McLean Logo: Step 5

Step 5: Favorite and Summary. 

My process began with research, brainstorming, and sketching. Keeping a theme of scottish history became important. Then, I created a color pallet and library of basic shapes. Lastly, I combined elements and corrected myself as I went.  I used silhouettes in part because it's difficult to draw on Illustrator. All in all, I'm proud of my designs, especially because Illustrator is not historically my strong suit. My favorite design is bellow. I chose it because it fits the more streamlined light designs coming out currently, but it also keeps some of our scottish clan designs. 

McLean Logo: Step 4

Step 4: Final Designs

McLean Logo: Step 3

Step 3: Illustrator Ideas

These are the beginning stages of my design. 

McLean Logo: Step 2

Step 2: Brainstorm and Sketch 

I made a list of words that related to McLean and its image. The most important element is Scottish history. I also like the idea of using our sports letter. 

McLean Logo: Step 1

Step 1: Research 

These are some of the graphics McLean H.S. currently uses. 

Glasses are like Adobe Illustrator

Self Portrait: Revised

"The Prom Your Mama Warned You About"

I heard about Dr. Sketchy's on the radio. It sounded interesting, so I checked it out on myspace and found this poster. 

Despite me wanting to go to Dr. Sketchy's and the half-naked girl, this poster does not appeal to me. It's disorganized and haphazard. Will the event be the same way? 

The biggest problem is implied relationships. There are a lot of implied, but not actual, relationships between design elements. The most distracting one is at the bottom of the page. "Photo by..." is in the middle of contact information and websites. Separate alignment does not separate "Photo by..." from other elements with the same font, size, and vicinity. Another example is "Putting lead in..." placed under Marshall St. Perhaps it would be better placed near the Dr. Sketchy's logo. 

Hierarchal design is present. "The Prom..." is much bigger than "www.dr..." Flow is created by alignment and a consistency of color, font, and scale. Dr. Sketchy's Logo, "The Prom," and "Deanna" are all in white, unique font, and larger scale. These elements are unified and they create a diagonal that guides the eye down. 

I do also enjoy the color choice, photo, and logo. 

Most problems could be fixed if relationships of elements were taken into more consideration. 

Self portrait

Self Portrait Research: Kat Katz

These self-portraits were painted by Kat Katz from D.C. Katz is a 24 year old metal vocalist, yoga teacher, masseuse, writer, and painter. Her paintings are as multi-dimensional and expressive as her lifestyle. Raw, heavy, personal, substantial, illusive, inclusive, and meditative are words that describe the content of Katz work. I met her in high school, and she continues to be my biggest influence. When I looked at her work for the first time, that was the instance I decided art was beautiful. Katz was my initial inspiration to paint and write poetry.

The lower portrait is a 36" x 48" mixed media piece titled "Lost at Sea." Acrylic, sea shells, sand, and newspaper were used. The subject appears to be reflecting and reestablishing herself.

When looking at this piece, the viewer's eye is immediately drawn to the bright blue in the foreground and then moves to the subject's face. The face reflects subtle colors within the background and invites the eye to bounce among the rich textures in the background before returning to the subject. The eye flows easily because there is repeated color, but not competing color.

The composition observes the rule of thirds and is divided by the ground and words. It's subject, Katz, extends into all three thirds and creates a feeling of unity.

Brush strokes are loose and bold observing a tone of meditation that is appropriate for this stream of consciousness work. Text is integrated affectively because it reflects other bold lines. This helps intensify the elements of collage and texture.

I am especially impressed by Katz's ability to integrate poetry into her paintings. Most always, when artists add words into art, their work is compromised. Katz work is enhanced. This is one of the many things I want to learn from Katz.

In my self-portrait, I will attempt to include my poetry with the aid of a mixed media collage and unifying elements. Using mixed media has always been a challenge for me. Perhaps creating a faux mixed media digital painting will help me integrate mixed media into acrylic, watercolor, and oil paintings. I look forward to expanding my comfort zone.

Sketch in Photoshop