the smash

Clever title

2009-05-28T06:27:00.000-07:00

I'm way too tired to say much about this except I made this weird ass thing and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I think it's better than my last "render" (if you could even call it that) but it's for sure way overdone. There's a lot going on...but I still didn't have enough time to add the other details I wanted - the plants and animals - so I guess that's where the busy ass pattern came from. Trying to make up for what was lost.

Luckily, in quite possibly the first decision Zammit has made so far that I actually agree with, he's letting us work on this renders some more next week. Hopefully I'll be able to really spend some time on them and have something kind of nice.

Update: Crit went pretty well. Not amazing, but it got a decent response. Really looking forward to sleeping. Also, the above image is actually slightly different from the first one. Not lying. Fur serial.

so not worth it

2009-05-26T06:26:00.000-07:00

I stayed up all night working on this. As I said before, so not worth it.

Didn't turn out very exciting or pretty...but hopefully I'll get better at it by the time I do the rest of my renderings. It's hard to mimic some of the effects I want in photoshop. I want more texture and stuff...prepare for an update on Thursday. Do your zamm homework.

grinding some angles, dude

2009-05-25T17:41:00.001-07:00

So...today I've been more or less useless. Yesterday I made a circle. Here's me cutting it off my jig with an angle grinder, hurray!

And so then I had this...I thought it looked like a much smoother circle, but it doesn't appear so in pictures. This is a bummer...but the circle is a fairly unimportant part of my design anyhow.

And so that other thing I made is the smaller metal nest thingy. I was having some trouble welding today, so this one isn't so nice, but hopefully I'll be better at it next time. The one shown is actually only about half as long as a final one, and there will be seven.

So now my dilemma is what to do about the finish...I actually really like it raw like this, not polished with visible discoloration on the washer. I think it looks neat and that it's interesting to see right where the weld affected the stainless steel. However, there's definitely some concern that I'm subconsciously convincing myself that it looks good because I'm lazy and don't want to bother finishing it. Bleh...

Anyway, today is Jenna's birthday! Yay Jenna! We got our helices pierced to celebrate.

Boca Seda

2009-05-16T13:11:00.000-07:00

Lani Imre is an incredible artist. I'm going to try and mimic her style for my image boards for my chair...if there ever is a chair...

So effing lazy today...went to Bunk Space last night, a warehouse in OTR that a bunch of artists and musicians bought or rented or something. My roommate's new boytoy played a set there, along with a whole bunch of others. He was really great, it was the first time I'd heard him other than eavesdropping on him playing in her room. There were some other really fun bands there, and a really interesting atmosphere...there were all these huge cardboard trees, and films of leaves and trees projected on the walls. Shea played at the "campfire," a bunch of old tv's playing a loop of - you'll never guess - a campfire, with some very questionably constructed benches all around it. All around a good time, even including the angry hippy that I got into a yelling match with in line for the bathroom. Some people don't understand the difference between finding an art piece interesting and finding an art piece good. Even if he didn't understand the difference, he can still fuck off for yelling at me, regardless of whether I liked it or not. Where's the peace and love? Where? I say I won...he ended up running into the bathroom. Aggros.

I wish I had taken some pictures...next time I go I'll remember my camera. Here's the flyer, though, for a taste...

Mistakes were made

2009-05-15T07:53:00.000-07:00

A) Apparently Ross was actually the first to tell me why my pictures were f'd up. So, Ross and John are both way smarter than me. Thanks.

B) Corgi puppies ARE pretty damn cute. This is a corgi puppy named Cloe, just like my dog is named Chloe but spelled right. Please note the puppy growing some godzam humongous ears:

Big ears

really big ears

Holy shit my ears are 4 times the size of my face!! I'm a superhero with the power to block out the suns of my enemies with my huge ass ears!!

You're quite welcome.

Dijbouti!!

2009-05-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

John Ariosa is really smart. RGB, not CMYK.

I drank heavily last night. Fuck work.

Maxed out like your mama's credit card

2009-05-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

Dude, I am tired. Here is a shoe I rendered. It's one of my worst renderings, but blogger is fucking up the colors on all the other ones. I'll post 'em later...

Dachshund Duck

2009-05-08T21:23:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to lie. I've been looking at puppies all day. All goddamn day.

I worked too hard this week. If I work this hard for more than 4 days it short circuits my brain and I end up comatose in bed looking at pictures of dachshunds dressed as ducks.

I want a dog and 4 weeks tacked onto the quarter to work on my projects more.

shooooooze

2009-05-07T11:56:00.001-07:00

Learned how to weld this morning...if Jim Burns talking about it for a while and me welding 2 inches of bead counts as learning. It's a start.

