Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Get Sketchin


All throughout design school I heard "sketch, sketch sketch. Don't stop sketching." "start with a sketchbook!" "lets see your sketches!"

I'll be honest, it has never come easy to me. Usually my pencil gets me the first 5% of an idea and then I jump to the computer. As I've delved deeper into illustration though, I've managed to figure out how sketching fits into my design process. Illustrations always start in my sketchbook, and more and more often so do the rest of my ideas. It's way easier to block out a layout shapes in 2 seconds flat than actually build everything before realizing the balance is off.

I've been really blessed to have the use of an ipad at work, and I've found a few apps that opened up a new world: digital sketching! I still haven't replaced the pencil and paper, but the ipad has worked its way into my flow as a new tool. And I can't lie, its much more satisfying to see your quick design show up in crisp colours or vector shapes than vague pencily scribbles.

If you're curious about my favourites, here they are:

Adobe Ideas: vector shapes you can whip up and then transfer to your computer for more detailed editing
Inkpad: the ipad version of illustrator (basically). You can do more detailed edits and built complex vector shapes.
Paper: my favourite for sketching! Its super quick and easy to lay out ideas, but the downside is you can only use these sketches as low res web images (all the bits in the image above are made in paper), no vector options here :(. if there were, this app would be KILLER. Oh also, you have to pay more if you want any extra brush tips or colours. boo!


Sunday, February 17, 2013

Old House

I was spring cleaning my photo archives at work and found these photos I took a couple of years ago. I dont recall what I was working on, but I stopped to shoot this old run-down house on the side of the road. It was a creepy place (I think I saw a few needles) but the texture of the aged paint and crumbling shingles made for some awesome photos. Its a good reminder to me that it pays off to pull over and shoot!