Mathilde's Graphic Design Blog

Final Project: NouNou Tweaks

2009-06-09T12:39:00.000-07:00

The final project for art 120 was as such: choose an object, take its picture and with that image apply many computer and hand done techniques to it in order to produce new and unique imagery. The project encompassed file management, book construction and binding, printing methods, scanning and creative image generation in many different methods. I chose my old teddy bear as my object. He is named NouNou, which is what teddy bears are called in France. I was born and raised there for my first twelve years and my first nanny actually made me the teddy bear. Finding suitable digital image manipulations was difficult. I ended up making quite a mass of them and then choosing the ones that worked. For the handmade treatments I was most interested in finding interesting textures that would complement NouNou. One of my favorite hand manipulations was the one in which I used colored pencil shavings. I really liked the marrying textures within that treatment. I created and assembled the book cover. The cover's fabric is made out of synthetic fur, just like NouNou. The actual binding with the book cloth was a little difficult... I discovered that less PVA glue is better. Overall the final book suits its purpose and honors NouNou! Bellow are a few pictures of the finished product as well as some of the finished images. More can be found here!

Fourth Ten Tutorials (Read/watched)

2009-05-25T20:24:00.000-07:00

Tattoo Removal
I wanted to check this tutorial out since I have this tiny tattoo on my left ankle that I really hate and wish i would have never gotten...of course! Instead of just using the clone tool this tutorial really shows you how to really remove a tattoo and leave the skin looking untouched.

Cool Graffiti
My boyfriend loves graffiti and is really good at it too. I'd like to attempt to do some rad graffiti and maybe show him up... although he naturally has an advantage. The graffiti look is explained in just 13 steps...loves it!

Image into Text
This tutorial seems like a trick most users should know how to master. It could be interesting to have compelling words matched with compelling imagery.... literally.

Leather Strap Logo
I thought this tutorial could be useful for learning how to make labels that are versatile. The tutorial is clear and easy to follow.

Jacinth Juice Effect
I looked at this tutorial since its title intrigued me. What is Jacinth juice? The final image looks like crawling larva or something. Weird....wonder what this could be used for...

Split Toning
This tutorial looked like a cool effect to do on images. The video is five minutes. Spilt toning is a multi step process, much more than I had expected. The end result is nice though.

Stencil Effect
This tutorial shows you how to get a raw stencil effect out of an image. I really like the high contrast in the image. The treatment gives the picture a comic book look which can look really cool with some images.

Desert Time
This tutorial shows you how to create an imaginary desert landscape. The final image is nice. I think it has the potential for a book cover or even a movie's poster. The time and effort needed to complete this one is great..but worth it.

Colorful Web Layout

This tutorial's final layout is interesting. A little too eighties for my own taste. I think that happened due to the combined image pattern choice that was used. If done with complementing images the result is much more successful. To do or not to do a portfolio-resume webpage....?

Special Layout

I was attracted to this layout since I really like layouts that are intimate. The tutorial's layout is one that resembles the wall of someone's living room or something. Everything is magically neat and it really gets you motivated to snoop around. This web layout uses people's natural curiosity to its advantage.

Second Completed Tutorials

2009-05-21T09:38:00.000-07:00

Image Manipulation

This tutorial was quite long and extensive. I chose to do it since I liked the visual effect created by having duplicates repeated at lower opacities with extra goodies. The motion lines that the tutorial seemed to be overbearing for this little bear. I therefore excluded that treatment. This tutorial was helpful since it directed me toward a several sites that have great plug ins, brushes and the like. It was like being in a great candy store picking and choosing minus the sugar rush...

Colorful Posterization

THis tutorial seemed like a great treatment to apply to my teddy bear. There were a few nice tricks demonstrated in this tutorial which was made it even more fun!

Thermalized NouNou

This tutorial looked like it work well for my teddy bear. UNfortunately my teddy bear doesn't have enough depth in his structure. This minimized the coolness factor of this thermalized treatment. My little bear still looks burning hot!

Nounou's Got Cracks

This tutorial came handy in establishing a cracked paint look to my teddy bear. The tutorial was helpful, useful and thorough. The author made it very easy for anyone who wanted to either follow along using their own imagery or by using his.

Third Ten Tutorials (Read/watched)

2009-05-19T10:25:00.000-07:00

Watercolor Text Effect

This tutorial looked cool. I think this type of text effect would be great for posters and banner ads. A few nice tricks are given in this one which is always an added bonus!

