Archive for April, 2007

taking steps to your dream…

Tuesday, April 24th, 2007
Illustration I made using Illustrator and PhotoshopMy philosophy is that a positive outlook will bring you great things in life. If you have a negative mind set, then your head will be down and you will miss out on the chances life brings you. As long as you have a positive attitude and keep your chin up and your eyes and ears open for opportunities, then you will end up on the right track. By taking those opportunities you will be taking steps towards your big dream. Nothing will get accomplished if you just sit back on your heels and wait for life to happen to you.

Get out there and get moving – start doing, and pretty soon you’ll be doing something you love. To the world around you, it will look like everything suddenly fell in your lap, but they won’t see all the hard work, determination, and little steps that brought you to where you are. Now that you have your dream in your lap, it may or may not suddenly dawn on you how all those opportunities you took were little important steps that helped shape you. But this is just the beginning… now you can set real goals and prepare for an even bigger and better dream for yourself than you could have imagined!

It all starts with one little step… Botanical illustration I made using Illustrator and Photoshop

PS
I actually made this background image twice. The first time it looked more realistic, and then I redid it from scratch to give the picture a more artistic style.

To see the “before” illustration click here. To make the flowers look so realistic I used the live trace tool in Adobe Illustrator which essentially creates a vector out of a photograph for you. Then I played with blending and shading it in Photoshop.

The “after” illustration was made from scratch (I traced the photo myself using the pen tool, not the live trace option). I created the flowers using Illustrator, and then I brought the image into Photoshop to do the shading and add highlights. See the full finished version here.

function versus fashion…

Tuesday, April 24th, 2007

I am designing the portfolio pages for my website and I need to decide how to arrange the layout. There are so many different ways to present a portfolio page; some are fashionable and some are functional. Personally, I prefer function over fashion, but I want my site to look good too.

When you visit portfolio websites, what kind of layout do you prefer? Do you like big or little thumbnails? Do you like slideshow style views or do you prefer to see everything at once? Do you like it when a detailed image opens in a new window or in the same window? These are the kinds of questions I have been asking myself.

So far I have come up with a few different designs. Now all I need to do is narrow it down. Here are some rough drafts of layouts I could use…

layout 1
layout 2
layout 3

layout 4

Click here to vote in my survey, or just click on the word ‘comments’ below to send me your thoughts.

So, I’m putting the question to you. If you could control the layout of a portfolio page, what would be your must haves? What are your pet peeves? I would love to get some feedback from you on what you would like to see in a portfolio website.

the look and feel of it…

Monday, April 23rd, 2007

the template I chose
It is so fun having a new space to express myself in. I really liked the blog template I chose (it was green) but I wanted to give this page a look and feel that would go with my websites.

the butterfly I made in IllustratorI am so excited that I figured out how to put my butterfly over this layout at the top of the page. I am finally starting to understand divisions (in html). Notice how the butterfly (the one at the top of the page, not this one) is overlapping different areas, and it moves independently of the layout when you shrink or expand your window?
That is what a div can do for you!

I am so happy that I went to design school because I would not have known where to begin to change the colours and background images in this site. I guess I like having control over things like that… it makes it more personal and creative.

Apple Blossoms

Sunday, April 22nd, 2007

apple blossoms
The apple trees are in blossom in Kelowna and it is so beautiful. I was so happy to have a chance to go exploring around the city when my friend and fellow artist and designer, Samantha Walsh, came to visit me. We had great discussions about graphic design, art, and life.

Spring time is so rejuvenating. It feels great to get out in the sunshine. It was a great day for a hike too.

apple blossoms

My First Blog

Sunday, April 22nd, 2007

picture of meHi! This is my first blog.

Here you will be able to see what I am up to… like,

I am working on my new website which is officially set to launch on July 1st, 2007. You can preview it as I work on it at www.kendragraphics.com