so there was this art gal

Kickball Logos

2009-09-09T06:03:00.014-05:00

Its been awhile since I posted anything, so I'm going to add some logos I've designed for some kickball teams in my area. The first is of my original kickball team - Crazy Kickers (which I hope we put back together again!). The other two are logos for the other teams I have been on. The Frosty Logo is one of several I've given them, they hadn't made a decision on a final yet, but here is just one of them. Enjoy!

Loss of a Great Man

2009-07-15T07:18:00.004-05:00

Robert McCullough was one of my college Professors back at Old Dominion University. He was a very intimidating man, that's for sure. I first had Robert when I started Graphic Design in summer school. I had changed my major 3 times at ODU before I finally decided what I was going to do. I loved art, always have, but didn't want to be the "typical starving artist." So when I got to ODU, I started majoring in Computer Science and minoring in art. Since there was never anything in the Course Catalogue for Graphic Design, then that's what I did...kind of made my own. That didn't work out so well for me, so then I switched over to a different program that allowed you to "design" your own degree. So I started designing a graphic-design type of degree. Well, you had to get approval from other teachers to be able to do this. As I went around getting signatures, one teacher told me that I should be doing a degree in Graphic Design. I was like, "what??!!...there is one??!" Why hadn't anyone told me? So that's how I ended up in design. Anywhoo, back to Robert.

Since I still wanted to finish college in 4 years, I decided to take a lot of summer school classes to catch myself up after all those wasted classes from the previous majors. That's when I met Robert. He saw my schedule, I had Graphic Design 2 & 3 that summer and I believe Typography too. He said I would be overwhelmed and asked if I was sure I wanted to do that. I think since then, that's when I was added to his trouble-students list. He wanted me to take each class during a normal semester, not the summer. But I questioned, why offer it in the summer then? Oh yeah, for kids like me, who want to cram it all in...that's right.
So I had a full summer with Robert. I had graphic design, then I got married that summer on a Saturday, then started that Monday with Robert in design again. Folks to this day still tell me I spent my honeymoon with Robert...haha.

Robert was always especially hard on me. I always struggled with typography. I dont know why, I just didn't think "type" was interesting to me. It's just "words and letters right?" is what I'd say to myself. But Robert showed me "the light", he taught me that there is more to a font than just reading it. It can be an art. I still struggled in that class, but Robert would occasionally look over my shoulder, and he literally took my mouse one class and increased the leading on a poster to like 100 for a 20 point font. I was wondering what the heck he was doing. And after I saw it, I realized, it looked awesome! All that space just worked! He winked, and walked away, never said a word. I remember some of my projects being ripped from the walls due to their lack of "quality design" and well, lack of spray mount on the corners. Sigh...i hated spray mount, still do. I picked that stuff out from under my nails for days.

I never really got A's in Roberts class until I started doing the multimedia stuff, that's where I think I found my niche, but didn't realize it then. Robert realized it, but I still didn't see it. I took my first multimedia class with him called Hypermedia (I think that's what it was called....wasn't it Leslie?). Anywhoo, I did awesome in that class. I remember designing a webpage for Harley Davidson, and Robert came over and said, "that is excellent, now how come you couldn't do that in print class (meaning one of those graphic design classes)." I think I said something along the lines of "I dont know, I guess I just like it more?". He smiled and walked away. Wow...2 smiles!!! I was surprised. I had a 3D class with him where I would stay practically overnight some nights to finish projects. I would multi-task between rendering and printing monster posters for Design class. A group of us practically spent the night over there multiple times.
3D class was definitly a treat. He didn't know the program all that well himself, and said that if we had a question, to read the book, and he had it in his office. He said to "figure it out", and that's what we did. We would assist eachother as classmates, but we were always told to "Figure it out". That's what I had to do in my job now. When I first started, I did't know Flash, I knew Director (that's what we learned at ODU). But I tought myself Flash, Dreamweaver, and several other programs. I had to "figure it out" since nobody else at my job knew how. It was my responsibility.

