The industry of digital art and design & open source

I find the graphic design area most interesting. From previous discussions, I just find all the aspects of design interesting. Being a graphic designer means understand the basics of a lot when it comes to graphicsm communication, and design. It has information design in it and color psychology in it. It's pretty much the bundle of all that is graphic. To know all of this to perfect being a good graphic designer take a lot of work, but being one can literally land you a job amost anywhere. You can work as a graphic designer for, lets say Macy's, to the NYPD, to a local store, to a giant corporation, to anything really. This is why it interests me so much. I plan on getting internships and little jobs like freelancing to get a big gig as a graphic designer.

I researched some open source applications and I actually found quite a few that I didn't know existed. I wasn't too familiar with open source until now. Although I did have Open Office my dad introduced me too, but I never really thought of any others being out there. All the open sources I had listed would be a great help to me, if I didn't already pay for the expensive ones! I usually work in Illustrator, so what I found would be a great help. I also found a program (Font Forge) that helps you forge fonts, which is big for more because I am always after fonts I can never get a hold of. But obviously being free is a pro, there are quite a few cons. Because it was made as an open source, it doesn't have all the resources to work as well as an Adobe program because of how it was programmed. Such as bugs, little tools here and there, that can be a big help, such as saving to the actual program and not having all commands work well enough under a bunch of different commands. Basically it doesn't take multitasking as well. 

FontForge allows you to edit outline and bitmap fonts. You may create new ones or modify old ones.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/fontforge/?source=directory

InkScape is a vector graphics editor featuring transparency, gradients, node editing, pattern fills, PNG export, and more. Aiming for capabilities similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw, Visio and more.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/inkscape/?source=directory .

HTML 5 is an editor online tool which lets you design html pages with an interface very close to dreamweaver's or powerpoint's one. It imports medias, design pages, make navigation menus and more. It also has tools that were inspired by WordPress.        

http://sourceforge.net/projects/html5-editor/?source=directory

Screenprinter and the Misuse of Drugs

Johnny Cupcakes. His real name, Johnny Earle, created a company with screen printed shirts designed by him for his nickname “Johnny Cupcakes.” He is a well respected, world renown artist and business owner and entrepreneur. He has stores around the world and some in the states. All because he came up with one idea and marketed it in the way that got him across. His use of colors on his shirts are remarkable and very eye catching.

So I supposed you can say the design business I want to research, and HAVE been researching is screen printing with graphic design. I, too, plan on using similar techniques as his to create my own shop with custom tshirts. It’s hard to list what I would explore in my work because I don’t really have anything specific, I want to learn and explore it all so my option are big. Although, I would like to learn the concepts behind color use, as to where and what to use, how it draws people in, to use CS6 to master illustrator and to become better with vectors. I would also like to learn how to paint with illustrator. I want to learn how to use digital art in a graphic design and typographer perspective.

A social problem I would like to see resolved or positively influence is the misuse of prescription drugs. On the island I live on, Staten Island, there has been a severe misuse in prescription drugs throughout many communities. Unfortunately, it isn’t just on my island either. This misuse has led to many deaths and many young people in rehab, with the unfortunate turn of events of relapsing when they get out. If I could, I would like to make tshirt series based on these negative effects and make series of them. I want to take the brutal consequences of these drugs and there effects and turn them into witty, hopefully not too offensive designs. These days, younger people can’t seem to pay attention to something unless it is thrown in their face in a creative interesting way. A way that can make them think, and say “wow, okay.” Even if it is uncalled for or perhaps rude and unnecessary, the point is across. I would like to incorporate color and well thought out, sarcastic witty designs and put them on tshirts to slap the people of my community and possibly the world about the affects of drugs. I plan on doing positive effects as well. With bright colors and loud typography. I would make them into collections, such as a light collection and a dark collection, standing for the pros and cons of drugs. And for those of you thinking that there is no pro to a drug? Not taking them is a pro. Being happy because you don’t take them is a pro. I’d like to think I would get my point across.

