Subert Kiing asked:


If your family wants to go skiing on your next vacation, but you do not know how to ski, go ahead and plan that ski vacation anyway! You can learn how to ski, and you will have a great time doing it. You do not even need to know the first thing about skiing before you arrive at the resort. All of the knowledge you will need is there waiting for you, and you can literally be skiing down a mountain after an hour of instruction.

Learning to ski is really quite easy. Most resorts have a ski school on the premises, and lessons are reasonably priced. Group and private lessons are usually available. It is a good idea, however, to schedule an appointment before you arrive at the resort. This will ensure that you can start learning

to ski the very first hour of your vacation.

Most ski instructors start by showing you how to maneuver around with your equipment. When you are wearing ski boots, you will be inclined slightly Forward. There is a reason for this. When you are skiing down a mountain, you will be inclined forward. Walking in ski boots the first time is a bit difficult but it works just fine if you learn to walk with your knees slightly bent.

The first maneuver you will learn is called the plow, or snow plow. This is a technique that is done by literally using your skis as a snow plow. You make the back of the skis slowing move outwards, away from your body by applying pressure and this stops you. You guide yourself on skies by bending your knees and leaning in one direction or another, depending on which way you want to go. All of these techniques can be learned in one hour, even if you have never been on a pair of skis in your life.
The beauty of skiing is that after you have learned how to snow plow, and how to guide yourself on the skis, you are ready to ski! Get on the lift, head up the mountain, and give it a try. Control your speed by snow plowing and go slow at first. When you want to pick up some speed, draw your skis back in to pick up a little speed, then push them back out into the plow position to control that speed.

As a beginner, you should stick to the trails that are designed for beginners. At most resorts, these trails are marked with a green emblem. Blue trails are for intermediate skiers, and after one day of skiing the beginner trails, you may be ready for those trails. The black trails are for experts. These trails can be dangerous for people who don’t have the skill level to handle them! Avoid black trails until you have had a great deal of ski instruction and experience. You will know when you are ready!

Ski Vacations on a Budget

When you start thinking about ski vacations, you will find a lot of information about various resorts and packages. Finding terrific vacation spots is not difficult. However, finding ski vacations that fit into your budget can be a bigger challenge.

To save money, look for lesser known resorts. This does not mean that these resorts would not provide you with a fun vacation. It simply means that they are not quite as well known as other resorts, and therefore, the prices may be a great cheaper. Also look for ski vacation packages that will include your lodging, lift tickets, lessons, rentals, and possibly even some meals.

Be willing to make some sacrifices if money is a real issue. For instance, instead of eating in an expensive restaurant each night, eat cheaper fast food, or make sandwiches in your room. Borrow equipment from friends instead of renting it. Join a group for lessons instead of taking private lessons. Do not stay at a lodge, stay at a motel farther away from the slopes if necessary. There are numerous ways that you can cut down on the expense of your ski trip.



GROVER

expertvillage asked:

Learn how to draw a cone in pencil sketching and line drawing for beginners in this free online video art lesson. …

EARL

expertvillage asked:

Learn how to shade a circle in pencil sketching and line drawing for beginners in this free online video art lesson. …

EDWARD

vintageprincess72 asked:


I’m thinking of putting together an art portfolio of different things to get into design school. I am a beginner with no formal design background, but can draw and paint pretty well.

Seeking help from design-school-goers and designers..

Thanks!

CURTIS

doraima29 asked:


I have had experience drawing and painting with other media like pastels, watercolor, charcoals, and graphite. Now, I wondered what brands are best for a beginner who wants to try a new medium in painting?

ELLIS

Robert asked:


In this commentary we will discuss the blocking-in of large masses of tone or value.

Tone is generally thought of as shadow. Beginners generally first sketch an outline of the shadow and then fill in the shadows little by little. They usually start with an eye and then grow out the shadows. Inevitably, the outcome is a chaos of non-cohesive darks and lights.

There are two different ways of viewing tone: in Western culture we see tone as shadow; in Eastern culture tone is seen as color.

A European viewer seeing a Chinese drawing will be struck by its flatness. Conversely, Chinese connoisseurs in the 18th century seeing for the first time European portraits were perplexed by the “dirty scuff-marks” under the nose.

Applying, or more accurately, constructing tone should be approached with a sculptural sensibility. That is, think of your drawing as a block of clay that is to be carved. Once roughly carved, you then mold the surface forms with varying degrees of tone while manipulating their borders thus defining the shapes present in the skull.

A portrait sketching from life or (photo) starts with the striking of the arabesque. Two things must be accurately drawn: 1. the form of the complete head; and 2. the proportions (i.e., length and angle relationships). This is a learned skill that no one is born with.

Once the arabesque has been struck, the complete head is then broken down into two pieces: a large light and a large dark. No more than that. At this point, do not worry about whether or not one area is darker than another. Only the large light/dark pattern counts.

