I've been overwhelmed by babies recently. Every where I turn there are babies. Maybe not literally, but it sure feels that way. With Bella, and another baby Buschman (the OTHER Buschmans, that is) that is on the way our immediate family is starting to develop their next generation. Two of my other cousins just had little girls, my boss just had a little boy, and one of our closest friends is going to have a baby boy in May. I have 5 gifts for babies/children sitting behind me at the moment, waiting to be delivered to their recipients.
I've been asked, particularly by Jessica, when is it going to be my turn. Unless by accident, not any time soon. As much as I love babies, I really enjoy the lifestyle that my husband and I have. I'm sure people look in askance when we go out to dinner and sit there reading the whole time, and not saying one word to each other, but we are both extremely happy to be doing that. I also REALLY like not having stinky diapers and spit up to deal with. Furthermore, I don't need a baby to mess up my house. I am quite capable of that, thank you.
I know I'm sounding like a baby is all negative things, and I am aware of what a joy a baby can be. I personally like being the Auntie and spoiling them, and having fun with them, then sending them home to mom. All the perks, none of the negatives. I think I'll let DeAnna have the third Walton grandchild. At this time, all I'm looking for is a happy medium of work, illustration, games and books, but for now, 3 out of 4 isn't bad.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
My thoughts on design
I've been working at PrintFellas for approximately a month now and I've been enjoying it a lot. I've been expanding my knowledge base in computer graphics, learning many tricks of the trade and time-saving techniques. I still feel slow, but I think I'm getting faster. Well...except when I'm trying out new tutorials at home. Then I'll follow the steps provided and try out 10 other things to see what would happen if I changed something. I've been learning more and more that layers are my friend and there's never such thing as too many layers.
Would I have learned more than what I left school with if I had focused solely on graphic design instead of graphic design and illustration? Undoubtedly, but illustration has been an ongoing pleasure (albeit a sometimes pain as well) that I wouldn't trade for anything. Also, I am not dependent on the computer alone to create my artwork. I love working on my colored pencil illustrations, even if I don't get as much time to work on them these days then when I was in school.
Should I have learned the majority of the things that I'm learning now while I was in school? Probably. One can argue that there are so many facets in trying to teach someone graphic design that teachers are required to pick and choose what to pass on to students in a 14-16 week period. First, training someone to have an eye/skill for good design, including what makes design good or bad. Second, typography and learning how to use it effectively to hone your design/message. Third, color and color theory: what meanings the correct hue, shade and tint/tone a color can bring to your design; anyone who says there's no more than 10 shades of blue (or any other color) has never designed before. Fourth, learning the medium that your designing: if it is web, understanding how RGB and web pages work/function; if it is print, then understanding how cmyk, printing processes, and types of paper interact with each other to create the finished product; if it's packaging, then understanding everything for print as well as how things are assembled three-dimensionally; if it's environmental graphics, then having an understanding of ALL three of the prior processes, since it is likely they all will be used on a job.
There is a fifth area of training that teachers must teach their students, the one that started this rant/postulation initially: teaching the students how to USE the design programs. The main problem with teaching the design programs is that there are students at every level of education when they start schooling, and unfortunately teachers have to go at the speed of the slowest student. In the lower level classes, the teachers must assume that you've never worked with the programs before. This frustrates students like me, familiar with the computer and with most of the basic workings of the program. To further compound the issue, the initial computer training classes are often taught by grad students and then the students learning are confined to the knowledge of the grad students, which may be limited. Granted, upper level classes, such as packaging design, expect you to have a working knowledge of all the programs necessary to complete your assignments, but students can make it to those classes without having learned the necessary skills. I went through half of my graphic design classes without learning something new from the teacher. Mind you, I only had 6, but I still took more graphic design classes then the MINIMUM needed to graduate with an emphasis in graphic design.
I don't have an answer to the problem of how to teach graphic design efficiently, but I will mention my most useful class. I took Magdy Rizk's Graphic Design Production class, and he spent at least half of all the classes on lectures, including technique/process demonstrations, showing samples of good design and what to look for, and showing us the printing processes and teaching about paper, ink, etc. He even took us to a printer to see the printing process in action. That class is the one I learned the most from in all my graphic design classes at CSUN.
