All that education put to practical use

Had the urge to blog since I haven't done it in a while.

I've actually been legitimately busy lately. I got commissioned to desing some flyers for Ellis Products, a local company, with the potential of doing more work for them in the future. It's kind of cool being an "in-house graphic designer". The pay isn't bad either.


My wonderful work area.


Some of the flyers I made laid out on the counter.


I made the labels for these product samples.

I'm also have few commissions I need to know out. One I got before I went on my NY trip, and it's overdue for completion. I started over because I wasn't happy with the composition. But it's good because I'm finally getting to stretch some creative muscle.

I have a script to follow, but my patron was all like, "You don't have to follow the script exactly. Be creative. Do whatever yo think looks good. . ." Which proved to be more of a challenge than I though.

Here's the first draft I started:



The guy looked like he should. The woman is supposed to look like a bimbo. I thought she looked too sultry, and I didn't like the lack of chemistry between her and her costar. So I decided to redraw them.



The guy looked a little less sleazy, and the girl looks more like a peppy teenager, now. Hmm. . . don't know if I'm completely happy with her facial expression. But it fits what I imagined when I read the script. I wanted her to have a kind of blank look and plastered smile, so. . .yeah.

I had a lot of fun with the next panel, though. I'll update with a scan later today.

How soon we forget

I was on CNN.com, looking at pictures of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrian. I got really choked up reading the stories of death and survival, and the horrible things that so many people experienced. Seeing suffering on that grand a scale, that literally hit close to home isn't ever easy to stomach.

When I was in New York, describing to people where I lived, I'd usually end up mentioning that it was one of the place Katrina hit. Then they'd get this look of shock, followed closely by concern. Really, what my family and I experienced was nothing compared to a lot of other people. We were without power for a few days . . . a small inconvenience compared to being stranded on a rooftop surrounded by deadly floodwaters.

I started thinking of all of this because it's yet another hurrican season. Barely into it, there's already been a named storm, Alberto, with meteorologists expecting this year to be quite active like the previous 2, maybe moreso.

So, after 2 seasons of not evacuating*, we may just get a natural-disaster-induced road trip this year, after all.


*I do not in any way condone riding out a storm when a mandatory evacuation is issued. Hurricanes are a serious threat, not to be taken lightly.