Anyway, I actually graduated, but still pursued print design, I mean, I was a Graphic Designer right? So I did that for years, started at a local paper...where my friend Leslie and I worked together for a bit. That was fun, but just wasn't what I was looking for. Ads, ads, and more ads. Then I got a multimedia job working for the government. Robert, was that a sign? Was that where I was supposed to be?? Now I head up the multimedia crew, developing Flash courses all day, and I do web-design on the side as well as logo and business card design ever now and then. So I still do the print stuff, the art stuff, but I focus a lot on the multimedia stuff, and I love it.

You see, Robert, pushed and pushed, and he pushed because deep down, he really cared. He really wanted us to succeed in whatever we did, he didn't care, but he wanted to make sure he made his mark in our design lives, if we went that way. He was harsh and mean, because that's how the real world is, harsh and mean. Everyone thinks they are a designer. You create something extraoridnary, and they tell you its all wrong. But we didn't care, because we built a thick skin from Roberts rants about how crappy some of our work was, and how we wouldn't succeed unless we did this and this and this. We didn't care what people had to say, our feelings would never get hurt again, because we knew design, we know what we are doing, and the folks that don't appreciate it, aren't real designers, they just think they are. We shrug, fill in all the white space with gook, customer smiles, and that's that (while secretly we save the better design for ourselves for later).

I saw Robert a few months ago when Ken Fitzgerald asked me to return to ODU to help review student portfolios. I saw him there. I asked him "do you remember me?" And he said, of course, you were the one with 2 last names. (Since I got married when I was at ODU, I kept my maiden name at ODU, but legally changed my last name to my married name. So my paperwork at ODU still said my maiden name, less paperwork to deal with). He asked what I was doing, how my life was going, and just chit-chatted. I told him about working multimedia, and he kind of smirked, like a "I knew it" kind of face. He told me "good luck", got the smile/wink face again, and wandered around the room to make his rounds.

Above is a screen cap of a couple objects I've been drawing if Flash for work this past week. I wanted to post something I was currently working on for work to show how far I've come. I wanted to show Robert that I can still draw, while doing multimedia. I'm happy with what I'm doing, and I'm glad I was able to have such a great inspiration in my life.

I will always remember Robert, and I am enjoying everyone's post they have said about him. He was one of the best Professors I ever had and I will miss him dearly. Thank you Robert for all of your teachings, your wisdom, and you eagerness to push us. I'll remember you always!

Book Cover

2009-05-05T10:08:00.002-05:00

I friend of mine wanted me to create her book cover for her book. She told me what she wanted on this cover. She wanted 2 women crawling, one bandaged around her head and one around her chest, but coming together to a woman who was reaching for God. This is what I came up with. Again, drew the original graphics in Illustrator then pulled them into Photoshop for some tweaking. This is still a rough, there needs to be some more details, such as highlights in the hair, and what not. But its a start.

Palm-Tree

2009-05-05T10:00:00.004-05:00

So here is another entry for a t-shirt contest. This month's theme is "Forest". So I made a "palm-tree" with this, with the open palms and a tree growing inside of them. Mix of Illustrator and Photoshop for this one.
This is what happened when I made the shirt CMYK and tried uploading it here in Blogger..it made these crazy colors. It looks pretty cool some I'm gonna leave it on here too:

logoDesign

2009-04-10T13:19:00.005-05:00

Well, I was asked to create another logo for a coworker of mine. So here are some I came up with. Again, it all has to start someplace right? So I have the original ideas, then I was asked to add more "teal" to one of the particular ideas he liked, so I did that. Then I was asked to come up with business card schemes. That's where I'm at right now, until I continue, here is what's been going on so far.

These up above were the original doodles for possible ideas. Below were the ones playing with the "Teal" color he wanted in the logo:

Then he chose the 3rd from the top row. That one he had me make the font color all the same. And had me think of business card ideas:

Chesapeake Bay Bridge

2009-04-07T12:56:00.002-05:00

A friend of mine requested that I help her mom with creating an image of the Bay Bridge for the back of a t-shirt. She gave me the photo she wanted to use, but the image was way too pixelated to use, so I redrew the image in Illustrator for her so that she could print it. She also wanted a blue crab for the front of the shirt, she is going to add the text later. So here is the illustration of Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.

