Your Graphic Design

Wow, it's been awhile!

2007-04-10T23:12:00.000-04:00

It's been awhile since I've posted on this blog!

This is more of a message for those visiting here instead of my newest graphic design blog and letting you know about my contest to 2 months free ad space on my new graphic design blog sean-dinner.com.

My new blog has gone through many changes lately, new themes, graphical banners, new RSS icon, reviews, wordpress widgets, I've changed just about everything! So, check out my newest graphic design blog today! Also note, it's not just all about graphic design, I also share my personal work experiences as a pizza delivery boy and other personal/good stuff! Thanks for visiting!

New Theme for the Sean-Dinner.com Blog

2007-03-19T23:19:00.000-04:00

This afternoon and a little bit into the night I started and completed a new theme/look for my Wordpress blog Sean-Dinner.com.For those visiting this site please take a look since it's my most recent and up to date blog. Leave a comment there and let me know what you think. Thanks!

Everything Good so far

2007-03-13T16:20:00.000-04:00

I've finally have been able to start posting on my new blog! For some reason it had kept messing up and whenever I posted it would put them in random spots instead of a the top :S. Plus, some things just wouldn't work right. But, after 6 re installations of Wordpress I've found the themed I like and have begun posting! My two tutorials have m=been posted over there and I'll begin with my daily rambling once I have something to ramble about lol. Check out my new blog!

Made the switch.

2007-03-12T01:40:00.001-04:00

Well, as the title says I've made the switch... to what though you ask?

My own domain! As I right this my domain is not registered so there is nothing to see but a "Cannot be found" page. That should change by in the next day or two.

I've already got Wordpress installed so, I got that over and done with. It was very easy to do since my web host (AnHosting.com) uses Fantastico which enables you to install Wordpress (and other nice features) without doing anything but putting in a bit of info. It literally took seconds to complete.
My site will also be used to host my online portfolio that I need to start working on. It's so hard to find time with so many projects on the go for school. I'll try to get a layout done asap and get my best work up.

New Photos @ Flickr!

2007-03-11T03:28:00.000-04:00

I finally got around to adding my latest photographs to my Flickr.com account.

Check out my new pics at Flickr.com!

It was an aweosme day out the other day and was able to grab some great scenery shots out over the fields. I'm happy with the results :).

Sitepoint.com

2007-03-10T14:43:00.000-05:00

Sitepoint.com

I found SitePoint awhile ago when I was searching for different freelance sort of websites. They have tons of great information and have a system wet-up where actual companies or groups and organizations can start a competition where anyone can enter.

This is a great opportunity to get your name out and show off what you have to offer. There are a lot of member though producing great work. So, it's a little tough unless you have lots of time and put all of your effort into your contest submission. The down side to this, as with any contest, is that you are not guaranteed to win after putting so much time and effort into your creation, so it does feel at times that you "lose money."

Overall though I would Sitepoint.com is great site that everyone should check out. They do offer other services. They offer:

The design contests are in the following categories:

Updated My Labels

2007-03-10T01:53:00.000-05:00

For some reason I had forgot to put in labels for most of my posts. But, I got around to doing it so, it'll makes it a little easier to find what you're looking for by using my label list on the bottom right of the side bar :)

Idea Designs.ro

2007-03-10T01:21:00.000-05:00

Idea Designs.ro

A great portfolio site I found hidden away in my bookmarks. I forget how long ago, or how I came across Idea Designs.ro but, it was still in my bookmarks so I decided to visit it.

There is some awesome work he has in his portfolio. And site is very well set-up. Nice and simple, and best of all done in flash.

I suggest just checking out Idea Designs.ro and take a look around

Adobe Photoshop CS3 having 2 Versions • Say What?!?

2007-03-09T12:43:00.000-05:00

Another interesting email I received today from Adobe. Apparently there will be TWO versions of Photoshop CS3.

The 2 versions are:
• Adobe Photoshop CS3
• Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended

CS3 will be your "normal" styled Photoshop, with many new great features. The CS3 Extended version though will allow more multimedia abilities, as well as accurate measurement, analysis, and visualization tools. Click to read more.
Adobe seems to be bringing surprise after surprise. Great job Adobe!

My Stickers.

2007-03-09T10:39:00.000-05:00

Here are the four stickers that I came up with for my sticker project.

For these stickers I wanted to have a more funny side to it. The client wanted whatever we could think of, so there wasn't a limit on what we could come up with. Although you could say these aren't too creative, I still think what I came up with would sell.

As you can see we were limited to certain Pantone Colours, so we couldn't get too wild with those. Also, only certain shapes and sizes were allowed to be used. The yellow background on the "Warning!" sticker is in place of the orange/yellow reflective material, the stuff you see on contrsution vehciles and such. So, it'll look much better on that reflective material than on yellow.

I'm Going To Make Myself a Cartoon!

2007-03-09T00:30:00.000-05:00

Had a nice little idea the other day. I'm going to try and come up with a "cartoon image" of myself. Once I get some free time I'll start drawing some ideas up...hopefully it'll turn out okay. I'm also hoping that'll my cartoon self will help get a little more attention drawn to my site, no one likes reality anyways lol.

Introducing web conferencing from Adobe

2007-03-08T08:59:00.000-05:00

I received an interesting email this morning from Adobe talking about their new online conferencing program called Adobe Acrobat Connect. From the site,
" • Unlimited web meetings for up to 15 people

• A personalized URL for all of your meetings

• Integrated screen sharing, video, and teleconferencing

• No software downloads for meeting participants*

• Ability to collaborate on the same file"

Although I have no use for this yet, it sounds like a great idea that will save tons of time since you no longer have to send the file to everyone and what for them to send it back.

