Album Artwork

I will first say that I cannot release any pictures of my work in progress for the new album I am doing, but I would like to let you know of my progress and how I think it will turn out. The band that the album artwork is for is my cousin's band called The Post Script. And now you're saying to yourself, "Oh, great, another mediocre, local band!" I will assure you that is not the case!


They have so much talent that they pour into their music that it is blatantly obvious. A style this young in the game is great to have, and it is much different than that of what you hear from day to day. It's better! Right now the band is in the studio recording the second half of their full length album called "Seasons Change," which will be released in the upcoming months.

Also, in these upcoming months, the album artwork and shirt design for this new wave of music will be hitting the shelves and I will be a major player in encasing the viewer and listener in the music, from a visual standpoint as well as capturing every sense with the music. They have the musical side covered, so now it's my job to make the designs so good that you are forced to buy the album and shirt no matter what! Even if you are somehow allergic to music or shirts!

For now, visit their Facebook fan site, take a listen to their previous recordings, and become a fan!

Happiness

It
Seems like a hot commodity.
We are all in search
Of it.
But, where does joy
Come from,
You ask?
The hell if I know!
Nature, love,
Freedom,
Money?
Who are you to
Decide
What makes me joyous.
Because I decide
This!
And I have found a
Path
To host this feeling.
You can't say that too often,
But I am now.
And a pool, somewhere,
Was just filled
With my happiness,
From the
Deep end,
To the stairs.
Happiness
Prevails!

Awkward

I have changed the style of my blog a bit. I will not only be posting my designs, but my short stories and poetry as well. I feel it is intriguing and suitable enough to be posted, so I will publicize it. With that being said, here is the first I have chosen to post, named "Awkward."

Did you want to
Go alone?
I didn't either.
That shaky,
Awkward feeling is
Terrible.
And no one finds it
Comforting.
Or do they?
For all I know
They may get
High
Off it.
If they do,
To hell with them
For having an
Unusual
Courage
To navigate themselves
Through a
Maze
Of unusual thoughts.

The Reds And Greens

Since I am a designer, I feel like I should share a quick piece of information that you may not know. The Christmas season is filled with the colors of red and green. But why? There are many suggestions to the meaning of each color, which make valid points, but I'll propose a different view.

The colors red and green are complimentary, meaning they are on opposite sides of that color wheel you once learned in 2nd grade art class. These compliments have the greatest amount of contrast with one another, and when mixed with the proper portions of each can produce a shade of grey, one of which, being white: The Color Of Snow!

With that being said, may your Christmas this year be filled with the complimentary colors of red and green and fluffy white snow!

For now, enjoy this Christmas card from Pixar. Next year, I promise I will make my own. Hold me to it!

More Inspiration? When Will It Stop!

The answer is never! I am soon finding out that the more you research and engulf yourself into something, the more you get out of it. And that is exactly what I'm doing and I cannot stop. From books, to videos like this, I become more and more passionate as each day rolls on! I think most would consider that a good thing, so I will too.

This video clip is truly inspirational. I learned quite a bit just from this 15 minute video and realized what kind of person Steve Jobs is. In a way, I can relate to a lot of the things he says. For instance, when he speaks about death and how you have to think about it, I relate. I'm not sure what brings me to, but I think about that all the time and what I want to leave behind and experience while I'm here. Hopefully I can accomplish half the things he has!

The Pixar Touch

Today, I picked up one of my newest books that I purchased while journeying Singapore. It is called "The Pixar Touch" by David A. Price. From the name, I hope you can put two and two together, but if not I'll tell you. It is a definitive history of the company of Pixar, how it came to be, explaining the perseverance of a talented and determined group of individuals.


Like I said, I just started this book today, so I am only about a chapter and a half into it, but so far, the book is really informative and inspirational! Oh great, more inspiration for me, as if I don't have enough! Either way, I will probably end up reading this by the end of my winter break, along with a few other books I have recently purchase. I guess you could say I'll be quite the book worm for the next few weeks!

Once finished with the book, I will have a full review posted here, for those of you who care to listen to my opinions. Other than that, expect a short story posting, by me, on here in the next week. Yes, you heard right!

And Now I Walk Into The Wild

Last night I finally was able to watch the movie "Into The Wild!" I read the book sometime ago and ever since the movie was released, I have been dying to see it. From the start, I knew the movie would never be as good as the book, but what movie is better than its book? Seriously, I want to know!

