Journey of the Design Student

Fight Night Project

2009-07-30T20:05:00.001+10:00

The latest project to come off the school production line was a project where we had full reign of what we had to do. The only provisions for the project was that it needed to be done in photoshop. Considering it was for digital imaging in a graphic design course, I believe it was a fair call.

So off to the drawing board I went, we had a few choices to make, after some brainstorming, I fell back on my past as usual, coming up with the idea of doing a photo of me dressed up as a fighter, and add some bruising, black eyes, and bits like that.

Bounced a few ideas around the class, and an idea I got from my classmates was do it in an alleyway with car headlights, naturally it was this idea that stuck.

Below is the images, the first one is the finished product.

The next image was the original photo I used to create the above effect.

The following pictures are the short listed images that almost got used.

So all in all it was a great shoot, with special thanks to my partner Jen for taking the photos.

Technorati Tags: photoshop,fight,boxing,photography,graphicdesign,commercialart

July 2009 Portfolio Online

2009-07-07T19:07:00.001+10:00

Hey Folks,

Today after a little bit of a disagreement with the deviantArt portfolio system, I went into adobe InDesign cs3 and created my own portfolio via pdf.

To View the Portfolio Online visit the link below (3.5mb)
July 2009 Portfolio of Paul Stevens for Online Viewing

If you have a need to print it out, make sure you email me, and I can supply you the high quality print version. Although with a little bit of skill you could find it by accident. But I am more then happy to help out if anyone wants it.

I have full intention of making it into an online feature, however my first challenge is making a gadget for this blog so it can be downloaded at any time.

cheers
Paul Stevens

Photorealism Illustration – BMW M5 Hartge

2009-06-24T17:25:00.001+10:00

In my illustration class I was given a project that was to take a pre-existing photo, image, design of a car and re-create it in illustrator or vector based program to create a real looking illustration.

After a bit of trawling through the internet looking at my favorite series of BMW I came across the Hartge M5 Sedan. Below is the image I found, as it turns out a popular image of the Hartge.

At first I was going to go in and do this image with gradient mesh and spend some time getting used to using it. But a quick check on the date, a reference as to what I need to get done before the end of the year I came up short on using the gradient mesh. I instead went with the teachers advice and used gradients, transparencies, and went for a fairly stylized look.

Below is the image that I came up with, it surprisingly takes up a fair bit of your time when your not doing this everyday.

I was pretty happy with the results, and in turn did some close up shots to give you an idea of actually how much detail I went into.

And that is my photorealistic photo of the BMW M5 Hartge Sedan.

Cheers
Paul Stevens

Revisiting Older Work

2009-06-07T20:38:00.001+10:00

Its Sunday night, and with no new work completed, I decided to keep in the spirit of looking at the journey, and while working on my online portfolio, I decided to post some of my older work for everyone to see.

All of the following work is a serious contender in making it to my online portfolio which is around 3-4 hours closer to completion.

This one is from 2 years ago, In my first year of graphic design. I felt privileged to get this poster in the background while holding a photo for someone else. Small things for small minds I guess. :)

This next one was last year, it was an advertisement for jeans, this was my interpretation and one of the first pieces I did using stock photography, In hindsight I should have used someone from my class at school, but not everyone gets confidence at birth. Its funny how things can change in a year.

This next one is wine bottle labels, and we had to create a form of packaging to hold two bottles, I went with the box, I think in hindsight it would be thinner cardboard, but that’s what experience is all about.

The next piece was a magazine where I had to re-create a magazine cover of a local magazine called Desktop. This was my interpretation of the project, I used a stock image for this one as well.

Towards the end of the year, and moving towards christmas, we needed to recover some Post packaging for Australia Post, this one was a big project because it relied on me to do the illustration. I was happy how I ended up going.

So there you have a bit of work from the past, that I don’t think has made it on my blog yet. Hope you enjoy it all.

Cheerz
Paul Stevens

The Journey of the Look

2009-06-04T21:01:00.001+10:00

Well in a evening of reflection, I went back to the title of the blog and decided, there is more to a journey then just school work and the projects I deliver. I decided there is my look, and how I have changed during my study. Following is just that.

Ok, to start off with before I went for my black belt. That morning exact, I did a self portrait. Literally

Not long after my black belt, I decided I needed to go back to school and study, this is how I looked in the first 6months of study.

The next year of study while doing my multimedia course I decided some facial hair was a good idea, and this is the result of that.

The year after multimedia, I started my graphic design course, as it may be obvious the start wasn’t as easy as I was hoping. I started concentrating on my studies. ;) I lost the facial hair though..

I continued my study as a graphic artist again concentrating on my study, working hard, spending heaps of time at the PC, this is a moment someone caught me off guard.

Again in the same year, a nice close up of my face, still at the start of 2008.

And then about half way into the year, june 2008 I decided that I would get a hair cut, and start working on my appearance. This is me before that process started.

Wow, as you can see, not enough exercise for me. :) so I started on a diet, conscious decisions to exercise, by walking the dog, walking to a train station and bits like that, and towards the end of the year ended up looking like this before a 21st.

The end of the 2008 came, and 2009 started, while I was on my new years holiday, I got this shot of me in Melbourne in the sun.

So 2009 Continued, with a continued conscious effort to exercise, eat well, workout, and with some special support from my new partner started running, and really had something to work towards and motivate me, I got this photo taken of me last week, June 2009.

Same Shoot, but from the front and in colour.

So There you have it, a journey over 5 years, building up to a great finale at the end of this year where I can end the journey as a design student, and begin my journey as a student of design where I get paid, and keep on this great journey of knowledge and self improvement..

Cheerz.
Paul Stevens

Rotcart and Rotcarts Services Logo Lesson

2009-06-04T17:05:00.001+10:00

Hi People,

Well it looks like I learnt a lesson in the last week about client communication, after messing around with my teacher as a mediator in communications, a spelling mistake that everyone claims was a miscommunication.

A few revisions, and a few mistakes even on my behalf, after I was asked to start adding parts to the logo, additions. A run around from my teacher, it turned out the gentleman who was perusing the logo to get done didn’t want to pay, and is most likely scanning/photocopying the logo I presented to someone else for a mock up of the very logo.

Now, I know Karma was never going to be on my side in this life, but everyone agreed on a price, which was a very good price considering the work that I put into it. and then when it finally came around to asking for the money, it actually got halved from the original quote, with an extra put on towards and further work.

I know there are people like this in the world, but I always assumed it was people who were upset at the cost, or people who didn’t realize that there was a cost involved, ignorance perhaps. But according to my little lesson. There are people who will to your face rip you off.

Having said this, when the quote was being served I did mention I was a student and that money wasn’t a big thing, and it still isn’t. But what was decided was that a cost was going to be involved. Does that mean if its not written it didn’t happen, or does it mean you are going to get ripped off anyway?

What I do know, anything worth over a $100 I will be expecting 50% upfront, with a written clear contract outlining what is going on, and what is expected of all parties. How said it has to come to this, even petrol stations don't require money up front or pizza shops.

Anyway if your still reading, and if you see any of these logo’s below you can know at the time of writing it was done under the pretense that you can get a free ride.

Photography to a Theme - Running

2009-06-04T16:40:00.001+10:00

In my digital imaging class, we needed to chose an photographer, and then a theme. The photographer I chose was Harold Cazneaux. The theme I chose was Running.

The project was to take the theme in my case Running, and use a style based on the photographer chosen, in my case Cazneaux. and then it was strongly suggested to go with close up macro like shots for greater effect. After a bit of deliberation, and a fun afternoon of shooting, these are the shots I came up with.

The Model was my partner Jen, she was great, and seemed to enjoy it a great deal. At the end of the six photos there is a photo of her just after we finished. It was a great day, made the pain and headaches worth it.

And the photo of the model. :)

3D Letterform – Finished Product

2009-06-04T16:25:00.001+10:00

Hi there,

Finally the 3D Letterform project got finished, the last part of the project was to create a 3 Dimensional and tangible letterform, I went with some cardboard, and around a 100mm depth.