Been sketching on some shoes for des comm...it's pretty fun to draw non-sports related footwear, just as a change. Performance stuff is rad too, but you know...the purely fashion end of it isn't usually something I get to play around with much. The project is to draw 3 types of shoes, so I've been drawing heels, stable boots (as in barn, not sturdy), and cleats...

C'est la vie. Some ennui...

Renders up next week...time for a nap.

Chain of fools

2009-05-02T15:23:00.000-07:00

What am I getting myself into?

So...I went to the scrap metal yard with my dad and found these things. Pretty much just stainless steel washers with little rods attached to them. I thought they looked like little flowers and were kind of cute so I bought some.

I bought 22 pounds of them to be exact, digging them out of piles of rubbish and throwing them in a pile.

And then I organized the pile as such.

The plan is for them to be the backside of my chair. I'm going to weld all 1 bajillion of them together (I have no idea how to weld). The side shown here is going to be covered with a quilted cushion (I have no idea how to quilt), so the side that will show will be smoother and mostly just look like a bunch of washers.

I got pretty tired from organizing them all, so I took a nap next to my creation to show scale.

This is going to be a catastrophe.

Some photos from happier times:

Visiting my brother in Colorado...p.s. I'm going to work for him this summer in Fort Lauderdale! Hurray...

Utah!

Sniped

2009-05-01T07:22:00.000-07:00

Blogttacked!

Killing me softly

2009-05-01T07:01:00.000-07:00

I am in love with this man based solely on his ability to draw. And he has a French accent, presuming he can speak. And...he's my new hero. Look here. Nicolas Bodin's the name.

So simple...every line he makes belongs there.

for my homies...

2009-04-30T09:30:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all, here are just some sketches that I've found on Coroflot the past couple years that I really liked...I was just hoping this could save you some time trying to figure things out. A thing to remember is that footwear designers really tend to stylize their drawings and focus on the lateral (outside) part of the foot, so this isn't necessarily what Raphael is looking for. They also straight up trace lasts and photos of shoes on a regular basis to give continuity to their concepts. I like it anyhow.

The big names to check out on Coroflot are Michael DiTullo and Richard Kuchinsky, they do really great work and they have a ton of footwear experience. Daniel Simon Taylor is a young gun with a really nice clean style that's very organic and flowy at the same time. All these guys have some more detailed sketch renders and stuff up on Core, as well as some photographs of the finished product, so I totally recommend checking out their full sets. Examining and copying their work has been way helpful to me, and I hope it will be helpful to you as well.

The legendary Michael DiTullo of Converse and Nike, known as "yo" on Core...

Richard Kutchinsky (my fave...his stuff is pretty point in general, but I think that's why I dig it...)

Daniel Simon Taylor. Hot.

David Whetstone. Cool stuff.

Good luck dudes!

You can call him Duke, or Twink if you're feeling saucy...

2009-04-28T08:10:00.000-07:00

Meet Archduke Tiberius Twinkimuffin! He's my new best friend.

My roommate rocks...who else goes to Walgreens for a fan and comes back with a little buddy? Zach, that's who!

So you should check out his portfolio... zadaha.com

This reminds me again of how badly I suck at taking photographs...they came out way yellow and only the stuff in the background is in focus (e.g. Ross). I need to learn how to use a camera...

Shit is stressful yo'. School is too hard...

Calling all volleyball players...

2009-04-26T11:22:00.000-07:00

Any advice on how to make a great volleyball shoe? Does anyone have any insight or know anyone who might?

Would be hugely helpful to me...

P.S. I have an interview with Nike tomorrow, which is really exciting :) 9:00, bright and early...the only thing is, I've been sick off and on all week and my voice is coming out as a squeak between hacking coughs right now. Having plenty of hot tea with lemon, hopefully I can sound a little better. I'm not holding out hope for a job, but any time I get a chance to talk to Nike I get really excited that that's even an option for me.

P.P.S. Congratulations to my brother for landing a sick design gig in Florida! I know his wife is stoked about the warm climate...

P.P.P.S. Can you tell I'm in a much better mood than earlier this week?

some junk i scanned in between classes...

2009-04-23T09:36:00.000-07:00

Just so I felt like I had done something with the 10 minutes I had to spare...I feel like an idiot for posting them, but maybe posting stupid doodles will be good for me. Maybe if I do it enough I won't feel the need to give a 10 minute disclaimer about how much I suck every time. Maybe if I get it all out of my system here, I can learn to feign confidence, or at least get sick of taking the time to talk myself down.

I draw a lot of eyeballs. And girls trying to look foxy and aloof. And squirrels.

