Eye on Concepts

From Thumbnails to Finsh- Final Phase

2012-01-02T20:34:00.000-08:00

I made the revisions to the duck as requested and visually it looked much better. The more visible duck naturally led to a bolder color palette which helped the overall design. Next, I added the type elements which included dates, sponsor logos and contact information. I also changed the stacked IKEA RENTON portion of the logo to a single line and resized other elements on the page to work

From Thumbnails to Finish- Phase Three

2011-12-16T23:16:00.000-08:00

I brought all of my created assets together into a rough color composition. Colors are just suggestions in this phase and I'm still using my rough sketch as the guideline. I usually do rough sketches of most of my assets before building them in Adobe Illustrator. I love sketching because I'm able to do it anywhere and can generate far more ideas quicker than trying to

From Thumbnails to Finish- Phase Two

2011-12-03T00:08:00.001-08:00

The River Days Board selected the theme “The Magic Continues” and asked me to develop thumbnail sketch three. That was my favorite sketch so I was excited to move forward with the selected theme. I usually do a series of exploratory sketches that aren't shown to the client. These sketches help me determine the look and feel of the assets. Versions 1a and 1b are the first round. There are

From Thumbnails to Finish- Phase One

2011-12-02T09:48:00.001-08:00

Graphic designers just push a button on the computer to come up with creative ideas, right? No, of course not. Still the process may vary from designer to designer. I've seen some artists start their ideas by designing on the computer. I begin by sketching ideas out on paper. For me, it's a process of discovery as my ideas tend to grow and morph into pleasant surprises. Let me show you by

A few from the sketchbook

2011-06-30T18:11:00.000-07:00

Animation 116 Bellevue College: Craig Jones, instructor I decided to post a few pages from my sketchbook. Craig tries to get his students to sketch everyday. There was a time in my life when no one had to tell me to sketch daily. I did it because I enjoyed it and wanted to draw. Now, it takes about 50 pages or so before I start to feel like... Ok, I can do this. The following sketches are a few

Digital Media Design Club: Voxel Sculpting

2011-03-22T18:41:00.000-07:00

Digital Media Design Club: Voxel Sculpting: "Product: 3D Coat Official Description, "3D-Coat is the one application that has all the tools you need to take your 3D idea from a block of digital clay all the way to a production ready, fully textured organic or hard surface model." Be sure to check it out!

The Knight Rides- Under the Hood: Part 1

2010-11-27T14:20:00.000-08:00

In my introduction to Maya class, we were assigned to create a vehicle of any kind. I decided to create my own version of a Bat Mobile. Most of us in the class had never seriously worked in a 3D program before, but we were pushed into the deep end of the pool. After we designed our vehicle, we were to create an environment and animate the scene. Over the next few weeks I will share a few things

HTML 5, WTF... What The Fun!

2010-10-30T18:05:00.000-07:00

Shake your head and wipe your eyes. A whole new way of looking at things are right around the corner. In between homework assignments, I was killing time by viewing a few design sites and I discovered something outrageously kewl! Yeah, I know I misspelled cool, but what the hey. First, you need to test your browser for HTML 5 compatibility. I tested Firefox, Safari, Opera and Chrome. Since

Alfred Hitchcock Interview

2010-10-09T18:00:00.000-07:00

Alfred Hitchcock On Mastering Cinematic Tension Want to keep an audience on the edge? Alfred Hitchcock gives us a brief discription of how to create tension in a scene. This guy was great. I think he was the master of anticipation and tension. Check it out.

Take a drink, packaging

2010-09-14T11:09:00.000-07:00

The Philips Activa portable MP3 Player The Activa MP3 player was designed to be used during workouts. It provides on-screen measurements and online management to track calories, distance and workout time. The Philips Design's packaging for the Activa MP3 player enhances the well-being proposition of the brand. The product is contained in a transparent bottle that can be re-used as a drink

New GEICO Commercial - Very Funny!

2010-08-29T21:17:00.000-07:00

This one is very funny. I had to post it on the blog. One of the most creative GEICO ad spots recently. Check it out. Good stuff.

The Man Who Planted Trees

2010-08-29T00:15:00.000-07:00

The Man Who Planted Trees tells the story of one shepherd who takes on the task of planting and nurturing thousands of trees in a barren land with amazing results. The artwork is beautiful and inspiring. The scene transitions are incredible. Very well done! This film earned a number of awards, including an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. I purchased the Deluxe Edition, which

So what happened to ‘Thank You’?

2010-08-18T10:43:00.000-07:00

Just because we can connect with people in the blink of an eye doesn’t mean we should forget the basics... To see the full article from Ian Sanders Blog, click link below. So what happened to ‘Thank You’?