Party Invite

2009-03-27T06:24:00.004-05:00

I'm sure most of you know my father-in-law. Well, we are throwing him a surprise birthday party in May...so...SHHHHHH!! Anywhoo, I drew this illustration of their dog in Illustrator with a sombrero on her head. Since the theme is a Fiesta. I cut out the invites so they are the shape of the dog. I bought bright primary colored envelopes to put them in. Bright bold reds, blues, yellows, and I think there was a green and orange colored one too? Not everyone received the actual printed invites, since there are so many guests invited, so these paper ones just went out to family members mostly and folks without computers. The rest were emailed. Hope you all like!!

I won!!

2009-03-03T12:44:00.002-05:00

Hey all,
I found out today that I won an Apple iTouch from the T-shirt contest I entered last month. I am sooo excited! I hope to get it some time this month. I had a choice between a Wii and an iTouch. And since I already have a Wii, the iTouch was my choice. And a kicker is, they may actually produce some of my designs!! Pretty cool eh?

Boy Scouts

2009-02-23T09:48:00.005-05:00

A coworker of mine requested that I design a Boyscout Patch for them. They already had a hand-drawn sketch of what they wanted. It took quite a bit of time to draw this sucker in Illustrator and to keep it simple since it is going to be a stitched patch. This is the first iteration of the patch. Not sure if its the final yet since I sent it forward today. So we'll see what happens. But for now, here is phase 1. Hopefully when its all finished, I can get a photo of the actual patch.

T-Shirt Design Contest - VOTE 4 ME!

2009-02-10T11:23:00.005-05:00

I decided to finally enter an art contest. It's been a long time since I've done one, so I figured it's worth a shot. Hey, I even got a Free Tote Bag just for being one of the first 50 to submit a design!! The theme for this contest is Valentine's Day. The company designs eco-friendly clothing. So it had to fit the eco-friendly feel as well as the Valentine's Day theme. So this was the design I liked the best of all my submissions. I made a couple to signify Valentines Day, of course. They are enjoying each others company on a swing outside in nature. The tree branch of course signifies the eco-friendly attire. I added a "distressed" look to the t-shirt to give a little more of a modern feel to it. Below are also thumbnails of a few other submissions (the others were all similar so I grouped them together). I'll find out next month who the winners are. The winner gets a free i-Touch or a Wii. I already have a Wii, so I'm hoping to get the i-Touch. My poor i-pod is in desperate need of an upgrade. Anywhoo...hope you like it! Vote for my shirts!! Go to the link in the first sentence of this post and vote for my shirt. Please!! :) Thanks guys!

This one is called "Me & You on a Swing for 2":

These are some of the other designs:

Posters

2009-02-04T14:59:00.004-05:00

So I was asked to design the 5ft posters for the I/ITSEC conference held every year in Florida. This was back in like Nov/Dec....around Thanksgiving or so when this conference was held. I ended up creating both in Illustrator to keep the file size down. I made them both complete vector-art posters. Everything you see is vector art...including the screen captures. I retyped the text on the screen caps and converted all the imagery to vector art. This is what I came up with. Enjoy!

Logo Design

2009-01-28T06:25:00.013-05:00

So at work I was asked to design a logo for this group here. I want to go through the process I took to get to the final logo for those of you who aren't designers and don't know all the steps and time it takes to design a logo. This is just some of the steps I took (minus extra doodles, thumbnails, thinking, etc).

The group already had a pretty good logo to me, but they needed to match the branding of another logo. I had to stick with their same original color scheme of the red and gray, but match the new logo with the logo they were going to be sharing their site with. This shows the original logo and original name "ILES" and the logo they wanted me to make it kind of match (my bro took my original design and tweaked it with a new font and added the extra colors when he was a graphic intern here at work...go Dan!).
After I received the logo, I started playing with ideas. Here was my first set of thumbnail ideas until I later found out that they changed their name to SGST (go figure). You can click on the images to enlarge it.

After I made the above logo ideas, they liked stuff with the "swoop" since it matched the JKDDC logo best. They also wanted me to include more colors from the JKDDC logo. I remember them saying they wanted to keep with their original color scheme since they didn't want to have to recreate all the color-schemes on their website. So I decided to just include the color purple on it instead of all the reds, greens, blues, etc. I figured it wouldn't stray too much from the original gray and red they already had. Below is the next set of thumbnails. Some which include the title.
Then they chose some that they liked from the group above and wanted me to change the swoop around a bit more. So additional logo ideas are below.

