Here are a couple of Kindle screens I made using Wordle’s free word cloud web-app. To be honest, I’m still undecided about whether the cartoons add too much clutter, but I thought these two were fun regardless considering the subject matter.
You can make your own text-based screensavers at Wordle.net.
Oct 14, 2008 @ 09:30:05
Woah, that wordle.net site is actually pritty good. Iv just wasted 1 hour on it messing around on it!
thanks!
Jan 08, 2010 @ 10:29:18
These are absolutely gorgeous screensavers. I’ve just put both of them on my Kindle. How did you include the cartoon? Just superimposed the Wordle creation over another picture?
Jan 08, 2010 @ 10:52:16
@Debra: Thanks for the compliment. As to how I made them, I just drew the cartoons around the words. I actually made a bunch of text clouds at Wordle first using the same text but experimenting with settings. Then when I found a grouping that sparked some visual image in my mind, I saved it and used it for the drawing. It’s been a while, but I think I may have deleted some stray words in both cases in order to create a more precise silhouette.
I drew the cartoons in Photoshop or GIMP (I forget which computer I was on) using a cheap graphic tablet & pen that I think I found on sale somewhere for, like, $30.
The even cheaper low-tech option, of course, is to print it out, draw over it, scan it back in, and ta-dah you have a new screensaver!
Jan 08, 2010 @ 22:27:43
Hi, Chris. I’m afraid this would be beyond my abilities even if I had the software and tablet! Thanks for the explanation. I’ll enjoy these every time they come up in my screensaver rotation.