Making a Gold Medal
I thought this tutorial would be fun to use at some point. Who knows I may be asked to create some gold medals...and I could bring them to reality digitally using this tutorial. The process is fairly easy which is great.

Virtual Auto using 100 Brush Techniques

This tutorial is extremely long. Generating a virtual car from a photograph of a car is a lot of work. I sometimes wonder how exciting it would be to design cars. I wonder if they use adobe software or if there are other programs that they use. In any even this tutorial would be fun to do some long rainy afternoon!

Changing Brush Sizes SUPER FAST
This video tutorial shows you the various ways one can change their brush size without having to go up to the main navigation bar. Sometimes its hard to visualize all the ways and their benefits, but this video does just that! I would recommend this video to anyone who is about to use their brushes.

Making a real looking Light bulb!
I wish I would have found this tutorial when I was constructing my Sagmeister postcards in order to create a better looking or more realistic lightbulb. The tutorial seems to be quite easy to do.

Mental Hospital Scene
This tutorial seemed like it would be fun. I love horror movies...and well the final product is slightly horrific. The man looks like he was just maced. Poor thing...in a straight jacket and maced! It also looks like the mace is producing smoke which is then shaped in his screaming face! This would be fun to do for a halloween card or an anonymous card to some insane person...

Modern Web Portfolio Layout
With the world becoming more and more tech savvy it seems like it might be necessary these days to actually have a web page with your resume and portfolio. This demonstrates your tech savvyness among other things. As I have been thinking of how to produce an attractive web page; I felt like this tutorial would be useful in guiding me in the right direction. I love black...so it was a good guiding start!

Apple in Disguise

This seemed like a fun tutorial. It shows you how to take an object and make it look like it is unzipping its suit. Out with the old in with the new... I feel like this type of image manipulation could be used well with cosmetic products...for cellulite for instance... you could show a woman's cottaged thighs being unzipped to reveal smooth beautiful legs!

Clean Blog Theme Design

After looking at some professional blogs out there I wanted to find out how difficult it is to design one myself. This tutorial shows you how to design a "clean" blog theme. The tutorials design is not of my taste. Nevertheless, the tutorial is resourceful.

Ward's Deleting Whites

Ward Jenkins was a special guest in our class. He did a live tutorial for us which was done using Ustream. It was great to see the tutorial and be there during its recording.

Project 4: Art Building Proposal

2009-05-14T09:23:00.000-07:00

For this project we were to come up with 3 ideas for the art buildings and then superimposing them onto the photos of the buildings that were provided. All in all this project was fun. But I would recommend that the art building be torn down and rebuilt. The new art building should have higher ceilings and windows that are large...the current design lacks light and flow!

Project 3: Logo Project

2009-05-14T09:18:00.000-07:00

For this project the class was divided into groups of 4-5 students and given four logos. I got to do the Coca-Cola logo. I recreated it in illustrator. Unfortunately the coca font is not the same as the font used in the logo. Therefore, I had to pen out the font. This was a little tedious, yet in the end my final product was pretty exact!

Project 2: Artist's Postcard

2009-04-21T08:31:00.000-07:00

As you can see from the previous Sagmeister post this postcard is a reflection of his own craft that I manipulated. This project was a lot of fun as it gave us freedom to vector off from our artists' work. The mottos on the front of the card are some of my own...some that I live by... I am French American soooo one motto is in french and the other in english. "Quand tu veux tu peux" means when you want you can. Didnt provide a translation since it is elementary french and can easily be looked and plus it adds a little mystere to the card...mystery.

Second 10 Tutorials (read/watched)

2009-04-20T14:45:00.000-07:00

Cool Neon Effects...#2
After my last neon tutorial in illustrator I thought it would be interesting to see how the effect would be executed in photoshop. The tutorial is long and extensive. Yet the result is quite realistic and intense. I would like to try this effect on a few pictures of mine! It seems to be quite futuristic!

Smooth NATURAL Looking Skin
I chose this tutorial since I absolutely hate when someone takes their pictures into iPhoto and uses the magic wand. It's so detectible and really tacky! Since I hate when people use that mediocre air brushing I thought it would be good to touch up on my touch-upping skills! The tutorial is simple and helpful.

Pop Art
I love Pop Art so I had to look into this one. The process seems fairly simple...perhaps that is why the tutorial's final image wasn't as Pop Artish as the originals... Bummer. I wonder if this is simple due to a couple steps missing...

