Contemporary Style - Designing Magazine Spread

Along with balancing my current job at Starbucks and working on a project at Whim Independent Studios, I also have been focusing on building a design portfolio.  I am still going back and forth between the idea of being an "Artist" and a "Designer" but until I sort out the specifics I have decided to keep giving myself projects, as if I had never finished school.

With my trusty selfie stick kit (don't laugh) I decided I would have my own little photo shoot because I loved my outfit that day.....and love taking pictures.  My outfit was modern, yet still fun and hipster-ish.  After editing some filters over it, the image reminded me of something I would see in a magazine.  Thus, the idea of a Magazine Mock-Up Spread come to mind.  I recorded a basic version of my process and the completed design down below:

 

Step 1: Prepare Photoshop File

Between InDesign and Photoshop, I decided to edit this on Photoshop since I knew this was mainly a concept and I was not going to actually need a final version.  However, for the future I would edit the images separately in Photoshop, then once I have all my pieces, I would set up the layout in InDesign.

I created a new document in Photoshop and set the dimensions for two 8 by 11 inch pages.

Step 2: Import Images for Editing

On the document I created layers (and folders for organization), then imported the images and placed them in their locations.  For the image of the model I copied the picture so I would have two of the same image.  On one of them I erased everything in the background except the shadow, and the second one I erased everything in the background including the shadow.  By doing this, the layer with image that included the shadow was underneath the image without the shadow, and I could change the opacity of the one layer without affecting the other layer.

Below is the original image:

Below is the design with two layers of the model with the outfit.  The layer on top is of just the person (with erased background), the layer underneath is the one with the person (with erased background, including shadow).  I used a magenta square while editing so I could better view the edits.

 

Step 3: Text and Font

For this part, I created text layers for "Contemporary" and "Style" titles.  Then I created the text layer of the main article.  I typed the article on Microsoft Word so that I could use spell check and edit any grammar errors.  Afterward, I copied and pasted the article on that text layer.  Lastly, I edited the font and font size . . . however that could be a whole other blog since I realized I did a lot of explaining on just editing the image.

Step 4: Review

This is only a mock up because on the final version I would have the pages actually separated and possibly a white border framing the page to keep the edges clean.  Also, I would have used InDesign for the laying out part.  Not only do I have this main post about creating the piece, but I also wrote a short article about the actual outfit and the inspiration for it.  So, that's like an extra piece of reading!

Please let me know your feedback, and questions, or suggestions for a project! Thank you!  Be creative! 

Photoshop GIF Just Because

So while taking a break from work I decided to play around on Photoshop with some images I recently shot with my handy-dandy selfie stick kit.  I was clicking the visibility option of the images I placed on Photoshop and realized it looked like I was moving.

And the GIF was born!

First Week of "Not" School

Cal State San Bernardino is in full swing!  Crowded parking lots, students everywhere, Greeks getting ready for recruitment - there's just so much going on!

And I miss it.

It's not that I miss school itself... - no, actually I do miss school itself.  I miss learning, sitting in a classroom/studio where for the most part students also want to be there, and creating projects.  And of course I miss all the activities on campus and all my friends.  I met so many amazing and inspiring people there.  It's kinda hard to watch everybody go back to school and know that there are just some opportunities I cannot be apart of because I an no longer a student.  In a way it's kind of an isolating feeling.  Even looking at internships that I know have the time for are somewhat disappointing because they say you have to be a student.

I'm not really sure what to do with myself and how to transition.  I just want to be longer at that school.  There are so many great memories there and memories waiting to happen.  I hope I can find and work for an opportunity to move towards my dreams....my goals......which are still yet unclear besides the fact that I want to create art for the entertainment industry.  For now, I shall sketch and find ways to create art for my own (as well as anyone's) entertainment.

Anime and Blue Hair Dreams

To recap, this blog is intended to tell about my path of becoming an artist and my experiences getting there, thus, as far as "experiences getting there" at the moment those experiences involve anime and self expression (particularly in fashion).

I love anime.  Growing up I remember watching shows like Tokyo Mew Mew and all the Hayao Miyazaki movies.  Like other recreational activities, anime is a way for me to escape and see a world in the eyes of a different character.  Although anime is not a "fine art," a lot of the anime shows I have seen have their own artistic styles, stories, and sound that I can really appreciate.  They each have a certain vibe, and I can usually find one to match my mood.  It also inspires me, because I want to tell stories through moving pictures too.  I want to create character that people can relate to and that have a certain style to them.  Currently, I am watching a show called "Nana" by Ai Yazawa that originally began as a manga.  What I personally like about this series is that it has a much more grown up feel than a lot of other animes I've seen - it has drama and feels very true to life, yet with those anime comic moments sporadically between.  It is about two young women who move to Tokyo to find themselves and become independent in their own ways.  One is a punk rocker aspiring to make it big and the other is a happy-go-lucky girl who falls in love easily.  I can relate to these characters since I'm about the same age and I'm trying to find myself and what I'm meant to do too.  The music is awesome too!!!!

Hmmm......I wrote quite a bit about that anime........I guess it's safe to say I really really like anime.......and I analyze everything....

