Illustrations

There are two types of illustrations designers do, one is vector based and one is hand drawn. Illustration is personal type of preference in a way to draw I think. You can judge it in many ways but I don't think it would be wrong no matter what. It is personal way of drawings things. I know when I first started to use the program I had no idea how to illustrate. I was stuck between vector based and hand drawn. I like doing it vector based usually but then when you want that hand done touch to it, I have to go through the process of scanning in a drawing and then touching it up in Photoshop instead which I am not very well at.
So for the people that are just starting out with illustration out there, here are some tips for making illustrations easier. It's only an outline to keep it simple and successful and you can draw whatever you want. Computer Arts' website is a great source for getting tips, ideas and tutorials. Check it out!

Salvador Dali

I don't think I've ever talked about my favourite painter in the world, Salvador Dali. Dali was a skilled draftsman, best known for the weird looking images in his surrealist work. His best-known work, The Persistence of Memory, was completed in 1931, which is one of my favourites in his collection.

 Dali's expansive artistic collection includes film, sculpture, and photography, worked together with a range of artists in a variety of media. Dali's high imagination drew so much attention to his works all the time and uniqueness to his work that I don't think anyone else could try to be like him because it won't be the same meaning behind paintings. My personal favourite is, The Meditative Rose, completed in 1958. I find myself so attached to this painting of his the most. More in a personal way but it kind of gives me that relaxing feel but it's not because of the name of the painting. It could be called something else and still give me that relaxed feeling.

 
So last semester, I made a n exhibit project based on him. I think it would be the most enjoyable project I ever worked on because of my knowledge about his paintings and meanings behind all the work he had done, and I kept learning more as I did more research about him at the time. Sometime this year I would really like to go visit the Dali Museum in Florida in the U.S. I want to see all of his brush strokes up close, as silly as it sounds it fascinates me.

Clients

As I'm moving on in second year for graphic design program, we always learn more and more things about how to deal with clients, what to do for preparation and such. You can never know if the t client is a good client or not. You won't really see red flags until you start talking and planning to work with them. But before you agree on anything with the client, you can make an agreement/contract which will be your client brief that says every detail about the project you are about to start which will include your meeting dates and pay dates as well. The website called About gives some brief tips about clients for graphic designers.

I know that freelancing as a designer is not the job for everyone. Not everyone can be their own boss, and some like working with others in a company. I honestly don't know how I will start by myself at first if I can't find a company to work with and it does sound scary. Lifetips also gives some useful information about clients.

The most important part is how you will get paid for the work you do. There are many online services out there that people go to for cheap designs because they don't want to pay someone in person for a better quality and higher price. I think that those online services make actual designers look like we ask so much when we already know how long it actually takes and how much effort it takes to complete a project that is given from the start in school. I was going to have my first client ever after first year last summer and lost the job when I told her how much it would cost her for a logo she was asking for. I had great ideas already set for her too when she first told me what she wanted. But when I told her the cost, she brought up the online services she's been looking at that would do it for half the price I gave her. I was so bummed. I felt like I wasn't worth it when I just finished first year graphic design. But, as I learn more about people's client stories, I don't feel bad anymore. I wonder if that lady found someone to re-create her logo for her. If she did, good for her, but I hope its as good as I was planning it out be.

Andrew Osokin

Here's a photographer I came across while I was doing some research for a photography project. His name is Andrew Osokin. He does macro photography of things in nature like snow, frost, insects and flowers. I thought his photos were breathtaking and so wonderful that I had to make a blog just about him. I have always been interested in macro photography because how close you can get with a camera into details when you can't really with your own vision. 

I am so looking forward to getting a macro lens for my own use to try to get to where this photographer is with his macro photos. Perfect lighting, perfect depth-of-field and amazing details. For some tips on photography, visit National Geographic's website!

Printing & Paper vs. E-Waste

The past few years, people have been trying to get the point of recycling across everyone's heads and being environmentally friendly. But not everyone really cares to follow it. We have so much stuff  made from recycled things nowadays but what about when it goes into the art world? As technology grows, we look to finding new ways to recycle everything. So in the design world, what about printing or doing everything electronically?