Smokin' Woman
Well quite frankly I had to check this one out! The title was intriguing and well this looks like a fun thing to do in photoshop. The tutorial is laid out in a user friendly manner. At times it seems like helpful commentary is lacking...

Patterns
Getting the details on how to achieve some perfecting moves for patterns. Unfortunately the pattern in the tutorial has no originality or spunk like Julia Rothman's greatness...but it suits its purpose.

Retaining Spot Color
This tutorial was interesting and caught my eye. I feel that this tutorial could add an added effect to my pins! The end product has such 3-d qualities...with minimal steps to achieve it.I love how the shadow of the swirl shows through in such a light manner. This was a quick tutorial and could complement a variety of project quests.

Transform, Style + Blend
I love these type of images that encompass creativity, geometry and various mathematics. This image seems like the elementary stages of some of Pentegram's works. The tutorial does a great job demonstrating how to manipulate shapes and overlay them in an organized manner...instead of having a messy wad of string...

Crazy Pie Charts
This tutorial seemed like it would be fun. I am majoring in marketing and advertising; therefore, we often have to use graphs including pie charts. Overall the charts are fairly boring...they all look so similar. Yet with this tutorial I can easily add some character to those boring charts. The cool thing is that I have the option to go both ways... wacky crazy or business professional.

Expressive Shining Eye
This a very extensive tutorial. So detailed that it is broken up into 2 tutorials. I found the tutorial off of boogiesbc.ro. When I clicked on the link to the 2-parted tutorial I was directed to a site that offered various paint brush textures... not exactly what I wanted! So I googled the name of the tutorial and found this one...which combines the two parts into one! Yay! The first page of tutorial results in the creation of the eye with various effects. The second page of the tutorial completes the shining eye by adding more depth and glow to the image.

Neon Lights Effect
This tutorial is seemingly easy. Yet the neon lights effect could easily be used in multiple ways. It would be interesting to add the effect to night pictures or as a glowing background effect with interesting lines...

First 5 Completed Tutorials

2009-04-14T10:28:00.000-07:00

Vector Clouds using Gradient Mesh Tool

This is the tutorials image

I chose to do this tutorial since I love watching clouds. I find it interesting how many objects, characters or figures one can find in cloud formations. This tutorial was quite comprehensive and fun to complete.

The image to the left: my vectored clouds

The image to the right: Original cloud picture

The image to the left: Shows the gradient mesh that was used to manipulate the clouds.

Create a Super Happy Octopus Character
I chose to do this tutorial due to the name of the tutorial. There was just something extremely enticing about creating a super happy octopus character. This tutorial was quite difficult to execute in the end. It was difficult to manipulate the radials. For some reason as I was trying to angle out the radials at 20o the wouldn't turn! So frustrating! But I have to say my octopus looks cuter!

Creating stick figures!!

I used this tutorial to help me figure out what would be the best technique to draw/use stick figures in Illustrator for project 2 (artist's postcards). Even though the tutorial is for photoshop, it shows what shapes to use to create the best looking stick figure. I ended up using rectangles for the most part to lend my figures some extra rigidness as Sagmeister seemed to have implemented a similar technique. Overall I would rate this tutorial as an 8...but probably a 10 if photoshop would have been in order. Here is a snap shot of some of the stick figures I created for my postcard.

Working with multiple artboards and setting it up:
I looked up this tutorial in order to figure out how to set up multiple art boards within a file. The tutorial was quite helpful. Since it was out of adobe livedocs it linked to other help guides that related to art boards. I used this tutorial while setting up my Ai document for the Sagmeister postcard. Since I was going to use the main form of my stick figure throughout all the cards it was best to keep them all within the same document. Here is a snapshot of my artboard.

Pen Tool Tutorial
This tutorial was referred to for project 3 (logos). I am doing the Coca-Cola logo. Even though there is a font similar to the one that is the font in the logo...it is different than the actual font used...thereby it is necessary to pentool out the letters off of the original logo in order to get a perfect replica. The tutorial is useful and helpful. It is easy to read through and then refer to during the process of working out the glitches while using the tool. Here are some snap shots of using the pen tool to achieve the coca-cola logo font.

