'Give a Little Bit' - the Goo Goo Dolls

Wow! This semester has been a hard one! But I've made it (other than having to endure finals week, which shouldn't be too bad). I'm so excited and can't believe I'm almost a senior in college. That's hard to comprehend. It's been a while since I've posted due to the overwhelming fact at the amount of work I've had with classes. In my journalism class, we did a multi-blog which was worked on by all class members doing news coverage on our university's student center. Unfortunately, I couldn't be there to help with the news coverage, so instead I did a print version of the news the class gathered.

It is a tri-fold. Here it is:

Open publication - Free publishing - More wku

'Like a Prayer' -Madonna

Hey all! This week, I have a magazine spread to post. The magazine spread focuses on WKU's (Western Kentucky University) Art Department. I decided to design a spread for WKU's Art Department because the information provided by the Art Department helped me to decide on Western Kentucky University for college and while being at WKU my artistic ability has developed.


Enjoy!



-Credit for the photographs and text go to WKU's art department website.
 Designed by Me :)

"Let Love In" -Goo Goo Dolls

Hey guys!!! So this week I wanted to share a story about a true child prodigy. Akaine is a 15 year old girl who paints with skills like someone far beyond her age. Check it out!

Child Prodigy

'All In' -Lifehouse

Hey guys! In this blog entry I've posted a vidcast that depicts images of some of my artwork and discusses what is important when putting together a good art portfolio. Watch and enjoy!

Soundtrack!

I've reached ten! Ten blog entries, that is! And over the past couple months I've entitled each of my entries with a song that is from my music playlists. So this is a contemplation of those songs which is somewhat representational of my life as it's been this semester.

1. Familiar Taste of Poison- Halestorm
2. Set the Fire to the Third Bar- Snow Patrol and Martha Wainwright
3. We'll Never Know- Lifehouse
4. If You Only Knew- Shinedown
5. Learning to Breathe- Switchfoot
6. Don't You Know You're Beautiful- Seabird
7. Dream On- Aerosmith
8. Bury Me Alive- We Are the Fallen
9. I Need You Now- Lady Antebellum
10. Heaven- Live

'Heaven' -Live

Hey guys...another quick blog...just wanted to share this find:

ArtDaily.Org

This is the first online art news paper

'I Need You Now' -Lady Antebellum

First Podcast ever! Don't make too much fun of my voice!

This podcast is simply about my artistic journey and how I decided on a university that I believed would help me develop my artistic abilities.

Thanks for listening!

'Bury Me Alive' -We Are The Fallen

Ahh Monday...Favorite day of the week...Not! The weekend went by too quick. Seriously where did it go?  

Anyway, for this entry I wanted to share some great art currently seen in the media and look at current art trends. A great way to follow trends in art is through the magazine Communication Arts. Really and truly, this is a great magazine for an inside look at the industry.

Here's the website:
Communication Arts Magazine

Posters:


    High Point Theatre Poster                                 Awendaw Green "Barn Jam" Poster

          MMoCA Wisconsin Triennial Poster

      Queen Bee Waxing Poster
 

   RIG Utility Clothing

'Dream On' -Aerosmith

Happy St. Patrick's Day! It's been a while...I took a much needed (and I think deserved) Spring Break! It should have been longer. Anyhow, I've been hard at work on so many different art projects. I honestly don't know how I could have any creativity left!

One of my projects is another brochure design. This time it's a "how-to" brochure design with unlimited use of color. I haven't put the final touches on it yet, but I thought I'd share it.

What you are seeing above is the outer sides of the brochure. The panel with the quote is the back, and the two silhouettes make up the front panel. The front of the brochure opens down the middle (where the two sides of the heart meet). Obviously, the brochure topic is light hearted and discusses how to survive a blind date. 

Now, what you are seeing are the inside panels of the brochure. The blue guides (which will not be seen on the actual printed version) represent the folds. Both side panels fold in. 

That's all for now! However, I will be posting more finished art projects soon! 

