Final

Scanner Words

Way Outside the Box

Non-Traditional Tools (paper towel as a brush)

Non-Traditional Materials (rulers // Fresco filter)

Three Dimensional Letter Form in Space (wood blocks // Accented Edges filter)

Reflection (wood blocks and several mirrors)

Shadows and Light (paper "S" and a drop light // Chalk and Charcoal filter)

Screenshot Envy

The selection tools were the most helpful software techniques in creating this design because it helped make smooth, precise selections to piece the cow together. I used the screen filter on her chin because the green was disgustingly dark and clashed with the rest of the piece. I used all images of ice cream and toppings (hot fudge on the nose, whipped cream for the body) because, of course, these delicious dairy products are derived from cows. If you want a complete list of flavors...vanilla (nose and neck), vanilla soft serve (face), chocolate (for the head and spots), strawberry (the nose), pistachio (the chin), and licorice (the eyes and nostrils)...I feel that maintaining a consistent theme is what made this piece work well. This cow was so much fun to put together. I love the expression on her face. I think if I were to name this piece, I'd call it "Moocho Helado"...a lot of ice cream!

My layer masks:

Beware the Pesticides

This was a difficult project for me because the category was so broad. I found it difficult to narrow it down to something that not only would be easily interpreted, but also have an impact on whoever should look at it...so here is my design regarding an ironic advertisement.

We've all heard of the poison apple that Snow White ate, but not many of us consider the harmful chemicals sprayed on our food every day. Pesticides, herbicides, even plant food and growth supplements have warning labels to protect the user from coming in contact with the chemical...yet these products are sprayed onto our food which we consume. I attempted to stress this idea by having a plane spraying pesticide in the background, as it would over a crop field. I also put a skull and crossbones carved into the apple, a symbol that we all know the meaning of.

In terms of design, the yellow within the apple reflects the yellow of the pesticide plane to bounce the viewer's attention from the top of the page to the bottom. The red of the warning statement reflects the red apple, again bouncing the viewer's attention. I brought the apple forward and placed it in the lower corner to make the composition interesting and to emphasize it as being the main focus. The warning label is quoted from a pesticide bag and is what seals the irony into the piece.

Paula Scher

What I like about Paula Scher's work is how her posters are essentially a collage of typography. It's visually interesting how in the Noise Funk posters, the words surround an image so the viewer's eye is led around the poster and always brought back to the main image. In the video, she talked about the Jazz logo and how it's "syncopated", meaning all things are in order but may be thrown off (like Jazz music). She put a square inside of the "a" in jazz to emphasize this idea. I love her use of color, each of her works is vibrant and exciting to look at.

Irony in Advertising

Mock Chevrolet Commercial

It didn't start out this way, but I ended up turning my simple Camaro animation into a fake advertisement for Chevrolet. During the process, I kept searching for a purpose behind the animation I was creating, knowing it would be dry and boring without a "reason". I read that one of Chevy's latest slogans is "Find New Roads" and knew I could run with that idea. And if I'm going to promote Chevrolet, it should be a commercial! So the idea of finding new roads begins in an empty boring parking lot, and after the light winks and the window rolls down to let the music out (after all, who doesn't listen to music when they're adventuring?), the background flashes through a few seconds of exciting roads. The reason the car takes off at the green light (besides the fact that it's a brand new Camaro with 426 horsepower) is because the driver is in a hurry to go someplace new and exciting.

Animation Theme

The theme for my animation is going to be excitement

Security Lock Logo

Creating a Book Using InDesign

Here is my book that was created on a grid structure. I chose the song "When I Get Where I'm Going" by Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton. The song is about Heaven and what a man plans to do when he gets there, looking at the brighter side of passing away. It is meant to give hope and courage to those who are losing/have lost a loved one by showing that the dearly departed are now free of their pain and struggles.

I feel that this song is bittersweet, having its moments of both hurt and hope. The moods are reflected on each page, where "Pain and Darkness" is the darkest page, but the next page shows a bright light in the corner to show that Heaven is a release from that. The last page is the brightest to show the light mood of the end of the song.

