Speaking Of Escapism...

 

Dear reader,

It has been a long time since posting anything to my personal blog, and the vast majority of the population probably couldn't care less!

But, I thought I would share anyway.

It was about time I paid a tiny bit of love to old faithful, even if the vast majority of my content now goes towards by blogs such as DBG or design blog. I even have another project website I have launched but more on that later.

The musings and thoughts of an unimportant man.

 

It IS okay to have an escape

From the time we go to school, right up to the age of when we're in our mid 60's ready for retirement, many of us live our life 'through' work and even for work. Now don't get me wrong... having a good job and a job that you at least partially enjoy is important. But there should be more to you and us than our 9 – 5.

A danger of hinging all of your happiness and meaning on your job, it can take little more than a miserable client, an angry boss, or a rude customer to ruin your 'only' channel of happiness. Note how I highlighted 'only'.

In excess, what I believe to be another addictive and unhealthy trait – being over-obsessed with achievement.

Achievement equals happiness for some.
Win = happiness
Lose = Sad

Black and white and binary.

We like to be productive. I like to be productive! That feeling of working towards something better is a good thing. And it is. But it can take us away from being present and enjoying the moment, Basically enjoying life. It also ramps up stress too.  ( BBC Post in this link )

 Obsessing with achieving, can put you in a cycle of win, lose. Either way, it can become a vicious cycle. I also think it's this mantra is what can lead us to become workaholics. Remember that there are states of life outside of win and lose, achieve and under achieve. Do it for your own mental well being! 

Speaking Of Escapism - Workaholic! 

Work all day, spend hours commuting to and from work, and have no energy to be happy or speak to your family and friends in the evening.

Sound like a familiar life balance to you?

When working in London, I have had plenty of these periods. And I dare say that I will have more in time to come. But do look back and think about how much of my 'me' I spent at the work place. Be it freelance or my day job.

And worst still, I can't even remember half of it. I wish I gave more time to joy, not time to time wasters of those that don't value my time or knowledge.

Just remember pinch yourself sometimes and remember there is life outside of where you are. Whether it's your own business or for your employer. 

I'm & restless soul

I am a restless soul by nature, so pouring my energy into something whether it being trying to earn money and make a decent living or occupying myself with making stuff . I like to be doing 'something' whether for leisure or making a living. 

I also fundamentally realised I don't draw with the intent of making a fortune - I don't know of many wealthy artists in the modern world. I do, however, draw because it's my passion, It is also how I relax and vent my stifled imagination from the humdrum of everyday living. I need a vent!

You can form escape plans... but

Escape plans are great, but I would also remember to enjoy yourself too.

I'm currently in the middle of teaching myself new skills and looking working on new project as part of this teaching. It is called Game Gunk.com - all about indie games and computer gaming in general.

Will see what I learn in the meantime.

I think I can hear my partner putting the TV on... maybe Bake Off - biscuit week. 

Thinking In Black – Tips and hacks for working black in digital illustration

Thinking In Black

Black can be a trouble to work with when it comes to print, especially with all of the varying print processes, paper finishes and general variations with commercial printing machines, inks, screen calibrations and so on - working with a black is a headache and I'm sure many others would agree! So, I have put together some tips and tricks to assist with your projects - it can be a dark and treacherous path. This post will mostly focus on creative approach rather than the pure technical aspects of Black ( K ). Working with 4 colour printing and spot colours is a detailed topic in its own right which is worthy of a post.

Illustrators, painters, artists and photographers

Firstly, does it really need to be BLACK? When I say does it need to be ‘Black’ are there many things in the real world that are completely black? Aside from an all light absorbing, all-life-drinking black hole that absorbs all light and colour? Besides… that's something that;s not of our world as far as I'm aware. Looking at the world around you, you will see come to see how lighting, surface, atmosphere and texture will absorb surrounding colours, including what you would what you would call a black surface. For example, someone is wearing a black t-shirt, more often that not if, even if it is new, light will catch on the folds, the creases and the contours of the fabric giving the black fabric a slight hue or tint depending on the light source and ambience.
  Study things! I like to look at surfaces and objects that have an interesting finish for example : gloss surfaces, bottles, matte paint, skin, fur, hair, shadows, animals, sunglasses, cloth, etc. Another good source of reference of how to use light and dark with dramatic effect is Chiaroscuro – do some research online - research Caravaggio (one of many artist's using this approach) and see what comes back. Caravaggio used light and dark with excellent dramatic effect framing the narrative in light and shadows. This is potentially subjective but hopefully... it will be food for thought – if its jet-black you’re after then please read on! ( I have attached a little image below with some dark but not black shading )

