So, one of the things that I really wanted to buckle down on this summer was getting a better handle on how to use Illustrator for ... well, illustrative purposes. I'd been able to create simple shaped icons, but never really had the time to do much more with it than that or to learn more about what it was capable of doing. 

After taking several courses through Lynda.com as well as looking up some tutorials online, I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of some of the illustrative capabilities and that ever scary "pen tool". Today I decided to try doing a whole scene, and make it Halloween themed. Therefore, without further ado. Here's today's image. :) 

I plan on doing more images to add to my portfolio. But I really just wanted a whole original image to get my feet wet with Illustrator so to speak. I hope you like it. 

Thanks!

​Ally 

I'm so excited about this one, guys! I've been working on it for a little while. It's going in as part of my portfolio to apply to book publishers as a graphic designer/book cover designer. And those quotes are from two of my awesome customers that have used my services in the past. Thank you so much, ladies! I really appreciate your time. :) 

Obviously, this is not a real book cover, and Black Cat Publisher is my fictional book publisher company that I created. If you want to see the website for it, go to www.blackcatpublisher.weebly.com. 
​

Well, that is it for tonight. I'm a tired puppy. 

Good night!
​Ally :) 

The biggest thing I've been focusing on lately is trying to get my portfolio for graphic design up and running. But I've also been doing things like crocheting and getting ready to have a table at the upcoming Victoria Faire. I just got a tax ID so that I can sell things. It's all kind of scary really. But I'm forging ahead. 

PHOTO EDITING. 
I like doing photo editing, and though I still have a lot to learn. I'm actually pretty good at some things. So here's a couple of images that I was working on this week. 

The image on the left is unedited, and one of the many images available for free use from www.pexels.com. Overall, it's a really nice image, but the model has a little bit of acne on his forehead, cheeks, and chest, in addition to some extra redness and then there is that pesky tattoo on his chest as well. In the image on the right, the tattoo has been eliminated, and I worked to get rid of those blemishes both on his face, neck and chest. Then I tried to even out his skin tone, so that he didn't have such bright red spots. There were also a few blemishes like on his right arm that I blotted out as well. I tried messing with the color and highlights in his hair as well. I actually wanted to make it a more natural color, but it didn't turn out as well. So I went back to just working on the highlights instead. 

After, working on editing him, I decided to have a little bit of fun with some photo collage. It's still a work in progress, and I'm not exactly sure I like the end product but here you go. I was toying with the idea that I could offer taking people's photos and making the person into a fairy for a fee. I don't know though. Still considering it. 

So, here is what the product was...

And here are the pieces that I used to construct the image in their original format.... 

And of course I've been working on my crocheting. I came up with my own mini jellyfish pattern. 

Even though it is summer here in Texas, and on most days we have a heat index over 110, inside most places you go, it's freezing because everyone has their AC running full blast. As a result, I'm usually freezing. In order to combat this, I decided to try making a hat. I looked over a few patterns, and decided I like the slouchy hat idea. I followed a pattern I found on the Little Monkeys Crochet website called the Marion Slouch. Her website is www.littlemonkeycrochet.com. But I had a little bit of trouble following her pattern, and found that my head is bigger than the number of stitches that she called for. Lol. But here is what I came up with. ​

The last couple of things that I've been working on are patterns for a pikachu (because pokemon has gotten really popular lately) and also a Totoro. They are taking a little longer than expected though. I wanted a smaller Totoro pattern, and the one I had I though was smaller, but it wound up being quite large. So I might undo it, and try to find or make a smaller one. We'll see. I don't have any pictures of those ones yet though. :) 

Hope you are having a great week. I'll write to you soon! :) 

A worthy topic for my first post on this site. Ha ha. 

This week I learned about the most famous designer there's ever been. His name is David Carson. I've actually known about his work for sometime. He was the designer for Nine Inch Nails' numerous CD covers for many years. He is also known as the designer who killed typography. He pretty much broke all the rules that typographers are supposed to follow, and the populace loved him for it. Typographers seethed. 

If you'd like to learn more about his work, he's published numerous books. Most of them are titled after his own name. Ha ha.

If you're looking for a designer, he's good. But I'm cheaper and still good. Please hire me. No, really. I need the money. 

Thanks!

You're friendly neighborhood ninja 
...who also happens to be a designer