Illustration

There are three basic steps I follow when creating an illustration: concept, design, and rendering.

Every illustration should present a solution to some particular problem. In advertising it may have to draw the attention of an audience according to age, gender, race, social status, etc. In editorial work, there may be a particular idea, point of view, or event that needs to be depicted. The conceptual stage is where all these factors need to be taken into account and solved before putting the pencil to the paper.

Concepts can vary in complexity. I find the next challenge is to deliver the concept's main point accross in a visually interesting way. The design, in my opinion, is the most important step of the process. I will usually spend most of my time in this stage. Perspective, point of view, and lighting are just a few of the many elements that can be manipulated to drastically change any composition.

Once I feel the design can stand on its own as a line drawing, I know I'm ready for the final step - the rendering. Though sometimes difficult, this stage is the most straight forward and often enjoyable. Having made most of the decisions on how everything will be rendered in the previous two stages, here I mostly just sit down, color... and "stay within the lines!".

DRAWINGS 1 2 3

ILLUSTRATION 1 2 3 4

TRYBE SERIES 1 2 3 4

3D Modeling / Package Design

The following samples are mockups of various packaging and display design I created while working for a packaging and display design company in New Jersey. I started out as a temp knowledable in Strata 3D. Over the course of a few weeks I was exposed to many different techniques, materials, and specifications for designing packaging. I found this field of design most interesting in that along with aesthetics of design, the designer also had to consider a functional solution for the final product.

Logos

Logos often need to meet a slightly different criteria, which is why I gave them their own section.

When designing a logo, consideration to how it will be reproduced must be taken into account. Most logos are used for different purposes such as business cards and letterheads. This requires the logo to retain its look even when it's reduced in size. In some cases, a logo may be enlarged as well (such as in a banner or display).

Another factor I try to design around is color. Can the logo hold up in black and white alone? Can it be made to print with only two or three colors? While the requirements can vary between different logos, I usually try to design a logo with these questions in mind.

LOGOS 1 2 3 4 5 6

Multimedia

While I sometimes miss the feel of real paint brushes, charcoal, graphite, paper and other traditional mediums when creating, I'm always happy to work on the computer for at least one main reason - experimenting (oh, and the "Undo" command!).

Sure, there's a lot you can do with images in Photoshop, Painter, and other graphics programs. However, working with motion and sound is a whole new area of design. There are many applications for mixing animation and sound. Flash is my first weapon of choice for two reasons: 1) it's easy to use 2) it's widely accepted throughout the internet. At first I thougth Flash was used mainly to create banner ads. However, combined with a bit of programing, it can become a great tool for creating interactive web applications...and yes, fun games too!

Another area of animation I have experimented with is 3D animation. I still consider myself a beginner in this field. With a little bit of work, however, I hope to become proficient enough in 3D animation to combine it with my other design skills.

Lucid Wings - 264K Flash

A movie trailer-like animation based on an idea I had for an animated series. This was one of the first Flash pieces I put together.

Nymphus - 220K Flash

My first Flash game. Once I created the look and characters, I followed a tutorial for an arcade style game to learn how to program it.

Men, Women & Weight Loss - 128K Flash

Taking a simple quiz and making it more interesting for someone to take. There was a tight deadline, so I came up with a style that would be quick to work with.

Epotec Pharma Demo - 1.2MB Flash

This demo had to: 1) describe Epotec's online services 2) show how those services could benefit the pharmaceutical industry. I was given an outline to follow and the actor's sound file.

Nymphus talking screentest - 616k MPEG

After modeling the Nymphus character from my flash game in Strata 3D, I animated him and recorded some dialogue so I could experiment with facial expressions (his voice is still under development).

Nymphus beach screentest - 864k MPEG

This clip was made by shooting some live footage at a nearby park, importing it into Strata as a guide for animating Nymphus, then combining it with sound and some shadows in After Effects. A steady hand while shooting would have helped with the process!

HotWheels interactive greeting card - 264k Flash

This interactive greeting card allows the user to design a race track and then choose one of three different car models to race on the track.

Crestor interactive card - 164k Flash

This interactive greeting card displays tips on setting up a garden as the user clicks on the different parts of the scene.

Motorola greeting card - 120k Flash

Flash Motorola greeting card incorporating the Motorola 710 model cell phone.

Verizon greeting card - 296k Flash

This promo incorporates illustration and photos to complete the comical approach.