Illustration with a pinch of mood lighting! Left : a world of pure black and white without colours, the others... and bit of hue and tint

RGB controversial

Typically, I like to work in RGB first and then convert my files to CMYK afterwards, especially if I’m working on a bitmap illustration or digital painting. Why? Because working in RGB generally gives me more creative freedom in the beginning and it also allows me to move between digital and print at a later date anyway. This is a my preferred method when working on an illustration and by no means a rule, just a preference. I’m not the only one working this way. By doing a Google search I stumbled upon a commercial artist who also likes to work this way – this writer and artist goes into much greater detail about the in’s and outs of color channels on their blog. I recommend having a read at some stage – perhaps after you have read my post. :-)

(http://muddycolors.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/printing-your-work.html)

Unexpected Results - a pleasant accident

I was always taught to work in CMYK for print and RGB for digital. I still champion this for working with professional printers as trying to print from RGB file may produce some erratic results, be it for leaflets printing, flyers, and other mediums. I accidentally ran a test print from Photoshop in RGB (Thinking it was CMYK) and the results were far more superior than the CMYK version. Both were printed on the same satin finish paper, on a Canon Pixma A3 with an impressive result. Despite my efforts and tinkering with the levels in the CMYK version to replicate what had happened In the RGB Version, I couldn’t produce the same results. I will make an assumption that my Inject printer translated the RGB to CMYK and just knew what I was after. I can’t complain too much as this project was sent to print and retained all the vivid colours and strong black colours.  Saying this, I still recommend trying to stick with the CMYK for design and print despite this result as this is typically what is asked - best to be safe, but something worth exploring for the future.

Digital - Add a Hue

Unless your are working in RGB and your artwork will remain for screen (digital) only. Then may be best to work with ‘Designer Black’ check the numbers. Although the computer says it black (or you've had it calibrated) it is best to drop a bit of colour into the mix - and do test print it.

Have a little play in the Colour Palette - this is the picker from Photoshop

Tips + Photoshop!

If you are working on a image in Photoshop and have started in RGB and want to convert your artwork colour settings in Photoshop, don’t just click on “convert to CMYK” use the colour profile under edit instead as this will provide better results. Use U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2. Experiment with the different settings to get the desired finish.

Last Key Points!

• Take heed of the colour warnings when you are in the colour picker window. This could save a lot of headache later on.
  
  
• Let the printer do the leg work. Send your artwork to the printer and try to let them help you. A printer worth their salt will want to help you and have your return custom. To reinforce what results you could also send them a physical sample (saying like this please!) from your home printer – assuming you have a good quality home printer.
• As mentioned previously, if you are working on an image with a lot of dark areas why not add a little hue / tint of colour? 20% cyan for example or some magenta/red for a warmer image.
• Avoid working with 0, 0, 0, 100 K, as this best reserved for font/text printing and can your work charcoal appearance. Use a ‘Rich black’ or 'designers black' instead. 20, 20, 20, 100 k for example.
• Avoid 100, 100, 100, 100, CMYK as this is reserved for crop marks and using this colour can drown the paper - no one wants drowned paper!
• Don’t be fooled. Your screen can be way out of the sync with your printer. Do some test’s first and see what results come from your printer (even printing on your home printer cannot guarantee the finish you require when you send your work to print) So take note.
  
  Yes... black can be painful to work with! And can be tricky colour to tame!

Thank you for reading!

Satzuma : Design & Development Projects Update Summer 2016

ORANGE WITH A SPLASH OF BLACK

“its black and orange!” That was the first thing I noticed when I received my current employer shortlisted me and sent me a link to their web address! What's not to love about black and orange – as a kid orange used be my favourite colour and now I practically dream in it. I felt that it has been long overdue that I should post a blog update with regards to some of the creative projects that I have had the honour of working on in the past couple of years. These range from designing Air applications, websites, characters, product videos, intro's flash animations (now Animate CC) and many more.

Bit of Action Script 3

THIS WAS AN AIR APP AND BROWSER DEMO
FOR DIY PHONE CASE PRODUCT

Stand design at the Harrogate Show - TETO!

My Rufus illustrations for the book cover artwork!

Website Interface

Packaging for the Smartphone Joystick

Above, I have added the interface design and the screen grabs of the working iDesign application, this was built in flash and written in AS3. The other projects cover the trade show picks, illustration, UI and some packaging.

