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Boring Old Blog….

Illustration of paper cranes in every color of the rainbow. They are all jumbled together more heavily on the left and getting dispersed as you move to the right and the upper right corner empty canvas.

Origami Paper Cranes

A few weeks back a fellow artist I have collaborated with before reached out to me about contributing some art for a project called “Stop Violence Against Women” and I agreed because it felt like a wonderful cause to be involved with and create for.

Pink furry monster with horns and green spots and they are asking if someone said cupcake and holding out their right arm with a cupcake to share.

Artmash 2021

This year I am organizing my illustrations a little differently when illustrating for an art challenge, as compared to other illustrations and projects I am working on.

Digital black and white drawing of a hand holding a mirror. Inktober prompt reflection in upper left corner. Hand written text around the drawing reads “mirror, mirror...” (on left of drawing) and “in my hand...” (on right of drawing)

Inktober 52: 2021

As has become the norm for me I will be posting all my inktober drawings this year for Inktober 52.

black and white digital sketch of a “Trading Outpost This Way” sign. The post is drawn to look like a wooden post stuck in the grass, with a tulip growing up out of the ground on the left side. The Text is written in yellow, while the rest of the image is black and white.

Inktober 52: 2020

This year Inktober is doing weekly prompts and I plan on following along because it helps me keep sharp and push my creativity.

Illustrations 2020

Here are my Illustrations, I use various apps to create my digital art, usually Linea Sketch, Procreate, and or Affinity Designer, in some combination on my iPad Pro.

Layers Studio (Export Persona)

This layers studio when in the export persona is different from the layers studio when in the designer persona. Added to that the layers studio in the iPad version is different from the mac/pc version and it can lead to confusion. With that said I will do my best to break down how the layers studio works in the export persona of the iPad version of designer.

a subtle redesign of the procreate app icons. the design isn’t changed much it is still a rainbow swoop on a black or white background, however I created it using a stippling (tiny dots) technique.

Yet another contest…

a logo redesign contest for the Procreate app icon. Basically you could let your imagination run wild and create the icon any way you saw fit. This was all for fun of course because procreate was not planning on recreating their logo anytime soon.

image of half filled glass of water, text circling the glass reads “whether you’re an optimist or pessimist, always half”

Am I good enough??

Maybe? maybe not? I think we all have this feeling somedays. Maybe it is the chaos that is this year affecting me. Possibly it is that I am too risk averse. I am not sure what it is but it has been running though my head a lot lately. Thoughts like do I have enough […]

framed image of a yellow harry potter lightning bolt, below that are yellow glasses (left eye blue, right eye red), below that is a yellow 3d deathly hallows symbol, next is a yellow 3d vote block text, and finally at the bottom is black text that reads “like Dolores Umbridge is on the ballot”

Vote

During Inktober 2020 there was a prompt that was just one word Ominous. Given that the 2020 election was coming up here in the United States something about that word struck a chord with me.

Text on blue background, reads “Dumbledore’s Army: See Hermione Granger if you want to join.*” under * says sneaks join at your own risk

Lettering and Typography 2020

These designs are some of my hand lettering and typography Art and are usually created using a combination of apps on my iPad Pro.

framed image of a yellow harry potter lightning bolt, below that are yellow glasses (left eye blue, right eye red), below that is a yellow 3d deathly hallows symbol, next is a yellow 3d vote block text, and finally at the bottom is black text that reads “like Dolores Umbridge is on the ballot”

From Sketch to Print

Sometimes when you create a design it just isn’t enough to sketch out something. You need to work out a final product.

Gauche painting of yellow black eyed susan flower on green background

Fast Art vs. Art that takes time

I want to make artwork I love to make and I would love if people want to buy it but if they don’t than that is fine too. I hope people would want to buy my art but I can accept that I am not going to be a success overnight.

Slices Studio

The slices studio is found in the export persona section of affinity designer. It is designed to give you precise control of different exportable areas or slices.

Digital color pencil drawing of a single nondescript red flower slightly to the right of frame; maybe tulip inspired

Musings of an Artist

When Covid started the whole world got turned upside-down, and as I reflect back on what it means and has meant to me it makes for an interesting head space

digital white pencil sketch on a black background of the letter a with 14pt written underneath. this is what the icon for the text studio looks like on affinity designer for ipad looks like.

Paragraph ~ Text Studio

Today’s post is about the paragraph section of the text studio. These controls give your text and typography paragraph editing options that will affect a larger body of text.

Illustration of top half of woman’s head. she is looking up and to the right and above hear head are symbols that are meant to represent her confusion in where to search for the answers she is seeking on the internet.

ReproRed

So this is a selection of illustrations that I made for a company called ReproRed.

digital white pencil sketch on a black background of the letter a with 14pt written underneath. this is what the icon for the text studio looks like on affinity designer for ipad looks like.

