Create Your Own iPad App

Develop a Children’s Book iPad App 

Using the iPad app, Demibooks Composer, you can develop a children’s book iPad app without writing code. See how at FolioAcademy where you can find all sorts of online art tutorials.

Develop a Children's Book iPad App

 

Step by Step Process

Heidi Berthiaume, iPad app Developer at FolioAcademy demonstrates her step by step process on developing your own iPad app. It isn’t as hard as you might think. Impress your mom, your friends, your enemies with your own iPad app ready for them to purchase   online.

Create a children's book iPad app

 

Use Composer to make an interactive storybook.

Let Heidi show you how to use Composer to make an interactive storybook with page navigation, animations, physics, sound effects, a voice over, and a Hide & Seek game. All of the interactivity is created from menu options and since you are working on your iPad, when you Preview your pages, you see everything exactly as your reader will. Having developed her Bud the Bunny iPad app and another children’s book iPad app for Kane Miller, Heidi Berthiaume shares her experience with Composer using pages from her Bud the Bunny app as specific examples of the kinds of interactivity it is possible to create without learning a programming language. An iPad is necessary to run the Demibooks Composer app.

Find more on this at Will Terry’s blog

Welcome iPad App Developer, Heidi Berthiaume to FolioAcademy

FolioAcademy welcomes Heidi Berthiaume as our newest instructor.

We are always looking for real talent to help us teach the world how to be an artist and we are glad to have found Heidi. In fact she found us. Welcome aboard Heidi. We have just finished her tutorial, Develop a Children’s Book iPad App.

Picture of Heidi Berthiaume

She loves to create iPad apps and more.

Heidi Berthiaume loves to create stuff – from websites to iPad apps to written stories to fan music videos. She has spent fifteen years as an information architect providing instructional documentation for programmers and designers. With her help they are able to develop applications and websites for businesses such as 3M, Hilton, and American Airlines.

That at least paid the mortgage but was less fun than writing a novel or developing her iPad app. That’s right she made her children’s picture book Bud the Bunny into an iPad app.

 

Bud the Bunny

 

The portal to all of her stuff is heidi2524.com

an Oily Start with a Photo(shop) Finish Digital

Started an oil painting and finished with photoshop

 

Start you piece traditionally to get a painterly look.

One of the problems with digital painting for a lot of artists is that it’s often hard to get the subtleties and happy accidents that traditional mediums provide.

One of the problems with painting in traditional mediums – like oils for instance is the lack of control or the tedious nature of finishing details – not to mention the fact that you can’t undo, adjust color, or zoom in.

This technique is probably not for Gallery art but. . .

Of course the solution won’t work for gallery painters or people who enjoy having originals but I had fun painting on this little oil painting in Photoshop. Originally I painted it on a Gessoed board in a few hours in my University painting class but never got around to finishing it. So yesterday I thought – why not scan it and spend an hour in Photoshop?

This is the original oil painting that I never had time to finish

Unfinished oil by Will Terry

Note see the flat strokes I made in the oil painting and the gesso texture.

close up, unfinished oil of jumping Fox

 I used one stock photoshop brush – the flat blunt (bristle tilt).

close up, jumping fox, finished in Photoshop

and here is the same oil painting with the digital strokes added in.

close up, of the grass in jumping fox painting.
My process is far from perfect. I don’t do this sort of thing every day but it can give you an idea of what is possible if you wanted to start your paintings in oil and finish them digitally.

Illustration Shortcut: Acrylic on Inkjet

“I cut my painting time in half by starting in Photoshop”

Will Terry of Folioacademy used a shortcut to create this illustration for a greeting card for PK Press. He Painted, or blocked in the base in Photoshop, printed it on watercolor paper, then finished it with his famous acrylic, dry-brush technique. He is always looking for ways to maximize his efforts. Deadlines are ever present for the professional illustrator, and when you can figure out a way to speed things up, you’re onto something.

What used to take forever can be done in less than half the time.

It took so much longer with the old dry brush technique, laying in the background and basic shapes, can be done in less than half the time using the right tools. Embrace technology, it’s not going away.

pic of finished piece: Blwfish

“I was able to cut my painting time in half by blocking in the foundation in Photoshop.” ~Will Terry

Photoshoped in some spray paint and printed on Watercolor paper.