STEFAN SAGMEISTER

2009-04-09T11:06:00.000-07:00

born in 1962, bregenz, austria. stefan sagmeister studied graphic design at the university of applied arts in vienna. in 1987 he moved to new york to attended pratt institute on a fulbright scholarship. he then returned to austria in 1990 for community service as an alternative to obligatory military conscription. at the age 29, he attained a job with leo burnett hong kong. in 1993 he returned to new york to work for the hungarian graphic designer tibor kalman at M&Co. when the studio closed the same year, sagmeister opened his own office ‘sagmeister inc’. in 1994 he was nominated for a grammy award for his album cover - 'h. p. zinker mountains of madness’. in the following years he designed album packaging for artists such as david byrne, lou reed and the rolling stones. in 1996 sagmeister began developed posters for AIGA -american institue of graphic arts- he took a ‘year out’ in 1999, closing his studio to commercial work and concentrating on his own experimental projects. in 2001 released the book ‘made you look (another self-indulgent design monograph)’. in 2005 he won a grammy award as art director of the ‘once in a lifetime’ talking heads boxed set packaging. currently among many projects sagmeister continues his work on ‘20 things in my life I have learned so far.’ a series of typographic pieces inspired by the work of his grandfather that he began in 2004.

what is the best moment of the day?
in the early evening and the early morning.
when talking about design Iwould say the morning because
it's quiet in here (his office) and there is then time to really
think about concepts. the evening because then most of the
day is over and so it's a more playful time, specifically when
all the tasks are done.

much of your work is related to music...
I have always been interested in music
although now a diminishing part of my life.
growing older (I'm 43 now) I can say that looking back
music was much more important to me when I was 23.

what kind of music do you listen to at the moment?
what you just heard there (music playing in the office)
is 'cat power' we've been listening to her extensively
recently.

do you always like the music of the bands you work with?
we always try not to have to work with musicians or
any other clients who we don't like. there is absolutely
no excuse to work with ass-holes.

do you listen to the radio?
I used to love listening to the radio when I was in austria
but here (NY) much less. the level of advertising between
songs drives me nuts. I haven't been very diligently looking
for stations lately. we have a new intern every three months
and we always ask them to bring with them their favorite music,
so there is quite a little bit of vocation going on.

what books do you have on your bedside table?
I just finished 'the brooklyn follies' by paul auster which I loved.
last week I read a picasso biography and I have just started
'the last true story I'll ever tell' by john crawford, it's an
account of a soldier in iraq. for pleasure I read fiction,
non-fiction really whatever comes my way.

do you read design magazines?
the studio has subscriptions to a number of them,
and I flick through them usually for pleasure not for
inspiration, and not usually in office hours.

where do you get news from? newspapers? TV?
not from TV, I cant stand TV news in america,
I read the new york times, which I find a good newspaper
although it is slanted towards one direction.
it's probably my prime news-source.

do you notice how women are dressing?
I do now much more than I used 10 years ago
because my girlfriend is a fashion designer. now I notice
things here and there. she's influenced how I dress for sure
(heavily), and she has given me more of an eye for things.

do you have any preferences?
also through her influence, simple grounded ideas.

what kind of clothes do you avoid wearing?
basically anything that isn't made by my girlfriend,
or isn't sold by my brother. he also has a men’s fashion
store. so between the two of them I would say 95%
of what I wear comes from either of them.

do you have any pets?
no I don't, when I was very, very young I had a turtle.

when you were a child, did you want
to become a designer?
not as a child but as an adolescent, when I was around
15 or 16 I knew that I wanted to become a designer.

where do you work on your designs and projects?
everywhere, obviously the execution of them mostly in the
office. the conception of them everywhere, I travel quite a bit
and now I find it easy to work on a plane and I love to work
in a hotel room. I love to work in new fresh surroundings,
a new country...also i prefer working on concepts that don't
have a deadline attached where I can work freely.

do you discuss your work with other graphic designers?
we have a group called 'second tuesday' and we meet every
second month. there are about 15 people who run design firms.
we always meet at someone's home or studio, that person has
to organize dinner and a subject. sometimes these subjects are
quite practical such as finances. lately the topics have been
focused more towards administration and business rather than
cultural aspects.

please describe your style,
as a good friend of yours would.
for a long time we prided ourselves not to have a style
which to uphold became impossible. this is because if you
really switch your stylistic approach from project to project
it is impossible to come up with a new one on a weekly or
monthly basis, without ripping-off either historical styles or a
particular designers' style. although it would not cover all of
our work I would say we are probably best known for our
hand-made quality.