Note that squinting is a good idea to more clearly see the value patterns because you are not distracted by details.

A good rule of thumb is to divide an area in 2. For example, if an observed dark patch is not entirely even in value divide it in 2 and block-in the 2 somewhat differing values. Before long a multifaceted yet cohesive array of values will appear.

From the blocking-in of the primary darks you can then easily sketch the features. Over time you should try to memorize the total anatomy and “sense” the form 3-dimensionally. This, too, is an acquired skill.

You must know your anatomy to succeed in sketching portraits even at the most basic level. Study the anatomy in bite-size portions as you sketch along.

A good way to sketch is to toggle back and forth between line sketching and tonal sketching or hatching. Another way is to first do a total line sketching of the subject. That is, to sketch a “map” of the head that includes all planes and marks the boundaries of the various tonal areas. As a second phase you can then hatch-in the right values.

While you hatch be constantly aware of the planes of the head and the bearing of the light source.

Another expertise to be acquired is the expertise to cross-hatch patches in a flat and even manner. There is nothing more distracting than rough looking cross-hatching.

Finally, take note of a strange optical phenomenon called “simultaneous contrast”. It takes place when light and dark values lie next to each other. In general, white is expansive while black is contractive. The effect is that the white patch looks bigger than it is while the black patch will look smaller.

In closing, keep the blocking-in procedure uncomplicated. Look for large masses first and then for the smaller ones. It is always better to sketch from the general to the specific. And, at this stage, ignore the details.



STANLEY

MicrosoftHacks asked:

DfB – Drawing for Beginners …

BERNARDO

Claude Pelanne asked:


List Building

Why You Need a List

One of the basic tenets of any internet marketing program is that customers rarely buy on the first visit. As a matter of fact, it is commonly accepted that it takes seven contacts before a prospect turns into a paying customer. What this means is that you need to establish a relationship with your prospects and keep in touch by offering useful information or help as they make their decision to buy.

How do you do that? You do it by putting your prospects on a list and keeping in touch. The customer list or mailing list or whatever you want to call it list, is your ticket to sales and revenue.

Database List

The creation and building of a list is an essential step in building your online affiliate business. Any affiliate online program you choose to join should have your list building in mind by offering you promotional tools and sales products designed to solve a problem or satisfy a need. If you have a list of a few hundred or a few thousand people you can communicate with, imagine the business you can draw if you have what they want.

Build a Relationship

Having a list is not all about constantly pitching a product or service. If there is anything irritating and certain to draw anger, it is the constant barrage of sales promotions many people feel assault them when looking on the web. It is far more important to build a relationship and draw a balance between giving away free information that can help your prospect and offering a paid product or service that meets a real need they may have.

To build a good relationship, a weekly newsletter or email can serve you well. By offering information with no strings attached you will build trust and confidence in your list members that you are a reliable and trustworthy resource. When they buy, they will buy with comfort and reassurance that you have their success in mind. In fact, you have their loyalty. That is the key to success to any affiliate online program.

Useful Information

What kind of information should you provide? How about valuable tips, case studies, interesting testimonials from real people, and stories from you own experience that can help them decide how to move forward? Once you start weaving stories and examples of success that they can relate to, you will have a dedicated pool of believers who will buy from you willingly and with confidence.

How do you build a List?

Begin with what your market research tells you and write a free special report. Design an eCourse or eBook to give away in return for your customer signing up for your newsletter. It will help build a list of names and email addresses. Create a newsletter sign up form on your Web site or Blog to grow your list. Promote the benefits your customers will get from getting the weekly information. Explain clearly what they will derive from the free reports and eBooks you will make available.

Once you have a good idea of what is driving your customer on your list, write articles about the subjects they will want to know about. Distribute those articles to Article Directories and in your author biography, include a back link to your Web site or Blog or to your newsletter sign up page.

You can also try posting in classified sites such as Craigslist or Adpost, to promote your free newsletter or Ebook.

Conclusion

These are some of the ways to build a list. Remember to use discretion and balance when contacting your list. People today are bombarded daily with SPAM and promotions so they are extremely sensitive to being sold and over sold.

If you take the time to get to know your customers, you will build a relationship that will get them to make the buy decision based on trust and confidence they have developed for you. That is the best path to prosperity you can hope to build.

May Your Travels Be Prosperous.



FRANCIS

Raily Arena asked:


In designing your own garden, the first thing you have to understand is the principle of landscaping. Creating a beautiful garden isn’t merely a matter of purch3asing the most expensive plants and building a fountain in the middle. It’s more than that, and here are six tips to help you get started.

Having an Eye of Color

Color is one of the five basic elements of landscaping design. Understanding what each one contributes and how they all work together are the basis of every garden blueprint. These elements should be considered when you’re designing the hardscape and softscape of your garden.

