by Janet

Joker Tales

Cat dropped her recipe book and shrieked, “Aren’t you the…”

“I’m a joker, I’m a smoker, I’m a midnight toker.” He interrupted, laughing as he inhaled his cigarette. “I sure don’t want to hurt no one.”

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’ve been venturing out and trying new things lately. I think it’s safe to say that my Photoshop Tips/Tutorial was a flop (haha), so I said to myself what I always say when that happens. NEXT! Actually, I think I might try doing more in the future, but not on this blog. We’ll see.

So, I’ve been wanting to get back into my “stained glass art,” but I wasn’t able to find any inspiration until today—when I stumbled on this Joker. I saw Sammi’s Weekend Writing Prompt and thought it would be fun to include him as part of the prompt. I’d have to say that I’m probably disqualified though, because most of the conversation was stolen from the Steve Miller Band. It’s all in fun anyway. And as long as I’m confessing, I have never seen a Batman movie either.

I had no idea that the Joker smoked until I saw this image of him. I thought about replacing the cigarette with something else but couldn’t think of anything and now I’m glad I didn’t because it went well with the 36 word story.

I think I’ve come to the conclusion that everything I create and post here is “practice.” If I do it long enough, maybe one of these days I might actually stumble on my own “style.” Until then, I’ll just keep experimenting and learning.

That being said, I wanted to share both versions of this piece. The featured image up top is after sending it through BeCasso for a cartoon effect, and below is the image straight out of Illustrator.

I thought maybe I could get feedback as to which one is preferred. I like the cartoon effect but I think the colors are a bit drastic. And on the original here below, the colors are muted and maybe too dull and boring? I don’t know.

One good thing about all of this experimenting is that I find easier and quicker ways to do certain things, and I’m really looking forward to some more wild stained glass art in the future. It might even be fun to try a portrait of a friend, who knows?

Anyway, I think that’s about all for now. Thanks for reading!

They laugh at me because I am different. I laugh at them because they are all the same.

The Joker (or Kurt Cobain)

22 Comments

  1. I really like your stained glass pictures. I haven’t seen this effect before seeing your blog, so to me this effect is quite unique. I’ve never used illustrator either, so seeing this sort of vector illustration is also very different for me and I really like the effect!
    As to which image looks best, I prefer the one you processed through BeCasso (never heard of this software either!) as stained glass windows are usually very vivid in colour. The vivid colours enhance the image, make it look less flat by introducing a little shading and for me, give it a more dramatic feel.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thanks Stuart! I agree the vivid colors and shading add drama and make it less flat. I don’t know if BeCasso has a pc app but I have it on my phone and I just love it. Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it!!

      Liked by 1 person

  2. I always like your stained glass work, Janet. PS: I don’t recommend you see the movie Joker, with Heath Ledger…not sure what possessed me to, but it’s horribly depressing…made me sad, thinking we lost a fine young actor. Lots of love to you, Z ❤

    Liked by 2 people

    2. Yeah, it wasn’t my usual type of movie either–I guess I was just curious since there was so much hype about it being his last film. Oodles of love to you, dear Sister💖💖💖💖💖

      Liked by 1 person

    6. Just to clarify, “Joker” (2019) stars Joaquin Phoenix. The Dark Knight (2008) stars Heath Ledger. And like Zelda I would not recommend either one of them. What allows me to make it through Dark Knight, is that I totally forget it’s Heath. He’s that good☹️

      Liked by 2 people

    7. Ok thanks for clarifying. I had no idea I thought they were all just jokers in various Batman movies 🎥 lol! I will not see either one, thanks for the info!🦹‍♀️

      Like

    8. Oh my, thank you so much for the clarification…I feel like an idiot, but I’m nearly 70 so I’ll blame it on being “old”. Have a great day! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  5. I first read this post on my phone and the second image didn’t show…so I was confused. Glad I came back to it on my laptop! I also like the first image the best. The vivid colors lend a garish quality…one that suits the Joker. Thanks for sharing this!

    Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.