This piece was a modern take on today’s culture of art and life. The challenge was to create a simplistic look on what would bring out the real modern culture in our current time. I then thought about the internet and how it has been taking over our modern culture with comments, emojis, and emotions. Using my digital tablet, I was able to create contrast between the positive and the negative side of this subject.

I was taking a history class about Graphic Design and there was a specific art movement called, Art Nouveau, which was popular between 1890 and 1910. The style brought out specific art forms, including stained glass that would have pictures in glass that are pieced together in colored pieces. The challenge was to create an art piece under the Art Nouveau era and the stained-glass style was my first choice. I thought about the nature themes in their pieces and decided to use a gray wolf to be the focal point of my piece. Using my digital tablet, I drew the black lining to connect and form together as if it was creating a picture through colored glass.

For my introduction to Photoshop Fundamentals, we were given a challenge to mesh two animals of our choosing. The real trickery was the way I had to use Select & Mask to bring the eagle face up-front and using the mixer brush tool to blend the feathers with the fur. In the end, it looked like a creature from a forest fairy tale.

In Digital Print Applications, we learned different ways of how certain products would get packaged for the public to buy in the market. In this cracker package project, the printing was done with transparent plastic that required a separate layer of white ink so what’s left over is a clear look through the tiger’s mouth to see the product.

During Graphic Design Development at NWTC, there was an organization called the Breast Cancer Family Foundation. They were looking for a modern logo for their upcoming 2019 Fall event called, Pink Pumpkin. Each of us was challenged to create an image that would bring out the event, and it also included restrictions from the members like not having the pumpkins animated with human features or using the color purple. Since I like simplicity, I thought about a shape that would bring out the pumpkin with vines to fill in the space. Once the required words were placed in, the overall image would form a square collage if it were to be imprinted on any merchandise. The finished piece showed everything that they expected with a simple take on the subject.

I was given the opportunity to create a movie poster for class that would mimic a poster that already existed. I decided to reference the original 1996 Space Jam poster and used Garfield characters instead of Looney Tunes. The main challenge was choosing the right fonts and placements that would blend the best with the overall design.

We were given the challenge to create a step-by-step graphic without showing words on how to do the finishing product. Since I started drawing as a kid by learning how to draw Garfield from his comics, I decide to have a graphic on how to draw Garfield’s head. I wanted the piece to be as simple as possible that would not include heavy sketch outlines that you would normally see in how-to-draw books. I decided to have each image have an orange stroke that would resemble the next step for the viewer to make as they are drawing. The process of putting this together was mainly copying the finished head in all the placements, and then deleting all the lines until you are left with what needs to be shown for each step. The finishing piece showed a clear instruction guide on how to draw the fat cat’s iconic head.

In Layout & Composition 1, we were given the opportunity to create a book cover for a made-up fiction thriller. I wanted to reference Seinfeld with the red dot episode and made the description over the top with its themes. The cashmere sweater included a smart filter that brought in the dust and scratches on the fabric image.

Near the end of Graphic Design Development, we were put in groups to promote a fake brand by creating mockups for a made-up beverage. The presentation required a brand sheet about our Bean Spirited company, labels for the cups (like this one), and a folded up package mockup for the drinks to “ship in” (next image below). This gave me a closer look behind the marketing side of graphic design.