'Don't You Know That You're Beautiful' -Seabird

Hey all!! Happy almost TGIF! So far throughout this blog I haven't posted much of my own work...Well now I have! Enjoy the slideshow! It consists of current pieces and older pieces all the way from my freshman year of college. The pieces vary in medium (from paintings, charcoal, to design)

'Learning to Breathe' -Switchfoot

It's been a little while since I've posted a new blog, and this is going to be a short one. I simply wanted to share some artwork I stumbled across that I absolutely LOVE.

Beautiful Prints!!

This week I will be uploading photos of a couple of pieces I have as well as a fun short video I did in my film class. Look for it!

BTYS (real soon!)

'If You Only Knew' -Shinedown

Hey all! My last blog post I mentioned that I was in the process of writing a novel. Who knows if I'll ever be able to walk into a bookstore and see my book on the shelf, but the possibility is there. Anything is possible (at least that's what you hear). Therefore (of course), I've been trying to do some research on how to go about getting a book published and I came across a website that had some seemingly legitimate information.

Publishing Information at SpaceJock

So today is just a short post; I'm simply sharing a website that I found useful and maybe others will find useful as well.

BTYS (still looking through book cover designs I find impressive...I'll post them soon)

'We'll Never Know' -Lifehouse

This past week has been extremely hectic, and I've felt there's been somewhat of a limit of inspiration for me. Regardless, I feel it is important to share/note a particular graphic design firm out of Nashville, TN that inspires me greatly. It is also a business that I'd love to be able to gain experience with, so therefore I'm going to attempt to apply for an internship with the firm this summer. Wish me luck! The graphic design firm I'm referring to is Anderson Design Group. They've done everything from logos, book covers, posters, brochures, music graphics to website design and more! Looking through their online portfolio inspired me for future ideas and design concepts. I highly recommend checking out their website: Anderson Design Group

On another note, I thought I'd mention a project I've been working on for quite some time. For some crazy, out-of-this-world reason I started writing a novel June of 2009. Before starting on it, I never considered myself a writer; I liked writing enough, but wouldn't in a million years have guessed I'd be trying to complete some 400 page book. I'm getting very close to wrapping up the first draft (and beginning the editing process which I'm not in the least bit looking forward to) and will be designing a cover for it.

To me designing a book cover for my very own book seems a little intimidating. I have no idea why. For me, it should be easier to do the cover being an artist versus actually writing it, right? Well...maybe not. I'm almost too particular, thinking it has to be jusssst right. That's understandable I guess. Anyway, instead of continuing to ramble on, I'll get to my main point. Since I've had trouble coming up with the perfect cover design for my novel, I did what a lot of artists do: draw inspiration from others (which is what the core of this blog is about!). I went to Barnes & Noble, Jospeh Beth, and have looked online (of course) and decided what elements about certain book covers that I liked and what made them stand out in comparison to other book covers. I think it is important to mention that I've only been looking at books under the Teen/Young Adult Fiction section because if my novel is ever published, that's the genre (I believe) it would fall under, and book cover designs should reflect their genre and attract the eye of the audience member who'd be reading it. I'm sure most can agree that book covers in the Adult Science Fiction section of a bookstore don't look similar to the book covers in the Children's section of a bookstore.

So from looking at books in Young Adult Fiction genre, I was able to come up with a few things about book designs that grabbed my attention. The book covers that accomplished that pretty much had a few things in common:
1.) The design was deceptively simple.
2.) A contrasting color scheme with only a few colors.
3.) The book title was large and easily able to read, perhaps in a new/interesting font.

And lastly, I noticed that a lot of the book covers in the Young Adult Fiction section mostly consist of black or dark colors. My theory (and I'd say it's a fairly obvious one) is that this is a result of trends in Teen Fiction right now stemming from books such as Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga. I loved the covers of the Twilight books because they are so simple and beautiful with a limited color palette: black, red, white. But now, it seems that most covers are using the same color palette (well there's a lot of black), and it does make sense to have a dark/mysterious looking cover to reflect the dark/mysterious plot line that is so common/popular amongst Young Adult Fiction. The point I'm trying to make is because of all the darkly colored books in this genre, light colored books jump out. They catch one's eye because of the high contrast level against the other books, like a singular flame in the night.