Character ~ Text Studio

today’s post is about the character adjustments that can be made from the Text studio in Affinity Designer on the iPad. Within the text studio there are both character and paragraph adjustments that can be made to text within a piece of art or illustration you’re working on..

Digital black and white drawing of a girl sitting who at first glance appears to be meditating but she is actually sleeping. There are zzz's that are floating above her head.

Inktober 2020

Hello all you wonderful creatives and designers! It is that time of year again!! Welcome to my collection of 2020 Inktober drawings, this year I will be writing a bit of my thought process behind the illustrations (for those of you interested). Without further ado…

digital white pencil sketch on a black background of the letter a with 14pt written underneath. this is what the icon for the text studio looks like on affinity designer for ipad looks like.

Text Studio

The text studio will be very similar to the character and paragraph panels on the desktop version of Affinity Designer.

Constraints Studio

The constraints studio allows you to anchor elements to a particular position within other parent elements.

white pencil sketch on a black background of nine squares arranged 3 across and 3 down. this is what the assets studio symbol looks like when using affinity designer on an ipad.

Assets Studio

Hello creatives and fellow designers today’s post is about the assets studio in affinity designer for iPad. The assets studio is both similar and different to the symbols studio.

photograph of an orange wildflower frosted over other than the orange bloom itself the rest of the background is black and white, and the photographers initials are in the lower right corner

Photography 2020

Welcome to my 2020 Photography gallery.

symbol studio icon, white spinning wheel split into 3rds and curved in motion.

Symbols Studio

This is where you can create and store symbols from selected object s group or layers. Once you’ve made and stored a symbol they can be dragged and dropped into your artwork as much or a little as you would like.

White pencil drawn compass graphic on a black background

Navigator Studio

Today we are overviewing the Navigator studio in Affinity Designer on iPad. The navigator studio will not effect your design in any way, however it gives you another way to pan and zoom around your document.

History Studio

Today is a post about the history studio in affinity designer for iPad. It will track changes as different entries as a list and allows you to jump back to previous points in your design.

Transform Studio

In this article I will be discussing the Transform Panel in Affinity Designer for iPad. This panel allows you to control your design down to the most minute of details.

drawing of fx in white on a black background styled to match the icon for the effects panel on affinity designer for iPad

Styles Studio

Today we are explaining the styles panel in Affinity Designer for iPad. This panel allows for you to apply a pre-prepared style to a selected object.

drawing of fx in white on a black background styled to match the icon for the effects panel on affinity designer for iPad

Effects Studio

Today I will be breaking down the Effects Panel on Affinity Designer for iPad. It is used to adjust settings that apply and modify object effects on selected layers and/or groups.

Layers Studio ~ Affinity Designer iPad

Hello my fellow creatives! Today we will be covering the Layers Studio in Affinity Designer for iPad. It controls the order objects are viewed on your page, will organize the art boards, layer visibility, locking, and opacity

blush mauve cursive uppercase letter N with mauve and navy hearts connected to either end of the logo

Logos 2020

These are logos I have designed over the years (when I was first starting out and had few to no clients 😉); up to and through 2020.

pink and blue neon sign that reads coming soon. the background glows with a blue-ish purple cast of the color coming off the sign

RAW Photography 2020

the photos that I post here are un-edited photos (maybe cropped but no other changes made)

image of uppercase R that has top to bottom: Orange then Grey then Navy horizontal stripes across the R.

Text Logos with Impact

Sometimes all you need for an impactful logo is the right font for your style and some simple color choices.

Stroke Studio ~ Affinity Designer iPad

Hello all you wonderful creatives! In this post, we are going to be discussing the Stroke Panel on the iPad version of Affinity Designer for iPad.

Orange circle with a white pause symbol on the middle. There is an orange glow surrounding the circle.

WorkBuddha Logo

Back when I was first starting out as a Freelance Graphic designer a company approached me about building a logo for their site. This company was called WorkBuddha and at the time it was for an independent consultant starting their own company

Pat Green Photography Logo

I recently designed a Logo for Chicago based photographer named Pat Green, and it was overall one of my favorite client experiences.

illustration of rainbow with clouds on the bottom of the rainbow. the rainbow goes from upper right corner down to lower left corner. the text below the rainbow in right corner reads “someday we’ll find the rainbow connection the lovers, the dreamers, and all essential workers.” the text is all white except for the word rainbow where each letter is a different color of the rainbow.

Rainbow Connection

In the middle of April another artist on Behance reached out to me about a collaboration they were organizing with other artists around the world as a way of honoring the professionals who are all working on the front lines in various capacities during this Corona Virus 🦠 Pandemic.