cites:
http://www.johnnycupcakes.com/
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2013/04/23/prescription-drug-abuse-up-among-us-teens-survey

Artist Statement

Being simple in the less is more category, this is my artist statement. I produce nothing more than mere puns, to childish dreams, to explicit material that teenagers non the less would say. Nothing but shapes, colors, and my beloved lines; all come together to either make you laugh, turn your head and squint your eyes, or say "what?"
In other words, my actual "speaking words," this is simple stuff. I just like to create what I like. You don't have to be smart to get it, there's no hidden message in the work. If anything, it should smack you in the face. If not? That's okay too, art isn't for everyone. I like the use of lines and solid color because I feel it pops more. It draws your eye in. Of course, not all my art looks like this, but what I am basing my energy on now, is just that. Simple, plain colors paired up with some lines. Like a geometric white living room with a plash of color accented chairs. Of course I can get technical in computer and artist language, but I won't put you through that.

I would like to say that is my artist statement, but I can feel it lacks a lot of personality. My personality. There's so much that I have to learn about myself and my art, that I feel I can't possibly write a statement now, but I tried. I'm sure it will change from time to time, maybe in the next minute or so, to the next week, month, years. Maybe I'll update it here. I guess I can see I'll keep you posted as soon as I know myself.

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

That's what my dad says. Well he got it from a little book called "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff, and It's All Small Stuff." I really wanted to read it but I just don't have the will power to read as much as I'd like to. I skimmed through it and yes I did learn a lot from the little I read. Which brings me to my next thought...

...In relation to what I just said up there, in the underlining, I also believe in simplicity. Less is more. Maybe it doesn't make sense now because I mean, how can you read a little and learn a lot, and not read everything and learn so much more? It may sound stupid and lazy but if I can get what I want out of the little that I need to do, I am okay with that. Because I know if I do more, I can be greater than what I am. And I know this won't make a lot of sense, or any for that matter, to most people but it makes sense to me. Now maybe (I'll admit) not in the academic area so much, although I can contradict that also but that's for another time; but for everything else around us. People seem to fail to get the most out of nothing, to see everything out of the little things. Take the world for example- it's not doing too hot right now right? With all the war and crimes and genocide and all the bad things that half of us aren't even educated about or know anything about. But there is beauty deep within the ugly, but we are too scared to look for it. There is beauty in the rest of the world, how everything flourishes and starts anew once everything dies. Or history can repeat itself forever. It's all contradicting and very stressful. Which brings me to another point...

...I do not like stress. But who does? I look at all these important people and business owners, teachers, cops, lawyers, rich, poor, etc, and they are all stressed. Some of them even have everything and no one knows why the are under so much stress. I want to be a business owner and yes I know it's nearly impossible to NOT be stressed, but I am a firm believer that you (in general) can be a very laid back, near to stress-free business owner or whatever you would like to be. People are so uptight with crammed schedules and even when they have people doing their things for them, they're still stressed. I plan on being one of the few, one out of many (E Plurbis Unim) to be a laid back business owner, life appreciate and all that come with it. Even maybe a bit lazy. Everyone deserves to be lazy.
Me being an artist, I am already half way there. Some of us say artists are very free spirited, or some say we are full of themselves. Either way maybe I can be both but so can a lot of people.

This picture I did on Illustrator was the very product of my laziness. I wasn't too familiar with the program when this was created, but it drew me in. And when I redid it, it came out to this...

It turns out that I used my laziness to create another image of something more, something that draws the eye in more. I'm actually selling prints of this image as well now. It may not seem like much, but I do take pride in them. And believe it or not, I worked a lot harder and a lot longer on the second illustration.

So I guess you can say my values and morals as a person and an artist, is try your best  not to sweat the small stuff. We can all be great and kept up to date and a little stress free more and more each day.
It does take practice I suppose.