... and 'style = fart'?
yes i said this but I had to give up. it was the headline of
a theory that style and stylistic questions are just hot air
and meaningless. I discovered that this is simply not true.
through experience I found that if you have content that is
worthwhile the properexpression of that content, in terms of
form and style is actually very important. it can be a very
useful tool to communicate that content.
I don't think that it is actually hot-air anymore.

which type of project has given you the most satisfaction?
well the cop-out answer would be projects for good clients
who have good products or good services. that could be
CD packaging for a band that I love or for people who are kind
or a pleasure to work with, or smarter than me so I can learn
something. projects where I have the guts to work on them
hard enough so that they become good in my eyes,
they always tend to be more rewarding than the ones where
I was lazy.

who would you like to design something for?
a person who I have always wanted to and tried to work with
is the guitarist 'robert fripp' from the band 'king crimson'
because it is a band that I have admired since I was 16.
as far as a particular product is concerned I would love to do
something ‘big’ and with a big impact in terms of its distribution.
I would love to re-design the coke can, or an identity that is truly
‘worldwide’. I always felt that these type of jobs used to be done
very well by small design companies or single designers for
example IBM or coca-cola. in the last decades though these jobs
tend to have been done by larger branding consultancies.
they often have a very different agenda and in my eyes generally
do terrible jobs, though there are some exceptions. I think that
it's a pity that designers avoid this type of work in favor of more
obscure projects, because today how children learn what the
world looks like is determined by these type of jobs. so I would
love to be involved there. in a small studio though this type of
project rarely happens, big companies like working with other
big companies.

and your studio is small...
we very purposefully remain small. we started in 1993 and
there would have been many opportunities to grow through the
nineties. other than not being involved with the size of branding
I definately think that a small studio only has advantages
(apart from not being involved with the branding projects).
to keep the studio small was actually advice i received from
tibor kalman.

is there any designer/ architect from the past
you appreciate a lot?
my old boss, tibor kalman.

and those still working?
many, we would be here forever if I were to list them all!
in industrial design I would say the 'dutch bunch',
marcel wanders etc. in graphics, especially in the USA I would
say rick valicenti, and in the UK mark farrow, but there are
many people.

do yo have any advice for the young?
try to be a good person and work your ass off.

what are you afraid of regarding the future?
hmm (thinks) not much, I wouldn't call myself a very
gutsy person but I can't say that I am scared of anything
regarding the future... not at all. I think that it's going to be fine.
humanity adapts to all kinds of situations, and right now I think
is a good time to be alive.

Some of Sagmeister's Works:

Product:

Work Process (so many pennies!)

Life Instructions: Sagmeister's piece that I would like to base my artist's card off of...I was thinking of modifying it to Life Motos ... half in French and half in English...Just like me!

Final Typography Patterns

2009-04-09T10:53:00.001-07:00

PROJECT ONE: Surface Design and Pattern Study

The assignment was to make four customized designs out of type letterforms (one per design) through constructing, deconstructing, moving, angling and customizing letterforms from various fonts. The project was reminded me of starting a doodle and then changing it and turning it into something completely different from its starting point.

M's using Zapino font 18 pt

7's using Edwardian Script ITC font
This one makes me think of elephants....the elephants from Dumbo when they have that crazy psychedelic scene... and show all those myriads of patterns....

&'s using Big Caslon Medium font 48 pt

%'s using Curlz MT font 60 pt

%'s using Curlz MT font 36 pt

Adobe Live Docs

2009-04-08T18:37:00.000-07:00

Adobe live docs is a great feature to aid anyone's usage with adobe softwares. The online resource feature is better than having some heavy dictionary user guide that you rarely refer too and is overall a waste of paper. The great thing about having an online resource guide is that as the program prompts the user for software updates, the updates are also reflected online, thereby eradicating the need for a second volume or edition of a printed user guide. Having the user guide online saves time as well. All one needs to do is type in what they need and in one second multiple results are a click away...ranging from definitions, video tutorials, written tutorials with or without pictures and the like. Live docs resembles the help feature on most programs, yet the videos and step-by-step pictures are of greater assistance. This is due to the jargon that sometimes one might not be familiar with.
I first discovered live docs while I was in ART 200 a graphic design class. The teacher was assisting other students and I just needed to know how to properly place a a pull-quote. So I navigated to Help and sought out the online help resource. There I easily found how to use a pull-quote, instead of waiting for the teacher to be liberated! I have learned many other tricks and features of the adobe suite through adobe live docs. I will continue to refer back to it as I face questions in using the programs. While perusing through Illustrator's live docs I focused most of my search on giving illustrations a more organic-hand-drawn feel. The suer guide is very helpful and is in a PDF format. Therefore, it can easily be saved onto the desktop or printed. Overall, live docs is very user-friendly and provides quick help much like a dictionary or cook book.