Despite the rest of the project being ‘times’ the actual letter chosen was Helvetica Bold. due the serif’s being a real pain to create 3 dimensionally, it as is most of the time, very hard to go past Helvetica. :)

Here’s the photo of the P.

What House Is That?

2009-05-17T21:18:00.001+10:00

The next project that got completed was the “What House Is That?” project, the idea was to re-create a few pages of a book our state government bought out a few years back, what we had to do in short was:

Take photo’s of houses from different time periods, sketch it in a stylized form to what we already knew, put it on a double page spread with relevant information from the original book.

This is the story of one of those pages.

First up, i took some photos, this one below is the house that I chose, while it ended up being a university building, it was once a house, and I believe applicable to this project.

So taking in account the photo and the house was chosen, I then had to sketch it up in a stylized format, I then scanned it, and cleaned it up and enhance some of the work in Adobe Photoshop CS3.

So then last, but definitely not least I took the sketch, threw it into Adobe InDesign CS3 putting the relevant text, re organized the layout to make more sense to the reader looking for information, put a nice little texture in the background and a few hours later I came up with this layout.

I reckon it came up pretty damm good and I am very happy with it, but as you might know from reading my last post, I probably forgot some major part that was so important that I will need to re-submit, but until then, I am going to be in a blissful state of happiness.

Comments, Flames, Insults, bad rabbit jokes, all below in the comments box please.

cheers
lacedrabbit aka Paul Stevens

Ralph Lauren Fashion Add for School

2009-05-17T21:00:00.001+10:00

Ok to be fair to my readers/viewers/subscribers a journey isn’t always great views and downhill walks, sometimes there are days when you wonder why your even on the journey.

The brief in a nutshell was to create a double page add for vogue magazine, advertising a Ralph Lauren fashion product it had to have the logo, and originally the web url, I think I got that wrong anyway, check it out, they have some nice stuff.

This work seems to be crux of that first paragraph. I did an advertisement first that visually worked, had a strong concept, was selling what I went out to accomplish. The only problem I forgot all about style. When your trying to sell a fashion label you need to ask yourself how the hell did I miss the style part. Any ideas let me know, a few come up in my head along the lines of Stupidity, Ignorance, and general laziness. But you shouldn’t put yourself down, and tomorrows always a new day.

This was that add.

Ok so I went off to the teacher with the spread above, and while he never said the add worked, he did manage to attempt to steer me in the right direction, something not anyone does easily with me.

I went back to the drawing board, and with a tight deadline looming, and being a fastidious on time person (to the point of an unhealthy obsession) I raced together this add below, although I got closer to the original brief it just got lost in the world of crap design. The teacher did well to give me the mark I got. Probably out of sympathy. (ohh well not everyone is as cold as me, probably good thing for the world really)

Below is my finished product, it ended up being the preverbal tick in the box, design wise, don’t judge me, just flame me. (is that even a used word anymore?)

Questions, Comments, somewhere below here is where you put them.

Cheers
lacedrabbit aka Paul Stevens

3D Letterform Revisited

2009-04-24T12:56:00.001+10:00

Hey, Well I went off to school to get some feedback on my letterform posters, the good news is, I got some direction on where I should be heading. :)

Here’s the new and improved versions after a little bit of computer issues, and hair pulling.

Positive / Negative Space

Line, Shape and Texture

Scale and Emphasis

Geometric Shape

In summary, this project has shown me, you are either an Art Director or an worker bee, given my need for direction I best start working on my worker bee skill set.

cheers
lacedrabbit aka Paul Stevens

Rotcart Services Logo

2009-04-19T18:33:00.001+10:00

Hey Everyone, today I am posting a blog about a logo that I have been working on through the holidays, The logo is for a business names Rotcart Services, the brief I was given, suggested he was a diesel mechanic, work on hydraulics and does some industrial mining. The way I translated it was that he was a mechanical handyman.

Here is my concept work for the logo, rather the sketches I made.

First thing I had to do, was translate it all into some usable information, I decided, the spanner at first was a great image to use, didn’t seem to be overused, had relevance to Mechanics, and handyman. After some feedback around my home, it came to me, that is could be anything, a tool manufacturer, could even be a bike repairman. So Something had to be clarified.

Here is the logo I came up with.

In summary, I liked the blue, the traditional trustworthy blue, the relation to the blue collar worker here in Australia. The silver I liked for its neutrality, it relationship to silver, chrome, metal, all things Rotcraft would work with.

So I kept the colours from the first logo, and decided to go with a cartoon character, to try and bring some personality into the logo.

I really don’t mind this logo, I think some finishing touches to the character might be in order, but i think it works well, it gives the logo some character, it shows the spanner that I liked, it brings in the mobile aspect with the tool chest in his hands, the blue shirt, and of course I moved over to the ever reliable Helvetica.

Then, I decided in a fit of low morale and a self confidence in need of more then a good meal, that the cartoon character didn’t quite cut it, so I explored some more, still really liking the spanner idea brought in a piston with it, and added some colouring and shading to the pictures. Which might need doing to the caricature.

Here is my latest attempt.

What I like most about this logo is the depth the shading gives to the tools. It really brings it out into 2009. Why it wont work is, the uniform embroidery, a bit of a catch 22 that I will have to overcome. But after some contact with my teacher, and if that goes well, some feedback from the client, I will continue the life of this logo.

cheers
lacedrabbit.

The Letter ‘P’ in Times – Bold

2009-04-19T09:54:00.001+10:00

Hello Everyone,

Its the day before school goes back, and I am doing a post of the letter P in Times—Bold, Earlier I did a hand written P, and this time after some concept work, and working through I came up with 4 different posters with some design elements in mind.

To start with I will show you my concept work in case you are wondering where I am up to, followed by the actual finished pieces done in Adobe Illustrator CS3

Concept Work

Positive and Negative Space

With the positive and negative space category after working through some different categories, I decided use the golden mean theory of divine proportion and take the negative space out of the P make it big, cut it out of the box, and put the rest of P inside it.

Line and Shape

With the line and shape, I took the straightest part of the P, the main stick part, enlarged it to create one big line, took some inspiration from a playing card, and made the P into its own card, the new ace in the stack.

Emphasis and Scale

With emphasis and scale I was left with the question, how do you make something emphasized using scale, I couldn’t come up with a better idea, make the emphasis using scale. The part I like most about this one is the scattering effect, I also included the use of Positive and Negative space to make use of the the emphasis, and a design element called Visual Discord to also create the emphasis.

As an interesting side note, for the scale of the P’s I also used the golden mean.

Geometric Shape

Although a little bit further away from my concept work, this one came alive on the screen, as I was playing around with different bits and pieces, I decided a movie reel was the way to go. It created a motion to the piece , a visual interest, and a direction. All the time using parts of the P to create the geometric shapes, taking advantage of the negative space, a bit of symmetry, rhythm, and pattern.

The next part of this project is to create some actual models of the letter P, while at the moment it seems like fun to do, I have no idea how it is going to work out. I will be posting pictures of my work on here though, so look out for that.

Cheers
lacedrabbit

My New Nikon D60 – dSLR Camera

2009-04-07T21:02:00.001+10:00

As You have guessed, I just got myself a new Nikon dSLR camera, I am most impressed with it, its my new baby and to be treated likewise.

Below is some shots I took on its first night in my hands.

This is my partner Jen, She was my muse for the evening. :) thanks Jen.

Those there are mobile phone towers, these photos were taken from a lookout in my hometown called Huon Hill Lookout.

Another photo of the sunset, in the shadows in my hometown of Wodonga.

This is one is some cool clouds, I just love the orange tinge this sunset put on the clouds.

Probably for about 2 years at least I have wanted to take this shot, but until today never had a dSLR camera. Its a highway taken from a bridge with a 30sec shutter speed.

:) Anyone with a dSLR camera in the Albury-Wodonga area has taken this shot or a variation, but this one is all mine.

