Another interesting website.

Check this one out...there is some amazing work here.

One of my images that I am creating for a Digital Media Design assignment will take on a futuristic/space scene, there are some great pieces of work here that i can get some ideas from.

There are also some useful Photoshop/Illustrator tutorials on this website which may be of use.

Excellent design website

Just found this amazing website containing a wide range of designs from designers all over the world.

Contains some cracking photoshop images.

A great place to grab your inspiration from....

Check it out!

Website

OK I really need to update this now. There's not been much to write about this year but there probably will in 2011.
I set this up in 2008 using Microsoft Front Page. Click on the banner below to access the website.

Photoshop excercises

Here are some photoshop excercises i have been doing over the past few months to get to grips with the software using a tutorial book. All of thse concentrated mostly on photo editing but i found them very useful and fun to do. I'll try and explain in simple terms what I had to do.

For this one i had a starting image of  a small pathway through a valley. I then created a layer filled with blue which i distorted using a number of effects to create the water. I  also copied and reflected the original image so that the mountains reflected off the water.

I had 2 initial photographs to work from for this one. I had to merge the 'first dance' photo that I had edited (mainly with the brush tool) so that it resembled a painting on the wall behind to create a graffiti-like image. I then applied the finishing touched such as adding a bit of spray and a few drips of paint around the edges of the image.

This one was interesting. Just started with photos of the graveyard, hills and the creepy hand. It was a good bit of typography practice as well...used the IMPACT font for the poster title and then distorted the text.

Thought i made an OK job with the moody background to.

Love this one! Again...3 photos...the sky, teacup and waves. Its pretty self-explanatory but had to organise the layers accordingly and erase part of the 'waves' layer so that it looked like the waves were sitting inside the cup. If you look closely you will also see that I have added a rain effect in just under the clouds to add a bit of authenticity.

Quite a challenging one to do....Started with a base image of the train so had to add in the shadow around it. Also I had to create the gradient that made up they sky and then duplicate it so create a sort of 'fan' effect around the edge.

My Favourite Things cont......

Now for my favourite advert which can be found here...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ebNCDGRjGw

Why do I like it?
Since I am a Motorsport fanatic obviously the first correlation here is the guy on the phone...Nigel Mansell.
I think it is very clever in the way that it spreads the message throughout the 30 second advert. It displays the company logo on the toy car that Mansell is holding, then on Omid Djalili's overalls. At the end we see the logo cleverly roll and squeal across the screen representing a tyre.
The element of humour is also there. For example Omid's comment about Mansell being able to negotiate hairpin bends but not haggle for car insurance. During that we see Mansell playing with his scalextic, a toy perhaps more associated to young children.
The advert is clever in the way that is uses a famous face that everyone can relate to...also sending out a message to say...'Mansell is a winning driver....so choose a winning company'.

My Favourite Things.....

Recently we were set a task for homework where we had to find our favourite image and advert. We then had to explain why we liked these so much...so... here goes....

My Favourite Image

This is a picture of the famous 'mittens' at Monument Valley in Utah, USA. This image has instigated the sale of many Posters, T-shirts, Keyrings, Mousemats etc from the tourists who visit.

So why do I like it so much?
The first thing i notice is how the colours all blend in nicely with each other.....how the blue sky meets the white clouds and how the orange meets with the brown which then blends into the green. Stunning!
Obviously the scenery is out of this world too. It gives off a moonscape or mars-like impression i think.
For me it also represents peace and tranquility. Having stood where this was actually taken (just outside the visitors centre) i can remember just how silent everything was when stood there....just the wind whistling around you being the only sound to be heard.
The white car that you can just see making its way along the dusty road really gives you a good idea for the sheer size of the magnificent rock formations and the landscape around it. It just seems to go on for eternity.
For me, it also represents the fact that not only can nature be cruel in causing natural disasters for example floods/earthquakes etc, but it also has the ability to create such fantastic formations and landscapes such as the one in this image which has been calved out of rockfaces through wind/erosion over millions of years. In my opinion....it looks like a work of art in itself.

Welcome

Hi,
I'm Chris and over the next two years this will be the place to see all my crazy ideas for design and pieces of artwork/imagery that inspire me.

Enjoy!