Turn your vacation photos into fun and funky postcards

Continuing with the California theme this month, here are some of my vacation photos that I turned into fun and funky illustrations. 

I often spend hours using Photoshop and the various filters from Nik Software that I use in Nikon Capture NX2 to make my photos into illustrations but the other day I discovered a quick way to add photo effects and some fun extras in no time flat thanks to a pal on the stockimaging fourm (thanks geoffpix!)

The site is called befunky.com

In addition to 22 photo  effects (such as cartoonizer used here, and others such as grunge and holga art), there are an array of goodies such as speech bubbles and other clip art to further enhance your images. It's a great way to while away a few hours having fun with your photos. 

The basic apps (used here) are free and you can save your edited photos directly to your computer (MAC Users, don't worry that the upload says "Upload from PC"--it works perfectly on a MAC. These photos are proof). There is even a button that lets you upload directly to your facebook page so you can share the fun with your friends.And of course there's an app for your iPhone.

The free apps are for personal use only but there are also paid subscriptions that provide higher-resolution versions of your masterpieces and a pro application that I believe gives you permission to sell your creations integrating their apps and clip art. 
Try it out as long as you have a little time to spare--you might get hooked! You can find the other software mentioned here (PS), here (NX2), and here (Nik Filters)--Nik filters come in separate versions for Lightroom, Aperture, Photoshop and Nikon Capture so be sure to get the right one. I've included a link to my favorite book on Capture NX2--I love this program but found it daunting before I purchased this book.