In Conclusion I love my new camera, and can not be happier with it. I have wanted one for ages. Thanks Kevin Rudd.

cheers
Paul Stevens.

3D Letterform

2009-04-06T13:45:00.001+10:00

Hey folks, Well another project on the go is one entitled 3D Letterform, we needed to choose a typeface out of Times, Palatino, Garamond, or Arial Black, I chose Times for its historical significance, and its interesting shapes in its bold weight.

Although probably more popular for its use in body copy, the typeface designed for a popular newsprint called Times.

My letter of choice which was either a P or an S from my initials of my name. I went with P. The first part of this project was to hand draw the letter of choice. Below is a scan.

As you can see, I was never going to be a brain surgeon. But what it does illustrate is a few things, Firstly how much time it must have taken the original typographers to create the font, secondly, how easy it is to create ‘perfect’ on a computer through use of vector formulae. thirdly, on a computer this P looks like I did it with my eyes closed, and not carefully and pedantically I actually did.

cheers,
lacedrabbit.

Power Market Consulting – Part 2

2009-04-06T11:21:00.001+10:00

Well As Promised, I went off and re edited the logo. It is now a one color logo, with a gradient.

Its what I call corporate blue for all the right reasons, it is a recognized color symbolizing corporate, professionalism, trustfulness, intelligence and stability, all traits that Power Market Consulting would want to convey to it’s customers.

Below is the new logo in it’s different applications, whether it be on black, white, in white, in black, or in color.

Thanks for Reading,
lacedrabbit

Logo & Style Guide Project – Part 1

2009-04-06T11:00:00.001+10:00

In another project ongoing at the moment, is a logo and style guide. We had a choice of different briefs to go with, the one I chose was Power Market Consulting, the first stage in my mind was to create the actual logo.

In the original brief, the client mentions that they were interested in that nodal look, and another idea, that did not make the cut with my version of it. Out of 3 this one was chosen.

I took on the nodal concept picture supplied, so I then had to bring the nodes to life. In the brief it was mentioned that the company deals in all aspects of electricity consulting. The concept of all encompassing bought about the circle, with the nodes all around it. Sub-consciously it brings about a global feel, which to me shows a worldly knowledge.

The nodes gives the feeling of connectivity, which in my mind follows through with the companies dedication to communication, connection of electricity, and connection to its clients it is consulting with.

The gradient effect was a nice touch to give the circle some depth, I am worried that it is a little bit of a I can do this effect, but it does look good, and the added depth makes the logo pop a little.

The title of the business goes straight through the middle, giving them an priority feel, ‘You can’t make the connection with out them’. The lines above and below nodal points, following on with the connections.

Times New Roman was chosen for it immediate recognizable trait, a feeling of comfort, familiarity, as well as a strong typeface showing dominance, professionalism.

The teal color which in concept was a greenish blue, was chosen for its blue qualities of professionalism, intelligence, stability and a corporate feel, with the green bringing in a new beginning, and showing growth.

In Conclusion, I think that I may need to shift the color to a more blue dominant color. In concept the greenish add is not working for me anymore. Perhaps a lapse in concentration, or just an error in judgment.

cheers
lacedrabbit

TV Typography

2009-04-06T10:14:00.001+10:00

Hey Everyone, This project was as you guessed by the title a project based on typography, the brief was to choose three television series shows, to create still’s that create a sequence that could be seen on TV.

A part of the objective was to include texture, color, and line in a way that shows the frames moving, or movement, not just still shots, I think I got that part right.

I did not concentrate on recreating the actual logo’s of the shows. I believe that was a waste of time, due to copyright, and the fact if I was doing an actual show, I would either need to create a logo, or use one that is supplied to me. Having said that, I found a CBS logo on brandsoftheworld website, and used that one quite happily. Well here they are;

All Saints

With this one, you see the blue and red flashing like you would see an ambulance lights flash, then with the title coming in the blue part of the flash would fade away slowly into a fade and arrive, with a new flashing lights style coming in under the All Saints colored with the gurney colors of the medical nurses. Then with Coming Soon, transitioning into the frame with cbs closely followed.

Knight Rider

With Knight Rider I tried to capture the essence of the KITT light found on the bonnet, using the concept that knight rider is an old show come new, the one very common theme was the bonnet light. The typography at the bottom the screen building up to the final screen.

On the 3rd frame I tried to bring about the snake used in the new knight rider coming from behind, and engraving itself into the bitumen road, giving it that engraved look. Of course the CBS logo would also be in there.

NCIS

With the third and final show I chose NCIS, although a huge loss not using the actual NCIS logo from the show, from the first frame the see’s the background texture building up, along with the story of text before NCIS arrives on the scene, reminding us what NCIS actually stands for, CBS quietly adding itself to the wall, with a play on times in the military format.

So in conclusion, I gave this project a good going at, failing a little with the logo’s used, which is ironic, that this was about typography, and yet we didn’t have access to the actual fonts used in TV shows. However I think my concepts shine through, maybe with my research of All Saints falling down a little.

Cheers,
lacedrabbit

Self Portrait with Typography

2009-03-27T12:21:00.001+11:00

Hello Readers/Watchers,

This one was a school project were we had to do a self portrait in an illustration class, but the catch was, we had to use typography of some description and use sentences. One typeface and no color. This was about my third or forth serious attempt at it. Like most things it took me a few goes, but I guess that is why I am at school and not doing it professionally.

Cheerz
lacedrabbit

5 Pointed Star

2009-03-16T20:29:00.001+11:00

The five pointed star also known as a pentagram in some forms was the basis for this design. The finished design was first done in black and white with consideration for being reduced in size substantially. Curves was not aloud with this design, and was reliant of shapes originating from straight lines. The next version of the star was a coloured design using only two colours both spot colours at 100% tint, and white as the substrate colour. The blue was chosen for its cooling effect as the sharp points generated a lot of energy for me.

Cheers
lacedrabbit

KIT Packaging Design Contest Concepts

2009-03-15T15:20:00.001+11:00

Hey Everyone,

Today I am posting the follow-up as promised on the KIT design packaging, all five packages are now done in an Illustrator file, the correct font used and colors used, the pink color I used is a 55% Red from the PMS colors allowed.

In my mind I feel I have finished, but class is tomorrow, and with some luck and good management, I will get some feedback that will aid me in my learning progress, and maybe even lift my rankings in the competition.

Anyone else out there involved in this, I wish you best of luck, and I hope my designs and thoughts aid you in your learning and making better designs, although I really hope to win, its the consumers that win with better designs.

cheers
lacedrabbit

Custom Vivid Commercial Effects

2009-03-14T16:35:00.001+11:00

This work was based around a tutorial for school. As seen previously in this blog, I did a vivid commercial effect image, and this one is essentially the same. The brief was to redo a previous tutorial using your own photograph. I chose this one I took to help me with my Kit design award design.

You may see the similarities, you may not, but after some different layer effects, and lighting effects you get an image like this out of photoshop.

cheers
lacedrabbit

Your Choice Logo Design

2009-03-14T16:31:00.001+11:00

My Latest school project was to create a logo design for “Your Choice” healthy lifestyle intervention. After a day of grueling concept development I came up with 4 different logo’s. After a good nights sleep and a bit of exercise, came back and the second of the four got thrown out, it just wasn’t working.

So above you can see the final 3, all of the colors are bright active colors aimed at the demographic of 12 – 18. I tried to avoid the grunge effect, to create a professional logo that symbolized professionalism, a serious attitude, yet at the same time, showed that Your Choice is ultimately a fun, lively organization with a healthy outlook.

I tried to emphasize movement in the logo’s because that is one of the major parts of “Your Choice’s” goals. I believe the logo works in black as well as color and would look good on any material to do with “Your Choice”.

I will be putting this with other designers in my class, so while my icon might not be the one used, I will hopefully show you in this blog which one does get showed for you analysis.

Cheers
lacedrabbit.

Final 4 Stars

2009-03-10T20:51:00.001+11:00

Well, after some deliberation, and a but of thought, I decided on these 4 stars to make my final decision from. I then went off and pen-tooled them in, coloring them black for reference in black&white.

Logo’s in my mind need to work in black and white as much as they need to in full color, and I think this process of developing logo’s as black and white only first, is the best way to do it.

Also if you have seen any of my previous work on http://journeyofthedesignstudent.blogspot.com then you know I am a big believer in tone before color.

cheerz
lacedrabbit.

FRL Poster Design 2

2009-03-10T20:42:00.001+11:00

Back again with another design, this one with some help from my peers, I think it looks tidier, but I still need to work on the colors in my mind. However it is much better in reflection then my previous attempt, that's what progress is all about.

Cheerz
lacedrabbit.

Green Design – Carbon Footprint

2009-03-10T20:41:00.003+11:00

In a class at Tafe, one of the classes we are undertaking is based around green design, or environmentally friendly design. This particular class handout was about recycling and reducing the carbon footprint.

The first question was concerning recycling.

How Many Times can you recycle paper, glass, plastic? Each Product Consists of different grades, how is this important when it comes to recycling?

Paper – It can be recycled an unlimited amount of fresh wood needed changes, waxed, pasted or gummed are more expensive to recycle that different grades effect cost and amount of fresh wood needed.

Glass – Glass is infinitely recyclable, it is graded on color more then anything in context of what glass it remakes once recycled.

Plastic – The different grades of plastic makes a different grade rather then remaking the same grade of plastic.

The second question on this handout reached out to us, and asked us to formulate an opinion on environmental impact after choosing a subject.

Now you have thought about reducing the carbon foot print of a product, choose a produced or process that is in common use and submit your ideas to reduce its environmental impact.

Electricity – A Way to reduce the use of electricity includes motion sensor lights throughout houses and business buildings to stop un-necessary lighting of rooms with no one in them.

Another key factor for reducing power usage would be for every building house, compound, shed to have compulsory Solar and even perhaps a small wind turbine style of production and store electricity produced. Even if it doesn’t make a place self sufficient, it would take strain off an already existing power station, in turn reducing carbon footprint, and using less of the earths unrenewable energies.

Also perhaps an electricity tax might help to accomplish two things:

Increased awareness of cost
Increased revenue to produce alternate fuels such as wind / solar energy to make them more effective.

Consumption will only reduce with a good reason other then overall effect on what millions do. That is why if alcopop tax works for binge drinking, a higher electricity tax will work for power saving.

Resource Links:
Wiki Links:

Recycling: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recycling
Recycling Paper: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_recycling
Recycling Plastic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_recycling
Recycling Glass: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_recycling

Carbon Footprint: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_footprint

Cheerz
lacedrabbit

10 Styles Of Illustration

2009-03-10T20:41:00.001+11:00

3D Illustration

cutaway drawing – Jason Freeny

The purpose of cutaway drawing is to allow the viewer to have a look into an otherwise solid opaque object. Parts of the outside are removed producing an appearance of someone cutting a piece out. Although cutaway drawings are not blueprints in themselves they are commonly used to aid the cutaway production.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutaway_drawing

Caricature

human portrait – Joe Bluhm

The caricature is usually a picture or Illustration of a person that rely’s heavily on exaggerating human features of the subject. Eg. If the subject has a large nose then the caricature will have an extremely large nose. Other aspects will include over simplification.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caricature

Cartoon

humorous drawing – Juan Berrio

The original meaning of a Cartoon was a fine art reference which meant a preparatory drawing for a piece or art such as a painting. The modern definition of a cartoon is the one that relates to humorous drawings that are found in magazines and newspapers. Some contemporary references are visual work for print media, electronic media and even animated films.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartoon

Children’s Book

picture book – Laura Logan

The Picture Book is an art form that combines visual and verbal stories into a collection of pages. An actual storybook will tell the story with both pictures and words. The media used for these drawings range from pencil to oil paints and everything in between.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picture_book

Comic Art

sequential art – Dustin Harbin

Comics usually relate to comedy and are a graphic medium similar to cartoons in the sense of sequential stories. However comics have a predilection to drawings as apposed to the worded story. What makes a comic is it’s storytelling through the use of pictures and not in a narrative format. Words are sometimes used and comics are not always about comedy.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comics

Game Illustrators

game artist – Robin Davey

The artist in this genre will generally design art in the use of games. In modern times this medium will be computer games of all type of platforms. The Game artist will usually work with the level designers, and art directors to bring everything together as computer games are usually high in complexity. In role playing games the artist will design characters, and in a car simulation the artist would re-create the car for a specific platform.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_artist

Graffiti Art

street art - Banksy

Street art is usually referred to as graffiti and although not always a criminal activity it is usually done illegally by scratching, scrawling and more commonly painted onto a surface. Spray Painting would probably be the most common practise in modern times of street art. Graffiti has its origins going all the way back cavemen and can be traced back to the original markings of man.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti

Manga

asian comics – Lee Chi Ching

Although a different category to cartoon and comic illustration it is still in these categories. Manga has its origins a very Japanese and still to this day is concentrated in Japan. The western world has taken on some of manga, however it is still very much is Asia. Countries such as Taiwan, South Korea, China and France have the biggest market away from Japan.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manga

Sketch Drawing

sketch art – Suzanne Cabera

A usually very quick freehand style of drawing is usually referred to as a sketch. It is used as a way to record an idea or vision for use later on. Sketches will commonly be used as a way to get composition right for a final piece. It is also believed that sketches will help an artist focus on a important part of a composition in a training or practicing environment.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sketch_(drawing)

Tattoo Art

body modification – Kat Von D

By Definition a tattoo is a permanent marking made into the skin and inserting ink. It is commonly known as a decorative body modification, whereas on animals it is used for marking or branding. Tattooing is becoming a very dominant culture in modern and contemporary times, allowing for a great level of self-expression especially in western cultures.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tattoo

And Finally by not least…..

My Tattoo Illustration

Tattoo Illustration – Paul Stevens (aka lacedrabbit)

This is my latest tattoo design, specifically done for this blog post to illustrate my skill level in tattoo design, the swirls were courtesy of free stock imagery downloaded in eps format, and pick apart for the bits I wanted. When I am skilled enough, I will be contributing to this invaluable resource that I don’t think the modern designer can live without in a cut throat industry.

The design started with the idea of scrolls with text written on them, inspired by the traditional Japanese scrolls of the samurai. The text was then hand done with a pen tablet borrowing from a modern script with my own twist. I think this gives it a personal feel, and brings it into the 21st century.

Thanks for reading, got questions, comments, ideas for more blog posts, send me an email, post a comment below, or find me on any number of social networking sites.

lacedrabbit.

24 Inked 5 Pointed Stars

2009-03-06T13:48:00.001+11:00

Todays blogs image is a short list of 24 inked variations of the 5 pointed star. compressed for web viewing, with a little bit of cleaning up done around the white areas.

Intaglio Printing Effect

2009-03-06T13:47:00.001+11:00

Hi there,

Today’s blog is another tutorial done in class, this is the result of about 1 hour, and while it only resembles the goal, I got to practice some airbrushing, masking, and some simple layer manipulations in photoshop hidden under the cover of school. Its days like this one I love school and never want to leave, but I need some money. :)

Cheerz
lacedrabbit

Creative Photo Retouch

2009-02-26T10:30:00.003+11:00

This one was a tutorial from my TAFE 09 class of digital media, it was supposed to take 1 hour, but due to in ability to airbrush it took me close to a full day's work.

It was a tutorial, step by step instructional piece, however a lot was left up to the airbrushing to make or break it, your call on how I went.

Wes Wilson

2009-02-22T15:48:00.001+11:00

Born July 15th, 1937 as “Robert Wesley Wilson” in Sacramento, California, Wilson was a American Artist and leading designer of the American psychedelic posters in San Francisco. Wes was synonymous with the peace movement, and the psychedelic posters of the 1960’s. Wilson is most well known for a font which made the letters look like they were moving or melting.

Wes Wilson was a student of philosophy and religion, and did very little reading before the age of 18 when he discovered there were books on the subjects he craved to learn about. His mother was a school teacher, and generally saw himself as an outdoor child. Wes saw freedom as experiences highly sort after and regarded it as a valuable
asset. He served compulsory service duty for the military during the Korean War, and his schooling included electives of philosophy.

Wilson had an interest in Technical things, and in 1959 worked in an architect job. In 1960 enrolled at the San

Francisco State College, and had interests in aeronautical engineering, architecture, forestry, eastern religion, and philosophy at the time. During this time had an creative impulse to become an artist. Since he had been drawing on and off during his life decided it was an option. 1964 Wilson studied Painting and Life Drawing, and took acid with Bob Carr.

1964 saw Wilson work for Contact Printing Company, where Wes learnt the basics of graphic layout and camera work. Wilson preferred to do a lot of free-hand lettering, while most jobs were black and white, or one color due to budget restraints. His work for Contact Printing, consisted of San Francisco Film Festival, and Influential Trips

Festival, some promotional material for Mime Troupe, and a Diet book titled “Zen Cookery”.While Wes Wilson was creating graphic art works that were getting notice by an emerging counter-culture, the rock scene was doing some serious developing in 1965. This was the year Wilson designed a full color poster that was trying to warn the American public of ‘policies of dictatorship’. The year also saw him designing his own wedding invitation.

Chet Helms worked with Wilson to create music handbills, while Contact Printing did the flyers for the 1966 Trips Festival. The same year Contact Printing closed its doors which enabled Wes to start freelancing. Wes saw himself as a traditional artist and was a member of the ‘Bay Area Figurative School’ who were the ‘new realists’.

In the 1960’s Commercial Art was simple and neat for businesses and poster art was the opposite and was generally an underground affair. Wes generally learnt on the job with poster art; however Wes took advantage of any circumstance. Wilson always worked by hand to assure what he was doing was a work of art. Wes was constantly experimenting with design form, and color in an attempt to energize, create dynamics, expression and a high spirit.

Wes Wilson’s posters would usually consist of imagery of the human female figure, in an often thoughtful treatment. He was known for his serious, positive portrayal of the feminine image of the modern era. His style usually had the ‘fill-the-sheet” style, especially in his Fillmore designs. Wilson’s typography was used in dense ‘blocks’ of text wrapped into a sculptural form. Wes Wilson’s style was and is still today; emblematic and iconic style of the 1960’s.

The style of Wes Wilson in general ignored the basic rules of poster design, created works of art related to counter-cultural sensibilities. Wilson was given an extraordinary amount of artistic freedom while working for Avalon and Fillmore Ballrooms. Wes decided he was not satisfied with commercial-art and stopped working in poster design in 1967.

Around 1969 Wes started working with water color with people remaining his primary subject. After water-color Wes started working in colored glass with enamel paints which gave him more freedom. By 1976 Wes Wilson had found a property in Southwest Missouri and started a small beef cattle farm. He continued improving the land using new techniques and created a ‘farmscape’ around 2005 Wes converted a barn into a spacious painting studio.

External Links & Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wes_Wilson

http://www.wes-wilson.com/bio.html

http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/k-type/wes-wilson/

http://www.dking-gallery.com/store/Wilson.html

Herb Lubalin

2009-02-20T15:56:00.001+11:00

Herb Lubalin, born in 1918, and died May 24th 1981. Herb was an American Graphic Designer who collaborated with Ralph Ginzberg on three of Ginzburg’s magazines titled; Eros, Fact, and Avant Garde. He most famous accomplishment was designing ITC Avant Garde.

Lubalin trained as a graphic designer at Cooper Union, and was fascinated by the look and sound of words from the beginning. After graduating in 1939 he was fired from his first job for requesting a $2 Pay rise. His next job was at Reiss Advertising, and Sudler & Hennessy followed. Herb stayed here for twenty years.

After working at Sudler & Hennessy he began his own private practice which allowed him to work on three publications that would put his name on the map. The three publications were all with Ginzberg and called; Eros, Fact, and Avant Garde. Eros was the first one, and failed after an obscenity case with the US Postal Service. Fact was a magazine that let outsiders publish articles mainstream magazines wouldn’t allow. This magazine had a budget restraint and a minimalist black and white theme was chosen.

Avant Garde born from the failure of Fact looked to express “the advanced, the innovative, and the creative.” It was created to represent a Futuristic and instantly recognizable identity. It was at this magazine that Herb’s most famous typeface ITC Avant Garde was born. It was created from the logo of the magazine due to its popularity.

The font Avant Garde became stereo typical throughout the 1970’s and was misused in Lubalin’s opinion many times. Herb Lubalin’s personal logo is still a influential logo in modern typography. The magazine Avant Garde was a large format experimentation magazine measuring 11 x 14in with a hard cover. It is this that captured the attention of the New York Design scene. The magazine was stopped after a alphabet of nude models with a circulation of 250,000.

Resources and Links

http://www.typogabor.com/herb-lubalin/
http://www.linotype.com/483/aboutthedesigner.html
http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/crimes-against-typography
http://wapedia.mobi/en/Herb_Lubalin

5 Point Star / Pentagram

2009-02-20T11:38:00.002+11:00

The five pointed star or pentagram as it quite often related to has so many applications throughout history, graphic representation, and meanings to many people.

The 5 Pointed star has many symbolic meanings, especially through its association with the number 5 and its use to symbolize this. To start with, 5 is regarded as mystical and magical and is essentially Human by nature. It is believed it is human through its association with the human body having 5 fingers, 5 toes, 5 senses, 5 stages of life, 5 Body extremities (Head, arms, and legs), there was 5 wounds of Christ. The medieval knight had 5 virtues and Wiccan’s lass have 5 parts. (Feet, knees, womb, breasts, lips, and blessed be)

The Pentagram also known as Pent alpha, pentangle or more commonly known as a Star Pentagon symbolically lives in Ancient Greece, Babylonia, a symbol of faith by Wiccans, Akin to the cross used by Christians, and the star of David by Jews.

In modern times the most popular association with the pentagram is its evil association with Neo-Pagans, Wicca, and all of the evil symbolism that goes along with these organizations. Historically the Pentagram has long been associated with mystery and magic, it is the simplest form of star shape, and can be drawn with 1 line. It has been given many names such as: Goblins Cross, Pent alpha, the Witches Foot, Devils Star, Seal of Solomon or more commonly the Hexagram.

Before the trend for evil association, it was seen as protection from evil & demons, as well as a symbol for safety. The freemasons have also gone through a major period where the knotted pentagram was used to sit above the master of the lodge, in its upright form called the Seal of Solomon. Its geometric properties and structure of the endless knot was incorporated into the 72o degree angle of the compass which the freemasons also use as a logo of sorts.

The USA uses the 5 pointed stars and the pentagram a lot throughout the symbolism, the first of note would be the stars on their flag. Thought to symbolize Nature & Science, the pentagram is associated with the Fibonacci ration. The number 5 is seen as the power of god through the reasoning of: Even numbers are seen as female, odd being male, 1 not being a real number, and if you add the first odd and first even you get the number 5. It is also speculated it has ties with the fact that there was 5 freemasons associated with the forming of the United States.

The 5 pointed star is a common ideogram, it has the angle of 36o with the same length points, it has a lot of common association with Military Power and War, and when red has a very common sense of communism. It is used with the Order of the Eastern Star which was a Fraternal organization associated with freemasonry. Another common association the five pointed star has is with Golden Rule. The golden rule is simply a rational number that equals approximately 1.618.

In the religion of Manichaeism the number five has many meanings including; the first man having 5 sons, the 5 elements of light, 5 elements of darkness, the body with 5 extremities, 5 virtues, and 5 vices, The number five plays a very central role within this religion.

In Islam five also plays a very popular role with the number 5 being a sacred number, the 5 pillars of Islam being; Decoration of Faith, Prayer, Fastings, Giving Alms, and making the pilgrimage to Mecca. There a five categories of Islamic law, and 5 more laws of giving prophets. (Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed)

For resource links, check out my (working progress) blog at: http://lacedrabbitdesign.com/blog

First Finished Piece for TAFE 2009

2009-02-19T08:49:00.002+11:00

From TAFE 2009 - Finished Work

Hey,

Long time no post, but I have been getting ready for the school year. I have to admit, I have a problem with converting intention to action, its a pity I can't download an app off the web for that.

However, my latest intention is to provide my school work as I complete it.

Today, I give you a tutorial that I completed in 4 hours as an introduction to digital imaging for the year 2009 at TAFE.

The Rabbit or the Cat

2008-12-23T09:26:00.005+11:00

Hey everyone,

To start off with, i have no idea what this picture is really about, it was something I conjured from a kunai, a heart, and just went from there. I'm having trouble focusing on anything these days, and I think this is the oppitimy of that problem.

A Kunai is a knife that was used by ninja's in japan/china, made apparent to me by Naruto, the weapon of choice for the chunins' / genins, im still suprised swords arn't used more often in the show. That could just be more historically accurate, it might be just a show. I guess if I really wanted to know I should look it all up. lol. that takes to much energy.

Something that seperates the good from the great probably; effort. When I step this blog up to its own domain, a proper theme, and a little more dedication, you can expect links to a kunai, the japanese history probably through wikipedia, and related links to what I talk about. but for now, i need to get some things off my chest so i can maybe get my concentration and focus back.

Until next time people.

Paul.

Time on my back, Keep Fighting!

2008-12-22T08:53:00.005+11:00

Hey Guys n Girls,

Its Monday and Im on holidays, Wo0t! But in all honesty that doesn't mean there is nothing to do, quite the oppisite, Xmas is 3 or so days away, and I've been putting things off left right and center, time to step up to the challenge.

The picture, its a snail, dragging a clock up a hill, and the day is big bold black square type. I actually like that typeface, and if i had more time, or even more energy, think I would like to make a real font one day, i really think it would be worth the effort. But I have myself a heap of prior arrangements that takes my time, energy, and chakra (naruto thing).

Have a great week!

Paul

Yoko Geri

2008-12-21T11:55:00.001+11:00

Hello There,

Todays visual diary entry is based around martial arts, from the bushido in the top left, to the side kick coming from the left, I feeling very energetic after a day of KFC, Pies, Chips, and Cookies and cream ice cream. Very yum, but very energizing. so PoW! goes the sidekick into the D of Sunday.

The city, just creates a little depth and a little bit of contrast to the obvious center point, my badly drawn foot in the middle, of course how can you go past the yin/yang in a Asian martial arts theme. In hindsight, maybe the black on the yin yang should have been darker then the night sky, a tough one even with the use of colour.

The Kanji in the top right is supposed to be Bushido, the way of the warrior, something I tried to live by in my own personal dream time. :)

Until Next time, take care everyone.

Paul.

Sunrise of the Dammed

2008-12-20T11:27:00.005+11:00

Welcome Back,

I was reminded at some stage of yesturday, a good design doesn't need to be explained, its speaks 1000+ words itself and any further explanation may ruin the story. Although this is probably true, I like telling the story behind the picture, again, maybe my niche, probably not.

A Snake attacking time, would have to be the overall description, but a few little hidden extras like the tail, and the fact its hanging from a branch high above the ground. I don't have a lot to say about it, I found it hard to come up with this one. A little surrealistic, but I didn't do it to fit the surrealist path, a catergory, I did it, because it told the story I wanted to tell.

Anyway, life goes on.

Paul.

Friday with a Bullet

2008-12-19T09:52:00.002+11:00

Happy Friday Everyone,

Wow, what a day, its amazing how much of an adventure you can have without leaving the front door. Im not sure if its because Im lazy, or Im addicted to the pain of loneliness and constant feeling of not getting anywhere. But what I like to believe is my motivation, besides the occasional study I do on my free will, is the mental adventure only the extraction from life can bring.

Although Im not the constant source of happiness i might want to be one day, I am me, and as time goes by Im believing maybe people don't like me. (don't say that I hear a voice inside my head) I don't think when people say 'don't say that' there wanting you to feel better, but maybe so when a time like this comes. Ie. blogging, entertaining, writing thoughts, you don't devulge in your own pain, but maybe display thoughts that are pleasing to the viewer/reader.

So theres the double banger, Display what people want to see, and people don't want to see you happy, so in relation to the image, I would have to say the gun sticking out is the display what people want to see, and the gun close to the heart is people don't want to see you happy. heh, maybe I should have been a philospher, except then I wouldn't have learn graphic arts. lol, I just wish I could believe in what people tell me.

Have a Good Weekend, Until Tomorrow.

Paul.

Stairing down the Barrel of a Gun

2008-12-18T13:08:00.004+11:00

Hey everyone,

Honestly, im really happy with this one! :) its not fine art, and far from a professional art piece, but I love it all the same. It has everything, a rabbit, a big gun, and a sunrise, topped off with some daisy's..

Christmas is on its way, and some times I think I should be reviewing tv shows and not drawing, but hey, maybe this is my niche market. lol.. hello anybody? is anyone around? leave a comment, tell me you hate it, wanna see me dead, or just happen to like it.. echo echo echo... hehe

Well Have fun all the same.

Paul

Californication Dedication

2008-12-17T09:41:00.006+11:00

Welcome back peoples,

Todays post was a bit of a dedication to the end of season2 of Californication, hopefully you've either seen it, ork new what was going to happen anyway, I guess a "Spoiler Alert" is called for.

At the end of the episode there is a scene of the LA beach, not long after a plane takes off, a little like the intro, with the palm tress in there somewhere, I figured it was a moment in the show i really liked to portray. Despite all the inner-city scenes the show surrounds itself with, and I would imagine its deliberate to not be on the beach. The final scene for the season is on the beach with a feel good ending you would expect from season1.

The typography in the entry was an imitation of the title or logo of the show which appeals to me. Somedays I swear this show was dedicated to me. lol crazy I know, but the world is a crazy place..

News in from the ticker; i've installed wordpress on my website, and although very foreign and just looking at it made me sleep well. This blog will be staying here, and will be updated daily with the same formula, but for a more informed, professional style blog I will be blogging from my freelance buisness blog when it is setup and looking as good as I can with my current skills, no doubt with a refurmish next december.

the link will be http://www.lacedrabbitdesign.com/blog however, not much to see there yet, just keep it in mind for a later date.

Keep Safe,

Paul

Follow Me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/paulstevens1978

Find me on DeviantArt: http://www.lacedrabbit.deviantart.com/

2008-12-16T08:36:00.004+11:00

G'day everyone,

Today's picture was in memory of yesturday, as most of my journal entries are. I intend on going for a long time yet with that inspiration.

I spent my day reflecting on my own personal history. The ups, the downs, and all the inbetweens.

I spent time thinking about a symbol for myself, although my nick' lacedrabbit' is appropriate for a name, and a convieniant mix of reasons come to mind for it, I needed something that was more symbolic for my life, and I think a tree sums all of that up.

It starts as a seed of sorts and given the right conditions grows sometimes into a huge object, and although very stationary, and not moving, is constantly moving inside, fluids flowing inside, branches swaying in the wind. The bird on the branch was just a cute addition born from my use of twitter. The flowers, well, Im usually surrounded my cute pretty things that have nothing in relation to me except the belonging to the plants/tree category of life.

Have a great day.

Anyone interested, you can follow me on twitter. http://www.twitter.com/paulstevens1978

I also updated my journal on deviantArt. http://www.lacedrabbit.deviantart.com/

UFO Syndrome

2008-12-15T09:41:00.005+11:00

Named the UFO Syndrome, I decided after long enjoyable day of playing SimCity3000 Unlimited! (yes unlimited hehe) and seeing ufo's come in and take my people away, it would be a perfect time to do a UFO picture, that and the ongoing joke from my design class about a small town called Chiltern and UFO sightings from our Art teacher.