He used to start his paintings on paper, transfer it to paper, and paint the whole thing with his paint and brushes.
Awhile ago he took a leap of faith and tried something new. This became the phase where he would start in Photoshop and finish with acrylics. “I scan my sketch and paint flat color on it in Photoshop, Then print it on watercolor paper, add texture gel and paint acrylics on top.” He now paints most everything digitally from start to finish but this was a crucial step in that direction, you may want to try it.

Why Does My Artwork SUCK? Why Most Adults Draw Like Children

“I would do more art but my art sucks.”

I hope that doesn’t ring familiar to any of our readers or followers here, but I have heard this and similar complaints quite a bit over the years.

Anyone can be an artist. Especially you!

Anyone can learn how to draw and how to paint. “Even me?” Of course you. It doesn’t matter if your not gifted, with tons of natural drawing ability, most of us aren’t. (And we HATE those who are. Well we don’t hate them, some of them are my best friends, but we are often jealous.) Like anything else, it takes study and practice. It helps to enjoy it however and the sad thing is, it is hard to enjoy it when you suck at it, so then it’s hard to practice, and then it’s hard to improve. It can be a vicious cycle of procrastination.

Do you ever wonder why most adults draw like children?

It’s because they stopped drawing while they were children. It’s not because you need to be gifted, or blessed with some amazing ability to draw and paint. It is simply because most adults stopped drawing while they were still children. If you stopped drawing at the age of six, you are probably still able to draw like a six year old. So if you want to draw better, draw more. If you want to paint better, paint more.

Why does my art suck?

Why does my artwork look like a child drew it? No wonder I stopped drawing when I was six years old, I was drawing like a six year old.

A lot of children play piano better than I do. Do you think that since I’ve never studied or practiced piano, that that would have something to do with it? Of course it would. Why do I play piano like a five year old?  I believe that with the right instruction and practice, I could learn it, and if I wanted it, and enjoyed it, I would do it.

Children have an advantage when learning art.

They don’t care if their art looks like a child did it. So they don’t get frustrated as fast when it doesn’t turn out. Their moms and dads are more likely to post their work on the fridge and compliment their little heads off too. You won’t get that from family and friends and critics at your age. But we adults can take criticisms and we can also learn.

So get started, don’t worry where you are, but look where you’ll be.

It is a new year and a great time to resolve. Get a sketch book and a few pencils and start now. When you draw something and it sucks, and if your like me, a lot of it will, especially if you are as critical of your own work as most of us artists are. Take your sketch book with you and draw. When you are wondering what to draw, don’t worry about making some master piece, just draw. Copy the dishes, the cel phone, the tires while you are in the waiting room at the tire shop. Draw the magazine rack while your in the Dr’s waiting room.

Warning! Don’t draw the people there, they will want to see your work and then wonder why a full grown artist, with a sketch book and every thing, is drawing like a twelve year old. Doodle, work on your line quality, draw a few circles with a template if you want, then decide on where the light is coming from and model (shade) them into spheres. Copy other artists drawings. Have fun with it and keep learning.

sketch of spheres and a light source.

Draw some circles then model them. Render them later when you don’t know what to draw.

And oh yeah, don’t scribble out the “bad ones” in a fit of rage just because you don’t love ’em or they don’t turn out perfectly. They are just sketches, they’re not your children, so they don’t have to be perfect. Don’t tear out the pages that you hate, yet. Every year or so, go through and take out the ones you do like and compile them into you real sketch book. That’s the sketchbook you’ll let people browse through and wonder why YOU are gifted with such a wonderful,  natural ability.

The Teacher In Me

App makers

The teacher in me is excited to teach the student in you.

The teacher in me wants you to find out what you can do.

The teacher in me knows what it’s like to have dreams come true and wants yours to come true too.

 

The teacher in me is afraid you won’t do what you need to do – but the teacher in me is still rooting for you.

The teacher in me lives through your triumphs.

The teacher in me knows you will fail again and again but prays you won’t quit.

 

The teacher in me can’t wait to see the teacher in you.

The teacher in me wants to be taught by the teacher in you.

 

Classes begin for me again today at UVU and I love it!

When I’m not teaching at FolioAcademy you can find me at UVU. I get so much out of teaching. Last semester in my children’s book class I gave my students the option to work on story apps. A hand full went in that direction and it was really fun to see what they came up with. We didn’t have time to work on their stories since it is an illustration class so they lack some of the polish that taking a children’s writing class would provide – but they learned by doing and are that much further along.

 

Here are a few of the apps they created last semester…

but one is missing :( Alicia VanNoy Call had her (TOTALLY AMAZING) app rejected by Apple twice because it didn’t have enough animation/interactivity. They wanted her to publish it as an iBook but she doesn’t want to do that for various reasons – so it’s in limbo at the moment.

I will really miss this group of kids – we really had a lot of fun!

Kitty Wants by Ginny Tilby (pink sweater)

 

 

Ricky the Fortune Cookie by Jared Salmond (second goof from the right)

 

 

Jumping Jackie by Kari & Von Brimhall

Jumping Jackie is from my long time college friends Kari & Von Brimhall – They did an amazing job animating their app using Talespring.com …if you want to see what’s possible at Talespring you should check out their app! I love their enthusiasim for creating ebooks and story apps. Kari is a homeschooler who’s kids are flying the coop and doing very well at college and now she and Von are living out their dreams creating for the pure love of it. They are one step ahead of me in that they already created a website to showcase their titles called instant sunshine.

A Will Terry Acrylic Painting Went for $300 at a Little Auction

FolioAcademy is always proud our own Will Terry who is one of our accomplished artists.

He is always painting his guts out. Sometimes for fun, sometimes for mun, and sometimes for a worthy cause.  This is a little painting that he did awhile back for a fund raiser for Reagan Academy School in Springville Utah. Stephen Pratt, the school art teacher suggested He call it “Neighbor’s Cat”, and that’s how he came up with such a clever name for this whimsical piece. It auctioned for $300. It was a lot of fun to meet some of the other artists and catch up with friends in the local art community.

Stylized painting of a toothy dog with a small cat in it's jaws

Just think, this piece is probably hanging handsomely in someones house. Hopefully not the nursery. Why don’t more people have some original art work in their homes? That could be a whole blog topic some day?

 

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Folio Academy Gets 100 Likes on Facebook

Grand Prize for our 100th Liker on Facebook.

Here’s to Alyeen Laurel George Lim, our 100th liker on Facebook. Should we give her the usual $1,000,000.00? A trip to Hawaii? Or should we give her the GRAND PRIZE, a mention on FolioAcademy Blog?

Grand Prize it is.

Here’s to you Alyeen, let me mention you on the blog. 

Alyeen Lym is our 100th Liker on Facebook

Thanks Alyeen, and thanks to all our other “Likers” too, we wouldn’t have 100 likes if it weren’t for the other 99. Alyeen is a true friend however, she even shared on her Facebook page, saying “This is my husband’s cousin! His website is amazing! Check it out for art classes of all kinds for adults and kids!! A great homeschooling resource!” ~ Alyeen Laurel George Lim

Don’t judge me, love me, or when it comes to Facebook, Like me.

We’ve been around for a year and a half and you’d think that we would have achieved 100 likes a long time ago. FolioAcademy has hundreds of peeps using our videos in thirty countries around the world. But it wasn’t until December 28, 2012 at or around 6:37 pm Mountain Standard time, ding ding ding ding, Folio academy gets it’s 100th Like on Facebook. That is a small milestone, and hopefully we’ll get 1000 likes faster than 100 per year and a half.

who will be our 100th Liker

It took these two knuckleheads a year and a half to get 100 likes on Facebook. But they did it.

If face book is a popularity contest, and I guess it is, we are not the most popular kid on the block, yet. But hey, I was never them most popular kid in school either.

When we, at Folio started Facebooking, we ended up, or rather, we started out with three different Facebook accounts. I guess Will started one, I started one, and I think our web master started one, or I started two. And knowing just what to do with Facebook is a little difficult for a couple of knuckleheads like Will and me, but we are having fun with it and we promise to do better.

Social Media Marketing, AKA SEO is a must these days for any online business

Whether we like it or not, ours is an online business, and by the way, we do like it. We just aren’t left brained enough to love all the computer mumbo jumbo that comes with online anything. We looked into a pretty cool sales campaign company called Groupon a while ago and they didn’t want anything to do with us until we had at least 1000 likes on Facebook. Needless to say, we didn’t do a Groupon’s sale with our limited number of likes.

We love you to love us, but more importantly, we love you to like us.