Would I have learned more than what I left school with if I had focused solely on graphic design instead of graphic design and illustration? Undoubtedly, but illustration has been an ongoing pleasure (albeit a sometimes pain as well) that I wouldn't trade for anything. Also, I am not dependent on the computer alone to create my artwork. I love working on my colored pencil illustrations, even if I don't get as much time to work on them these days then when I was in school.
Should I have learned the majority of the things that I'm learning now while I was in school? Probably. One can argue that there are so many facets in trying to teach someone graphic design that teachers are required to pick and choose what to pass on to students in a 14-16 week period. First, training someone to have an eye/skill for good design, including what makes design good or bad. Second, typography and learning how to use it effectively to hone your design/message. Third, color and color theory: what meanings the correct hue, shade and tint/tone a color can bring to your design; anyone who says there's no more than 10 shades of blue (or any other color) has never designed before. Fourth, learning the medium that your designing: if it is web, understanding how RGB and web pages work/function; if it is print, then understanding how cmyk, printing processes, and types of paper interact with each other to create the finished product; if it's packaging, then understanding everything for print as well as how things are assembled three-dimensionally; if it's environmental graphics, then having an understanding of ALL three of the prior processes, since it is likely they all will be used on a job.
There is a fifth area of training that teachers must teach their students, the one that started this rant/postulation initially: teaching the students how to USE the design programs. The main problem with teaching the design programs is that there are students at every level of education when they start schooling, and unfortunately teachers have to go at the speed of the slowest student. In the lower level classes, the teachers must assume that you've never worked with the programs before. This frustrates students like me, familiar with the computer and with most of the basic workings of the program. To further compound the issue, the initial computer training classes are often taught by grad students and then the students learning are confined to the knowledge of the grad students, which may be limited. Granted, upper level classes, such as packaging design, expect you to have a working knowledge of all the programs necessary to complete your assignments, but students can make it to those classes without having learned the necessary skills. I went through half of my graphic design classes without learning something new from the teacher. Mind you, I only had 6, but I still took more graphic design classes then the MINIMUM needed to graduate with an emphasis in graphic design.
I don't have an answer to the problem of how to teach graphic design efficiently, but I will mention my most useful class. I took Magdy Rizk's Graphic Design Production class, and he spent at least half of all the classes on lectures, including technique/process demonstrations, showing samples of good design and what to look for, and showing us the printing processes and teaching about paper, ink, etc. He even took us to a printer to see the printing process in action. That class is the one I learned the most from in all my graphic design classes at CSUN.
Monday, February 19, 2007
New website up and running!
Welcome to v0.7 of the new Nightengailart.com. The layout I kept simple and clean for a starter website, but I have ideas in the works to integrate my illustration and the website layout. The links page should be operational soon, and the home page might change a bit, but we're pleased with the website so far.
Please let me know what you think, and if there are any glitches or suggestions, tell me.
Please let me know what you think, and if there are any glitches or suggestions, tell me.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Interviews and more
I've been sending out resumes like crazy and working on my website, in hopes of getting it up and running. Been going on a few interviews and have a few more scheduled for this week and next.
The new website is coming along well. At this point we're making minor changes to the appearance, and tweaking details. Version 0.1 should be up and running within two weeks, but hopefully sooner.
This weekend I have my niece's baptism to attend. I am one of her two godmothers, and am very happy to be one. I'm looking forward to playing with her and spending time with my sister.
The new website is coming along well. At this point we're making minor changes to the appearance, and tweaking details. Version 0.1 should be up and running within two weeks, but hopefully sooner.
This weekend I have my niece's baptism to attend. I am one of her two godmothers, and am very happy to be one. I'm looking forward to playing with her and spending time with my sister.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
I am sick...blah
Everyone's been getting sick except me, and I was happy that all I had was a sore throat and stuffy nose. But yesterday I managed to get more than that and now I'm not happy...this is when I wish I had a working bathtub.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Portfolio rework
Today I started really reworking my portfolio, and I got 9 pages in it done. I still have 2 major projects that I need to fix up and then a few additional projects that I'm going to start from scratch and create to add to my portfolio. I've been printing and reprinting pages to make sure they're up to my standards of acceptability. The image I'm posting is one of the best pages in my portfolio (according to Eric) because I've made the layout look all three-dimensional. I've also been using many tutorials and guide books to learn more and more tricks and techniques to the programs I've been using to get the most out of them.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Postcards Finito!