We all know the saying: "Never judge a book by its cover." Taking that phrase literally, we know we all do it. If I'm browsing through a bookstore in search for my next read, I usually pick up a book that is aesthetically pleasing to me.

Okay, I've talked enough. I'll wrap it up. I brought all this up because I'd love to have others input on what grabs their attention when it comes to books. Is it even the design at all? I have my own thoughts on this topic, but if I am ever blessed with seeing my novel in print, I'd like to feel just as proud of the outside as I am with the inside and I want others to like it as much as I do. So thoughts? Anybody have favorite book cover designs? Let me know! I'll be posting some that I like soon...

BTYS
...Oh! And Happy Valentine's Weekend!

'Set the Fire to the Third Bar' -Snow Patrol & Martha Wainwright

Where did the weekend go? I'm struggling to mentally prepare myself for another upcoming week of endless classes that require every ounce of my creative being. Hopefully by tomorrow morning I'll be rejuvenated and ready to work.

However, the weekend didn't pass without a little productivity. I shot a film project for a class with my friends (which was a blast), so I'll try and post the finished product soon. Also, for graphic design, I had to redesign an existing brochure (one that was in need of a major makeover). We could only use one color on our design and it was definitely more of a challenge than it sounds. Regardless, I came up with what I think will be my finished project.

Check it out:

The brochure is obviously a to-go menu for a restaurant. It is a tri-fold brochure and you are seeing the "outside" folds. The right column is the cover, the center is the back, and the left column is the first page when the brochure is opened.

This is the inside of the brochure.

















After I turn in this project I may take it to the actual restaurant and see if they're interested in using my design versus their old one. I've never eaten at 440 Main, but I think I'd like to try it sometime.

Designing this brochure was fun, but there were a lot of requirements and restrictions. In the industry though, there are creative limitations so it was good practice. While working I looked up the best of brochure designs and came across some that I thought were truly amazing!

Go take a look at it:
Awesome Brochure Designs (plus more!)
I'm definitely filling this site away for a future inspirational resource.

BTYS!

'Familar Taste of Poison' -Halestorm

Okay...I have a blog...which I guess, would make me a blogger. Yup, I've succumbed. I'm one of them now. The interesting thing, however, about finally having my own blog is that I didn't come to this decision on my own. No, this blog, if you can believe, is actually a homework assignment...a semester project. Although, I hope it becomes much more than that.

It was a no-brainer coming up with my blog topic. The topic being something that has always been an essential part of my life and, God willing, always will be. Whether I am truly good at it or just simply wish I am, I could never part with my creative side. It is the one constant that has always been with me, despite the changes that come with growing up, growing apart, and moving on. So of course, art seemed to be the perfect subject of my first ever blog. I'm hoping to share some of my pieces or current projects with other artists or those who just have an appreciation for the arts, and while a personal porftolio for an artist is important, it's not everything. Therefore, this blog will not only focus on me and my work...that would be a little vain in my opinion.

The inspiration behind a piece of art is sometimes more important than the work itself. I'd love to be able to share things that inspire me to be creative as well as other people sharing whatever inspires them. And as most artists know, inspiration can come from just about any source. Pulling from several different resources of inspiration or experiences to create a piece of art (and when I say art, I mean the Arts...not just visual) is better than pulling from one.

To sum it up, this blog is not only my online portfolio with completed works or works in progress, but an inspirational journal. And just maybe, through this medium form, I'll be able to inspire another...someone, somewhere. What a great honor that would be.

....As a last side note, each of my blogs will be titled with a song from my 'Recently Played' playlist on my iPod. I find music to be a great inspiration...

BTYS (Blog to you soon)...is that cheesy?