In choosing the right colors of your garden, the first thing you have to decide on is whether you wish to create unity or contrast. Upon deciding, the next thing you can do is study the four different categories of colors – primary (blue, yellow, red), secondary (orange, purple, green), tertiary (combination of the first two), and neutral (silver, white, gray, black) – and mixing the right shades.

Lastly, the mood of your garden is largely influenced by your colors so keep that in mind as well!

Determining the Form

Think shape and structure of everything in your garden and how to make them work together. Even the very shape of your leaf could affect your landscaping design. As with color, the first thing you have to consider is whether you’re aiming for unity or contrast.

Drawing a Line

With the element of line, we’re talking about the arrangement of your garden. Where are the plants? Where are the trees? Would it be better to have them face each other, lining paths in your garden? Or would you rather give them separate areas?

Texture and Scale

These other two are the least noticeable of all elements but are nonetheless critical to landscaping design. With texture, you’re talking about the perceived quality of any plant or object in your garden. Texture can be fine, medium, or coarse. Scale, on the other hand, simply refers to the relative size between objects.

Setting an Overall Feel

For an excellent overall feel for your garden, you need to focus on three principles: proportion, unity, and transition.

With proposition, you only have to ask yourself one question: does this (plant or object) fits in or is in proportion with the rest of the garden? In achieving a sense of unity with your garden, you just have to ensure that everything is working together and complementing each other. Don’t let one feature overshadow the other. And finally, transition means a smooth, gradual change or shift from one style to another.

Making Sure People See the Best

Finally, you need to work on focalization, balance, and rhythm. These principles ensure that people’s attentions are immediately drawn to what you want to see, and what they see enhance your garden the best.

Rhythm has to do with creating repeated patterns to set a motif or theme. Balance requires you to review the five core elements of landscaping and ensuring that you’ve given adequate attention to all of them. And finally, there’s focalization: using the ideal combination of principles and elements of landscaping design to draw the eyes to the best features of your garden.



ELLIOT

Risi asked:


3d drawing is an excellent skill to have for work or for fun. Learning how to draw three dimensional shapes is important for artists as well as for engineers, and for people who like to sketch for fun as a hobby. 3d objects is not as difficult as you might think. These days when people talk about 3d they are usually talking about computer animation. 3D drawings are used by designers, project managers, inventors and engineers to provide an easy understanding of complex graphic designs. Stereoscopic imaging has been a major fascination for viewers and photographers since the earliest days of photography. But the word “stereoscopic” confuses some people. What does it mean? It refers to seeing with two eyes. The brain merges these two different views into a single impression that we easily take for granted, but is poorly understood by science.

This impression allows us to judge with amazing accuracy distances to and between objects. A person with single-eyed vision can also learn to estimate distances, but stereoscopic vision allows for nearly faultless determination of what is closer and what is farther. Today, we have many techniques and technologies to produce stereoscopic images. Some are more effective than others. Today’s technology offers high-tech VR head-mounted displays, fast DLP projectors and glasses that contain liquid crystal shutters. Digital video and High Definition TV bring us to a new era in the evolution of this fantastic medium. REAL 3D requires photographing two (or more) views from different angles. Any other method is synthetic and therefore not REAL 3D. The one exception is holography, which is based on principles too complex to describe here. There are certainly uses for synthetic 3D methods. But for the most part, the public can see the difference. 21st Century 3D is at the cutting edge of this rapidly advancing medium.

Drawing is pretty simple and an easy skill and is something with which you can have great fun. It is not a very expensive hobby and can start with paper and a pencil. If you are really serious and passionate about learning how to draw a good drawing? Drawing is not complicated to learn, but it requires some practice. Remember that there is no magic pill, a good drawing tutorials and practice will help to go ahead the boundaries.

Good drawing tutorials can also help you to motivate your learning process. Good drawing tutorials for beginners should also focus on repetition. The first criteria that a good drawing tutorial should fulfill, is that it has to be written by an artist. The second criteria of a good drawing tutorial, is that the tutorial should be written by someone who knows how to communicate and train effectively. Training effectively means having the ability to identify unique problem areas and putting the solution across to the reader in an easy to understand manner. An excellent trainer knows how to clarify the problems. Reading and practicing these in your daily routine will improve your skill.

• You should practice drawing line, straight line, curved line, scribbled lines, and your hand should obey the command of your thoughts and visions. You should control your hand and you should be able to bring out what you want.

• If you are drawing and you are right handed person, ensure that the light is from your left side. This will prevent your hand shadow falling on your paper.

• You should further develop drawing circles, oval shapes, crossed lines and bold and thick lines.

• These lines and curves are like pillars to a building. The foundation should be strong enough to have a good building; similarly these initial small lines and curves will go a long way in your career.

• Use good quality materials. 4B and 6B pencils and good chart paper or note book with good quality paper



HARLEY