Now, I am a very comfortable in saying that this book, and movie, brought some emotion out of me. I'm not sure about any others, but there are certain parts, which I will not spoil for any of you who have not read the book, that make me tear a bit. If you don't believe me, just go read the book. Don't watch the movie because the book is better. Yes people, it takes longer to read a book, but you get so much more out of it!

I recently bought my favorite musical artist's, Ryan Adams, books, which I will probably blog about sometime down the road. I found it hilarious and so true that his dedication for one of the books, named "Infinity Blues," is as follows:

"For Bug and for people who still read these things."

If you haven't caught on yet, this is me suggesting that you read this book, if you have the extra 30 minutes a night to sacrifice to an amazing book. A brief overview of the book and Chris McCandless' story is actually printed on the cover, which I have provided above. But, if you are too lazy, cannot read, or just don't have the time, I guess I'll let it slide if you watch the movie!

Sufjan Stevens Poster

I spent a couple of all-nighters working on this one. The reason for that was that I had to turn this in a week earlier than scheduled because of my trip to Singapore. But, doesn't every designer have to go through a few of these every semester? I think so! That's what we do best from what I've heard.

This final assignment was based around making a poster for a band of your choice, but it had to be in a famous illustrator's style. I chose to use the style of Echo Chernik because he has an amazing use of line work, colors, and uses quite a bit of detail, which gives quite a few second reads on his designs. I based my design heavily off of his Illustration for Lane Armstrong. Sufjan Stevens seemed to remind me of his style and use of color. You tell me what you think. If you have not heard Sufjan Stevens, you can take my word for it or go have a listen because he is amazing!

I still have a little more work to do on this based on a couple of critiques already, but that will have to wait a bit. Other than that, I'm quite happy with the result! Click for larger preview!

Back To The Real World

Last night I arrived back in Indianapolis and came back to a room with only one bunk bed, not six. The sadness swept over me and I was truly upset to already be home. I will warn everyone right now that traveling out of the country for only a week is not enough, so if you plan to leave and visit another country, please take at least two weeks off. I promise you will thank me later. I wish I would have stayed longer, but there is not much I can do now. Although, I have heard many Singaporeans talking of starting up a fund to buy me another plane ticket, so I can visit them again this break. We'll see how that goes. Anyone want to donate?!

I met the greatest group of people while I was in Singapore. Every single one of them is an amazing person and I will never take that for granted! I don't think that the student volunteer committee could have chosen a better group of people and I applaud them for that. It is crazy to think that during only one week, you can get so attached to new friends. Apparently, it is totally true and I can vouch for that!


Now, I wait. I wait for SIGGRAPH in New Orleans, where I will see a select few of these wonderful people again, and then SIGGRAPH in Yokohama, Japan, where most of them are going to be able to attend. That will keep me happy, just knowing that I will be able to meet up with all of them again. I reccommend that, if you are not involved with SIGGRAPH and are a graphic designer, you do so. In my oppinion, you have to be crazy not to.

That is my rant for now. For all of those who I met in Sinapore, I cannot wait to meet up with you again. You are an amazing group of people and I hope to stay in touch with each and every one of you. No excuses! And I better be seeing you at another SIGGRAPH!

Back to the real world for now.

The SIGGRAPH Asia Reception: Marina Barrage

Last night, I fell in love with Singapore all over again! I have never in my life seen a more beautiful city! When I say the pictures don’t do justice, this time I cannot express how much that means in this case. From this spot, which is set away from the city, you can see everything! The world’s tallest ferris wheel is the circle of lights, because I know you were asking yourself what that could be. Singapore is the most amazing city and to have seen it from this viewpoint was unreal.

We were on the roof of the building at Marina Barge and it was covered with grass and a paved sidewalk. It is actually very hard to explain exactly how this place was constructed because it is so unfamiliar to America. The pictures are dark, so it is difficult to see what I am talking about, but I should have better pictures in the near future from the other volunteers, so don’t worry. I’m sure they are much better than mine.

I’d also like to take this time to say that the student volunteers at this SIGGRAPH are the coolest group of people I have ever met at such an event. Everyone is from different cultures and so eager to talk and learn about each other. I have made the decision to say that this has been the best vacation and experience of my life thus far. The amazing friends that I have made combined with a country as beautiful as this makes me want to stay here forever. That sounds so cliché, but America really needs to get on top of its game, because, for now, Singapore takes the cake!