After much thought, they narrowed it down to 2 logos....finally!!! So this is their new logo.

Creepy art

2009-01-07T07:52:00.003-05:00

So, I read on this site about these famous artists who draw in Illustrator. I was messing with the Gradient Mesh tool in Illustrator to learn how to draw realistically. It is very difficult, that's for sure. Anywhoo, so here is the Mesh of Cali's face, then the gradients added with the Mesh tool, and the photo I based it off of. I gave up after awhile. I'm sure I could keep messing with it to make it better, but well, it was just for practice anyways. So this is what I have. Maybe another time I'll make a better one once I've practiced with the tool enough.

That's my Girl, Girl, Girl!

2008-12-23T15:02:00.001-05:00

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Drought

2008-12-22T07:28:00.005-05:00

Well, I haven't done any art in awhile, but I have decorated my cube at work. Unfortunately I can't take any pictures of my cube since our building does not allow cameras in it (security risk). So, no picts of my cube, sorry everyone. But I have been playing in Photoshop at work and my coworkers and I have created some crazy photos of coworkers and family. Here are just a few of our creations:

Creatures

2008-12-02T09:23:00.005-05:00

I found this cool site to add pets to your Blog. As you can see on the right I have turtles and a hamster that need fed. Here is a Koi Pond you can also add to your Blog. They are so fun and will keep you occupied at work. Click below to feed my fish. Love it!!

Christmas Time!

2008-11-27T20:00:00.003-05:00

Finally, our house is done!!

Red Hat, Purple Dress, Funny Cat, time to Impress

2008-11-24T06:51:00.002-05:00

A friend of mine saw the note cards I made for Emilie and wanted me to make some for her mom. Her mom is part of the Red Hat Purple Dress society. So she wanted me to take their cat and make some note cards for her as a gift. Here are a couple of ideas I created for her. I first took the cat in Photoshop and a picture of her mom. I cropped out her mom's fancy hat and stuck it on the cat's head. Then I brought the new image in Illustrator and just started playing. Here is what I came up with. The basic concept for the card is on the left, and different ideas for the front are on the right. It was kind of fun, something creative that wasn't too difficult and didn't take too much time (since I hardly have any creative time these days with Cali). Oh yes, and also, we lit up our house for Christmas last night...its nuts! Don't worry, new xmas photo to come soon!

Photoshop World!

2008-11-12T09:00:00.005-05:00

I am entering a Photoshop World contest, so I thought I'd share my thoughts with all of you. One of my Top Ten reasons to go to Photopshop World Expo is that I would love to get my Portfolio reviewed. Being that its been awhile since I've had a Portfolio Review, it would nice to get some insight and thoughts on how to improve it, what is wrong, what is right, what is awesome, and what is plain boring, etc. At Photoshop World, I feel, can help me answer my questions and improve my portfolio. PHOTOSHOP WORLD will also have Help Desk LIVE!, which is where you can have all your Photoshop questions answered, one-on-one. I know we all have a million Photoshop Questions that need answered, since the program can do SOOOO MUCH!

The Photoshop World Conference & Expo will be held:

March 25-27, 2009

Hynes Convention Center

Boston, MA

Here is the link for more info: http://www.photoshopworld.com/

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMILIE!

2008-10-20T08:06:00.003-05:00

My friend Emilie's birthday was on Friday last week, so I made her something small for her birthday. I figured there wasn't much "hanging" space to hang a drawing for her, so I decided to make her notecards as a gift of her doggy. Since she is a teacher, I figured she probably would write on notecards. So I made two different ones for her to use. Just something small. Hope you liked them Em!! Happy Birthday...again! We had a blast Saturday night!

