iPhone camera apps

Some experiments with a couple iPhone camera apps.
Lo-Mob and Hipstamatic.
Each has it's own merits. Hipstamatic has more toy camera effects. Lo-Mob is more of a alternative photo-type app. It gives options of different emulsions and border effects.
Lo-mob does have a nice feature to be able to upload your photo to Twitter, Flickr, Facebook or Picasa built right into the app.
Lot's of fun. Makes me miss taking pics with my trusty Holga and through-the-viewfinder Duaflex.


For more info.:
Hipstamatic
Lo-Mob 


Onto to picture show...

George Giusti - Bridging Art and Design

Some of my favorite work by George Giusti:
See his bio on Art Directors Hall of Fame

Tomi Ungerer - Graphic Icon

 
 



















One of my favorite illustrator/artists is Tomi Ungerer. I first was exposed to his work in college. He created some really imaginative and iconic images. From the New York Times article cited below: "Phaidon Press, the London art-book publisher, described him recently as “the most famous children’s book author you have never heard of.”" There doesn't seem to be one really comprehensive source for his work so I pulled together these images.

Here are a few places to read up:
 

New York Times article on Tomi Ungerer

http://www.tomiungerer.com/

Wikipedia article

How to: Create Textures for design projects

I like creating textures that I can use in my design and illustration work. I like to create them with traditional methods and scan them. For me, this method is easier than using digital brushes in Photoshop and results in more organic textures.

Once you get the hang of this, the sky is the limit as to the materials you can use and textures you can create. And, when you have them scanned, you can combine textures to get even more variety.

I think that adding these textures to design projects can make any piece stand out.

Tools: acrylic paint, watercolor paints, colored pencils, charcoal, paper, cardboard, etc.

(top left: paint splatters/drips and loop texture created with pencil)

For this texture, I decided to see what I could get out of cardboard. It has a kind of built in texture because of the layered nature of the product. I set to cut it up to expose the inside thinking I could get an industrial, decayed, worn type of texture. I cut up the surface with a utililty knife(careful, that blade is sharp) and peeled off random sections to reveal the cardboard structure below. I then painted the surface white kind of skimming the surface to reveal more of the texture. This method is called "scumbling" in painting lingo. I used white because I wanted the lines cut into the cardboard to be black in the final version of the texture.

After the paint dried, I scanned the cardboard. Now that I had the texture in Photoshop, I can do just about anything to it. I usually convert the image to black & white and up the contrast with the levels adjustment to bring out the texture. I then lay the texture over a flat colored backgroud. The sky is the limit as to what you can do. Have fun.

Textures used in my illustration work.

From a series of textures that I call, "Acid Wash"

Photoshoot Storyboard - Gothictorian

Storyboard that I created for a photoshoot that combines Gothic and Victorian styles. Very Tim Burton, I think. I show potential hairstyles, wardrobe, eye make-up and props. I even give the photog an idea of how I want the lighting to look-Hollywood style circa 1930's/40's.

The idea with a story board is to give everyone involved with the process an idea of what I'm looking for in the final result. This way everyone can get busy doing what they do best. There is still room left for anyone to use their creativity and add to the process. I am completely in favor of teamwork. This would be a guide of where to start.

Headshots

I like shooting headshots. Although challenging, when all the stars align, they can turn out quite well. Here's a sample of some of the headshots that I have taken. All the shots of women were for a web site: deanamariehair-a hairstylist. I found lighting to be quite a challenge. Any move the model made required the lights to be tweeked slightly. Getting the models to relax, as these were not professional models was also difficult. It takes some time shooting before most people get comfortable in front of the camera. Still working on my photo chops but it sure is fun.

Anyone need a head shot for social media? Contact me.

Movie Poster - MOTH

I created this collage piece recently and it occurred to me that it would make a good movie poster. A poster for a fake movie, that is. I designed up some type for a headline using an old woodtype font from my collection.

I love the movie and theater posters from Poland and wonder why the movie posters here in the U.S. aren't as interesting as theirs. Hmm.