25 Wednesday Apr 2012
Posted in Edwardian Era, Graphic Design, Location Sketches, sketchbook
I’ve got the basic body for the 1911 Project paper dolls mostly complete… just need to do a little more rendering/painting to make her look a little more three-dimensional, add some more color, and fine tune with some crosshatching to mimic the period engraving look. Now to research the unmentionables she will wear, then work on the fashions! Here’s her lovely face:
Edwardian lady
25 Wednesday Apr 2012
Posted in Graphic Design, Location Sketches, Observations, sketchbook
I have been in the market for a graphics tablet at home for quite a while now, but just could not justify the cost. I’ve been watching prices for a while hoping to jump on a bargain when I see it. With the recent release of the new Wacom Intuos5, the Intuos4 is still available but at discounted prices as retailers close out old models to make room for the new. After reading about numerous driver problems with the 5, I decided to take a chance on the less expensive, closeout 4. I found a factory refurbished, even cheaper version of the 4, and with a cash back bonus balance on one of my credit cards, I was able to get this tablet at next to nothing compared to the price of a new 5. I decided on a small tablet, since it’s about the same size as my Air laptop and thus would be able to easily fit in the same bag for toting around. The tablet showed up on my doorstep a couple of days ago and I have been playing with it ever since. The only word I can use to describe this piece of electronic gadgetry is “addictive”…. holy cow! I am seriously surprised to learn what I’ve been missing. This thing is a dream to use, the learning curve is very small, and the results look like something straight out of my physical sketchbook, but with the added ability to layer, erase, move, and duplicate without destroying any of the parts of the artwork that I want to keep. The colors are endless, the brush styles numerous, and I have been enjoying being able to paint and draw again without all the mess and fuss of real paint and ink (which I still adore, but it’s just not as convenient or as portable). Here’s the tablet:
My new toy with my Macbook Air 11″
04 Sunday Sep 2011
Posted in Graphic Design, Observations, Travel Journal
There is something very energizing about traveling to Portland to do the press checks of our fall dealer catalog. After months at the office wrestling with design-by-committee, tight deadlines, too many overtime hours and a general sense of frustration, it’s nice to have a few days away from the routine to see a project through to completion and get a fresh start on something new. Our print rep, Kristine, is always full of great creative ideas and I always come back from these week-long trips with a renewed perspective into my creative soul, which I know is there, but in the corporate side of graphic design, doesn’t really get a chance to shine. Between press times, which came about every 2-3 hours, I was able to visit a couple of art stores, some craft galleries, make more sketches in my sketchbook than the past 5 months combined, and visit a local arts festival called “Art in the Pearl”. Kristine brought in a stack of books on sketching and sketch booking, two of which I absolutely loved and ordered from Amazon right at the printing plant. The most valuable thing that she did for me was give me a link to a site called Urban Sketchers, which should prove to be a creative inspiration in the months to come, and is part of the springboard for this blog.
rajilina 