Saturday, December 31, 2011

Presenting Toothbrush Monster

At long last—without further ado—Toothbrush Monster is here!
This guy will finally join his good old pal, Bathtub Monster in adorning my niece and nephews' bathroom. I hope the pair will help make tubby time and brushing more fun.

Fittingly, my favorite part of this guy is his pearly whites. That goofy smile is sure to brighten up any day!

If you have suggestions for my next illustration project, please send them my way!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

My Review of HIDDEN ANIMAL MUGS

Originally submitted at UncommonGoods
Keep tea parties full of surprises with these extra-roomy ceramic mugs sculpted with fox, owl and bear figurines inside each cup. Like china from Alice's tea party, each whimsical piece is sure to bring imagination with every sip. Drink up to reveal your hidden animal! Designed by Angeline Tetr...

Special and sweet
By Erin the designer from Easton, PA on 12/20/2011
5out of 5
Pros: High Quality, Attractive Design, Dishwasher Safe, Sturdy
Best Uses: Occasional use
Describe Yourself: Stylish
I bought these for my mother in law, hoping they will make a neat treat for her grandkids when they visit. They are whimsical and beautifully designed. And to my pleasant surprise, they are actually much larger in life, and more sturdy than I imagined from the picture. I was thinking play teacup, but this is actually something you could use for everyday coffee if you wanted to.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Retouching a Snapshot

One of my favorite things about Photoshop is that it gives you the power to fine-tune an image and really make it sing. With a bit of extra time, you can make a good image, great. I'm a sucker for a good before and after. 

A friend of mine took this photo at a wedding, and I was drawn to it because of the interesting geometry. The angle of the windows are mimicked in the sharp angle made by the people. Your eye follows all these lines right to the girl in the middle, pointing up ahead to the patiently-waiting groom.

I thought it was worth some extra effort. The first thing I did was an adjustment to bring out more of the detail in the shadows and improve the contrast. Next I decided to play around with faux HDR Toning. Being new to CS5, I had never had the opportunity to try this feature out. Playing around really is the best way to learn.

I made sure to duplicate the file because The HDR Toning feature flattens it. I tested out several of the presets and decided that a Photorealistic toning would work best. It gave the image a nice overall lightness and warmth, added a creamy, dreamy quality, and really helped the individual faces stand out. I then did a curve adjustment to darken my darks just a hair more.

My final step was to blur the background so that the focus would be primarily on the people. You still get the nice shapes in the background, but they don't look so severe. I duplicated the HDR toned layer, and then gave it a Gaussian Blur. On a layer mask, I then painted back in the areas of the people closest to the camera, revealing the most detail in their faces, as well as the pointing hand. Your eye now follows the faces more easily back into the distance.
 
I think I succeeded in turning this spontaneous snapshot into a better version of itself.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Central Lacrosse Logo

I just finished up work on a logo for Central Lacrosse NYC, a fun and competitive post-collegiate women's lacrosse team. The Cougars were looking for a sleek but fierce representation of their namesake. We ended up with a design that is certainly feminine with curvy, flowing line work, but balanced out by bold, chunky text. I love how the entire logo has a forward motion to it. She's fast, feisty and ready to pounce. Look out!



I can't wait to see the logo splashed on team apparel. You can read more about this fun team on their twitter feed and website. Good luck gals!

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Monsters in the Bathroom

You may think this post is Halloween-related, and given my love for October 31st, it's certainly not a bad guess. But these little buggers are actually inspired by the redesign of my niece and nephew's bathroom. Out went the fish and shells and in went the 'Little Monsters', which is a pretty great theme for an 8-year-old boy and his 5-year-old sister. Mom painted a bold blue on the walls and purchased many of these adorable pieces.

Jumping Bean Monster Bath Accessories from Kohl's
Inspired by their funky shapes, funny faces and bright colors, I created my own monsters to hang in frames on the wall.

Bath Tub Monster is a wacky mix between a dragon and a giraffe. He loves his monster claw-foot tub. And so do I.
Tooth Brush Monster is still in the works, but I thought I'd share the basic sketch. Check back later for the final illustration!

On your mark, get set, blog!

Hello, and welcome to my blog! This space will help showcase my latest graphic design and illustration work, as well as share some of my thought process, tips, tricks and inspirations.  I hope you enjoy taking a peek into my work! Please comment often and let me know if there's a topic you'd like to suggest.