Not Just Design And Development.

Satzuma is a company that cultivates a think different approach, be it in marketing and design or its approach to business. Having the opportunity to work with like minded team and being at the forefront of the creative process has given some invaluable experience in creative direction, hiring staff, working with freelancers, collaborating with business development and of course, recruiting fellow design interns!

"Satzuma illustrates three important skills; Do one thing well, make it a fun thing and think different"

- Guy Kawasaki, Former Marketing Chief of Apple

"I have worked with Jimm for over 6 years across hundreds of commercial projects. Jimm's ability to produce my ideas or concepts quickly by carefully listening and understanding to what I need or want commercially makes the difference. His design skills by hand and computer combined has always produced highly creative and unique pieces of work which has formed one of the main corner stones of our business."
– J Ramm, Satzuma LTD

Thanks! :-)

Character Sketches From Train Journey To Work - Random faces, Wimbledom Imp

Wimbledon characters and random sketches

Do you ever find one random sketch leads to another..? These are some faces that I have taken from my sketch book en-route to work in the London rush hour. The man sitting on the bench is based on an actual person I've seen sat outside Wimbledon Centre Court with his stomach hanging from under his shirt, smiling to the world - he reminded me of a happy gnome! Apparently, completely oblivious to the fact that all was hanging for the world to see in broad daylight, it was a spectacle to behold and slightly strange.
put it away! (Yet, I felt the need to draw this!)

Thanks,

Mechanical Pencil, HB

Character faces and sketches from my A4 Sketch Pad

Sketch book - Character Faces

I felt my blog lacked this kind of thing, sketches, work in progress WIP's etc. So I wanted to start adding this kind of thing. People, faces, expressions and characters are just some of my areas of obsession, I get my kicks and from drawing gravely faces, ladies, scars and anything that comes to mind.

Back tracking slightly... somebody asked what was my favorite thing to draw - a tough question with more than one answer. I would say story telling, characters, hero's, villains, thieves, rogues, monsters, beasts, ladies, history, a scene the list goes on and on. I like to draw detail!!!

I'm quite liking the mean old man character and the lady eyes.

HB mechanical pencil

And yes... I do, do a spot of people watching... I get a lot of inspiration from crowded places.

Thank you for reading.

http://jdillustration.jimmsdesign.co.uk/

A couple of FREE stress relieving flash games.

So … here, I have compiled 3 entertaining, funny, stress relieving flash games for you to play at your leisure from your desktop computer.

Smash time! What can I say I am lover breaking stuff and what better way to vent some anger than by smashing up a fictional PC. Take that Bill!
http://www.funny-games.biz/beatup-pc.html

I remember coming across this a few years ago. Click on the objects around the cubicle and watch the magic happen, very entertaining.
http://www.whackyourboss.com/

Well, I could not help myself; this is a hidden object game where you have to find a coin in the room. See if you can find the hidden coin. Illustration and game by me.

screenshot

http://www.jimmsdesign.co.uk/websitedesign_interactive_find_the_coin.html

Thanks for reading.

Ho-Ho-Ho White Rabbit for calender

Dear all

Have a Merry Christmas. Here is an Illustration that was on the Yollio advent calender.
The White Rabbit. Time to head round to the caravan for some gas heat, drink and cheer!

London Drawing at the Tower of London.

Update – London Drawing at the Tower of London.

Sorry, 2 weeks later and then I manage to update… what can I say, I have been busy.
Anyway, I was really impressed with the night I had at the Tower of London. The eerie surroundings, the crisp chill of the night autumn air, it provided a night to remember.

London Drawing held an event in the Tower of London where costumed models and historical back stories pathe the way for the fertile imagination. Pencils, felt tips, pastels, charcoal and various other mediums where all supplied. The group was then split down the middle and placed in 2 different areas for a limited period of time. This was to avoid the overcrowding of the small areas and to get as much drawing in as possible. I wouldn’t say I had time to get a polished drawing in as the models moved around every 10 minutes to my surprise, speed was the key to the night so sketched the model and surroundings as quick as possible.

It is great an opportunity to draw, chat and become immersed in history of Tudor England (ToL). I recommend to any life drawing enthusiasts’, artists or anyone that likes history to take part in this.

Hello to GB and VB for being there too.

Regards,

JD

take a look at some of the pictures for yourself, the back of my head is in there a few times!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/londondrawing/tags/toweroflondon/