Emma Alvarez Blog Blog of the digital artist Emma Alvarez, where you can find fun video clips,interviews,free wallpapers,music,daily horoscope,world news and more. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 0 0 0 2713

Articles from Emma Alvarez Blog

Top Best 50 Free Apps For Designers And Webmasters 2008-01-10 11:25:00 Sometimes big companies have started making small and free applications, that with the support of their users have become big software projects. To support the new software designers and programmers means to better the market.But sometimes the great quality of free applications surprises you. You can even notice that they are much better than others that are commercial.To help these genial creators is to improve the system.2D GraphicsPaint.NET, Opensource graphics editor that is widely known for its quality. It has layers and special effects.Active Pixels, A free image editor that has a similar feel to Photoshop.PosterForge, This graphics editor is for making "Dead or Alive" posters with the feeling of the Far West.PhotoFiltre, This images editor is specialized in filters. It has many of them and many different ways to apply them. The interface is very easy.3D GraphicsMakeHuman, Models human figures and exports in obj and collada formats. Posing and modeling solution, slightly similar ...

The Sailor Who Loved A Mermaid 2008-01-09 15:01:00 He was son of a sailor, and grandson of a sailor. Since his early childhood he had learned to love the sea. He loved to watch the fishes. He stayed still behind a rock and watched them swimming.One day, he saw those creatures that sailors mention when they drink too much: the mermaids.Although there were many mermaids, he had eyes just for one.During years, sailor and mermaid met in the same rock. But the other mermaids, feeling anguished for that impossible love, sang a song of oblivion. And the mermaid forgot the sailor.But the sailor kept going to the same rock with a guitar, singing love songs, so some day, the mermaid would remember again.So one day, the mermaid recovered her memories.Thus, the mermaid and the sailor kept meeting in the same rock, because true love can't be caught in oblivion. ...

Michael Myers, Halloween Movies Special 2008-01-08 16:01:00 Michael Myers is one of the terror characters that are already considered as classics.Both the story and its soundtrack, and the nature of the character have originated a long saga of movies. They have also been the source of inspiration of many terror films that followed.Michael Myers is a psychopath that started killing from his early childhood. He wears a white mask, and his eyes are cold and inexpressive. He wears the clothes of a mental institution, the place were he has lived most of his life.His key date is the day of Halloween, the day he started to kill.HalloweenThe first movie of Halloween was shown for first time in 1978. Its director was John Carpenter, and starred by Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence.The movie is about a psychiatric patient that had killed his sister when he was 6 years old. Myers manages to scape from the sanitarium and keeps on killing.The movie was shown some days before Halloween. It was a movie with low economical resources but became a great suc ... Movies

Top Best 55 Photoshop Tutorials For Professional Photographers 2008-01-03 05:11:00 Some people think that photo retouching started with Photoshop. But it may be more precise to say that photo retouching started with photography.The best photographer has always been that who got a better final result. The photographers that have mastered better the techniques of retouching have always been the most popular and remarked professionals.All the fashion and movies photographers have always retouched their photos.But the old retouching needed time and money. Nowadays, with Photoshop, this is not an excuse.Doesn't matter if you are a professional photographer or amateur, here you are all the techniques that are mastered by all the professional photographers of the world.(Click the images to go to the tutorials)Glamour EffectLandscape RetouchPhoto RetouchAdvertising DesignColor EffectsWeddingsOld EffectsMiscellaneous ...

Humanity 2008-01-03 02:31:00 "HumanityAuf wiedersehenIt's time to say goodbyeThe party's overAs the laughter diesAn angel criesHumanityIt's au revoir to your insanityYou sold your soul to feed your vanityYour fantasies and liesYou're a drop in the rainJust a number not a nameAnd you don't see itYou don't believe itAt the end of the dayYou're a needle in the hayYou signed and sealed itAnd now you gotta deal with itHumanityHumanityGoodbyeBe on your wayAdios amigo there's a price to payFor all the egotistic games you playedThe world you madeIs goneYou're a drop in the rainJust a number not a nameAnd you don't see itYou don't believe itAt the end of the dayYou're a needle in the hayYou signed and sealed itAnd now you gotta deal with itHumanityHumanityGoodbyeIn your eyes I'm staring at the end of timeNothing can change usNo one can save us from ourselvesYou're a drop in the rainJust a number not a nameAnd you don't see itYou don't believe itAt the end of the dayYou're a needle in the hayYou signed and ...