I used complementary colors blue and orange. I felt that blue conveyed one strong emotion (sorrow) and orange conveyed the other (happiness/hope). The fonts have strong differences because I wanted to show the unsteady "roller coaster" not only of life, but of our emotions as we grieve the loss of a loved one. Coincidentally, I had begun designing this book and halfway through, I experienced a very tragic loss of a family member...my emotions came through this book and is reflected in my design.

Aaaand the grid structure...Words like "drop" and "stumble" break off the grid, but most of the words in this book are touching one of the lines.

Designing Magazine Layouts using InDesign

The original pages to be posted soon...

Joshua Davis Inspired Mural: My Components

These are the designs I created for the mural. The extreme blend was the only one I decided to use. I made the snowflake by creating blends between "1801" and a simple shape pulled from an Illustrator pattern. I then took pieces from that blend and copied them in a circle to create the snowflake. Then I blended versions of that design to get a complex, swirling flurry of snowflakes. The other designs are variations of the snowflake, except for the bouncing 1801...the designs do not look great together. It's also important to note that in the mural itself, the colors of the blend were changed to complementary colors of yellow, purple, orange, and blue. That simple change made the design actually quite beautiful.

Band Logo

This is the hand-drawn logo after being live-traced in Illustrator. I put this on its own layer so I could work off of it without distorting it. On a new layer, I began rebuilding the shape by drawing over it so I would maintain the curves and shapes, meanwhile cleaning up the rough edges.

These are the cleaned up, simple versions. Top is black on white and the bottom is clearly white on black. I think it looks more interesting that way. Then I copied the black version into Photoshop, added a tile texture, and embossed it. After that, I pulled it back into Illustrator and live-traced it again in black and white. It still has clean edges, and it is still in black and white. I think it looks pretty sweet.

This one is kinda sparkly...made just by playing with texture.

"New Old School" -- Paper Folding Design

Ever since I wrote an essay about history's effect on the American muscle car, I've been fascinated with comparing old school muscle cars with the newer versions. The Dodge Challenger is a fantastic candidate for comparison, and when I was challenged (no pun intended) with a paper folding project that showed change, I felt it was the perfect opportunity to put the 70 R/T side-by-side with a 2013 Plum Crazy.

Looking at the final piece dead-on, both sides are visible but you mostly see the 1970 Challenger. Kinda boring from this view, but the cool part is when you walk around the piece, you start to see the 2013.

This is the view from the right side of the piece, where the 1970 Challenger is seen clearly.

BUT, as you walk around to view it from the left....

...the new one takes place of the old! I was really pleased with how it came out.

The focal point of this piece, at first, is the old Challenger because is is so large and centered. However, the yellow background that shows in bits and pieces redirects the viewer's attention and causes them to look at the pice from a different angle and introduces them to the new car. The magic wand tool was by far the most helpful because it allowed me to easily and cleanly edit the cars.

The shape of the paper grows from left to right, showing a growth in the automotive industry over time and improved technology...anyone who has experienced both old and new muscle cars would agree that the modern versions are more comfortable, slick, and high tech. I used complementary colors yellow and purple to accentuate the gorgeous and captivating Plum Crazy purple car and to make the '13 car much more vivid than the '70. The photograph of the elder Dodge is pixelated to give it a sense of age, and the newer car has a sick filter on it that makes it look airbrushed. The piece is designed to be wall-mounted so as the viewer passes by, the purpose of the folds is apparent.

Joshua Davis

The above artworks are by graphic designer and programmer Joshua Davis. I love the variety in his work--how he can be very geometric in his designs, or organic like the first piece in this post. What that tells me is he's extremely talented, because he is well rounded and can successfully create both styles. Color and shape seem to be the best elements of art in his work. His use of color is intriguing and catches the viewers attention, with the contrast between vibrant colors and shades of gray. The shapes are consistent, but also vary in color, size, and orientation and can be geometric or organic. The principles of design that are strongest in his works are variety, repetition, and contrast. One shape never exists just once in his design and it has several alterations to it throughout the work, such as the different triangles in the second and third pieces. In nearly all of his pieces there is sharp contrast between values and colors (such as very bright whites and yellows against the dark background in top piece).