Living the Creative Life

Here's what my campus looks like after dark. So pretty! I got a lot of work done yesterday when I went into the lab. In fact, didn't get home until 7pm! But I feel like I'm learning the programs a lot better, which is awesome! 1/2 a term down, 8 1/2 to go (three terms per year)! ;P

I've been designing up a storm this week. Midterm projects are due next so everyone has been staying in the lab an extra lot. It's fun... lots of camaraderie. :) One of my classes has an actual midterm exam. It's a Composition for Designers class, so we are studying things like texture, line, color, placement of objects on a page, etc. The definitions that always stump me are the difference between value and intensity, as it refers to color. They're both lightening and darkening of color hues but in different ways. I think I better research that more before the test. Lol. The picture above demonstrates the relationship between hue, value, and intensity. Hue is the actual color in it's base form (red, blue, green). Value are the up and down variations. Intensity is measured out from the center. Clear as mud?

 It's that time again! I am now accepting sponsorship for November!  I'm offering two options, one paid and one free, so there should be something for everyone! Each spot comes with the opportunity to guest post &/or do an Etsy giveaway contest. If you want to get something in, just get it to me and I'll work it in. :) I won't be reminding people, so don't forget! Please send any inquiries, buttons, or guest posts to: desertrose0601 {at} gmail {dot} com  

Maybe it's just me, but college students these days seem to be cautious about an awful lot. I realize some classes are harder than others, but the overall concept of college is not that difficult. Go to class. Read your textbook. Do your assignments. If something is unclear, go ahead and ask about it, but it's safe to assume that you'll learn a lot just by jumping in and trying. I get the feeling that that's where the breakdown is for a lot of students. They don't want to try something until they're sure that they are doing it right. I can certainly appreciate this attitude, although I wonder what it says about a person's life experience. Try and fail. Then learn from your mistake and try again. In "real" life, that's how things get done. There's generally no teacher to ask for life's lessons so you learn by trial and error. Lessons learned by the worst trials are usually also the ones remembered best. I'm sure I was as cautio...

Carlita says hi. :)

Draw every day. Stop. Look. Admire God's creation. Use every type of pen, pencil, and cutting tool known to man. Learn to draw perfectly straight lines and 90 degree angles. Leaf through lots of magazines and study the ads. Get lost in creative thought. Read a lot... Design books. Software manuals. Illustrator biographies. Practice. Practice. Practice. Never give up!

I have a feeling that a lot of my fellow graphic design students are introverts. It's interesting how easy it is to slip into a creative zone in my classes. Normally that's something that the average extrovert will become alarmed when they encounter, feeling the need to fill the silence, make a comment, ask you if I'm alright, etc. All of which makes focusing on a creative problem very difficult! I don't know if it's just that we're all creatives here or if we actually are all introverts, but it's nice to not feel like I have to apologize for zoning. Everyone understands because they're doing it too! If you've never experienced a "zone", doing something creative can put you into a mental state of concentration that blocks out outside noises and distractions. This is a huge reason I dislike photographing family events that I attend; once I go into the creative zone, I'm pretty much not mentally present at the event anymore! Lol. Whe...

I'm in the "wax on, wax off" phase of my training. Practicing basic tecniques over and over... gaining the muscle memory that goes along with learning a new skill... trying out the odd new vocabulary words unique to design/art. Drawing class, especially, is a little disconcerting to me at the moment, largely because my brain knows more than my muscles do. I want to just be good at karate without "painting the fence", so to speak. (Pardon my  Karate Kid reference. And no, not the Jaden Smith version). I have hope that if I hang in there long enough, it will all become second nature. I felt the same way when I was first learning to drive a stick shift... I already knew how to drive, but suddenly there were all these extra peddles and levers to maneuver and my muscles didn't know what to make of it at first. It's just a matter of re-training your mind/body to process things in a new way. In any case, my classes are going great. I especially love the ...

Wow... I don't know what to say. I'm kind of in shock. I just found out that Steve Jobs died today. I've only been a Mac for a few years now, but his legacy has still meant so much to me. It blew my mind when I first realized that there was a company out there that actually thought computers and MP3 players could be a work of art. Music to my ears! After years of wrestling with PCs, I finally discovered Apple and, well, the rest is history. The Mac's beautiful elegance made me wonder why I hadn't switched sooner. Design, music, photography... it all works better on a Mac. More seamlessly. More intuitively. The machine gets out of the way so a person's creative process can happen. I have Steve Jobs to thank for this. His story is kind of crazy when you think about it. He was a college dropout who started a computer company in his garage. Now this company could probably pay off the national debt with their petty cash. And he accomplished all of this whil...

Welcome to my second week of classes. Sorry for those of you who miss my frequent posting. I appreciate knowing that you miss me! ;) I'm still trying to adjust my energy level to this busier schedule, so often blogging just doesn't make it onto my to-do list. I do miss you guys though, don't worry! ;) This week I've been working on a black and white project for my Composition For Designers class. We had to cut out a gazillion perfectly-straight black strips in different sizes (harder than it sounds) and paste them perfectly-straight onto a white paper to create an illusion of black and white merging in and out (MUCH harder than it sounds). It was a super fun project but I'm glad it's done. The goal was pretty much just to learn to use our supplies (t-square, triangle, ruler, x-acto knife, etc). Very tedious for sure.