Posting the photos of my finished snowboard before I have the bindings attached and head up to the mountain. Really excited about how this turned out and my mind is already going on more designs I’d like to try out (with so many other projects on the list). Further reading about the design in the previous blog.
New year and going out for some new things. On the smaller side is a portrait/portfolio contest by Artists Wanted. It’s one that I don’t really think I’m going to fit too well, but I figure there’s a better chance of something coming of it by entering than by taking a pass. Check it out and vote.
Further down the road, I’ve registered for the South by Southwest Interactive Conference in Austin. Really excited about this one despite the fact that I don’t quite know what I’m up for. The basic aim is to get out, make new associations, acquire some knowledge that’s a bit out of my experience, and have a good time in a new city (travel is always good). This moves up another portfolio project—business cards. Postings to come on that as they progress.
Balancing out the planetary symbols for the design of the snowboard, I devoted the better part of a day for creating complementary icons for the signs of the zodiac. It helped that seven of them are symmetrical, and that these are among the characters I’m often idly sketching (as evidenced by one of the random backgrounds at the beginning of my website).
After a couple years remaining on the list of portfolio projects to accomplish, I’ve finally succeeded in finalizing a snowboard design and sent it to production. Between obligations to client work and a perfectionist block about making the prime design, the project crept along for some time. About a year ago I got involved playing with fermat spirals and checking out surfboard patterns (which I often find to be more interesting in their streamlined design than the cacophony that sometimes clutters snowboards). Unfortunately, by the time I got enjoying those patterns, it was well into January and paying projects took center stage well into spring. Obviously, I’m a bit late this year, but at least there’s still plenty of boardable weeks remaining in the season.
From fermat spiral and surfboard-like stripes, I added a seven-pointed star (again built on the spiral) referencing the pinwheel at the opening of my website. (There is, actually, no particular branding basis for the shape, other than there being many such shapes and characters littering my sketchbooks, e.g. the extremely stylized glyph for my initals jjh on the base of the board). The next leap came with the observation that I ought to employ the planetary symbols created in the fall (thanks Brad), balancing them out with some new zodiacal glyphs at the tail end.
After that it was mostly an overly drawn-out debate on color, there’s simply so many great colors. Partial to blue, that was almost always assumed, but good bright reds, oranges, and even some greens, glow off the snow so fantastically. Still planning to put those colors to work in other snowboard designs (so much fun to do it once, why not go for it again… even if I don’t get to build them all), I went for the blue to tie in with my site and the red because of the striking contrast. I think it works with the blue being on the cyan side and the red having a fair bit of yellow in it, those colors, of course, being complementaries in subtractive color (light rather than pigment).
I’ve been down to Revolution Snowboard Manufacturing where I’m having it built and checked out the finished results of their last design competition. Going to have to watch for the next one. Now I’m holding my breath hoping the finished board looks so good when finished, which I’ll have to thoroughly photograph and post.
The common area at Omniture, known as the Living Room, has a wall-sized chalkboard, which needed some new embellishment last summer. It made for an exellently intense, full day of work away from the computer and a lot of dust (the fruits thereof seen below).
Unfortunately, that design didn’t stay up for long, and the time came again to disturb the clean black slate with a new design reflecting the Adobe ownership. The concept is to relate the right brain/left brain differentiations with the creative suites of Adobe and the analytic software of Omniture.
A bit of process to near-finished product—
—and after a bit of restoration, the good addition of ears, and some spray fixative that I’m sure made the day more enjoyable for everyone in the building—
UVU hosted the second illustrator program I was able to attend this week. Scott Gustafson, children’s illustrator, presented a contrasting style to Jon Foster from the other night. These oil or acrylic pieces and series involve weeks and months of devotion to a single project, with so much rich detail. It was interesting that he presented some examples of his early work, the kind many of us would want destroyed once we achieved higher proficiency; though it’s great to see the progression. Like other night’s program, Scott showed the process on a particular piece, pointing out one instance where he would leave a difficult, unresolved spot alone to come back to it later. I can relate to doing that when I burn out on a particular section or project.
This evening, I went to a program hosted by the Illustration Department at BYU by fantasy/sci-fi illustrator Jon Foster.
It was fascinating that although highly proficient with computer software for his work, he doesn’t seem set on any one medium, process, or combination of media. Sometimes entirely computer-rendered, though sometimes he’s combining or entirely using gouache, sometimes oil, occasionally rough and loose, while other pieces are detailed and finely rendered. That odd evolution of pieces and styles while maintaining a consistent steampunk flavor was particularly intriguing.
Where Jon mentioned being focused on figure work (which i can identify with), I was noting that the background elements are often silhouettes.
From the beginning of his program, he was remarking that he had had to move past the caring about outside rating and comparing of his work to that of others’, judging it a wasteful and inhibiting endeavor.