Sule and the Case of the Tiny Sparks

2010-07-27T20:42:00.000-07:00

46664(Awareness and education through entertainment) and the Nelson Mandela Foundation, together with Tribeca Film Institute’s Tribeca All Access (TAA) program selected five TAA alumni to create a short film in honor of Nelson Mandela’s principles and life’s work. The short films all featured a theme or protagonist that demonstrates the idea that an individual can ‘make an imprint’ and change the

Illustrator 88 and what year?

2010-07-18T21:58:00.000-07:00

The last time I had an Adobe Illustrator class, the version I used was Illustrator 88. Even then, I preferred Aldus Freehand. OK, for you newbies out there, this was before Macromedia and after Altsys sold the rights Aldus. Then Aldus was purchased by Adobe. The rights thus went back to Altsys and next Macromedia purchased Alsys...Wait! This is starting to sound like a bad soap opera. The bottom

A sketch, and a work in progress

2010-07-01T00:07:00.000-07:00

As promised, I'm posting a recent practice sketch. The second piece is a work in progress and a departure from anything I've created before. With the sketch, I was trying to capture the look and feel of the character. This is a bit rough, but it's finished. I'm getting better at observing and not rushing. I carry a small sketch book with me daily so I can draw from life. As a last option, I'll

Sketching at a snail's pace

2010-06-23T21:25:00.000-07:00

I can't see, I can't see, screamed the boy as he ran around in circles frantically! A calm voice told the young one, "Relax, slow down and open your eyes." The boy opened his eyes and began to see. A key part of drawing and drawing well is the ability to see. I'm finding that I don't have the patience to see like I use to. I tend to rush and want to hurry up. One of my classes requires a

New Tacoma Design

2010-06-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

Peter Whitley, a friend and colleague recently started a blog showcasing some of his work. Peter and I worked together for a number of years at Wizards of the Coast. Peter has always impressed me as the kind of guy you needed on your team if you wanted to take a project to the next level. Take a look at his blog. The work speaks for itself. What you may not see at a glance is his ability to

Tim Brown urges designers to think big

2010-04-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

Tim Brown says the design profession is preoccupied with creating nifty, fashionable objects -- even as pressing questions like clean water access show it has a bigger role to play. He calls for a shift to local, collaborative, participatory "design thinking." About Tim Brown Tim Brown is the CEO of innovation and design firm IDEO, taking an approach to design that digs deeper than the surface

A few hand sketches

2010-04-06T14:40:00.000-07:00

Over the next couple of months I'll be sketching daily-- trying to fill up a 100 page sketch book. This will be a challenge for me, carrying a sketch book around everywhere I go. I plan to post some of the sketches for your comments. We shall see where this exploration takes me. The sketches below are pre-100 page sketch book. BTW, found a few more awesome blogs and will post links to them soon.

David Carson on design + discovery

2010-03-05T23:13:00.000-08:00

Great design is a never-ending journey of discovery -- for which it helps to pack a healthy sense of humor. Sociologist and surfer-turned-designer David Carson walks through a gorgeous (and often quite funny) slide deck of his work and found images. About David Carson David Carson's boundary-breaking typography in the 1990s, in Ray Gun magazine and other pop-cult books, ushered in a new vision

Conference theme and logo design

2010-02-26T11:17:00.000-08:00

Youth Volunteer Corps of America's mission statement reads: To create and increase volunteer opportunities to enrich youth, address community needs and develop a lifetime commitment to service. Veronica Knight, VP of YVCA contacted me for a brainstorming session to develop a theme for the first YVCA International Conference. She wanted to center the message on volunteering in local communities

Just draw it!

2010-02-19T01:55:00.000-08:00

Easy to say right? Yes it is. Talking about drawing is a lot easier than doing it. One of my majors in college a hundred years ago was illustration. I never tried to make a living at it because I panicked. There were just more jobs out there for graphic designers than illustrators, so I went with the design route. I have no regrets about the career choice, but I wish I had kept the pencil sharp

I was inspired today.

2010-02-11T23:21:00.000-08:00

So often, I hear of people who don't dream anymore. People who are afraid to dream because they no longer believe its possible to accomplish their dream. They settle in to whatever situation and just "deal" with it. Sure, the economy is bad... sure the job market is tough, but should we dare to chase our dreams regardless of circumstances? What do you think? Kirsten Bragg's story inspired me.

Jacek Utko designs to save newspapers!

2010-01-22T21:30:00.000-08:00

Jacek Utko is an extraordinary Polish newspaper designer whose redesigns for papers in Eastern Europe not only win awards, but increase circulation by up to 100%. Could good design save the newspaper -- at least for now? Jacek Utko thinks so -- and his lively, engaging designs for European papers prove that it works. This video is about 6 minutes long with great examples of his designs! About