After good feedback from my illustration group today, I have finished the final version of the first postcard mailers. Although only one front illustration is show, I have designed fronts for all the colored pencil illustrations I've done so far. I won't order them all at once, but space them out in hopes of attracting attention to my artwork. Now as far as illustration stuff goes, I need to do a quick redesign of my website (just so my artwork could be on the main page) and update my portfolio. But before that, more graphic design in preparation for my interview on Wednesday.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Friday work
I think i'm fairly happy with my design I came up with on friday for my postcards. I used the layout that I've been using for my illustration portfolio, which I enjoy the look of. This will keep all my work cohesive looking until I work with my friend Stephanie on redesigning our logo/stationary package. I didn't get a chance to post last night as I was working on installing Photoshop CS3 Beta (thank you Eric!) and also cleaning up my files, since I had at one point less then 1 GB space on an 80 GB harddrive. Today, I'm at Connie's house, so the updates are probably going to be only text until I get back home.
I'm going to Carol's house for the monthly illustration meeting on Monday, and I'll be bringing samples of my postcards to get feedback from everyone there before it goes to print.
I'm going to Carol's house for the monthly illustration meeting on Monday, and I'll be bringing samples of my postcards to get feedback from everyone there before it goes to print.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Postcard C
Here are three options for my illustration mailer postcards. Three fronts are given, and three backs. Let me know which ones you're liking more, the first of each being A, the second B, and the third C. Two things to note about these postcards: 1. They are NOT done. as a work in progress, there are some good things happening, and some crap still remains. 2. The text design at this point remains simple to match the font I've chosen for my portfolio/resume. I am supposed to be teaming up with my friend, and we're going to design each others stationary packages, so until then, I just keep it simple.
Errand day
Today I drove all over the valley running errands. The good things that came from these errands: more copies of the illustrated holiday card I did, and I filed the paperwork for my DBA. The announcement will be published in a little valley paper called Warner Center News, and I can now put NightenGail Art on my postcards, business cards and mailers. yay! Hopefully I can get some work on those postcards done tonight so I can have a visual to post as well tonight. But until then, this will do.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Alphabet
Today besides more diet prep-work I finished all but one of the letters and about half of the titles for the workbook. I didn't finish letter "R" (or for that matter, X and Z, but I don't think they'll be used). The post is kind of late tonight, but we also slept in late (until 10:30) so I didn't get a full work day during the day.
I also have an interview set up for next Wednesday! It's not for a full-time position, but for possible freelance graphic design jobs. Anything that will be work for me will be nice. I'm sure I'll be more nervous next week, but I'm just kind of excited about it now.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Resumes and Letters
Today was good and bad. I didn't get the outlined letters for the layout I'm working on totally done. What is posted is the start of the lettering. I drew my own alphabet freehand, and I'm now tracing it on the computer so I can make all the titles for the children's workbook. I did, however, update my resume, prep all the food for the week for the new diet, and start work on updating my portfolio for graphic design. I also sent out two resumes for potential job opportunities for graphic design.
For those providing me feedback, i'm emailing my resume for review.
New Years Resolutions
I have created two New Years Resolutions for 2007. One pertains to my personal life, one pertains to my artwork/career.
The first is to follow a budget we established a couple of months ago. While I was in school, we didn't follow the budget very well, opting for convenience and time savers over money savers. Now we HAVE to follow the budget (and the fact that we're also going to follow the South Beach Diet for Eric will probably help, since we have certain foods we shouldn't be buying.)
The second is posting every day to this blog showing something I've worked on for art/career. It doesn't have to be a finished piece by any means, but any progress is good for me. This will also help me get feedback I would normally get in a classroom setting, especially when I'm stuck on a project and don't know what to do. A new perspective is always useful.
The first is to follow a budget we established a couple of months ago. While I was in school, we didn't follow the budget very well, opting for convenience and time savers over money savers. Now we HAVE to follow the budget (and the fact that we're also going to follow the South Beach Diet for Eric will probably help, since we have certain foods we shouldn't be buying.)
The second is posting every day to this blog showing something I've worked on for art/career. It doesn't have to be a finished piece by any means, but any progress is good for me. This will also help me get feedback I would normally get in a classroom setting, especially when I'm stuck on a project and don't know what to do. A new perspective is always useful.
