Make Your Own Artwork With Picnik

The last few days, I've had so much fun discovering all of the fun things I can do with my photos on Picnik. I'm amazed that this service is free (for the most part). So for those of you who haven't yet discovered Picnik, let me show you some of the things you can do.

And as you look at these, consider this: If you have a blank wall that needs some attention, consider taking a series of photos--it can be trees, leaves, flowers, churches, park benches, really anything--and then use this website to add a special effect to the photos, and hang them all together in a series of six or so. It would be stunning!

So here's the photo I started with:

Matt and me at the beach on the Oregon coast. This is the original photo. It's a nice photo, but probably nothing I would use as artwork in my home.

Now here are a few things I did using Picnik. And this is just a FRACTION of the things you can do with this site.

One of my favorites! With one click, it looks like a
photo taken in the 60s, rounded corners and all.

Probably not the best photo to test this feature,
called Adjustable Threshold, but imagine it used on a nature pic or building.

Another favorite, called CinemaScope,
availble with or without the black edges.

Again, this effect called Color Boost would be gorgeous on a nature pic.

Another interesting effect called Cross Process

This is a premium feature called Dots and Dots,
meaning you have to pay for it, but I think it's pretty
inexpensive. And a series of pics done with this effect would be incredible!

Another premium feature called Fancy Focus,
but I think many of you will like it. You can keep
one part of the pic in focus, while making the
rest out of focus. You can select the radius of
focus, and move it to any part of the pic.

Focal Pixelate feature, which I don't really
like on this picture, but I can imagine it being
used on a close up pic of a beautiful flower.

This Focal Soften is very similar to the fancy focus, but it's free!

Love this one, called Focal Zoom...again, probably
not on a pic with people, but of nature or something more artistic.

I think this may be my favorite effect, called Gritty,
and of course, it's a premium feature. Dang it!
But again, I don't think it's expensive.

Beautiful! I could imagine many uses for this effect, called Holga-ish.

I love the artistic feel of this one, called Lomo-ish.

Night vision! :) There are probably only a few homes
that this could be used in, but I think it's a fun effect.

Sepia tone with one click...simple!

Another one, called Orton-ish, that I don't really
like with pics of people, but I think it would be
beautiful on nature or more artistic pics.

Turn your photo into a pencil drawing with one click!

I love this one, called Posterize.

Vignette...a classic! Beautiful.

I really like this one, too, called HDR-ish.

So there you have it! If you have a digital camera, then you no longer have an excuse for blank walls. And let me reiterate, this is only a portion of the available effects and features, not to mention, these features can be combined! All of the pictures above were done with ONE CLICK, and on almost all of them, you can adjust the various features. I didn't bother with that. I just did one click and saved. Literally, the possibilities are endless.

So I don't want to see any more blank walls! Grab your camera and get to snappin'!

**I just checked the price(s) for the premium features. You can purchase one month for $4.95, six months for $19.95, or one year for $24.95. I might add that the premium features also include standard photo-retouching features, similar to those you might find on Photoshop. Don't get me wrong, Picnik is no Photoshop, but for those who don't want to pay hundreds of dollars, this is a tremendous bargain!

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