This blog is about my journey back into the graphic design industry after a brief pause from the turbulent arena. This journey will encompass new technologies I encounter along the way as well as my exploration into social media outlets.
For a long time I always wondered how artists retained so much detail in their 3D renderings. How could they get small nuances to render and display as photo realistic. The answer is displacement mapping. Adding a grey scale image into the displacement channel will render true texture with lifelike modeling.
So as I was researching how to get new clients a thought came to mind. Why not touch base with past clients and see if they are in need of any illustration work. Such a no-brainer for most, but not for me. My first email went out to BE Publishing which I have done work for in the past. Great company to work for! They publish educational titles for which they need cover art. The company has a great story behind how it all started, and the owner is great to work with. The images are samples of work I created for their annual catalog. I'll let you know if my lightbulb moment generates any work. It is hard for me to make the contacts. I would rather be creating the art, and I think many artists feel the same as I do. I am going to have to get over that and step out of my comfort zone. If anyone out there has any tips I would greatly appreciate some guidance. Stay safe, create daily, and be attuned to change.
This morning I spent time updating my LinkedIn account and trying to educate myself on LinkedIn's best practices. It is quite intimidating to be operating within all of this social media and not knowing what is proper etiquette for each and every site. I have fears of irritating someone and tarnishing any reputation I may have established.
My first impression is that you need to use caution when utilizing blatant self promotion. What I have found is that LinkedIn is more for stealth marketing and promotion(?) You are better off by participating in discussions and making people aware of you through that forum than contacting members directly. I'm still trying to figure it all out, however, I do know that today's vast landscape of digital media allows one to connect in ways beyond comprehension. Stay safe, create daily and be attuned to change!
Today is a new start. After many years being idle I am beginning my journey back into freelance illustration and I'm excited to begin this adventure. Setting up this blog and stumbling through the typing aspect is a big deal for me. It is the age of social media and I have much to learn and grasp about this new technology. Now if I could just grasp what the fuss is about Twitter, I would be happy.
Today I am beginning to review the content in Andrew Price's Architecture Academy for Blender. I signed up for this online course in March of 2013 and then never had time to work on it. Life just gets in the way sometimes. Architectural illustration is something I have been wanting to explore for some time now. I have always been interested in old structures and the renovation of all items old and discarded. I studied architecture in college for a while but was never smart enough to keep up. With this realization of my limitations, I opted out for a career in illustration and design. I'm certainly not complaining. I have been very fortunate to withstand all of the ups and downs associated with my career path.
This course looks to be very robust and filled with free assets to help anyone get started. Everything from free furniture models to materials and HDR backgrounds. The course is well worth the expense just for the included assets. The course is closed at the moment getting updates and revisions but will be available again in the spring of 2014. If you are working in Blender or want to get started in Blender, Andrew is certainly a very seasoned artist to follow.
Blender is a free, 3D, open source application used to build models, scenes and conceptual illustrations. The best part of Blender is it's FREE, but don't let that scare you away from this powerful program. It has a huge community of users and is constantly being refined and updated to keep up with 3D demands. I started using Blender about a year ago after the program I was using just lost focus. I also taught a 3D visualization course at Ivy Tech Community College which utilized Blender for its course content.