Scrabble Bananas!!

2009-04-08T18:34:00.000-07:00

I am an avid scrabble player. Recently I tied one of my opponents. First tie I have ever experienced with scrabble. The game was tough...the upper left quadrant was not used! I had to take a snap shot to grab that moment of history. Here it is for the rest to enjoy!

Weekend Image Upload Scavenger Hunt

2009-04-05T18:37:00.000-07:00

The following images are some of many that inspire me and keep me engaged/inspired. The order is no reflection of their rank vis a vis favoritism and the like....
Lisa Strausfeld of Pentagram
This technique of mapping intrigues me. It demonstrates The intricacies involved in everyday as well as the extraordinary situations we encounter. This type of visualization is extremely mathematical and multifaceted. I enjoy how clear, simple yet complicated these images are and can be. This type of art reminds me of some of Tad Savinar's art pieces. I would like to know exactly what plays into certain angles being at such degrees as well as the variance in the length of rays. What variable or attribute results in a point being in a certain position on the image? What would a person's daily routine or life look like if represented through this mapping/design technique? How long is the process to create such imagery? How long would this image take to create?

Sagmeister Inc.
I came upon this poster while hunting around. The poster was made using only one punctuation mark: the apostrophe. This reminds me of our current project (typography patterns). It would be interesting to see if it would be possible to make an object easily recognizable out of several letters of the same letter of the alphabet as well as font. Once an object has been created it could then be repeated in order to create a pattern effect. I like this picture due do its rigidity and use of lines. I also love that the trigger is in a bright yellow, creating a stark contrast against the gun. It seems like only some parts of the apostrophe are used in some areas in order to establish sharp corners. Perhaps the white lines within the gun were added later. Did they crop parts of the apostrophes in order to establish certain shapes to reach the desired object? I wonder how hard it would be to use these design parameters with other objects as well as different punctuation marks or letters.

Andreas Müller at Hahakid
This piece about memories caught my attention due to its creative use of space on a page. I find the artist's way of placing words in such a textural manner to be quite interesting. The lightness of the concept creates such movement in the words...they are blowing in the wind. I wonder exactly how the 3-dimensional space is achieved in such a program as Illustrator. I wonder if there is a tool in a program that exists that could establish perspective through opacity or percentage of brightness/darkness automatically given the dimensions and preferred angle at which the image is trying to be.

Taobot for the Omega Code Project
I have been interested in learning how to implement layering in this manner. I love the textures that are established. If you follow the link the other images that demonstrate this technique are quite appealing as well. I would like to learn how to manipulate layers in order to achieve thy type of imagery. The organic forms grow on the eyes, which is why I enjoy this piece. I read a couple tutorials on how to create such images and seemingly it takes hours to get to the end result. I wonder if there is a fast or faster way to use this technique. Is it really necessary to have such high numbers of layers? Is there a way to manipulate the base image to the final result or is it necessary to use multiple images?

Rebeliarts
It's pretty clear that I am inspired by images which incorporate a lot of digital layering and morphing of reality. I enjoy mixed media and the marrying of different elements and subjects. I'm all about multitasking and so are these types of graphic images. I feel that it enables the audience have even more of a choice in how to perceive-incorporate the work. Although I wouldn't really qualify this image as being one of my favorite, its purpose here is to illustrate the various techniques that were used in its creation. I wonder if this image is just a composite of various layers that were then laid upon one another without really taking into account the other layers or environment. Some of the layers seem to be separate from the focus of the image: the girl. I wonder if the mesh/vortex layer would look better if it took into account the girl, by for instance bending when it comes into contact with her and changes its angle. Would the image become more 3-dimensional? How would this picture look if it were in a grayscale?

Quick Typography Project

2009-04-03T23:32:00.000-07:00

This obviously isn't completed...but a good working start!

type on top of original...

First 10 Tutorials (read/watched)

2009-04-01T13:35:00.000-07:00

Pins!!!
This tutorial shows how to create pins! I've always wanted to create some funny pins and hand them to friends. The great part of having illustrator to create pins is that you can really show depth to designs. This tutorial shows you how to really create that button effect. I am certain that this is going to be a fun one to play around with! And perhaps creating a pin to go along with my portfolio as it flies to various companies would set me apart! A treat for whomever takes the time to look at my portfolio. I'm all about rewards!