Bullocks.

Anyway, this week has been a bit rough. All-nighters early in the week fuck me up, especially when they mess with my immune system. I've been pretty sick since Monday, which ups the crankiness and all around grossness quotient. I would like a clean start to this week.

I just want to read a book...

lollipops and gumdrops

2009-04-20T18:19:00.000-07:00

Oh geez...as if my designs didn't already scream like a 10 year old girl redecorating her bedroom, blogger seems to think they'd look better in bright blue. I'll try to repost them later - in the right colors.

Off to another all nighter! Thanks for all the homework guys...

dude

2009-04-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

knitted electrical wires.

by kwangho lee . via moco loco

great and pretty ok things

2009-04-17T07:58:00.000-07:00

Stayed up a little too late last night doing...stuff. Now I'm a little sleepy and can't draw, so I'm spending my morning looking at pictures.

Let's start with great things...like milk bottle sculptures!

And candy sculptures!

And sweet chalk bike trails! Holy crap!

What a great thing...

Now, on to some pretty good stuff. Pretty ok seems a little harsh, it's really quite good, excellent even. I rescind my previous statement.

Knitted chairs are really cool...I'm thinking very seriously about knitting my cushions on my chair. Good because I know how to knit, and I like to knit, and I like knitted things. The trifecta of knitting goodness.

Also - need to learn how to melt plastic. In a cool manner. Alla Tertium non Data or the milk bottle sculpture. Maybe even those little plastic things that go around 6 pack cans and bottle and kill birds and turtles. OR plastic bags...although the plastic bags seem to be getting a little played. It's all about being trendy in your eco-friendliness, really. Hah...I just think plastic bags get a sort of strange amount of attention...not that I don't know plastic bags are incredibly wasteful and all that jazz, I use cloth bags, but it seems like that's the new go-to cause, and maybe there are some more deserving things. I think maybe it's more economically friendly than eco friendly. I don't think too many people are losing sleep about plastic bags companies going out of business so the stores are happy to get behind it, but other disposable things just make these companies way too much money. Stores are fine with having us buy something that they gave away for free. The company is all like "yeah, go ahead with your piddly little cloth bags, I'm gonna eat you, nom, nom, nom..."

Clearly I've lost my train of thought. Stop.

sitting apparati

2009-04-16T16:35:00.000-07:00

some chairs...not super stoked on any of them, going to refine my concepts next...

the bottom 4 are the final directions i'm thinking...i'm drawing some more variations on a theme.

portfolio!

2009-04-14T07:42:00.000-07:00

Here's my HP sponsored studio project and the cover page for my adidas stuff...i'll post a link when it's ready...

still needs work, but it will always need work.

workin it

2009-04-09T16:22:00.000-07:00

Been trying to get this shizz done so I can relax when I go back to Dayton this weekend, but we all know that's not going to happen...

So, check the new adidas layout. My new professor brought me down hard today (in a totally nice way), and made me question my ability to judge something objectively. The vibe was that I made everything just look waaaaay worse. I tweaked it a little, who knows...

Heeeeeeyy.....nevermind. Not posting them now. Blogger says no, and when blogger says no i listen. Check out my coroflot for now, if interested. Which you most certainly are not. Oh well...

Reason #9827 why I am not an economist

2009-04-02T11:14:00.000-07:00

Just hanging out in Econ101. DAAP tells me I have to take this class and so far I have learned from my new professor that money can buy happiness (otherwise known as utility - already using my new vocabulary) and also gives a person worth (all millionaires clearly deserve everything they have). Don't worry, he didn't forget to kick off the class with some jock bullshit homophobic sexist comments. Good times, good times...

Anyway, new quarter, good intentions...aside from the annoying guy getting paid to talk in front of me and the other annoying guy who is paying to talk in front of me, I feel like I'm off to a good start. Got a new MacBookPro, which supports that money does indeed buy happiness. Also a new professor who I hope will kick my ass in a good way, and a new freelance gig. Now I just need to start the co-op job search and we're potentially good to go.

New quote: "You can't be as happy with less stuff." Thanks for that nugget of genius, professor.

Chair quarter. Check it:

I have a few plans, but I really looooove these chairs. I want to build a nice homey nest to curl up and read in, but I'm going to have to control my arts and crafts urges.

"Lord, they're paying my to stand up and talk, this is ridiculous." Too true, too true. We did just watch a really funny youtube video though, he just redeemed himself a little for now.

Wait, nope, didn't last long - now he's on to forcing his conservative politics down our throats. Doesn't taste very good.

Peace out.

It's the thought that counts

2008-11-16T10:59:00.000-08:00

So here I go, and only one month late (sorry Michael).