Pearls of Promise

2008-10-09T10:13:00.007-05:00

A friend and coworker of mine is going to be designing dishes for breast cancer awareness. She came to me and asked me if I could do some designs for her. She scribbled out on paper what she wanted, and here is what I came up with for her. She is going to get them made and start selling them, and a percentage of sales will go to me, if it ever takes off. Pretty cool huh? She swears we'll be on OPRAH one day...haha. But seriously, she is a sweet lady. Her mother died of breast cancer, and she is a survivor of it TWICE! She also had a tumor removed in her brain not long ago after collapsing at work, so she's been through a lot. She said that God came to her in her dreams, telling her to get these designs done and start to sell them and an angel would help (being me). She is very religious and spiritual. So when I designed these for her, she cried. She cried and cried. She asked me how I got into her head and created exactly what was in her head...lol. So we'll see if this business venture of hers takes off. I can't wait to see these things actually made!! I will also be designing the cover of a book she is going to write on her life. But I told her lets focus on one thing at a time. I don't want her crying every day now! Below are some logo ideas I had for her, some plate designs she wanted, and a cup she wanted me to create. Click on each image for a larger view. Enjoy!

Petey!!

2008-09-15T08:34:00.006-05:00

One of my very good friends, Stacey, I've known for a very long time, has a Boston Terrier named Sampras....after Pete Sampras of course. My husband love, love, loves to call him Petey. Anyways, her birthday was last week. She is always thinking of others all the time, and always remembers me on my birthday. So I wanted to get her something special, but wasn't sure what. So I got thinking, maybe she'd like a portrait of her dog. I wasn't sure what I was going to draw, what medium I was going to use, etc. So I decided to go with Illustrator and hand-drew her dog in Adobe Illustrator. This is what I came up with. I hadn't posted this yet, since I wanted to wait until she received it first. So again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY STACEY!

Finally!

2008-08-17T17:05:00.001-05:00

So I finally drew a picture....well, a quick sketch. When I was working in Fairfax for a week, I had a lot of time to kill at my desk at work. Sooo, while i waited for some actual design work to do, I brought up some animal photographs on my screen, and decided to sketch from there. This is just on typical printer paper and a regular old ballpoint pen, so no real art supplies. So this is what I made. The tiger was super cute. It came out alright for something quick. I wish I had my Micron pens and real art paper, but, since it was doodling at work, I guess I can accept it with all its issues...lol. Artists are always picky about their work, can't you tell? Hopefully I'll actually sit down and really draw, but for now, you will have to settle for quicky-art with desk supplies. More to come soon....i hope.

I am a Badger

2008-07-30T15:16:00.003-05:00

Well, I was sent off to work in Fairfax, VA for a week to work on a major project for my company. It was a last minute assignment that I was requested to drive up in less than 24 hours. I got a phone call at work saying, we need you ASAP in Fairfax....so, I got home, packed, kissed my baby and hubby goodbye and headed up North. I am here now, and am workin diligently (sp?). As I sit between graphics, I created a silly sign real quick. You see, back home they call the graphic artists, graphic rats....and well, the last time I worked on a project with my friend and fellow coworker, Kevin, we decided we didn't want to be rats....so instead, we called ourselves Badgers, since folks Badger us to do graphics. So, that's where badger came from, and well, since I was sitting here at work, between graphics, I made this "graphic badger" sign for myself to put on my wall as I wait to get "badgered". Sigh...life as a badger isn't always what its cracked up to be, i will be home soon!

Party Ponies

2008-04-21T07:14:00.003-05:00

So I'm designing a website for a friend of mine. Her family owns a Pony Riding business. They do the pony rides at The Farmers Market, Pungo Strawberry Festival, for birthday parties, etc. So I am not sure exactly what I'm going to go with yet. A more professional approach or child-like approach. I'm giving her options. Anywhoo, I drew this Pony for a possible child-like approach to the site. We'll see what I end up coming up with in the end. The site will most likely be www.beachpartyponies.com once its up and running. Here is the pony I drew. Hope you all enjoy. I am trying to squeeze in art when I can. Having a little one sure does make things more difficult.

The Drunken Polack

2008-03-19T06:31:00.003-05:00

So I haven't done any art in awhile, obviously, but now I have something I can post. I designed a logo for a very good friend of mine for his beer site. So this will be a plug for his site as well. Be sure to visit The Drunken Polack to find out all the information you wanted to know about different types of beer. You've heard of it, but haven't tried it? Then check out the site and see what its ratings are, where it can be found, etc. Anywhoo, enough advertising, this is the logo I came up with. I'm sure it may change, but for now, this is what I've got. Here is the site too so go visit! http://www.drunkenpolack.com/

Happy Easter

2008-03-17T06:38:00.001-05:00

Again, I still haven't had a chance to do much art, but I did photoshop a picture of my little girl. So I'll add this darling photo my hubby took of Cali. Happy Easter everyone! I'll post artwork soon!