10 Features in Illustrator CS4!
This tutorial shows 10 new features in AiCS4. I chose to read this tutorial in order to learn how to maximize my access to CS4 and see what added benefits there are to the newer version. The tutorial runs through the ten features with short detail... yet it is easy to branch into a full tutorial from the links provided with each stated feature.

Vector Eyeball
This video tutorial demonstrates how to create a vectored eyeball. The end product is pretty scary looking and quite frankly is a wonderful appetite suppressant. Maybe this is the beginning of a new dietary solution for people. If you gross out the morbidly obese to such a point...perhaps they will reduce their intake. This would be a non-intrusive solution...Ha!

Professional Business Card
This tutorial was easy and comprehensive. Their final product does not reflect what I would consider an effective business card. Yet the tutorial can easily be applied to any desired characteristics one may have. Thereby making this tutorial worthwhile. Creating business cards using word or whatnot is so passe!

Fairy-Tale Inspired Magical Hand Shaped Vine
This tutorial was attractive to me given its whimsical nature. I don't really like the idea of a hand-shaped vine... but the vine effect could be used for any object either inanimate and animate. The tutorial is fairly long yet it really goes into detail for each step, which is very helpful!

Environmentally Friendly Green Type Treatment
I chose to look through this tutorial as this type of type treatment seems to be quite popular in branding and advertising. The linking of what encompasses the company and its activities/services to the type is interesting to me. Generally these type treatments look fairly corny but a demand is a demand!

Vibrant Digital Collage Mixing Buildings and Vector Shapes on Paper
This tutorial was of interest to me as it uses both fireworks and illustrator together. Since I own the full adobe suite I enjoy discovering how to implement its many components together. This tutorial shows how to use multiple elements within a workspace in order to create an image with many textures and elements. The tutorial is fairly long...yet bearable.

Dramatic Vector Landscape Environment This tutorial shows how to create landscape environments in illustrator. The tutorial is a little more difficult then others to follow as it requires you to have a reasonable understanding and ease of use with the program. This is mainly given its use of the pen tool without giving a full on tutorial of how to use the pen tool.

Watercolor Vector Flower Illustration This tutorial shows you how to take a picture of a flower, for instance, and convert it into a watercolor painted flower. Instead of using a sketch you have drawn you can create an illustration off of a picture. The great part about this tutorial is that it teaches how to create texture and depth to illustrations.

Fading Light Vectors in Fireworks
This tutorial shows how to create some effects with fading light linear vectors in Fireworks, an adobe suite program. The tutorial is easy to follow. I chose this tutorial as I think it has the potential to be useful... especially when we begin to use photoshop or the class.

ART 120: Blog Post 1

2009-03-31T10:11:00.000-07:00

blog assignment #1

computer experience:
I have a lot of experience using computers and various programs. I was in ART 200 last term, providing knowledge in InDesign and some in Photoshop. I am proficient using Adobe Suite, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Office Suite, PageMaker, Visual Basic, and QuickBooks Pro.

what are you excited about?
I am excited about gaining more knowledge/skills in illustrator and photoshop.
I am also excited to create new projects.

favorite books & magazines:
I enjoy several magazines including: W, Objekt, Paper, Mode, Print, and I.D. to name a few.
The following are some books that I refer to at times and have enjoyed:
The Big Book of Graphic Design by Roger Walton
Graphic Design America 3: Portfolios from the Best and Brightest Design Firms from Across the U.S. by Jenny Sullivan
1,000 Graphic Elements: Details for Distinctive Designs by Wilson Harvey
Contemporary Graphic Design (French and German Edition) by Charlotte Fiell and Peter Fiell
Business Graphics: 500 Designs That Link Graphic Aesthetic and Business Savvy by Liska + Associates and Steve Liska

favorite websites:
bittbox
smashingmagazine
designfloat
designmeltdown
lynda

FINAL PROJECT: MAGAZINE

2009-03-16T18:23:00.000-07:00

FRONT COVER/BACK COVER

FIRST PAGE (SEE Last spread for inside front cover...)