What brand do I think gives a great branding message? Knog. Knog is cool. No debate. Sweet company. Knog is a clever, playful company that appeals to clever, playful cyclists. Sometimes they are downright bizarre, but the best people usually are at the very least mildly eccentric.

Let's take a gander at my one of my favorite products from Knog - the Frog.

Knog Frog! The name rhymes, it comes in lots of pretty colors, and it's squishy! By far the coolest bike light ever made. Do I have one? No. Buzz off - I'm poor.

The Frog also conveniently ties in with their other, higher-powered bicycle lights - the toads, the bullfrogs, and the gekkos. I feel like relating bike lights to nocturnal reptiles that can cling to almost any surface was genius, and the form language is fabulously coherent and tied together.

Quite possibly the best part: the product descriptions. This is how they describe the Bullfrog light:

"2am. There was a panicked tapping at my window. It was AXL Rose (again!). He was soaking wet, heart-broken and not on any type of drug. I cuddled him close to my bosom and he pleaded for me to enter the darkness with him. I flat out refused and instead gave him my Bullfrog. The big guy immediately cheered up, impressed by its waterresistant silicon casing, built-in mounting latch and a light show with more punch than Chinese democracy."

Check out their wares here. And by all means, feel free to buy me a present. I've had my eye on those love and hate gloves for some time now....

Who doesn't love lesbians and small children with mustaches?

You got doored

2008-11-12T21:13:00.000-08:00

Oh, I'm bad. Very, very bad. Trying to be good, but jiminy...

Anyway, how have I progressed this quarter? Hmm...I like to start with the bad and end with the good, so I'm a dismal failure at doing the things I don't particularly feel like doing. 3D modeling still gets my goat. I'm just not into it. It gives me a headache. I feel completely incapable of making an Alias model look anything like my sketches. I have promised myself, time and time again, that I would take some time and really put effort into learning it well. Let's face it - I hate it. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it. But...maybe I could learn Rhino? I've heard good things...Solid Works, too, but I feel like that stuff is kind of primitive. Dunno...something I need to work on. Focus on, even...

Technology, too. Bleh. I don't know anything about it. I'm not particularly interested, either.

But! About that sketching...it's fun now. Really, really fun. I'm actually sitting here, sketching tea kettles, watching Weeds, and having a grand ol' time. Not literally sketching right now, but...will be. Soon. And was.

I'm not sure if I actually got any better at it, but I have gained a new perspective. Designers sketch to explore forms. I can draw something really stupid looking, and now I can look at it and say "Ok, that sketch makes me a little nauseas. Time to move on." Sketching ugly stuff is almost as helpful as sketching pretty stuff. At the very least it will help me decide what I definitely don't want to do.

And...I'm going to Tool this winter. Yay! And I think yoga is becoming a fairly integral part of being a balanced designer. Just a side note.

So, I think I'm more or less fine with how things are going. We'll just have to see.

It's my portfolio!

2008-10-17T09:41:00.000-07:00

Check it here.

Any feedback would be fab, as always :)

While I'm working on inspiration....

2008-10-13T21:47:00.000-07:00

...I'm going to rip off some of the genius ideas from Cradle to Cradle. Just to remind myself. Because it's way important. To make sentence fragments. To know you're going to be awake for the next two days. To find some sort of distraction from doing "real" work. Anyhoo...some of this is also ripped off from friends, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Irvine Welsh and Chuck Palahniuk books, and Pulp Fiction. Sorry guys. If there is an original thought in this I apologize to all involved parties...this is entirely for my own benefit anyway.

Sustainability is not just about the environment - it's about being socially responsible.

Be the tree - make things that make the world a better place and and create good things for the environment and fellow earth dwellers. Don't just make it "less bad." Less bad is no good.

Cheeky bunnies are funny bunnies and funny bunnies are fun. Who wants a boring bunny?

A honey bunny could potentially put up with a boring bunny. Who knows what they're thinking anyway. Honey bunnies get around the block.

This assignment is a wee bit boring (no offense to the good people involved, just not my cuppa tea), so I think by involving more bunnies the overall quality of the finished product will improve tremendously.

Nix cords. They're a pain in the ass, they lose power, and they're hella easy to lose.

Solar panels? Alternative energies?

All I really know is I want to make this thing fun. Maybe then people like me (who feel put upon by the constant surge and surrounding business of technology) will be less intimidated by the machines. Zen divides people into two groups - artists and mechanics or something like that (I don't have the bloody book with me and I don't remember anyway, buzz off). The artists are just terrified and alienated because there's such a lack of beauty (aside from that sparce, function driven beauty engineers get off on). Maybe bring some of that to the insides? I dunno...it's late...