We often go for what's easy for us. For example, paper wise, we can either go buy a book or read it electronically. We still send out cheques or do online banking. We always send e-mails instead of letters now. Most things are available electronically rather than having it on the old fashion way of paper. But what's the cost of having things electronically? How do we recycle that? It's said that electronics are environmentally costly to make (with lead, mercury, arsenic, gold and silver), suck coal-fire-powered electricity to run and create a multi-ton and toxic waste. Are killing trees really worth poisoning the world? I would rather have things done with paper than everything be electronically. Also, it's personal preference as well. Whatever is easy is the first option. It kind of makes the society lazy too. I personally do online banking instead of wasting paper for monthly bills because its quicker and easier and more time efficient.

I think everyone could go on talking about being environmentally friendly on and on and on but we would all be stuck in the middle because there are cons and pros to both sides. One doesn't kill trees but make toxic waste and the other side kills trees but they are more recyclable to produce new products paper wise. Feel free to share opinion on this!

Portrait Photography

About a year ago, I was holding a professional camera for the first time ever in my hands. I had no idea how to take photos or what to watch out for when taking a photo, what all these buttons mean, even how to hold the camera really. So, since the the past year and a bit, I began to like photography a lot. I don't think I'm the best or anything and I'm sure I need improvements here and there but I think I take decent photos for a person who had no idea about photography. 

Recently I did a photo shoot for someone that just signed a contract with a record label in Germany even though he lives here in Ontario. Well, to help him start on a good spot I offered for a photo shoot that he could use professionally.

 

This is one of the many photos that are decided to be the final good ones. I think this photo ended up being successful because the lighting was great. It wasn't too harsh but not dull either and with a white card on the other side, it gave a soft brightness on the opposite side of his face for a balanced look. I guess I can count these set of photos I took as my first photography job for my own line "deLight Photography" even though it was just for helping out. Feel free to comment for improvements!

 

Organic Package

In one of my classes, we had an organic packaging project assigned. Out of all the organic products anyone could think of, I chose to design a package for soy milk that kids could appeal to kids and parents more to take to school maybe. I got to say that I went through so many concepts and ideas to stick to one. Neither one worked out and I wasn't feeling it as you could say. So I called it Soy Kids®.

I was about to do a package shaped like a soybean but then thought it might be too lame. So, I made a cube shape for it. Something different and new, but unusual. It would fit well in any bag to take with you, so why not? Being in second year for graphic design program, it's still tough to design a package from scratch when you have to come up with the name. It requires so much time and effort, plus the creative thinking. But, what better way to prepare for the real world.

Movie review

So, over the weekend I went and saw the movie called Gangster Squad. I thought it would be some kind of boring movie at first. But, I was quiet surprised because I really liked how it was made in a way to remind the older days like the 80s and 60s. I know that everything is getting better in technology and we have more futuristic films out in the theatre and modern, but somehow they get boring. It's like every movie pretty much has the same story line. You could even predict the ending of these movies by watching the trailer. I really liked how Gangster Squad had the older feel and look to the movie and how it was filmed. I recommend it!

Strength and Weakness

Every graphic designer has a strength and a weakness. But how do we make that weakness work out with our strengths to make something creative. For example, I am good at photography and illustration in my own opinion. I like taking the pictures, I love setting up the area to take a photo of. It gets me very excited and feel more professional even though I'm still a student. With illustration, I keep trying new things every time and to be honest, I didn't know how to work with the program called Adobe Illustrator back in September, I knew nothing about it. I still struggle with photoshop as well still even though I think it's cool but Illustrator just draws me in more. So when I take my photos, I try to take them as good as possible so I don't need to go into Photoshop and use my non-existing skills.
But I am terrible at package designing, at least that's how I feel every time I get a packaging project. I do my research every time and go through many ideas, but then when it gets down to making a very cool package, it goes downhill. I don't know if I'm trying too hard thinking to make something great. Packages I make for projects, make me nervous when it comes to showing it to other people for opinion because I feel like my ideas are not creative enough for them. For the graphic designers out there, share some tips for me to make some cool package!