#10: Generating Play

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Hmmm... maybe we should have thought about renumbering the order of things, so that this Thing could fall right along about 7 1/2?

Karen has referred to this week as Play Week, and it did not strike me until now (and reading Mo's post about the 7 1/2 Habits and Renee's, especially!) that this might have worked better (numerically but in a literary way ;) last week. Anyway....

This Thing is about playing around with images using what are known as image generators.

Image generators? No, you don't need a publicist or stylist - and the generator isn't a backup energy supply (although, with three little ones here at home, I'm thinking I'd very much like a personal one!). What we'll be exploring are sites that allow users to manipulate images by entering text or altering portions of a picture to create something new. We've already encountered some Flickr mashups that do this, but this Thing's tools are not necessarily Flickr based.

So, what am I talking about? The animated sand and surf above is an example. And take a look at this:

What?!? There's a careworn book about 23 Things?! You mean Karen and Christine are putting me through this when I could have just checked out a book?!?

These are just simple examples of images you can make with these generators. Ever wanted a street named after you? Your name in lights on a marquee? Your team's moniker (or alma mater, or pet's name, or vacation spot...) in place of the Hollywood sign? A favorite saying tattooed on someone's back? (me neither, actually)

Other examples can be found among the blogs of our fellow explorers for 23 Things. Marla, Karen, and Kathy have each used the Face Transformer for generating painterly images of themselves. And others have tried the Warholizer (looking fab, Sue and Susan!).

Discovery Resources
Here are just a few of the many sites that enable us to fool around with images in one way or another. The 'big momma' list I found here at The Generator Blog provides lots of links - but also mixes the types of generators (and does not organize them other than alphabetically). Our Thing is focused on images - but if you want to generate a Zen koan, an alien limerick, or a wedding toast, The Generator Blog is worth more exploration.

Most of these sites are text oriented: you insert text (or captions) to appear on an image provided by the site.

• ImageChef
• RedKid.net
• Add Letters
  
• ACME Labelmaker (okay, so it's just a simple labelmaker, but the font selection is so cool - as are the typeface names!)
  

Sites for you to upload your own images or pull in from Flickr (or elsewhere, if you've been intrepid explorers!). As with the above (except ACME), there are multiple options/tools:

• dumpr (you'll find museumr here - perhaps you want your Face Transformer image to appear in a museum gallery?)
• FD Toys (this is a repeat from our Flickr mashup Thing) BTW: FD stands for Flagrant Disregard (yikes!)
  

Discovery Exercise
Play around with these!

1. Choose an image generator tool (among these, or impress us with one you've found) and create something fun. As with the first Flickr Thing we did, if you're hesitant to upload an image, you can just use a text-in-image generator. Most of these sites host the image for you, so you don't even have to download either.
   
2. Share your generated image through a blog entry. If you've downloaded the image to upload it to your blog, please include a link or url to the site where you generated the image.
   

Have fun - remember, this Thing is in the spirit of the 7 1/2th Habit: Play!

#6: Flickr Fun - and then some!

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If you thought Flickr was cool in and of itself (I certainly did!), there are a gazillion more things to do and see using Flickr that will amaze you!

Continuing the web frontier spirit of sharing, Flickr invites users to go forth and experiment. For those with technical expertise, this invitation prompts creative design challenges for building new online applications. For those of us without technical expertise, this provides an almost dizzying array of Flickr-based tools that go above and beyond our humble digital dreams.

Examples:

• The the images above, spelling Thing #6, were generated using Spell with flickr. *
• Flickr Postcard Browser - enter a place name to search and watch an array of thumbnail Flickr images as they arrange themselves all over a black screen; click on one for a close-up view. Click the image again to return to the thumbnail screen selection.
• Color Fields Colr Pickr - color wheel with scale for changing hue/tone.
• Flickeur pulls random images from Flickr to merge, move and blend them into an artistically unique display with electronic music. It can be odd and beautiful (from one moment to another!).

Wow, huh?

Now, if you noticed the urls, these are not Flickr addresses.

These are created and hosted elsewhere by those blessed techno-experts who took Flickr, went forth, and multiplied its power. These folks (who will excuse me, please, if I misapply the use of jargon here) have written APIs (application program interfaces) using Flickr's API to create new programs based on Flickr content but transforming or translating it into either new interactive tools or new displays.

These are "mashups." People smoosh two (or more) cool ideas together with tech know-how to create hybrid web applications. When these applications are made available to us, they become third party tools. Ready to mix and mash?

Discovery Exercise:

Two routes for this discovery exercise - no commitment (just play online) or invest something of yourself (err, well, of your images). Whatever trek you undertake, please write a blog entry about it.

1. Low threshold: Just play around with dynamic tools

• A game called Matchr that presents 16 Flickr photos that look random, but are actually 8 pairs with matching tags. If you get the gist my brief explanation, I recommend skipping the beginner stuff in the main "Hi there" box and just clicking the New Puzzle link at the right, midway down the screen.
• Solve an online image puzzle - jigsaw, slide and stick puzzles, play around with kaleidescope variations - variety of options. Scroll down to browse categories, top 40 lists of popular puzzles/images, or search by keyword (on left, more than halfway down scrolled page).
• Flickr Sudoku!
  

2. Taking it up a notch: Do something with image(s) of your choosing

• Use the Warholizer to create pop art out of one of your images. Or choose another mashup from fd's Flickr toys site. Flickr lists this guy's tools at the top of their list!
  
• Create an online jigsaw puzzle! FlashPuzzleZone provides a template for you here. Note: your image will be scaled down as necessary due to parameters for the program and some images work better others. But if it turns out for you, FlashPuzzleZone provides the html code to you, so you can post it to your blog.
• Create a slideshow/animated gif of your Flickr images using Gickr. If you're a digital photo-taker like I am (inexpert), you click click click trying to get just the right shot. This tool looks to be the thing to make use of all those lame shots leading up to just the right one! Again, as with the tool above, not all your images may work well.
  

*Okay, actually only Thing and 6 were generated there. This tool does not create spaces between words nor does it seem to have all typical keyboard symbols. So, I went into Flickr, searched for pound sign (disregarded British pound sterling and other stuff and fortunately found a Creative Commons image originally uploaded by mag3737). His tag is actually poundsign, but Flickr found the variation for me! I inserted the uploaded image between what Spell with flickr provided.