My baby girl

2008-01-18T09:56:00.000-05:00

My first child was born Jan. 10 at 5:35 am, she weighed 6 lbs, 15oz and was 19.5 inches long. Here is a pict of her. Sorry, no art yet, got a little one now that will keep me pretty occupied for a good while.

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!

2007-12-06T14:48:00.000-05:00

This isn't really any art, and I know most of you have seen this picture already, but this is our out at Christmas this year. So we can call this "Allen's Masterpiece" since that's about as artsy as he gets. We hope everyone is going to enjoy their Christmas this year and if you don't celebrate Christmas, then enjoy your holidays! Soon Cali will be born and then I can start getting into kickball shape once again. I can't wait! And if Cali becomes a little artist herself, I will include her artwork on my blog in the future (that won't be for awhile I know). Happy Holidays!!!

Pumpkins!!

2007-11-01T06:44:00.001-05:00

I haven't had the chance to post my pumpkin picts yet till now. We had a pumpkin carving contest at work, and I won 1st Place and Most Creative too for my Finding Nemo Pumpkin. The other pumpkin I made called "The Topless Pumpkin" got Honorable Mention....lol. I drew the face and had Jen carve it out, so that is her very first pumpkin carving! Yay Jen! The Finding Nemo pumpkin has a Nemo hanging from a string attached to the cat's paw (made out of paper mache') so I am posting a pict with the Nemo in front of the pumpkin so you can see, but Nemo was actually hanging inside the fish bowl. I also put clear marbles inside the pumpkin to look like fish bubbles. Enjoy!!! And for Halloween, I was a Pumpkin Smuggler this year.

Cali's Room

2007-09-25T07:54:00.001-05:00

So, this past month I've been painting Cali's room. It's been a lot of work, but it's starting to come along. Here are some of the pictures of my progress. Here is also a link to all the picts I've taken so far.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11456210@N08/

Running-Man

2007-08-29T18:24:00.001-05:00

So a lady at my work requested I draw her boyfriend. I warned her that I don't hand-draw people real well. Now in Illustrator, I can work my magic and make cartoony type folks, like the Super Ben and Jedi-Dave, but she insisted on a hand-drawing by me. Soooo, this was my attempt. I will be bringing it with me to work tomorrow, so we'll see what she says. I drew it in about 2 hours, so it was pretty quick. Anywhoo, this is the running-man. This is my first drawing in awhile, and I'm still working on the pen&ink giraffe that I started after the turtle, I have yet to finish that too. I'm such a slacker!

Simpsonize Me

2007-08-09T06:53:00.000-05:00

So I've seen tons of people do this, and I finally decided to try it one day. So this is me as a simpson. I noticed that many of the characters really don't look all that much like the original person, but hey, at least its not too bad. But then again, simpson characters aren't the most attractive cartoons there are. Anywhoo, so this is me. If you would like to see how you would look as a simpson character, go to http://simpsonizeme.com. Sometimes the site is slow since many folks are trying to log on and try it at one time. Hopefully the hype has slowed down a bit. Don't worry, I'll post more of my art soon. For now, simpson-Cattina will have to do. Enjoy!

Brides

2007-07-23T17:03:00.000-05:00

Well, I've ventured into something new. I'm helping a fellow co-worker of mine design her ads and business cards. She is a wedding/event coordinator/planner. She didn't have much imagery to choose from, so I decided to draw images in Illustrator for her to use. I'll update my progress as I go. For now, these are some images I drew for her that I am going to incorporate into her ads and business card.