Attend Lucas Film Party You Will!

After a long day of working and visiting all of the SIGGRAPH events, I was ready to go to the electronic theater, where they show the best of the best in computer graphics for 2008. To my surprise, another student volunteer named Siva comes running into the student volunteer office and tells me that I am going to the Lucas Film party! You have to be invited for such an event and he got my name down on the list! I don’t know how, but he did it! And so, my plans for the night had drastically changed.

For all of you who don’t know, Lucas Film created Star Wars. Just a little famous. Kind of a big deal.

Again, we made our way to Clarke Quay, and to the club called the Arena, where the party was being held. Right when we arrived, I knew that this was going to be the coolest party I had ever been to. As you can see, from the pictures, they had storm troopers monitoring the entrance! We walk inside only to find an ice sculpture of Yoda and a star wars theme written all over the place. This party beats every single party I have ever been to in my life, including the Autodesk parties!

After me and the other student volunteers got the place to start dancing to the awesome music of this rap group from America, my friend Carlin and I met two of the coolest guys at Lucas Film Animation! Joe, who is the product manager, and Jason, who helps develop the Star Wars games you and I play. I was also very privileged to have talked to BZ Petroff (Director, Talent Acquisition) for a good half an hour! It did not seem real that we were partying with these people and that they were actually buying us drinks! Never will I forget these awesome people. When I come back to Singapore, there is no doubt that we will get together with them and do that again!

Oh, and to all you Star Wars fans, yes I know. I wish you could have been there too!

Autodesk User Group Party

Many of you may know of a company called Autodesk. At least you graphic design folk. They are the leader of the 3D software development industry, the biggest name, and the one of the best at what they do and they throw a user group party every year at SIGGRAPH, which I attended the other night. I will say that it was just as good as the one on Los Angeles this past summer.
The user group was held in the 6 floor of a very nice hotel in a place called Clarke Quay, which is the most beautiful part of Singapore that I have been to because the night life is amazing, with lights, live music, a river running through it, and so much more. The pictures do not do justice though. It is really something that you just have to experience!

They decided to hold their party just about a block away, in an outdoor mall, which had a large open space in the middle of it that was somewhat covered by umbrellas made of glass. Autodesk likes to be fancy, so they decided to create a bar made of ice, have one of Singapore’s best bands play (who played all covers of American songs. Go figure!), hired a magician, and had many of these crazy dressed people stilts guide us to the party.

The pictures from the user group, party, and Clarke Quay are below. I decided against captioning pictures this time so I could get this up faster. I also apologize for being so late on this, but you will soon find out why I haven’t been able to post!

And So The Conference Begins!

Today, the conference officially began! It is always great to see so many people in the same place with the same interests as you. That is why SIGGRAPH is so wonderful! Anyways, I have taken more pictures of the city, so they will follow. My captions will always be written above the pictures because that's how I roll!

Here are a few pictures I took last night of the city on our walk back to the hostel. Singapore is still a busy city at night. They are always running I guess! I'll have to say that the daytime pictures are much better.


Here are the daytime/morning pictures that I have taken. The city, as you can see, is just awesome!


I only ask that you read this entire next picture. It's just the steps you take to cross the street here. You'll see why I posted it! I laughed!


As a student volunteer, my first shift was to help pack 3,000 bags with information. Not my view of a vacation, but it ended up being fun! Here is the team who helped and the stack of boxes full of thousands of bags!


"The Best Ribs in America!" In Singapore? Confusing much. That's Carlin, by the way, he's a cool guy!


And finally, the next SIGGRAPH Asia poster! Japan, here I come! I only have one year to wait for it.


It is now time for me to go to a discussion on "Finding Your Place in Digital Media." I think it should be a pretty good talk. We'll see though. Soon I will try to post more about the actual classes and discussions I attend for all you graphic design folk! I know you are patiently waiting to hear some tips and trick, so I'll do my best to post them here.

Also, tonight I will be going to the Autodesk User Group and party, which was amazing in Los Angeles, so I assume they are going all out for Asia! We'll see. A blog and pictures will definitely be dedicated to that, so make sure to check back if you want to see how they party here!