Check out the info on Adobe Acrobat Connect.

Presentation Went Good

2007-03-07T16:02:00.000-05:00

My presentation today went good. I got a 4 out of 5 from the teacher, so that's not bad. We'll be notified within a week about whether our stickers were chosen or not to be sold, then another week to get the final marks back on our project. So, we'll have to wait and see what happens!

Just a Reminder

2007-03-07T10:31:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder about my first and second tutorials on my first page. Let me know what more you would like to see! Thanks!

Big Presentation Today

2007-03-07T10:15:00.000-05:00

At 12:00 PM I have a presentation to do. Normally presentations of our projects aren't bad for me but, today we are doing it infront of the class AND actual clients. This'll be a little more nerve racking though. Our project was to create 4 stickers for International Nameplate Services following their specs and using a limited amount of colours.

The cool part about this project is that if our stickers are chosen, they'll be sold by INPS and we'll be able to make some royalty money. Wish me luck!

Welcome to Bitey Castle - - Adam Phillips

2007-03-06T22:22:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Bitey Castle - - Adam Phillips

If anyone has some free time I suggest checking out this site and watching some of the flash animations.

I remember watching one of the flash videos on NewGrounds.com awhile ago but, never went to the site until now. And let me tell you, I wish I had gone a lot sooner.

Welcome to Bitey Castle by Adam Phillips produces some amazing flash movies. The skill he has plus the time and creativity he puts into these flash movies is insane. I loved watching them. Check it out now!

PayPerPost: Design our New Affiliate Badges

2007-03-06T19:37:00.000-05:00

PayPerPost: Design our New Affiliate Badges

A cool contest being held at PayPerPost.

I'm hoping to get some time to throw something together for this.

New Interactive Design Project

2007-03-05T12:42:00.000-05:00

We received our brief today about our second project for my Interactive Design class. We have to create a slide show type of site using Flash. We did a tutorial a couple of weeks a go on how to do this, but this time we have to get the pictures and come up with our own design. Should be fun, I hope.

The Importance Of Deep Linking � John Chow dot Com

2007-03-04T22:29:00.000-05:00

The Importance Of Deep Linking � John Chow dot Com

Here's another great article by John Chow on the importance of deep linking, if the title didn't give it away already. He talks about why deep linking is important and how it can benefit you and your blog. I suggest reading it over once or twice and put his advise to use, he knows what he'd doing ;).

I know this has nothing to do with graphic design but, it's still useful information that you can put to use.

I have also posted this at my other blog so I could let you know about John Chow (if you haven't heard of him already) depending on which 2 (for now) of my blogs you can to.

Thanks for reading!
Remember, comments are always welcome and ideas/questions would also be great! Thanks!

Spicypage

2007-03-04T21:54:00.000-05:00

Spicypage | Submit your site or blog free, let community vote on it, view most popular

I've just found this site and added this blog to it. It seems like a nice community to post your site and have people rate and comment on it, also good to help get some traffic coming your way. Since I just signed up I can't really say much about it, but it's worth checking out!

Fanshawe Graphic Design

2007-03-04T01:37:00.000-05:00

Fanshawe Graphic Design.

If anyone is interested here's my college's Graphic Design course website. This is where we go to check out our newest projects at our teacher's website. They also offer job opening and all that fun stuff! The site is nice and simple, I believe it was created by one of the current teachers...it would only make sense lol. So, check it out!

Completed Tutorial

2007-03-03T15:24:00.000-05:00

So, I ended up starting and finishing the tutorial I had talked about earlier. Here is what I came up with. The above image is a preview, the link will take you to the actual coded layout.

I ended up changing the colours, as you'll see, and I also coded the template using good ol' tables. I know the big thing is to be using CSS, which IS part of this tutorial but, since I know only a little about CSS I just used tables instead and it worked out perfectly. Plus, I soon have to go to work so time is limited.

Full credit of the tutorial goes to Arthura at Pixel2Life.com for the tutorial.

If anyone is looking to create a simple, fast loading site, I suggest checking this tutorial out.

Thanks for reading!

A Great Web Layout Tutorial

2007-03-03T12:18:00.000-05:00

I found this tutorial on Pixel2Life.com this morning on creating a pixel styled web layout, slicing, and then coding it. I've just started reading it and already love it. It has tons of pages and pictures but, it's better than having none at all.
After reading through it, and once I get some time of course, I'll have to take a go at creating my own web layout following this tutorial. I'll post my results later.

Nissan 350Z Using Adobe Illustrator CS2

2007-03-03T01:11:00.000-05:00

For a project last semester in our Digital Illustration class we had to choose a vehicle of our choice and re-draw it/design a poster advertising the car. We were supposed to re-draw it to look as realistic as possible using what ever methods we chose, just as long as it was done in Illustrator CS2. Is used the gradient mesh tool along with just simple gradients and pen tools paths. I can say I'm proud of how it turned out.

My E-Cover Experiment

2007-03-01T10:59:00.000-05:00

So after looking through some tutorials and such on how to create e-covers using Photoshop I did some experimenting. Above is what I've created. It's nothing exceptional but, I did find that Photoshop is much easier to use for doing this than Illustrator is. Using Illustrator you can use the 3D Effect and map art to create the 3d box, with Photoshop just use the Perspective Transform tool and it's simple!

The creation on the left side is my desktop screen shot turned 3D (yes, that's a wallpaper from carwalls.com) The other is just a simple 3D box with my name and site name. Thanks for looking! Let me know what you think!