Anyways - Blue Hair Dreams!  I want to dye my hair blue.  Why?  Because it's been purple and red but not blue yet.  I put off dying my hair an unnatural color because I've been looking at job prospects, but I can't take it anymore.  Having some kind of stable job is important, but for my future career I don't need "natural" hair, and also one other thing - but I am an artist.  I need self expression in my life.  That's a reason why people get really into their fashion, because it how they present themselves becomes apart of them.  Sometimes there is a deep meaning in one's style, but other times it's just because they just like it.  I like to be different, and I feel like I'm so different, hence, blue hair.

Updates: This Blog and New Blog

So much time has passed since I last wrote a blog!

What have I been doing all this time?!

Two updates will be briefly covered:

• Updates to this blog
• Updates to a new blog

Updates to this Blog
As you may have already seen I redecorated my background (POLKA DOTS!), added a tab that I'm still working on, and changed the way you can follow me.  Instead of having "follow by email" I have a follow by "Join this site" button, which seems to be another way to follow by email.  I think this way will be easier - but we'll see.  I wanted to make this site a little more fun with the polka dots, but I also wanted to keep a clean look by sticking to a mainly white colored layout (having a hint of color though keeps everything clean while allow the audience to appreciate the color more).  Also, since I do not have a solid schedule yet, I will post at least two blog posts per week.  I will choose to write which day I want since I may not always be able to get to my computer on only Monday or Thursday.

Updates to a New Blog!
I created a blog!  A new blog!  So, I wanted to have a place to show my art online.  All this time I was trying to keep the "fine art" works and the more "design" works separate, however, regardless of career path, I am an artist, and right now all my work represents me and my skills.  Thus, I went ahead and included both fine artworks and design pieces.  I had the most trouble with writing HTML (I'm a little rusty) since I ran into a slight glitch, yet I will save that for another post.

Portfolio: http://jmjacuinde.blogspot.com/

In general, I've mainly been working on setting up an online portfolio, and finishing my Mutant SquidKitten character design (this will have to be yet another post).  The "job thing" is still kinda here and there.  For now, I'm not going to write about that, although "job" is very important to my development as an artist, everything is kinda like...like.....*some kinda here and there hand gesture*.  Yet, something I've been working with has been amazing!  I'm also looking into making an etsy account and possibly selling drawings.

Til next time!

Reflection for August

It's Monday!  That means time for another post!  Yay!

So, I have no idea what to write about.  Today I basically watched anime and drew chibi's all day, which is something I usual don't draw so I felt I was practicing something new.  I also watched Fruits Basket since I haven't had time to finish that anime.

I went to the Teen Choice Awards on Sunday, August 16, and that's something I usually don't get to do, so it was exciting.  My friend and I saw celebrities such as Sabrina Carpenter, 5 Seconds of Summer, Ellen, John Stamos, and everyone else you saw on television if you watched it.  One day I'll be up there!  For which award I don't know, but I see myself up there in the future.  Our seats where practically backstage so we had a good view of celebrity heads, and a really good view of the crew setting up equipment for the up coming performances.  I liked watching the work being put in to make the visual on television seem so "perfect" in a way.  Television/video creators are such artists at forming what they want the audience to view.  You have a small stage and camera that are moving around the actual smaller than expected room, yet everyone at home gets a different idea of what the show looks like.

On another note, I got to briefly see USC's School of Cinematic Arts which was really cool because I love entertainment and want to work in film (or maybe game design....as long as I'm doing art for entertainment).

I'm still trying to finish a character project I've been working on Photoshop, however, because of its "painterly" style it is taking forever-and-a-half.  But on my next free day I should really concentrate on it since that drawing is almost done.  As a challenge I started creating that same character on Illustrator and realized the vector techniques produce the character sooooo much faster, although the style is completely different.  Hopefully in the upcoming weeks I can write a blog about Photoshop and Illustrator.

Sorry if this Monday's blog is slightly scattered, I just wasn't sure what to write about.  I blame too much anime (and my extremely long nap).  Till next time!

Multiple Identity Crisis

So, I have a friend named Jess.
Who likes Jess, but she knows that Jess is different than Jessica.
Jessica shows up on more professional occasions, but for other occasions she likes the "Amazing and Powerful Empress Jessica Ha-Queen-de" because - well...........just because.
Overall, she just wants to find herself and all her other selves and be able to manage the whole flock of herselves......or herself.
WHAT IS MY NAME?!

Basically, I am dealing with figuring out how I want to brand myself, and what is the best way to go about it (also, sorry I'm late with my post).

I started CreativeLifeJMJ as a place to be myself and share more of my illustrations and design work, while I left my name "Jessica Jacuinde" as my fine art side.  I wanted to keep these sides split so if I ever came across someone in the entertainment industry I could point them to my CreativeLifeJMJ accounts, and if I was trying to apply for an art exhibit I can have my full name for that.  However, since the entertainment industry is professional too, I've come to realize that I want to use my full name for that too.  I am also trying to decide if I want to leave CreativeLifeJMJ as a place just for my illustrations and designs, or if I want to do what I originally intended to do and just have an outlet for whatever I wanted to post.  The more I think about it, the more I want to just have one place where my audience can see all my work and not have it split, because when I'm applying to a job I want all my skills and variety of styles to be present.

There's a lot to think about and figure out still, but right now trying to deal with splitting myself into two people (designer vs. fine artist) or staying whole is one of the issues I am facing.  Like everything else in life, this is "to be continued."