Tuesday 25 December 2012

Logos of Me

An early assignment to create a logo out of our initials had me thinking, at least momentarily, of grade school art projects. But it's harder than you think to create a "brand." I had six kicks at this cat. Three had to be created on computer and three by hand. I can't say they were all successful. All of them are a little rough by later standards. I'm posting them because they're part of the record, not because I see them as examples of skill.

One, I absolutely hate, but it was the one my instructor liked, and it was picked out by several people who saw the array of them when I finished. It's this anchor thing. I guess it just feels to heavy (get it?). It doesn't say much about me. I do like sailing, but the sailing part of it, not the stopped at anchor part.

Well, it took some experimenting to get the 3D shape and gradient to work properly. It challenged my poor Macbook Pro, too. I'd never seen it take so long or chug so loudly as when it was rendering the dozens of positions I twisted the letters into. What you see is a T welded to a W. The circle at the top is merely to tie the sucker to a boat.

I always say that I designed a logo for a company I used to work for in Nova Scotia, but really it was more like artwork for an ad. I have no idea if they used it even twice. At least I saw it in print that first time, though.




This one's better. I like it because it's so colourful. It's fun. It's got motion. It uses all four of my initials.

There's only one problem: it's also not quite me. I'm not quite so…girly? Whimsical? "Wispy! Wispy! Wispy!" to quote Lily Tomlin.

Still, I can see it turning up in a lot of places.





Now, the thing about the next one is that it was familiar right from the start. The T and W are bands around the ball, tensing and squeezing it slightly. They are repeated in miniature in the negative space of where their points join. That tiny shadow? Well, it's a hard light I live in.

I created the original in watercolour and ink, but was only a couple of weeks into my watercolour class, so felt the need to redo it in ink.



This is one of two sword logos. (I'll have to edit the other into this post, as it appears to have crept off). Most people who choose from the bunch pick this as the best logo for me.

I think my initials (T and W) lend themselves to it more naturally than any other form, and it's rather cool.

Limited colours, simple lines, no need to ground it. I could see this tattooed on an arm—not mine, of course, a fan's ;)

It's done with ink.


This lovely thing uses three initials (CTW) and speaks to my love of bones and all things skull. The watercolour wash behind it was one of my first successes in the other class.

Well, I think it's pretty.

Friday 21 December 2012

Ahh, InDesign. We meet again!

Two table comparison of edible and poisonous mushrooms.
Some of my assignments in the Graphic Design Program are more geared to commercial, rather than creative pursuits. Don't get me wrong, graphic design is art (and I'm willing to sneer "elitist" at all those who say otherwise) but it's also in demand within industry as a conduit for information.


In other words, one of the things we learned early was creating and using tables in InDesign, so we'd be able to put together that boss brochure on car deals.

Er…or mushrooms.

I put together the two tables here to compare poisonous and edible mushrooms for the fictitious "Brews, Brooms & Shrooms" magazine. While I did do the research, and the chart is accurate as I see it, I'm hoping it's publication to the web isn't taken seriously by anybody. It's just fun and games. Please don't depend on it for any kind of eating advice—or homicide, come to think of it (BB&S is not a nice magazine).

My fav of the two, because it's pretty, is this second layout. Rather than a magazine page, it's a fridge chart for the merry murderer to keep handy all year round.
Refrigerator Chart
All the images used for this piece are from a wonderful (and not at all advisory on what mushrooms to eat or things homicidal) book called Reflections On The Fungaloids by B.L. Williamson, who is also the book's artist. published by Algrove Publishing © 2002

Thursday 20 December 2012

One of My Fav Posters

I'm enrolled in the Graphic Design program at the New Brunswick College of Craft & Design. I chose it over photography—after much consideration and second guessing—for two reasons:

  1. My favourite thing to do with photographs at this point in my life is muck about with them until they look completely different.
  2. While photography would very easily and joyfully fill my days, my written work is much more in need of graphic design accompaniment than photos.
So, what I've learned so far in the program is basic use of tools and the elements of design. I've had a great deal of fun and no small amount of frustration learning them. At this point, it's only fitting that I show off at least a little something:
The poem quoted here was written ages ago while I waited to see a woman about becoming a writing mentor for me. It was one of the inspirations for my novel, and shows up in part on one of the covers.
Hours of work go into my pieces. I come to hate them near the end. For some few, I fall in love all over again. I'm quite fond of this one. I'd call it "Bones" but I call everything "Bones," so should probably come up with something else.

Tuesday 4 December 2012

Tristis is an artist…too.


The author sits in attendance among her learned student colleagues.


Here I am, back at school.

Okay, technically, I've been at school for a little while now, but I don't ever let things like chronology get in the way of a good celebration and the start of a blog should be celebratory.

So break out your party hats, folks and take a look at what I learned me at art school (sic)!

First: It's a two year diploma program that I'm enrolled in (drumroll, please) : Graphic Design.

I chose it over photography only after months of waffling and lip-chewing. My main reason for going in this direction was that it was more or less the same thing I was already doing. I figure I can go back to take photography later, but I suspect Robert Frost had it on the nose with the roads and the wood and the sigh.