New Header and a discussion on image editing

As of February 15th, 2018, this blog has had a new header, designed in Photoshop. The two images used in the new header, "Dualshock 3", originally posted on flickr.com by the user "Joo0ey" with some rights reserved under creative commons, primarily that attribution has to be given, but can be . The other image used, "untitled" (really, it doesn't have a title) on pxhere.com, unattributed (both the creative commons license states it can be used without being attributed to the original photographer, and there is no hint at his name on the site to begin with). The reason behind using these two images is simple: beyond the fact that they're both creative common licensed, the idea of using a game controller to be the representation of this blog- a blog specifically about video games, and their community, feels like it's a proper fit. A controller is a player's gateway into actually doing what they enjoy, and no matter what they use, it might very well be the biggest connecting factor within the video game community.

The creation of the header for this blog involved the use of many Photoshop basics- I'm not an expert in any capacity with it, but the main process involved were the use of four layers, with the top two layers being the creative common's pictures mentioned above. The title of the blog was written out and turned into a transformable object on the third layer, below the pictures, and finally below that was the background, which was removed and turned transparent, so the color of the blog itself would show through. A blur filter was applied to Dualshock 3 specifically, and the two images were brought together to minimize any gaps between the two, before merging layer one and two into a singular layer so they would show through the clipping mask. By using the multiple layers, editing what appeared in the image- that the remote controllers showed through instead of the background, was easy, by simply shifting the where the overlap occurred. The expediency provided by image editing software like Photoshop- To quote Matthew of 'Articles from computation culture', "Instead of working on a single design, with each change immediately (and in the case of physical media such as paint or ink, irreversibly) affecting this image, she now works with a collection of separate elements." (Matthew, "inside Photoshop") The use of multiple layers made changing the design to be more aesthetically pleasing a speedy process, instead of having to start from scratch like if it was done with physical media.

I think anyone who's used a windows computer within the last couple decades at least has some knowledge that MS paint is a thing. MS paint is a free software (Well, free in that it comes with your $600+ computer, so I think that technically makes it really expensive) that only accepts a single layer at any time. This means that if you wish to make any edits to what you've drawn, you very well might have to rework entire portions of the image instead of a singular layer of it. This doesn't mean anything made with it is inherently bad or wrong- People have drawn photo-realistic images using it, but it makes any mistake possibly cataclysmic. The mindset behind the use of something like photoshop, or adobe illustrate though, is perhaps the starkest contrast to the likes of MS paint and other programs like it, " painting programs allowed for the capture of free-form gesture. This produced a lack of precision but also an increased capacity for expression." (Davidson, "Because of the pixels.") MS paint isn't meant to be used professionally- it's for goofing around, making things because you feel like it, not because you're being paid to. It's to draw photo-realistic Santa Claus because you feel like you want to, not because it's to be professional or sold. Adobe products, and most products with multiple layers available, have a strict "business" feel to them. They're designed to be sold, and that's probably why the program costs an arm and a leg to even purchase access to if you aren't using Pirate Bay to get it illegally.