Typography 1- Assignment 3

In this assignment I was asked to take over a hundred different photos of text around my town of Aliso Viejo. I was to take pictures of each letter in the alphabet (Capitol and lowercase). I was also asked to do numbers 0-9 as well. I found it very easy to find text around my town, but found it very difficult to take the picture due to mall and store policies. I was sent to the mall security office and asked to leave the premises. I then went to Laguna to take pictures and was run off by shop owners. Luckily I was able to finish all five sets of alphabets. After I had the images I was told to place them in Adobe Illustrator and create five sets. This assignment taught me to LOOK at other text where ever I go. There are so many different kinds, some good, some bad, but all can be appreciated.

Rendering 1- Assignment 3

Assignment- Metaphorical Self Portrait- Compose a small still life made up of a single object that reflects something about you; your passion, your special interest. Render the object using pen and ink in four different approaches: line, parallel line, stipple and cross hatching. Use a single light source. DUE Monday, March 9.
This assignment proved to be very technical and difficult to do. I give MAJOR props to ARTISTS who specialize in inking cause it is HARD. Although there was some difficulty for me I had a lot of fun and did learn a lot about the different style of inking.

Typography 1-Assignment 2

For this assignment I was to create a full alphabet by using the concept from my first assignment and then name the new alphabet. I called my alphabet "GERMS". I first drew out my final concepts on trace paper and then scanned them into photoshop. After touching them up a bit I imported them into Illustrator and then live traced each letter and number. After they were all traced in Illustrator I formatted them onto an 11x17 page and then printed them for show in class. I then had to create a sentence using the font as well as create some words to go with the style.

Rendering 1- Assignment 2

Assignment: Life- Create a small, portable still life made up of a smooth, matte white cylinder, sphere and cube, glued to a surface. Render the objects and their cast shadows using a full range of graphite pencils and smooth shading. The still life should look as if it is being lit from above and to the left. DUE Mon. February 16.
This assignment was another assignment that allowed me to further understand smooth cross hatching while also using all different graphite wieghts. After creating the still life with several styrophome shapes I snapped off a few digital photos and placed them into photoshop to highten the contrast. I printed out the reference as well as kept the model constructed at home so that I could work at school as well as at home. I was to use ranges of graphite from H4 to B4. I had a lot of fun exploring and expirimenting with the different values of graphite. I wish I would have spent even more time darkening this picture for ultimate contrast.

Cuckoo's Nest Logo Design:2009

This is my very first Logo Design. Thank you Nina for giving me the opportunity to create this logo for you!
For this design I was told the logo needed to resembled a dear friend of Nina's. Nina gave me a picture and a couple of t-shirts that included past designs. The design also had to be pirate related. So, Nina asked if I could make her friend a pirate. I was also told that the pirate needed to be holding a wine goblet in one hand and grapes in the other. After a couple of practice sketches and dreaming up looks for this t-shirt logo, I finally came up with one that I worked. After I hand drew the picture of my pirate with reference to Nina's friend I then hand inked the drawing for crisp and richer lines. I then scanned the image into Adobe Illustrator and live traced the image for a cleaner graphic look. Lastly I added the text with Illustrator and sen it to Nina for approval....and she LOVED IT! YAAAAY!

FLASHBACK: Fall 2008 CSULBFoundation Computer Art

Another class I took my first semester at CSULB was Foundation Computer Art. This class was a lot of fun for me. This class taught me the basics about programs such as: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign. I also learned basic coding for a website (CRAZY!). Our first project focused on using Photoshop to do photo correction. I took an old photo from the civil war days and had to take out all the tears and smudges. I also had to work on color correction and contrast.
The second project was also with Photoshop. We had to create a collage of several different images in order to make one piece of art. For this project I used some of my own sketches and also some found images.
The third project was with Illustrator. I had to make a treasure map by using images in live trace and placing them as markers.
The fourth project was making a promotional booklet or portfolio for self marketing.
Lastly, I had to create my own web page. FUN!! :)

FLASHBACK: Fall 2008 CSULBFoundation Painting

One of my first classes at CSULB was Foundation Painting. This class was, for me, more difficult then it sounds. I feel like graphite drawings and tonal drawings are my strengths. Painting in color is very difficult for me to understand. After a few projects I found that I had a lot of bad habits. We primarily used oils and I find that oil painting is a bit ritualistic. There is a lot of time spent setting up, mixing the paint and then applying it purposefully. I just wanted to jump right in and paint. I was ALL about blending ON the canvas and quickly learned that blending on the canvas was, majority of the time, WRONG. I was told that it was best to mix the paint on my PALLET and then apply the paint to the canvas. I admit that I was a little apprehensive at first because I did not want to have to spend more money on paints, but found that I needed to buck up and INVEST. Oil looks fantastic when it is applied in thick layers and each stroke creating its own shadow and texture while also working together with the rest of the colors on the canvas.
This class allowed a lot of creative freedom and we were commended on our strengths and made to figure out our own weaknesses. Like I said, I have a lot of bad habits I need to change. This class also helped me with my fear of color. I am still a little intimidated, but now that the ice has been broken I am more interested in adding and applying color to pieces.