INSIDE FRONT COVER/ INSIDE BACK COVER

Signage PDFs

2009-01-21T17:23:00.000-08:00

Process: narrative write-up revisited

2009-01-07T18:05:00.000-08:00

Groupings: groups incorporating mentioned parts of routine
WATER-
9:00 PM: Walk to bathroom sink
Turn on hot water
9:00.05 PM: Let water run until steam appears
9:02 PM: Adjust temperature

SOAPING/LATHERING-
9:02.5 PM: Wash hands (using hand soap)
9:03 PM: Rinse hands thoroughly
9:03.5 PM: Using both hands splash face (focusing on eye area) several times until mascara has reasonably dissolved
9:04 PM: re-soap hands using hand soap until they are quite sudsy
Close eyes
Bring soapy hands up to eyes to lather to clean off all eye-makeup
9:04.5 PM: Rinse face and hands until soap residue is gone
9:05 PM: Pump 2 pumps of Cetaphil face wash into hands
Spread and lather in hands
9:05.5 PM: Bring hands up to face and lather on face using a circular motion
Each general facial area reached twice

RINSE/DRY-
9:06 PM: Rinse face 4 times or until all sudsy residues is gone
Turn water off
9:06.5 PM: Turn and walk to towels
Dry off face

PRODUCTS’ APPLICATION-
9:07 PM: Walk back to sink
Grab a cotton ball
Pump 3 pumps of astringent into cotton ball
Swipe across entire facial area
9:07.5 PM: Grab facial serum
Pump 2 pumps into hand
Spread over facial area
Slightly air dry
9:08.2 PM: Grab facial lotion
Pump 2 pumps into hand
Spread over facial area
9:08.7 PM: Put on Chapstick
9:09 PM: Grab facial lotion
Pump 1 more pump into hand
Spread over remaining dry facial areas

Groupings purpose:

Each group (water, soaping/lathering, rinse/dry, and products’ application) turn into chapters.
Each chapter will have several pages (2-3) within it…the images reflecting the routine and the narrative sharing a thought or emotion that was felt during that particular instance of the routine.
This could also be done in he opposite way…the images reflecting thought or emotion felt during the particular step and the narrative being the step-by-step routine.

Applicable thoughts/emotions by chapter:

WATER
Main water line leak-leak was detected…at a rate of a gallon/minute
Water usages-to drink…to splash…to cleanse
Sinking-overwhelmed feelings

SOAPING/LATHERING
Cleanse-taking off the day, ridding myself of day’s negative encounters
Color-solution turns to milky sand color
Why-what was that about

RINSE/DRY

PRODUCTS’ APPLICATION

Process: Narrative Write-up

2009-01-06T13:13:00.000-08:00

. . . pondered on what daily routine would be suitable for mapping . . . came up with two. The second developed into my preffered choice for this project.

Waking Up:
Eve of next day (hours vary...): ensure that alarm is on
And set for 8:30 AM
8:30 AM: alarm goes off
Blind/audible search for phone
Phone located
Snooze button selected

8:31 AM: place phone above head pillow for ease of access

In the next 9.5 minutes…
Comfort and dreams prior to alarm going off are sought

8:41 AM: Snooze button selected again
In the next 9.5 minutes…
Comfort and dreams prior to alarm going off are sought
~process repeated for as need be

8:51 AM: Turn off alarm button selected

8:52 AM: Rise out of bed
Walk to bathroom
Turn on shower
Urinate
Hop in shower

8:53.5 AM: Take Shower

Washing My Face Off:

Routine takes place at various hours…generally in the evening…for the purpose of this exercise the ninth evening hour will be chosen.

9:00 PM: Walk to bathroom sink
Turn on hot water

9:00.05 PM: Let water run until steam appears

9:02 PM: Adjust temperature

9:02.5 PM: Wash hands (using hand soap)

9:03 PM: Rinse hands thoroughly

9:03.5 PM: Using both hands splash face (focusing on eye area) several times until mascara has reasonably dissolved

9:04 PM: re-soap hands using hand soap until they are quite sudsy
Close eyes
Bring soapy hands up to eyes to lather to clean off all eye-makeup

9:04.5 PM: Rinse face and hands until soap residue is gone

9:05 PM: Pump 2 pumps of Cetaphil face wash into hands
Spread and lather in hands

9:05.5 PM: Bring hands up to face and lather on face using a circular motion
Each general facial area reached twice

9:06 PM: Rinse face 4 times or until all sudsy residues are off
Turn water off

9:06.5 PM: Turn and walk to towels
Dry off face

9:07 PM: Walk back to sink
Grab a cotton ball
Pump 3 pumps of astringent into cotton ball
Swipe across entire facial area

9:07.5 PM: Grab facial serum
Pump 2 pumps into hand
Spread over facial area
Slightly air dry

9:08.2 PM: Grab facial lotion
Pump 2 pumps into hand
Spread over facial area

9:08.7 PM: Put on Chapstick

9:09 PM: Grab facial lotion
Pump 1 more pump into hand
Spread over remaining dry facial areas