In a couple of days I’ll be leaving for a much needed vacation. We’re heading to Canada for the first time to visit family and are anxious to get on our way. Obviously my posts will slow to a screeching halt, but I hope to take photos while I’m away and post some when I return.
Oh and contrary to the graphic above we will not be traveling by fighter jet.
Help-Portrait is an initiative, lead by photographer Jeremy Cowart, where on 12.12.09 photographers around the world will donate their time and talents to take photos of anyone in need. I love the idea and am making plans to participate here in Austin. If you are a photographer and interested in serving your local community, head over to Help-Portrait and sign-up.
In effort to help spread the word and help add to the momentum leading up to the 12th I’ve created some desktop & iPhone wallpapers that you are free to download and distribute. Just click on the image of the wallpaper you’d like and download a zip file containing various sizes.
For those browsing on your iPhone here are the 4 iPhone-sized versions for you to save directly to your phone.
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted any work by Scott Hansen. As usual I love these posters. You can tell that his style has evolved a little with the use of silhouettes and more simplistic, negative space compositions, but still beautifully vintage as always. I also love the last one with the split photographs. So inspiring!
This hotel in Japan looks absolutely amazing. The color scheme, design, concept, everything. Totally not something I could stay in if we ever went to Japan, but I’m attracted to the idea and the experience. More photos and information here. (via Jonathan Moore)
Posted a new project to my work section yesterday called the “Trans-Poser“. This project was an interesting challenge due to my early decision to make the interface look like a vintage device. I really enjoyed creating all of these dials and buttons from scratch. Most of them are made from vector shapes and layer effects. The more I explore layer effects the more I’m impressed with the possibilities they afford. One layer effect I don’t use that often is “Satin”, but found it gave me just the right “sheen” look to the round buttons at the bottom right. I encourage you to explore their capabilities and get creative with layering and blending modes.
And on goes my fascination with concept artists and matte painters. This example is from Jesse van Dijk, a concept artist from Amsterdam. This painting is from Project Indigo, a personal project depicting a vertical city “…situated on a huge pillar in a ‘cavity’ in the sea; possibly an inactive volcano crater…” Jesse shares his conceptual process and illustrates how inhabitants located towards the top of the city would be able to rely on natural light more so than those located lower who would need to use artificial light such as oil lamps. I love these kinds of details.
Again I’m inspired, and with my new Wacom and reading materials I’ve obtained through a coworker I’m now closer to actually exploring this style of art. I’ve even jotted down a couple of notes for a possible beginner project, but I’m still far from anything near this level of quality or even understanding what it takes to get to this point. Still, it’s fun to revisit the fundamentals of fine art, which I’ve allowed to grow stale over the years since college.