J.K. Rowling, Harry Pottter's Author 2007-12-30 14:32:00 Thanks to J. K. Rowling, many children and not so children, have become interested in fantasy genre books, and with that, to reading.Many children from all over the globe translate her books from English to their own languages, because they can't wait for the translated editions. It's not easy that children, so used to this audio-visual society, have welcomed so well Rowling's books.Joanne Rowling was born on 31 July of 1965 in England. Joanne's mother was very keen on reading, and Joanne inherited that hobby. Joanne not only liked reading since she was a child, she even liked to write her own stories. The first story that Joanne wrote was when she was 6 years old. It was about a rabbit and its friends.The Rowling family moved several times. In one of them, they went to Winterbourne, where Joanne started a friendship with a neighbor called Ian Potter. She used this surname for his character Harry Potter.One of the hardest blows in Joanne's life was the death of her mother. After ...

Top 2007's Funny Animal Photos 2007-12-25 13:49:00 To love and respect animals, you only need to know them. And when you do it, you'll discover parts of you that you thought didn't existed. Respecting animals is respecting nature and life, thus respecting oneself.During this year I have been saving some pages of animal pics. These are the funniest. I hope you like them. When you click in a pic, you'll go to a web page that contains more. Enjoy them.(Click on the images to go to the pages) ...

The Little Match-Seller, Christmas Tale 2007-12-24 11:04:00 It was the day before Christmas and it was cold, very cold. In the middle of that terrible cold, there was a child who sold matches.In her home they were very poor, and in that day she had not sold even one match box. So there was no money to bring home. She was very hungry and was very cold. So she sat in a corner, and from there she could see the Christmas lights, and hear other children's laughs while they were decorating the Christmas tree. She could also smell the turkey.The child was there all alone, and no one cared about her. No one had noticed that there was a poor child dressed with rags, hungry and cold, in the Christmas Eve.She was so cold that lighted a match to warm herself. But soon it went out, and she lighted another and another. Then, suddenly, her mother, that was in the Heaven for years, appeared wearing a white and beautiful dress.The child stared her mother with emotion, and with tears in her eyes, said her: "Mom, why don't you take me with you?" And her mother ...

North Pole And The Inukshuks 2007-12-23 16:01:00 The North Pole is the zone of Earth where the axis of rotation is. Its contrary is the South Pole. In the North Pole is the Arctic Ocean.The first explorer that is known to have reached the North Pole was called Robert Edwin Peary. He reached the North Pole in 1909, with his assistant Matthew Henson, and four Eskimos.The North Pole is also known as the Arctic. The word comes from the Greek "artus", and from the Latin "ursus", and means "land of bears". Among the North Pole fauna there are polar bears, seals, and sea creatures that live under the so called "sea ice", that is another name of the Arctic Ocean. Among the vegetation can be found lichens and other small plants that are able to resist the extreme cold. In the most external zones of the North Pole, there is more presence of vegetation and fauna.The so called "pole star" points to the North Pole, being a natural compass. In this place is where the Aurora Borealis can be more easily watched (also called Northern Lights).The Nor ...

I Am Legend, Matheson's Novel In The Cinema 2007-12-20 15:16:00 These days, in the cinemas, you can watch "I am legend", directed by Francis Lawrence, and starring by Will Smith.The movie is based on a science-fiction novel by Richard Matheson, edited in 1954.The story is about an epidemic that spreads all over the globe, and its symptoms are something similar to vampirism (if you are curious about vampirism, read this article).The protagonist of the book is Robert Neville. Neville tries to bear the best that he can the fight against loneliness and madness. Although it may seem a story of vampires, it's much more than that."I am legend" is about how someone stops from being normal and becomes a monster. It suggest you many questions.For example, if an entire village is mad and only one citizen is sane, won't be the sane a madman?In an ancient cannibal tribe, did they consider each other as psychopaths? Or only those who watch them from the outside?Does a pathologic habit stops from being sick or bad when it becomes popular?Or are Good and Bad som ...

