get the hang of it. I’ve included the YouTube video of the program so that you can see the many projects that children and adults are creating with it.

My now seven-year old really likes the program and seems to have no trouble using it. I may just put Jasmin and Alaya to work on my website graphic needs for the time being. I’m starting to wonder if it’s just a case of the difficulty of trying to teach old dogs girls new tricks.

Graphics-Toolbox is an affordable and powerful alternative to the more expensive graphic packages such as Photoshop for only $149. You can try it yourself for free for 30 days and take advantage of the video tutorials so that you can get a jump start on the best ways to use it. For people who need a one-on-one class those are also available for $65/hr by request.

I really like Linda and the potential that Graphics-Toolbox has, but for me I have a long way to go before I’ll be able to create the beautifully creative projects that others have done. So, for the Khalid Klan we’re rating it a 4 out of 5.

Disclaimer: http://cmp.ly/2/kwlaoh

Technorati Tags: graphic programs, graphic projects, Graphics Toolbox, Linda Holler

Worship Guitar Class for Kids

Posted on 2010 under DVD, music, online video class | No Comment

20 Feb

Jean Welles’ Worship Guitar Class for Kids is an excellent program for children and adults to learn to play guitar. Being a non-guitar playing person I was surprised by my own ability to follow through and successfully duplicate her fingering. After I gave it a try I introduced the streaming videos to the girls and they are starting to get the hang of how it works. We were so excited about our ability to make a few sounds that we went out to see how much a proper guitar would cost. (For this review I had to borrow a friend’s guitar.)

Although the title of this course is “Worship Guitar” secular homeschooling families should not feel that by purchasing this product that they are subjecting their children to any form of indoctrination. The lessons start off with a quick prayer and the songs are dedicated to God and the values that everyone needs to be successful in life. People from all faiths should be comfortable with the songs and the spirit in which they were created.

One thing that my girls really enjoyed was the feeling that they were in a personal lesson with Ms. Welles. Ms. Welles has a cat that is present during her instruction and for my cat loving girls this was a giant plus. I think that showing parts of the live lesson with the adorable little girl was also a brilliant touch because it gives the little ones confidence seeing another student receiving corrections and praise for a job well done. As a parent I felt that she had a genuine love of her students and of God. This quiet and loving confidence made the lessons special and enjoyable (for us at least) than many that we have experienced with music teachers that we’ve encountered in real life.

The Worship Guitar Class for Kids is also incredibly affordable for any family. You can get the nine streaming video lessons for $28. If you would like to have the children practice without tying up the computer, you can also request the lessons on DVD for an additional $5 for a total of $33. The course covers: