Completed Assignments

Today I finished up and presented to my instructors and classmates, two of the projects assigned from last week. I believe the overall response was positive. I wanted to take this opportunity to share with and in turn get feedback from other talented and creative minds. Please feel free to comment. Thanks!

The first assignment was a 2 page spread, like you would find in a magazine. Roughly three-fourths of the spread had to be illustration, and the other fourth was to be text. The assignment called for us to find an already existing article and create illustration that went along with it, or pick a topic, create the illustration, and write our own article. I choose to do the second option, writing my own article. My topic was the 2009 Vans Warped Tour. This is annual punk/rock concert that is usually held outside, where there may be anywhere from 5 to 10 bands all playing at once, but staggered throughout the designated area. I went to this concert about four years ago and I had a blast, so I wanted to bring that out in my illustration. It is always crowded, and sometimes you weren't exactly sure what the person standing next to you was thinking when they decided to wear the outfit they had on or spike their hair a foot above their own head. The Vans Warped Tour is usually advertised using a lot of bright vibrate colors and skulls.
Without further explanation, here is the final piece.

The second assignment was to create an advertisement based on a certain sports event. Myself as well as my classmates drew from a cup to see who would advertise each sport. I got to do skateboarding. This turned out to be a much less complicated piece. There are not near as many details to focus on. I created a decorated skate deck as my main focus. The deck stands out because it is one of only a few items that has color, and then I used a grunge font at a fairly large size to draw the viewers attention to the event title. Now, I do want to mention that the event is not a real one, it is completely made up for the purpose of the assignment. I also added a textured metal to the background to reinforce the ramp shape, because the ramps are typically metal.

Memorial Day Weekend

I hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend. I was very delighted to have such a long weekend, but I sure did wear myself out. Of course, every day it had to rain. :( I took off Sunday morning on a short roadtrip with a friend of mine. We went down south to visit my family, and spent the whole day down there. We had a really huge dinner that was absolutely delicious, not to mention, expensive. Then afterwards, we went swimming. My friend picked me up and threw me in the water, like you would if you were playing with a younger child. I made him lay down on the bottom of the pool and stood on his back so I could pretend to surf. I definitely felt like a little kid again, but would admit, it was alot of fun. We cleaned up and headed back this direction that evening. I took him home and we sat in my car talking for about four hours. I was so tired by the time I had to drive home that I didn't want to. I now realize how easy it is for someone to fall asleep behind the wheel, I was lucky to have made it home safely.
After all was said and done, I think I really needed that day to get away and relax. Other than the long drive, it was a great way to escape some of the stresses of a busy week.

Attention to detail

To the average person, a pretty picture is just a picture, but to a designer, it is much more.
Today, while I was diligently working on illustrating a skull tattoo on the computer, I sat there, somewhat distracted at the complexity of the image. Even an image such as a tattoo, with only a few colors, the structured detail created by using lines was just incredible. Here I am trying to remake an already brilliant tattoo drawing, and I find myself lost in the lines. This is probably the first time I have ever really took notice and paid attention to the detail, not in just this image but in everything that I see now.
On another note, just because something is plain and simple, does not me it is boring and lifeless. A piece of art like that can serve equally, and sometime better than something that is so complex.

Samurai

When it comes to creating a font, it sounds easy right? .. Wrong! 

There is a lot of thought that goes in to making a good font. A few things to remember include: consistency, legibility, usage, size, and theme. 

When I started out, I wanted to make a unique font, that wasn't just an illustrated version of my own handwriting. I had no idea what theme of font I wanted to create, even after sketching out several options. I started with a circle and went from there. Using the pen tool, I made other elements that went along with the shape and style of my font. 

I really like the end result. With the crescent shape, it has an Asian style, almost like a Chinese takeout menu.

I am interested to see what you think about it. Please feel free to comment. Thanks!

Feeling Unfocused and Uninspired?

It just dawned on me today that blogs really serve the purpose of communicating different aspects with people and receiving feedback. They are a way in which we can freely express how we feel and display different works of our own art in a promotional way.
Today, I felt like my mind was somewhere completely different and I was unfocused and unproductive in class. These are not good days for me, or for anyone. They only cause more stress come Thursday night, knowing that presentations will be held on Friday. Personally, by the end of a busy week, the last thing I need is for both my body and mind to be worn out.

This blog is to find out what you do relieve stress, get inspired. and/or keep from pulling out your hair at the end of an eventful week.
Please feel free to comment, I am really interested to find out your ideas and opinions.

Gradient Mesh

For the past 10 hours, with very little break time in between, I have sat here, staring blankly at my computer screen. This week's assignment for class was to create a font, which is much more difficult that I had expected. Our second assignment was to create a gradient mesh based portrait.
This tool, gradient mesh, is, in my opinion, one of the hardest tools to get the hang of. I feel like I am still struggling with it. I understand that it takes time to learn new tools and techniques, but this little booger is tricky.
By now, as you can probably imagine, with a throbbing headache, and painfully dry eyes, I have come to my breaking point. It is now time to get some rest, and a fresh start in the morning. Wish me luck, presentations are tomorrow!

Today's Presentation

Today was the last day to turn in our assignment (3 of the 7 deadly sins, and a piece of art by an illustrator that we recreated). The first part of class, I was trying hard to finish my last of the 3 deadly sins (envy). I looked up and had no idea where the time had gone. Our instructor said, "Ten minutes until presentations, everyone go ahead and take a break, we will regroup shortly." I frantically printed and cut out my illustrations, then ran outside to glue them on the form core. I got back just in time for the start of presentations. The MC (master of ceremonies), called for everyones attention and began the presentations. After a few of my other classmates had gone, it was my turn. Overall, I felt like my art had turned out better than expected. Of course, afterward, I stepped back and took a closer look at what I could have done differently, but I really enjoyed illustrating the sins, and being able to recreate someone elses already awesome artwork. I got the opportunity with this peice to really display a grunge/vector art and use lots of new brushes. Previously, this is not something I would have attempted, but now feel very comfortable doing this type of art.

I will soon be adding these to my portfolio (Best if viewed using Mozilla Firefox). www.centralflstudios.com/bhuey

Who is your best friend?

This blog was inspired by a friend of mine.

He wrote: "Yesterday I was babysitting my 5 year old cousin and we were having lots of fun doing all sorts of things at one point she even asked me if I could be her dad but along the way she asked me something that I actually had a hard time answering she asked me "What makes a best friend so special?" I really couldn't give her a straight answer, as a person who always thought of himself as a "good friend" I never really stopped and thought about what it was that made me a good friend, but that's not my question, my question is what makes a friend become a best friend? Who is your best friend? Have they always been? Are there any old friends you wish you could mend your old relationship with?"

My reply: "Interesting point. You know, I have had my best friend since third grade. We met outside of the girls bathroom. We were both heading toward our class for smart people (REACH). I too have always thought of myself as a good friend and to be honest I don't have a good answer to your question. My theory of a best friend is someone you can talk to about anything, and even when things get weird or the two of you start to fight, eventually you can laugh it off and return to normal. Sometimes with people who are just friends, arguments can ruin a friendship, not always can we get passed it. With a best friend, there is some sort of connection that allows you to go for 5 years without talking and call them up one day and everything is exactly the same between you two. Best friends can fix almost any problem, and simply knows how to make you smile, even when you are upset with them. For this reason, they are very difficult to stay mad at. I'm not sure how a friend becomes a best friend, but there seems to be a point in time where they are always there for you and you feel like you can trust them with any bit of information.

My best friend from third grade, her name is Kristin. She is like a sister to me and I love her dearly. Our friendship has pulled us through every possible disaster, and no matter what, no one in the world could replace her. I do believe that we can have more than one best friend...and there are a few specific people that are very close to that. As for mending relationships, I am trying. There are a couple of people that really meant a lot to me and I hope to get them back in my life. I miss them."

I am interested in reading your thoughts about this, feel free to comment.

Thanks,
Bhuey

Happy Birthday

Today was my friends birthday, he turned twenty-two. In celebration of his birthday, like I try to do for most of my classmates, I bake brownies and bring then in to class for everyone to devour. So last night I spent a good amount of time mixing together ingredients, trying to keep myself clean, as well as the kitchen. While that failed, the brownies turned out pretty great; after I ran out of oil and so forth, had to run to the store, etc etc.
I was really excited because I know how everyone loves to eat and it everyone seems to love my brownies, so I'm in a great mood. I arrive at school, and carry them in, and the minute I walked in the classroom, I hear a "YES!" shouting from one side of the room. I quietly went to my seat and placed them down on the table. I sat there waiting for a bit, wondering where the birthday boy was and waiting for class to start.
Suddenly, I see my phone light up. "Hmm, it's a text from my friend", I thought. Indeed it was and the first thing it says is "I won't be in class today."
I'll admit, I was really disappointed, but I guess things happen. So, for whatever reason he had, it was more important and I understand that. I just wish I could have spent today with him. It would have been more fun.

Wrath

For a while now, I have been very much interested in vector art. I am fascinated with the use of shape and color. Today, I wanted to incorporate that in a piece that I am doing for class. The assignment is to illustrate 3 of the 7 dealy sins in similiar style. The one I am working on right now is wrath. I felt like this should be illustrated in black and white with just a touch of color. For this piece, I created a "grunge/vector" background, with a fist in the center, outlines in a red
"sketchy" brush. When I look at it, I see the fist that represents intense anger and power, as well as my choice of red as the outline. The background gives the piece a dark and rough feel to imply the sin of wrath. I had a lot of fun making the background and I finally got to experiment with vector art!

Concert - Warped Tour Experience

Nearly six years ago, when I lived up north, I got tickets to attend my first concert. During this time, I was head over heels a few different bands, all of whom were all going to be there.

It was early morning when the trip began. Southbound, approximately two hours, we were directed to park at the furtherest end of the parking lot; far from the entrance of Verizon Wireless Music Center - Warped Tour. With me was my best friend since third grade (Kristin), her mom (Barbara), and my mom (Gina). After the dreaded trudge across the parking lot, and the everlasting lines, we were finally on the inside. I couldn't have felt more out of place. There were people dressed in all black and some with a multicolored mohawk spiked a foot in the air. I stood there in my jeans and Simple Plan t-shirt, just staring. I had no problem with this punk-rock style, but had never seen so many people in one place, dressed in that particular way. I found it somewhat fascinating.

As we explored the concert grounds, we watched several bands perform. For me, Simple Plan was my main concern, that was the whole reason I was there. However, I found many other bands just as good, if not better. Kristin and I dropped off our parents at reverse daycare, where they sat in an air conditioned igloo/tent and we ran off to the mosh pits.

After a very long day jumping around in the crowds of screaming fans and walking about in the sun, we were all worn out. It was then that we drug ourselves toward the car, for the distant drive home.