Conan In The Comic, In The Movies And Now In Videogames 2007-12-19 16:13:00 Robert E. Howard was the creator of Conan. The first time that Conan appeared was in 1932, and Howard was writing for a magazine called "Weird Tales". Those were a series of stories about a barbarian hero and the plot was located in the Hyborian Age. It was a fantastic age, with never found mythical places.Howard's stories were compiled in a series of books.Howard was a big friend of Lovecraft. So it's not strange that the creatures of Lovecraft can be found in some of the stories of Howard, and vice versa.After the tragic suicide of Howard, there were many authors that, feeling a big enthusiasm for the figure of Conan, wanted to continue with his stories.In 1970 Conan becomes a Marvel hero. His scriptwriter was Roy Thomas, and his drawer was Barry Windsor Smith, who was later substituted by the famous John Buscema. Later, followed Ernie Chan, and others.Conan not only had the success of public, but also the critics', obtaining numerous awards.Conan is a brave warrior, very tied ... Movies

50 More Ubuntu Apps For Design And Developing 2007-12-19 11:46:00 The reasons why people choose Linux are because it's safer (a must-have if you want to run your home server), has a low use of resources, it's free... But it has always been hard to use.With the arrival of Ubuntu, this is not a problem anymore. Ubuntu is Linux for all.These programs can be run in any Linux system, but this list is called as Ubuntu apps because they can be installed with Synaptic directly or are already prepared to be installed as .deb packages.In the previous post:Top Best 50 Ubuntu Opensource Applications For Design And Developingwas proved that Linux can be used for design and developing very successfully.Following, 50 more Ubuntu apps for design and developing:2D Graphic DesignInkscape, A professional tool for vector graphics design. It's like Freehand for Linux. Not as easy as Xara, but with more tools.GIMP, GIMP is to Linux what Photoshop is to Windows. It can manipulate images, apply filters, and even capture the screen. Have a look also to the GIMPshop mod th ... Design  Developing

Nostradamus And His Prophecies 2007-12-16 13:17:00 Nostradamus was born in the December 14th, of 1503. His real name was Michel de Nostredame. His father was a wealthy notary and his two grandfathers were famous doctors.From his early youth he was interested in maths and astrology. He studied medicine, but had to interrupt his studies due to the Plague. He had to travel all along France to help the diseased of this illness. In this travel, he met alchemists and Cabbala studious that were clandestine.His skills for pharmacy made him possible to create what was named "the rose pill", that was very known as a remedy to stop the Plague. The famous pill was just a strong dose of Vitamin C.In 1529 he received his doctorate in medicine, and worked teaching medicine. Years later, he married and had two children. The three died due to the Plague. The lost of his family was very hard for Nostradamus.Due to a blaspheme comment he did to a cleric, he was asked for explanations by the Inquisition. After freeing from the Inquisition, he went to trav ...

Gnomes, Fantasy Beings Of The Inner Earth 2007-12-16 12:14:00 Gnomes are fantastic beings of small size. Their origin comes, probably, from small people that inhabited the Carpathian Mountains, and used to be miners. Thus, Gnomes are linked to mines, metals, caves and precious stones.The troops of the Roman Empire reached the Carpathian Mountains. The word "gnomes" comes from latin "gnomus".The roman sergeant Publius Octavus wrote in 470 AC :"Today I saw a tiny person with my very eyes. He wore a red hat, and a blue shirt. He had a white beard and was wearing green trousers. I talked to him several times. He said he was descendant of a race called kuwalden. He used to heal diseased animals and liked to drink milk".The Swedish Frederic Ugarph found, in the house of a Norwegian fisher, a wood statue that was 15 centimeters tall. In the pedestal, these words were marked: "Nisse Riktig Storrelse". Which is something like "Actual size of the Gnome". Ugarph was several days discussing the purchase of the figure. It was in the house of the sailor for ma ...

Top Best 50 Ubuntu Opensource Applications For Design And Developing 2007-12-13 11:31:00 Ubuntu (and its variants Kubuntu, Xubuntu and Fluxbuntu) have made Linux more accessible to the big public, as it has brought both ease of use and eye-candy as well as security and ease of installing programs.The users of Ubuntu have a big range of software to choose and install, but it's hard to choose what software is the best for your needs.This list hopes to help to choose the right software, and here follows what I think is the best Ubuntu software for designers and developers.Most of them are available with Synaptic, but anyway the links to their websites are provided.(Note: I've recently done a new list with more applications. You can find it here:50 More Ubuntu Apps For Design And Developing)2D Graphic DesignXara Xtreme, (package: xaralx) This is simply the easiest vector graphics drawing program. You just need to test it and will be using it in minutes, as it is very intuitive, which is not usual in this kind of applications.Ktoon, A very easy 2D animation tool specially ai ... Design  Developing