jedi dave

2007-07-19T20:14:00.000-05:00

Well, I was bored, the boyz are in Atlantic City for a Bachelor Party for our dear friend Ben. Then I remembered, I wanted to draw each of my friends as something unique. Ben like Superman, so I drew him as SuperBen. So, I was doodling in Illustrator and figured I'd draw a picture of my dear friend Dave. He really likes StarWars and gave up a lot of his stuff over the past year (I still don't know how he got rid of such a collection!) Anywhoo, I figured I'd try and draw him as something relating to Star Wars...so, here we go, a Jedi. So this is Jedi Dave. I hope you like it Dave! I thought it looked kinda like ya at least. If you want a copy of it larger, I can print it out for you like I printed out one for Ben. So as I find some slow times, I will continue drawing images of my friends when I get into an Illustrator "mood." I have to be in a "drawing mood" for some reason to handle the patience of Illustrator. Hope everyone has a great weekend, and the boyz are livin it up in AC! Cya when you get back boyz!

Doodling

2007-07-18T16:19:00.000-05:00

So, I was doodling one day in Flash, and this was a mini drawing I did, from a simplified smile to a cartooney guy. I don't know, I was bored, so a quick doodle and this is what it turned out like....sigh. Not my best, but hey, it will do.

Just another birthday

2007-07-13T14:00:00.000-05:00

I just had my birthday a few days ago, it sure doesn't feel like a birthday, but I guess as you get older, birthdays just aren't as exciting as they used to be. Its just another number. Anywhoo, on to my recent image. So this was a business card I designed for a co-worker of mine's daughter who was doing a doggy-day-care business, but she ended up not starting the business. I then passed it on to my sister for her one day to use (the name of the business would be different of course). So I figured I'd post the business card cuz I thought it turned out cute. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far. Have a good one!

Let's Try This Again....I'm Back!

2007-07-05T06:37:00.000-05:00

Okay, so yes, it has been awhile since I've posted anything, and I'm super sorry. As I mentioned in my last post, I recently graduated with my masters, and that took up a lot of my time the past few months. Not to mention, I'm pregnant now, so that will soon consume my time as well. Anywhoo, I am posting a postcard I had designed for a Tim McGraw contest I had entered. I didn't win (but I think its because I wasn't part of the Tim McGraw FanClub, apparently it was for FanClub members only, but I thought it would be fun to design one anyway, just for me). So the contest was use photos from Tim McGraw's concerts and make a collage postcard with it, so this is what I came up with. I made it pretty quickly cuz I was bored one day. Anywhoo, hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July, I know I did! It stinks having to be at work the next day!

Graduate!

2007-07-03T14:56:00.000-05:00

I finally graduated with my Masters in Instructional Technology from Virginia Tech! Whoohoo! It's been a long time coming, and now I can have more time to do some fun stuff! Also, with a little one on the way, I'm sure my time is going to be bombarded. So for now, here is a bizarre photo to keep you entertained till I draw something.

Shame on Me

2007-05-05T08:22:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a long while since I've posted anything. I have been working so very hard on my thesis project this semester. I've started drawing a new pen and ink sketch, but I haven't finished it yet, so for now, here is a mirror I made for my best friend's little girl back about 2 years ago. I took a pict of it on a scrap piece of poster board to make it stand out. Hopefully I'll get some recent stuff up soon!

The Seashell Dolphin

2007-02-22T17:19:00.000-05:00

I have finally finished the Seashell dolphin. It goes up for auction on Saturday for charity, so I'm not sure where it's final home in Virginia Beach is. Once I find out who the high bidder was, I'll post it on the blog so you all know where his new home will be. These are all the photos of the process.

Step 1: First I have to prime the Dolphin.

Step2: I painted it blue and then I marked off with tape the seashells I wanted to draw. I then cut out the area I wanted to paint and then painted the basic coats of the seashells.

Step3: I painted more detail on the shells and then removed the painters tape. I did the whole thing on the other side of the dolphin as well.

Step4:I painted a bluish border around the seashells.

Step 5:I took the dolphin outside and flung paint all over it. That was lots of fun!

Step 6: I added some artsy squiggles and put a couple coats of Clear coat on it to protect it from the weather. And that's it! The finished Dolphin!

