Free is Good.

I’ve got a bad problem with staying up way, way too late on the weekends. Why am I such a glutton for punishment? I feel like there’s not enough time in the day, so I burn the candle at both ends for days and days, then crash and feel terrible.

We acquired a MacBook a few months ago and it’s pretty sweet. I also loaded up on some excellent freeware programs. Free is good. Free is gooooood. I’ve listed some of the freeware programs I have found to be noteworthy below.

I have been using Gimpshop for Mac and really like it. If you’re used to Photoshop controls, you’ll find that Gimpshop is much easier to use than the original GIMP program. Now, I have Photoshop CS2 for Windows at work and like it better, but considering PS CS3 will run you almost $1000, I’m totally cool with using a program thats not as tricked out but totally free. To download the latest version of Gimpshop, go to www.plasticbugs.com.

Another really great freeware app that I have is called “Inkscape”. Inkscape is basically Adobe Illustrator. Inkscape is to Illustrator as Gimpshop is to Photoshop. Go to www.inkscape.org for the free download. It's good for comic page lettering.

You will need a utility program called “X11” in order to run Gimpshop and Inkscape. You can download this program for free online. However, if you have the Mac OS X installation disks, you can find X11 on one of the disks, saving you the trouble of searching for it online.

Also, if you are in need of a really great Bible program for your Mac, check out MacSword.com. MacSword is a freeware program that lets you download additional freeware bible translations to use. It’s very easy to use and you can also commentaries, bible dictionaries, devotionals and even bible atlases in a multitude of languages. I use it daily, more than any other program I have.

“Artrage” is a freeware program that lets you create virtual paintings using tools such as a paintbrush, crayon, colored pencils, markers and a palette knife. The free version limits you somewhat, but I gotta say that Artrage sure is cool. It really looks like paint being smeared on a canvas. I highly encourage you to try it out, just for funsies.

If you are in the market for a free word processor for Mac, try out “OpenOffice”. It’s an opensource version of Word, but it works pretty good. There is a bundle of freeware apps in OpenOffice that is designed to work and look very similar to Microsoft Office. With OpenOffice, you get several programs designed to work like Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Access...pretty much all the programs that come with MS Office. Recommended.

www.opensourcemac.com is a great site where you can find some of the better freeware for Macs. That’s where you’ll find links to ArtRage, Handbrake, Macsword, AbiWord and many more. Hope all this helps.

Long time, No Talkie To

Wow, haven't posted jack squat in a long time. So, I should post jack squat now. Anyway, if you have not yet visited the new and improved Megazeenonline.com site, you should. It has been relaunched with a facelift and really looks great. Be sure to visit the artists page and look at mine.

Anyway, I took a little trip up to Ethridge, TN this weekend. That's right. Amish country, baby. It was pretty cool, I picked up a rockin' Amish straw hat. Now, my halloween costume should be complete. I will again reprise my role as an Amish zombie-killing machine this year. I will post pictures later. I've got a few yard zombies I made in my front yard set up, in the true spirit of Halloween.

I've done a few new pieces and posted them on my comicspace page, which is www.comicspace.com/twistedcomix. Check them out.

I've taken on a new job position at work, which means more responsibilities. Which also means, I've got more stress and consequently, when I come home I am wayyy tired and less likely to feel like drawing or anything. But, promotion comes from the Lord, so I won't complain about nothin'.