I should stop. Here's hoping this will get my juices flowing tomorrow. And hoping this little rant doesn't turn off any potential employers - I'll be a good intern, promise! :)

Peace out y'all.

2008-10-01T09:05:00.000-07:00

Alrighty, I'm not really sure how this works...if I'm not following blog etiquette, by all means correct me.

I'm working on updating my portfolio so I'm going to talk about a Coroflot post, Design Portfolio Tips. You'll want to read the article itself here. I'm just writing about the article from my perspective...

The Right Type
First Coroflot talks about something that I forget from time to time - remember who is viewing your portfolio, and how. Because it's so easy to just make one portfolio, I end up sending the same portfolio to footwear companies, action sport companies, toy companies, consulting firms...I never really bother to distinguish, because let's face it - that's more work. Still, I think it would be totally worthwhile to at least shift the order of the pages depending on who I'm talking to, or maybe come up with a couple different graphic layouts...that way I don't actually have to come up with a whole new format, I can just shift stuff around. Bingo...

It's also good to remind myself that these people are looking at my portfolio on-line (usually) and I'm not typically there with them to walk them through it. Definitely something to think about.

Skillzzz*
The moral of the story here seems to be don't suck, because everyone else is pretty good. Ouch...having some pretty pictures isn't going to cut it. You have to "demonstrate that you can quickly and effectively communicate complex ideas in a professional manner," which is really flipping hard. Hurray! Suggestions - create a dynamic, interesting portfolio by playing with scale, color, and other stuff. So...I'll work on that. Presentation skills.

*spelling edited for my benefit

Range
Show some flexibility and stuff. Show work from a wide range of projects using a wide range of skills (different types of 2d presentation, 3d modeling, research and thought processes). Show your "holistic" design capabilities. True dat...

I think I try to show a pretty fair range...although I know that 3D modeling is a category that could be vastly improved. I should add a wider range of types of sketches, too. I pretty much skip from rough sketches to finished products and tight renderings.

Ambition
Show it. Duh. Resumes are a big part of showing this, for sure, but it can also be shown through self-directed projects. Going above and beyond and carrying out the thought process from start to finish. This is something I need to work on...I think it's fairly evident in my resume, but all the ideas for self-initiated projects have been just a little too daunting for me to actually carry out. I think I have it, but I'd need to show it.

That Special Something
So all this is not enough, says Coroflot...everything before this will only guarantee a position in the middle of the pack. You need that special...something. Make your portfolio something that can be read again and again by putting several layers of meaning into your project. Like an onion. A delicious onion. Subtly show your strengths in each area. Hmmm...

And their closing:

"This may sound like a daunting task, but it is the reality of the design world in the 21st century. If you take the time to review and select your work, and put together a well thought out book, you'll be rewarded many times over throughout your career."

All very true. And a lot to digest...

I'll publish my portfolio up here when I figure out how. Think a little more about it.

2008-09-29T16:53:00.000-07:00

New quarter...hurray...cough, cough...

In the words of Tony Kawanari, I'm in serious need of some "flair."

I don't really know what this means, and I'm a little afraid that it's cheating if I skip the mechanics and head straight for the flair. Haven't really skipped the mechanics, maybe...at least not for lack of trying. I try. And struggle.

So, how do I think I can find the flair? Some practical ideas...

1.) At least 30 sketch pages a week, at least, regardless of whether I need to do the pages for class or not. This may be lax (I didn't forget that you suggested 50 pages, Michael), but let's be realistic here. 30 sketches a week is way more than I would do if I had a choice in the matter. I might actually do 30 sketches a week. 30 sketches of stuff I feel like sketching.

Do things have to be ID related or in an ID style to count as sketches? Can I run around and draw people for a while? Does that even count?

2.) I will study the sketching I really like and copy one sketch page a week. I will copy a full sketch page with beautiful composition (something I struggle with) and undeniable spontaneity (another thing I struggle with) until it starts to show the characteristics I admired in the original. Then I'll burn it.

3.) Try a different medium each weak, keeping in mind my beefs with the medium from the week before (make any sense?) So, I'm sick of the hairy lines from using pencil? Switch to pen. Sick of the unforgivable nature of pen? Try a light marker that I can build up. Sick of using anything I have to use like a pencil? Fuck it, use oil paints. Sketchbook Pro, blow pens, india ink, whatever. Just keep trying, 10 different mediums, 10 different sketches, 10 different weeks. I'm hoping that by forcing myself to switch things up I might stumble on something I actually really, truly like.

Maybe. Who knows.

These are my goals.

Peace out.