The Toolbar, Context Toolbar, and an intro to the Studio Panels

Hello All you wonderful Artists and creatives. Now that I have broken down the different personas, this week is devoted to a small amount of info about the Toolbar, Context Toolbar and an intro into what the Studio Panels are

colored pencil sketch of the affinity designer icon for the export persona; color is sea foamy / art deco / teal green

Export Persona

Today we will look at the Export persona tools. It is designed to do exactly what you would think given the name 😉

cursive logo says interjad, tagline underneath says “learn, implement, impact lives”: above I is a stethoscope, above j is a smiling doctor icon, the d also looks like a pill

Interjad

This is a Logo design that I recently worked on for the company InterJad.

a photo of me standing in front of my display wall for the show, i am wearing a pink sweater an my glasses and behind me you can see a wall with my framed photographs and illustrations.

Feelings on Art Shows

Hello all you wonderful artists and art loving people! 💚Recently I participated in my first Art Show and it is an experience that I have feelings about.

illustration of Disney’s Doc McStuffins children's character. the animation is her stethoscope is doing it’s magic that brings the toys to life.

Animations 2020

So this year is all about challenges for me and I thought one thing that I would attempt to do is learn how to do animations luckily Procreate added basic animations and text at just the perfect time. So this is where I will post my attempts at animation.

colored pencil sketch of the affinity designer icon for the pixel persona; color is sea foamy / art deco / teal green

Pixel Persona

The Pixel persona in Affinity Designer contains all of your raster based image tools. This is going to have tools that produce similar effects and art to what you would find if you have ever used Procreate or Linea sketch in order to draw on a tablet or computer.

colored pencil sketch of the affinity designer icon for the draw persona color is sea foamy / art deco / teal green

Draw Persona Tools

Affinity Designer’s Draw Persona is where you’ll find all your vector drawing tools.

colored pencil sketch of the affinity designer logo, drawn in shades of art deco sea foamy/ teal-ish green

Personas, Tools, and Toolbars

Affinity Designer is a vector art drawing and illustration program and throughout this series of blogs, I intend to compare using this program on iPad vs. a computer.

bride in vest and red bow tie carrying bride in white jumpsuit, and vail holding red flowers. behind them in faded black text reads Mrs. and Mrs. with white background

Hers and Hers Wedding

This is Just a hers and hers design that started out as a gift for a family member who is marrying the love of her life.

grid of 4 identical images of girl drawn and colored warhol style. upper left: purple, pink, and teal; upper right: reds, oranges, and blues; lower left: bright rainbow with bold blue, yellow, pink, and reds; and lower right is monochromatic greys and blacks with yellow background

Contest Submissions 2019

For my own amusement and because I like to keep my skills (or lack of skills 😉) I try to submit to contests and see how I do.

cartoon giraffe (i call her gigi) and her neck is twisted like a corkscrew head is tilted to left and she has dizzy swirls and stars coming off of her head

Inktober 2019

Happy Inktober everyone!! I am pushing myself this year to actually get this done and follow all the prompts for 2019.

cover of affinity designer workbook. a text book cover for a vector graphics application

Affinity Designer Workbook… for iPad pro?

Ok so back in March of 2016 I went all in on an iPad pro as my only computer when my computer decided quite gloriously to kick the bucket. At the time there really wasn’t many options for digital drawing (other than Procreate and Paper by 53). These app are wonderful and Procreate and Linea […]

Photograph of a gazebo in the Rose garden @ Chicago botanical gardens. There is a park bench that has an illustrated ostrich sitting on it.

want to be an illustrator & welcome

Who doesn’t love to draw. I know do and always have ever since I was young. Some of my earliest memories are coloring with my mom at our coffee table (this is something I am trying to share with my children now). In the many years since I have since progressed to drawing favorite characters; usually disney or looney tunes and art was always one of my favorite classes.

cartoon illustration of tortoise crossing the finish line while a hare sleeps near by under a tree.

My thoughts on art contests

Art contests can be an extremely grueling … make you feel like your not good enough experience, so why do I or any other artist even bother…. Because your Awesome … read on

Book Jacket

This is a project I worked on when I was still in school. The Author of the book was a professor who was looking for a cover for his book, and everyone in the class came up with a design that was then picked from to be used as the book cover.

Magazine Spread

This is a magazine spread that I did for my portfolio class. The photography is all mine from a trip that I took back in 2010, and the ad was one that I made and submitted to a contest site for possible printing.

Cafe Website Design

This is all from a class I took where I had to build a cafe website in WordPress as well as in Adobe XD. All the photography that I used in this project is my own.

mick jagger graphic photo progresses like a rainbow getting larger and large behind each image starts in color then goes to red, yellow, green, blue, and finally violet

City Music Festival

My idea for a Music festival poster and banners, the original image of Mick Jagger was taken by Xi Quin Ho Silva. I made a few tweaks to the original image.

Salsa 17

This is work that was done for a restaurant in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

Portfolio

This is my Portfolio from when I finished up my Graphic Design degree.

photo of bride putting wedding band on groom

Wedding Photos 2011

This is from A wedding I photographed back in 2011

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