So besides a day of having a hangover yesturday, from a huge night out, Today Im back into it, with Yard Work, Clothes Washing, and everything I should have been doing for the last 2 days. I've decided to post the whole visual diary starting from the start in my DeviantArt account, so if you like you can check it out here: http://www.lacedrabbit.deviantart.com

I havn't posted it yet, check this space for when it gets finished. I think you need to be a member to see it, but basic membership is free, and I highly recomend it !

Saturday Night on the Dance Floor

2008-12-14T10:51:00.007+11:00

Even if you don't think it looks like it, its suposed to be a 70's disco theme, i think i got the date almost right, but after looking back on it, I got the sunday part wrong. Well if you hadnt worked out where it came from, I went out last night club/pubbing. its not really a club per se, but its a lot more then a pub. Who knows what the technical term is.

Well dispite the fact it never happened, I won the award for random photo of the night with this one, it was my moment of spontanity, it looked like a photo oppurtunity moment. lol the quality is because I was using my mobile, and it focused on the hands in the foreground, ohh well.

Well until next time. o/

2008-12-13T18:33:00.004+11:00

Today was a day when I couldn't play my crusades game, lol, so without any further adue, i decided it was a good chance to draw a castle, now im not sure, but I think castles could be my new thing.

Today also bought with it, a love affair.. ooo i think I am in love with a company. is that even possible? well today it seems that way, google has everything, gmail, reader, documents, picasso, calendar, you name it, and there is probably a google app for it.. I love it.

Guess it was just one of those days, a day were I adore things.

Directional Chaos with a taste of surrealism

2008-12-12T09:55:00.006+11:00

Well Happy Friday everyone, today's little sketch was inspired by not knowing which way to go, coming from all directions, and ending up in little designated places between the lines.

On the G clef the spaces between the lines abbreviate to FACE, useless information in the scheme of all that is good, but some information to keep the brain ticking.

The circles are spiraling out from the centre like a mass of energy. Anyone that watches Naruto would be familiar with the rasengan, one of naruto's techniques he developed through pure effort and not giving up.

Well happy friday, and good luck with all that is good. And remeber we are all a part of one universe, and the politicians are there to represent us, not there to be our punching bag.

Grids & Lamps

2008-12-11T09:58:00.005+11:00

My diary entry for today, worked on the grid concept, trying to move a little disjointed as I feel internally messed up, yet with an underlying feeling of constraint and alignment.

As you can tell its hand drawn, so for proper production a lot of tidying would need to be done, and colour won't be used for about 6 months, I really want to explore tone first and work on ideas. I have 12 months of schooling to get through, and im pacing it out, I believe tone is more important then colour in graphic design.

Here's a photograph of a lamp I took with my mobile phone.

I was once told, 'sometimes the best design work is done by accident.'

This was the result of a matress landing on it, while moving furniture around a room.

Visual Diary Entry

2008-12-10T19:26:00.004+11:00

This morning I had a large hangover from a night out, which left me feeling I was back on the road again; the inspiration for today's diary entry.

Re-Designing

2008-12-09T13:28:00.000+11:00

Hello Everyone,

Its the funny season again, guess thats why i'm back trying out this blogging thing, well in light that another year has pased, im working on some re-designs of the layout, after a quick look, im not happy with it, i don't think im far off, but a little more work is needed.

Visit to the New Town

2007-12-27T20:52:00.000+11:00

Hi There,

How is everyone today? I am doing pretty damm good.. *cough, cough*

The truth of the matter is; there's no point to complaining, because no one listerns, but for another blow to something Ive said, I could have accomplished the regular reader here who is interested in something I have to say.. *Rolling on Floor Laughing My Ass Off*

It doesn't matter, I enjoy the idea of a diary were someone might come across one day and say I wish I knew that person. Sorry Blog, so between my music cutting out and anoying me, and the pc I use devloping more personality difficulties then me, I battle through my thoughts and the simple conversion to words rather then bottling it up.

So on to the reason for the post:

I visited my Sister and her fiancee for christmas lunch. (btw. Merry Xmas and Good cheer for the new year) Lunch went well, nothing at all went wrong, and all went smothly, Something I appreciate greatly. So I figured after an invitation Id stick around for a night and check out wangaratta.

As an interesting side note for non-local readers Wangaratta housed one of the original IBM factories. I thought it might be interesting point to mention.

So all went well, after a male bonding session with my sister finacee Justin, it was time for a sleep after watching Interview With a Vampire. Great movie, I think originally I talked a lot of crap about it, but turns out I can appreciate it. Does that make me a bad person who knows, and after my day who cares.

So the next day bought a chance to go fishing, so after a quick visit down the street to the local shops, to buy a fishing rod and tshirt. Good ol xmas clothes weren't exactly fishing clothes plus I got some money the day before to buy clothes. (Thanks Family)

So out to a fishing trip, Now I gotta say im not the worlds most keen fisherman, probably never will be, But i can definately appreciate it now, Id be more of a take a pencil and paper and a camera with me tag along I think. Loved the scenery, loved the river and for most part the quiet.

On the way back from the trip would have been the most eye opening stage of the trip, I saw some old buildings with some real personality, which really would have suited some sort of stock collection. Of course I cant go past my addiction to female beauty with this, I reckon there would be a great contrast with some young beauty against some of these buildings. And so that was the fishing trip.

nothing left except head home now, and So I did. And the next day being today bringing more headaches then any day has bought before it, thankfully this is relaxing and I am now a little more relaxed. Throwing the ball for my forever energetic dog and posting my thoughts on the information highway.

Have a Great Day..
lacedrabbit.

Its The Holidays!

2007-12-19T19:41:00.000+11:00

Well good news, I passed the entry test to my TAFE course next year, after a journey to the town of Wangaratta, a brief interview then a group discussion the consensus was that we as a group would be accepted into the course in the coming year.

Well a few weeks later and I got the letter in my hands stating as we all assume it would that we passed and will be accepted with open arms into the Wangaratta TAFE.

On the design front not a lot has happened, just been doing some general maintenance jobs around the PC for when I go out of town. The last thing I want is to be the cause of something to go wrong with the main computers when I am out of town. So every precaution has been set and undertaken to make sure this isn’t the case.

A few ideas for the website just surfaced, Im thinking of undertaking a much bigger project then originally discussed with my notes. The idea at the moment is to run a few mock competitions to start of with, where the users of the site pick a topic and make a design for it. As numbers increase and popularity ensues there can be prizes for winners. But in the meantime I am envisioning setting myself some goals and going for it.

At this stage there will be a lot less interruptions and ways of being sidetracked in the new town as I will be without a car, friendless of a night-time, and more then likely a huge hunger to succeed at something for a change.

I’ve been informed about resources that will help me with my goal, I have the intuition, and I have the skills. Now to sit down and work on this site without too many more interruptions before school starts in February.

Thanks For Reading..
lacedrabbit..

PS: Sorry there wasn’t any pretty designs this time to compliment my writing.

The Next Chapter

2007-11-29T19:53:00.000+11:00

Good Day to everyone,

well today I finally did my last piece of homework for 2007 and sent it off via email to my teacher. It was a long year to say the least, but I did the hard work and it payed off fruitfully. Although I still havn't recieved my Certificate yet, I am more positive about this; then anything I have previously been positive about.

So What Now I quietly ask myself; I have an interview for my next graphic arts course in less then 5 days away. That will be something to write about Im sure. Its a bit of an adventure set out just for the interview process, not to mention the year or 2 ahead.

But in between all of this, I am going to be getting a buisness off the ground, lacedrabbit graphic design. I have done the layout for the Website, now all thats left is some hard work.

However on the light side of things, I have some more artwork to show in my blog. for the keen eye and the alert reader, you may have already seen these pieces on the internet through deviantart already.

