Free texture files - old leather

When you keep your pommel horse in your back yard ...



... its leather inevitably starts to deteriorate.  I was looking at it today (thinking about re-covering with all-weather canvas) and I realised that the old leather is as charismatic as anything!

Well, I couldn't pass up such a great opportunity to add to my texture library, so I borrowed my wife's camera, with the macro lens, and grabbed a bunch of photos.  Needless to say, my complete lack of photographic skill resulted in fewer than one in five of the photos being usable, but still, I ended up with eight keepers.

Create your own wall guides

Thanks to Crystal for asking this great question.

Recently I wrote a tutorial about preparing an image for canvas printing.  But before you prepare it, you've got to choose it, and its size.  The latter is really important - it's easy to think that a print size (eg 20x30") is really big, but in fact it's very small once it's on your wall.

So, the best way to choose a photo and an appropriate size is to see it on your wall first.  And it's very easy to do.  First, take a photo of the wall on which you'd like to hang the print.  Here's an example wall:

To make it simple for yourself, don't photograph the wall at an angle.  Stand perpendicular to it to take the shot.  This tutorial can be adapted (sort of) for an angled photo, but it won't be as easy, or as accurate.