Friday, December 29, 2006
Test
This is a test using my performencing editor to write my blog. So far, what i don't like is the erasing feature. If you misspell, it's annoying to correct it. But i'll give it a try for a bit.
powered by performancing firefox
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Busy but happy
I've noticed over they past couple of years that I LIKE being busy. I can easily STAY busy once my semester is over, since I already have enough projects in mind to keep my time filled for at least a few months. The other problem I find is that I like interacting with people and working on my art in conjunction with other people working on their artwork.
The problems in my observations is that I have adopted the viewpoint of the home as a haven. This viewpoint evolved in America as it grew out of the rural, agrarian lifestyle and into a more industrial life. In the agrarian lifestyle, a person's home and a person's work coincided: the home was the central workplace, and often a family would work together. As men began leaving the home to go to work, the home began being viewed as a haven and a place for rest and relaxation, rather than work.
With the numerous books, movies, and games around my home--not to mention the internet in and of itself--the home is a place of fun and distraction. I also manage somehow in that space to forget everything I've been training for in illustration regarding using references and sources of inspiration and then I stare at the blank page and shake my head in frustration and aggrivation when I can't think of what to draw or why my drawing isn't turning out right.
I like it best when I'm in school and I can spend all day AT school, away from home and those distractions, and then go home at the end of the day, relax for a bit, perhaps get some more art done, relax some more and go to sleep. This bodes well for my work ethic, but unfortunately poorly for my future if I were ONLY persuing freelance illustration. I need to try to find a shared studio or something where I can get out of my home and get work done. But that also entails that I'm already making enough money to pay for renting studio space.
I am much happier now that I have started working with colored pencils, for many reasons. First, I can work fairly small--which I can't seem to break the habit of yet--and still achieve a level of detail that I am satisfied with. Second, I don't need to spend countless hours mixing paints in the hope that I might achieve the correct portions of the color that I mixed days before. Finally, I am able to take my colored pencil illustrations ANYWHERE and work on them. I have already taken up that habit in such a way that I have worked in airports, on a plane, outside, in classes, at family and friend's homes, etc, etc. Indeed, I have taken to carrying around all my colored pencil supplies and one illustration at all times just in case I get bored/find myself with nothing to do.
I'm kind of rambling here, writing my thoughts as they come. On a slightly unrelated topic, I think that in the years to come, webservers such as blogger.com will become important to historians as documents in studying the way of life of people at the beginning of the 21st century. I feel that for the most part, blogging has replaced much of diaries as emails have replaced letterwriting. The 'archaic' means are still available, just less prevalent.
I have finished up a tedious yet fun illustration for my sister, which is also going to be used as the holiday card for the university. I saved a low-resolution copy and thought I posted it to the website, but now I think that the file may still have been too large to post, as it hasn't appeared... either that or i still had it saved as a TIFF. That is the more likely of the two, I think. I'll have to check when I get home.
The problems in my observations is that I have adopted the viewpoint of the home as a haven. This viewpoint evolved in America as it grew out of the rural, agrarian lifestyle and into a more industrial life. In the agrarian lifestyle, a person's home and a person's work coincided: the home was the central workplace, and often a family would work together. As men began leaving the home to go to work, the home began being viewed as a haven and a place for rest and relaxation, rather than work.
With the numerous books, movies, and games around my home--not to mention the internet in and of itself--the home is a place of fun and distraction. I also manage somehow in that space to forget everything I've been training for in illustration regarding using references and sources of inspiration and then I stare at the blank page and shake my head in frustration and aggrivation when I can't think of what to draw or why my drawing isn't turning out right.
I like it best when I'm in school and I can spend all day AT school, away from home and those distractions, and then go home at the end of the day, relax for a bit, perhaps get some more art done, relax some more and go to sleep. This bodes well for my work ethic, but unfortunately poorly for my future if I were ONLY persuing freelance illustration. I need to try to find a shared studio or something where I can get out of my home and get work done. But that also entails that I'm already making enough money to pay for renting studio space.
I am much happier now that I have started working with colored pencils, for many reasons. First, I can work fairly small--which I can't seem to break the habit of yet--and still achieve a level of detail that I am satisfied with. Second, I don't need to spend countless hours mixing paints in the hope that I might achieve the correct portions of the color that I mixed days before. Finally, I am able to take my colored pencil illustrations ANYWHERE and work on them. I have already taken up that habit in such a way that I have worked in airports, on a plane, outside, in classes, at family and friend's homes, etc, etc. Indeed, I have taken to carrying around all my colored pencil supplies and one illustration at all times just in case I get bored/find myself with nothing to do.