Here is the first piece I wish to show you:

Named: Killers Angels and Diabolism

Its a piece that started of to be minimalistic, but after putting the text in the bottom the screen, I decided I needed to put in some imagery, So I looked through my stock of photographs and found an interesting statue, so I cut it out of the photo, applied a filter from photoshop and banged it in.

Put it on a bit of an angle and the design was born, In hindsight im thinking it could have been a cd cover for a band but it could just as easily be anything.

A few quiet comments I recieved was: is it (the angel baby) takeing a piss in the snow. haha clasic comments. It could be that as well I replied.

For my second piece:

Named:

I havn't been able to sit on a name for this one yet, guess it will go into a ocean of history as Untitled, not a name unfamiliar to me.

Inspired by a Interpol song named "Rest from chemicals" I took some of words to my slowly hardening heart and decided to do a little illustraton for it.

All the way from the start illustrating the stairs, the eyes I got a little help from a random image on the net, but its all my illustration, finished off in photoshop, helping me out with the lighting effects, its a simple piece that I really enjoyed putting on the canvas so to speak.

Well thats all I have to say for this evening.

Good Day to you all..

lacedrabbit....

Technically Finished for 2007

2007-11-27T19:04:00.000+11:00

Hey there everyone,

its time to blog again, its been a while, but I've been busy.. thats my excuse anyway.

the year is finished, 07 is technically over and only a little assignment to go, so to mark the occasion I got Maroon 5 cranking on the laptop with System of a Down to follow, hows that for a blast from the past.

Well to start off the main content in todays blog, heres one of my latest works:

This one done mainly in photoshop, but I did out source for a lot of this little project. The 15 was done in 3DSMax, bringing in some skills from the past year. The pieces of the puzzle was done in Illustrator and of course finally bringing it all together in photoshop.

Another little piece inspired by my past, but really was for the purpose of practice. It looks tidy and keeps the illusion of notebook from a distance, with a centerpiece the 15.

Secondly, the next piece was simple in comparison to a lot of other things I've been creating:

This original photo was supplied by istockphoto as a image of week, so what better stock to work from. I applied a few trick of trade from the filter menu to bring the blackness up and the extreme shadows, while bringer the lips and the eyes thru the effect do not to change the key elements.

The text was also done in photoshop, and the text were from a bush song that seemed to be right for the picture. Glycerine is the song name, and the lyrics come from the start of song. Again not what Im quite capable of, but thats why Im learning right?

Of course if you have any questions about the work Im doing, or techniques used don't hesitate to email me on lacedrabbit@gmail.com, i intend of checking it more often in the futre.

Also if you want to see full resolution images of what I post please don't hesitate to visit my profile on deviantArt at http://lacedrabbit.deviantart.com/ there might be a splash screen, just skip it and go straight my profile page.

Take Care..
lacedrabbit..

A Day Off

2007-11-16T12:03:00.000+11:00

Hey,

Well its a friday and I have the day off from school, but does that mean a day off? I highly doubt that. Somewhere i made a life dedication to digital art, multimedia productions and just general 'slavery' type feelings. However strong a word that was to use, I still feel like its the right word.

My dad turned 50 around 6+months ago, so me being the always eager to please son, wanted to make a video production of it. Just because im eager doesn't mean I am dedicated to the project. :D But truth be told, i was dedicated, its just with the very unstable premiere pro 1, crashes are more common then meals, and that is saying a lot for me these days.

However this morning I think I finally cracked the introduction. That is of course it all saved and didn't get lost in the last crash. I decided then it was a good time to have lunch and take a break. I got some simple transistions for the intro, from happy greeting moments to a interesting/different design with a extra-sharp greyscale pic of the person and there name.

It was a concept I dreamed up about 6 months ago. It seems to work, but I think with some time and maturity in the design side, I believe I could have done it better. But it does work well, with the soundtrack in the background. Really Well, its like it was actually wrote just for the intro of this movie.. I love it, someone is looking after me...

My exhibition class went well yesturday, everything is moving along relativley smoothly now, i took a back seat roll in its production and had a good look from an outsiders point of view. It helps I believe.

OK well over and out, hopefully this pc fixed itself from the last crash.. :D
Have a great time..
lacedrabbit

Delay in Posts

2007-11-14T19:30:00.001+11:00

Hi all,

A new post for you...

Well, I stand by the fact I should have started this at least 10 months ago. nothing new really to report, no new designs on the horizon, I haven't even worked on my web page.

Having said this, I have been flat out catching up on loose ends, and playing my recently acquired game on Unreal Tournament 2004. I know this isn't very design like but I figured I needed a break, and there is no telling how useful blowing a few skulls onto a wall can be.

Getting back to design however, at school I have an Exhibition coming up in a couple of weeks.
The learning process we are going through at school in very complete to say the least. Even though I appreciate we are at school, and are supposed to be learning how to prepare and hold an exhibition, I still feel it is a very difficult thing to go through. Especially when they play with the work you are going to produce.

However in the defense of the school I am attending, they are paying for *all* of the materials concerned, and if everything we were doing was above the line, then it should have been an easy step to undertake. But like everything in life, the complexities of being human, and passion a designer has for their work. It all becomes consuming. Very consuming.

Now my bitching and whining is over, the good stuff is, we get a catered evening, with nibbles, drinks, and a nice social event to finish a hard year of work with. We get to show case our work to our families in a very pleasant environment.

So, in summary, sorry for the delay in the posts.
But all of this had to be processed in my little head I have come to rely on in my life...

Cheer Up... It ain't all that bad!
lacedrabbit

Second Day of Blogging

2007-11-07T17:17:00.000+11:00

Hello To Everyone ....

So this is why I had never really done this before, the need for something wity, spontaneous and something a little different... it just isn't there..

So today I start off with my latest piece of design work..

First of all if you want to see the full resolution version in the right ratio, check out my profile on deviantART.

http://lacedrabbit.deviantart.com/

Couple of hours in the afternoon and I came up with this piece. My inspiration for this piece of work was my black belt grading, where those little men came from. the yin yang played a big part in my mental wellbeing during the course of my first journey into the martial arts. and to top off the the whole image the eight trigrams really entice's me to learn more about the Yin/Yang.

To achieve the blacked out man look, I took the original photos made a path around them.. (my favourite at the moment is quick masks) made a path from the selection, and copied the path into a new document where I transferred back out to a selection and fill with black. The static in the backround was achieved with the 'add noise..' filter in Photoshop CS2 over a solid black. The yin/yang was drawn in illustrator, along with the eight trigrams. nothing overly complicated here, just some paths and shapes in the right place...

After putting this all together into Photoshop I needed something around the outside so a Hexagon seemed approriate with and 'render clouds' filter I achieved the purpleish, blueish cloud effect.. It all came together very easy and just seemed to work straight from the get go.

In Conclusion I believe I have created better work, but this work seemed to mean a lot more to me then most. To explain: The yin/yang as I mentioned earlier, the karate guys, but I guess mostly the yin/yang was in the middle of my mind, while going through some of the more difficult parts of the process.

So a little piece of my history and a little tutorial in photoshop.. :)
I will see you all tomorrow...

~lacedrabbit~

Starting off in the world of blogging

2007-11-06T08:46:00.000+11:00

Hello All,

Well this is my first blog, honestly not trying to be the best out there with this.

It is and hopefully will be, just a way of me collecting my thoughts and processes in relation to becoming a Graphic Design Student..

Realistically I probably should have started this around 9 months ago, when I first started my course, but as all ways, the inspiration never seems to be there when you want it.

A Little About me, I started in computer art in a slow fashion doing a Multimedia course at the local TAFE college in 2005, Went on to TAFE in 2006 to do Certificate IV in multimedia, this year I started learning Printing and Graphic Arts Cert III.

The reason for mentioning the multimedia courses is, I think I learnt more in those years about art then I have this year. However now that I have said that, it would be right to mention, my skills have been 'honed' (spelling) to lot nicer level.

Well theres my introduction, More to come later.

lacedrabbit..