I found it interesting that he not only uses himself as a model, but does so frequently. I always remember that being one of the cardinal rules of scrap—to never use yourself as a model. Even when using other models, he’s drawing from the same small group, but he’s able to make it work and adapt it for the piece.
This past evening was the “Green to the Extreme” Omniture celebration party remembering the past thirteen years and marking Omniture’s transition to an Adobe company. As a contractor, it’s fantastic to be invited and mingle with the sea of green. I have acknowledge and congratulate my friend Brad McCall, of course, for his creation of the Omniture brand.
For the event, I was able to work on a large banner commemorating Omniture’s history to date and really pleased with how the seventy-foot banner turned out. Steve Gustavson and Ben Child of the marketing department had a great concept for having a shape underscore the flow of time (using the signature green, naturally). As the banner is being sliced into year-sections, framed, and auctioned off, I wonder somewhat how much a design I worked on is being sold for all told. And yes, I used Adobe products to create it.
Thought it time to give out a little design swag, and as I’m constantly sketching lettertypes, I implemented some stylizations for a character set, and big geek as I am, yes, they’re the planetary symbols. They include the Sun, Moon, the eight major planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune), the five current dwarf planets (Eris, Pluto, Makemake, Haumea, and Ceres), and two less-used alternates (for Uranus and Pluto).
Trick with the dwarf planets (geek time here), is that the three newest—Eris, Haumea, and Makemake—don’t have any official symbol. Eris appears to have a de facto symbol relating to it’s namesake’s discordant nature. The other two weren’t so easy. There were a couple resources where individuals have endeavored to create a symbol based on the Hawaiian pictographs relating to Haumea or the Rapanui image of Makemake, and they seem to be repeated, so without better information or an IAU ruling, I’m adapting those also.
Right, geek time over. I’m posting two variations for non-commercial use. Please download, enjoy, and contact me to discuss any use for commercial projects. I’m retaining copyright on these as I like them very much.
Getting involved with Creative Commons, interested to see how well this works. Thanks Brad, Tom.
Now check it out:
Planetary Symbols for the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and the dwarf planets Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris.
After returning home from travels, I went through some periodic website testing to find that my website hasn’t been working on Firefox. There’s always that difficulty in pinpointing the issue, searching through code and the disorganized world of user forums. Fortunately after some help (thanks Tom, thanks Ben), I found that the bug was a conflict between the new version of Firefox and the hotlink security added on my hosting service. Apologies to all those that have been attempting to view my site with Mozilla, the road is now open again.
Again I was a bit touristy yesterday and visited Buckingham Palace. The State Rooms won’t be open for a few weeks, I went over to the Queen’s Gallery, not quite sure what I was going to see. Not that I’m normally into dishes, but the porcelain exhibit there was particularly interesting. One of those displays of intricate detail and really cool color. The French pieces involved some serious detail and fascinating flowing shapes in both the decoration and the shape of the dishes, vases, and such. The Royal Treasures were also tight with intricate detail, which I’m all over.
It’s always a shame when photography isn’t allowed that the supplied books on the exhibit are small on images, long on analysis, poor on reproduction color, and usually don’t print the pieces you really want to remember. I’m finding this to be a common affliction with so many museums, or maybe I’m just a bit picky.
Does anyone else ever experience museum overload? After two visits to the British Museum, three to the National Gallery, two for the Victoria and Albert, and one each for the National Portrait Gallery, Tower of London, Royal Observatory and Maritime Museum (plenty of fun navigational pieces), and not to mention all the gardens, architecture, and street color— I think I’m needing a day in the flat to simply process and rest from so much stimulation.
Last year in Manhattan, I made a conscious effort to photograph what I could in museums in ways that aren’t available in books, and have been attempting to carry on with that here. For instance, with pieces that are so often reproduced in books and easily available for viewing without my own photos, I try to take detail shots, or in cases like sculpture, shoot from angles that are not face-on. Incidentally, I’ve thought it peculiar that the V&A allows flashes. Only museum I’ve ever encountered that goes for that.
I’ve also tried to take a cue from friends and family that are so perceptive about noticing interesting signage and people around town. Views that are sometimes not always typically beautiful, but are otherwise interesting. There are always those situations that are difficult to make a good shot, like in a crowded tube train when you see someone dressed fantastically odd that you just have to record it, if you could… and without being too intrusive in their space. Also, I think I had a few odd looks for taking pictures of the tiled floor of the V&A museum the other day. I seem to have a focus on patterns lately. Must be the designer side.
Oh yes, and of course I’ve been enjoying the artwork. The other day I was going for the exercise of sketching from paintings and sculptures. Something I ought be making a better habit of. I was also spending time the other day trying to re-interpret a painting into my own style, attempting to craft the same edges from the painting with my pencil technique.