I'm kind of rambling here, writing my thoughts as they come. On a slightly unrelated topic, I think that in the years to come, webservers such as blogger.com will become important to historians as documents in studying the way of life of people at the beginning of the 21st century. I feel that for the most part, blogging has replaced much of diaries as emails have replaced letterwriting. The 'archaic' means are still available, just less prevalent.
I have finished up a tedious yet fun illustration for my sister, which is also going to be used as the holiday card for the university. I saved a low-resolution copy and thought I posted it to the website, but now I think that the file may still have been too large to post, as it hasn't appeared... either that or i still had it saved as a TIFF. That is the more likely of the two, I think. I'll have to check when I get home.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Current Projects
I have already completed a few projects this semester and have many more current and upcoming projects. I've done a pen-and-ink illustration and 1.5 scratchboard illustrations. This was the first time I did scratchboard ever and I wasn't liking how the scratchboard was turning out on the first one. However, Eric says that I have to complete that scratchboard piece, because he liked it. I am currently working on a pencil fabric rendering and finalizing the layout for the illustration i'm creating for scott (which i need to be ready to start rendering on Oct 16th). I also have in limbo my mechanical nightengail for my website, if I can ever find time between all my projects to complete that. And next week, we're starting to work in colored pencil (my favorite!).
The colored pencil piece and the next 3 will be original compositions, and not photo reference renderings. (although some references may be used for various elements of the compositions). The only one I don't have a specific drawing/image planned out in my head is the colored pencil piece, but i'll think of something. I want to have fun with that one, since it will definitely turn into a portfolio piece. I think i'll try out colored pencil over digital coloring for that piece, just to see if I like it.
The colored pencil piece and the next 3 will be original compositions, and not photo reference renderings. (although some references may be used for various elements of the compositions). The only one I don't have a specific drawing/image planned out in my head is the colored pencil piece, but i'll think of something. I want to have fun with that one, since it will definitely turn into a portfolio piece. I think i'll try out colored pencil over digital coloring for that piece, just to see if I like it.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Imagine That Gallery Show
The Gallery show is going well. I am at my third day of sitting in the gallery, 'guarding' the art work. Not the most exciting work, but it's a seat indoors and I can plug in my laptop and surf the net to my heart's desire. The only problem is that I don't really have much to surf right now. I'm up to date on the two webcomics I still read, and email inbox is pretty empty. I left my scratchboard peices at home (one is almost done, and the other eric is going to make me finish, even though i'm not fond of it at the moment). I actually did my graphic design homework when I was supposed to, so that's done for the moment, and I left my illustration board at home as well, so I can't start on my graphite project. I guess that just leaves mindless net surfing, working on my mechanical nightingale for my Nightengail website redesign, or working on the sketches for my upcoming materials and techniques projects, which will remain nameless to be a surprise for some. Now that I have my photo reference for scott's piece, I need to finalize the drawing, so I can still have a month or more for the rendering. (that is due on Dec 9th, Scott's b-day).
The pieces in the gallery look good, although we really did make use of every available inch of space to hang stuff. Dismantling and patching the gallery isn't going to be fun, but i'll put on music and make it fun.
The pieces in the gallery look good, although we really did make use of every available inch of space to hang stuff. Dismantling and patching the gallery isn't going to be fun, but i'll put on music and make it fun.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
New year...new fears...
New school year that is. I guess since I haven't posted since the birth of Isabella, I was a bit overdue for a post on my blog. Ah, well. After a summer of lots of family and drama, a whirlwind tour du' force of Kyoto and Tokyo and catching the flu, I have begun my last and final semester at CSUN. Theoretically. I only need two gen ed history classes to graduate (one being a 6:30 AM class, yay) and yet I'm enrolled in 3.3 art classes and am the charter president of the illustration club. 3.3 because I'm enrolled in an independant study in illustration worth only one credit. I think that the illustration classes will be a lot of fun, and the graphic design classes will be a LOT of work. Why do I do this to myself? If I don't burn out, it will be a very productive semester, to say the least. I'm nervous about the illustration club and getting enough activities/active members, and I'm nervous about the packaging design class, since it is THE hardest graphic design class offered at CSUN. I just want my last semester to be good for both myself and both of my portfolios. I hope that will be the case.
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