Bear family

2007-02-19T07:48:00.000-05:00

Well, Allen and I just found out that his cousin and girlfriend are havin a baby. How exciting for them! They just got a new place, and now they are having a baby. It was wonderful news and she is so excited. So here is a mommy bear and baby drawn in colored pencil.
I'm still working on the dolphin. It will be done this week, and I'll post the pictures of some of the steps on here this weekend. Have a wonderful Presidents Day! (yeah, I know, not the most exciting holiday, but a holiday just the same).

New Dolphin

2007-02-05T10:44:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm going to be painting another dolphin. I'm not sure where it is going to be placed in Virginia Beach this time. A charity is going to auction it off the end of the month, then I'll know where its going. So for now, here is a rough sketch of what I am going to paint it like. I should be getting the dolphin delivered today and then I can start painting it. I made it simple since they only gave me practicly 2 weeks to paint it (not much time for painting and letting it dry when its below freezing out). So I probably won't be adding another sketch for awhile since I have this dolphin to paint and a thesis to write. So until then, I'll try to post updated photos of the dolphin as I paint it.

Finished Turtle! Finally!

2007-02-03T11:33:00.000-05:00

So I finally finished the turtle...hooray!! Here he is!

Cruisin is wonderful

2007-01-30T11:18:00.000-05:00

Cruises are wonderful. I just got back from a week long cruise and the weather was perfect! I am almost finished with the turtle, don't worry, I'll get it done, I promise! I have my thesis project to work on this semester so I won't have as much time to draw as I thought I did, but don't worry, I'll squeeze in drawings the best I can. Turtle will be posted soon, but for now, enjoy my colored pencil drawings of seahorses.

Babies, babies, babies

2007-01-16T07:55:00.000-05:00

So it seems like a lot of friends of mine are having babies left and right. I had drawn this image with colored pencil for my inlaw's neighbors for their little one. They had a tropical/pooh theme, and this is what I went with.

Turtle Day 3

2007-01-14T11:01:00.000-05:00

Well, the turtle is close to being finished. I've started the shell. I am hoping my next image of the turtle will be the final image.

SUPERBEN!

2007-01-11T09:46:00.000-05:00

So I have a dear friend of mine that absolutely loves Superman....and we even call him a superman since he is so friggin fast when it comes to running in kickball. So here's to you Ben and your speed! Hope you like it!

Turtle Day 2

2007-01-10T17:46:00.000-05:00

So this is as far as I've gotten on day two of the turtle. I'm getting closer to finishing it. Hopefully I can get it done before I leave for my cruise. Its starting to come to life! All that's left is his shell and its a pretty big shell, but I can do it!

Mumble

2007-01-08T14:03:00.000-05:00

So I saw Happy Feet a few weeks ago and loved it. It was very cute. So while I was at work today I whipped up a quick drawing of Mumble in Illustrator. I am still working on the turtle hand-drawing and will continue to post updates on him as well. But for now, enjoy little Mumble as he dances into your hearts!

Turtle: Phase 1 & 2

2007-01-07T17:24:00.000-05:00

One of my best friends loves turtles, so I am going to draw a turtle in her honor. You know who you are girl! So the first step when I draw is lightly sketch out what I want in pencil. Then I start to fill in shading and what not with micron pens slowly but surely. This is about 4 hours worth of work right here. The size of this is about 14x17 on bristol board. This one is going to take awhile, so I'm going to keep doing a little at a time until its finished. I'll take photos of it for now and then scan in the final image. I'll post my progress on this little guy throughout the week(s). Hope you enjoy it!

Boxing Gal

2007-01-06T09:01:00.000-05:00

I drew this boxing girl in Illustrator for a client back a few months ago. The model didn't have on boxing gloves and wasn't punching originally. He wanted me to draw her as a boxer, but still sexy. So this was the result. Don't get too excited gentleman readers. :)

Kylie

2007-01-05T18:26:00.000-05:00

So my best friend has a little girl, and I decided to draw her in Illustrator. I'm having fun illustrating in that program since its been awhile. So this is little Kylie. Hope you enjoy it!

welcome

2007-01-04T10:09:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my first entry to my blog page. I am going to try and add artwork everytime I post. I need to start drawing again. Its been so long since I have drawn. I've really been trying to work on my Illustrator skills, so the first drawing I am going to add is of a rottweiler puppy. I have a rottie so yeah, she's my inspiration.

Hopefully I'll be posting more soon!