Website Design (Part 1) - Sketches

Here are my sketches for 3 concepts for my portfolio website. I tried to keep all of my designs clean. I don't like anything overly busy and I am a fan of clean design so that is why I went in that direction. There will be a lot of photography included and navigation is pretty easy and simple in all three designs. I am playing around with a few different logos in these designs as well.

 Concept #1

Concept #2

Concept #3

I am not yet sure which concept I will go with, but obviously there will be anchors involved.  ;o)

Final Logo Designs

      Here are my final three logo designs - EmpireX, Vamphunter, and Elvish Lands.

      For EmpireX I combined two of my sketch designs (2 and 3) to create a new design. Originally I created design #2, but I just didn't like how it looked. I used Medievalsharp for my font to write out EMPIRE. I then created two swords. I watched a tutorial on YouTube, https://youtu.be/VX7Yv_Zo-j4, on how to create the swords. The sword was created using the rectangle tool to create half of the sword and then I used the reflect tool to add in the other side. I added color and a gradient on the metal part of the sword. I made a duplicate of the original sword and then rotated them. I then brought them together so they intersected. 

      To create Vampirehunter I used Showcard Gothic font to write the word. I then used the polygon tool to create the vampire fangs on the V, and the sharp points on the bottom of the P and R. I did have a hard time getting my triangles to match up exactly. It took a lot of trial and error and I had to rewatch a few of the lynda.com tutorials several times.

     The first thing I did to create Elvish Lands was to search the web for the right font. I searched elvish fonts and wasn't really too happy with the ones I downloaded. I ended up doing a search for celtic fonts and found a font called Stonecross. I used that to create the words Elvish Lands. I then selected the text and clicked the mark envelope button to get the warp options. I chose the bugle option and played around with the percentages until I liked what I saw. I then created the leaf to go over the i. To make the leaf I used the ellipse tool, then used the convert tool to change the shape a bit, finally I used the pen tool to create the stem. I rotated it, shrunk it down, and placed it over the i.

    This project was definitely a learning experience! I had to rewatch several of the lynda.com tutorials. I think for my first project using Illustrator it didn't come out too bad. I look forward to building my Illustrator skills further.

 

Identity Design & Branding (Part 1) Sketches

The above sketch includes the two concepts below: 

My first concept is a medieval theme. EmpireX and its games Stormy Skies and Elvish logos will all have medieval style fonts and incorporate some medieval graphics (like swords). This concept will include dark colors (black and deep red). Sketches 1, 2, and 3 show this theme.

My second concept is a fantasy theme. My fonts will have sharp edges similar to those in my medieval theme. I will use greens and golds for these logos. I want there to be a bit of an earthy feeling to this theme. Sketches 4, 5, and 6 show this theme.

The above sketch includes my third concept, which is a horror theme. For this concept the games will be called The Night Realm, Vamp Hunter, or Wolf (obviously I will only include 2 games but I had 3 game ideas for this concept). I want to use Gothic style fonts and affects like blood dripping from the fonts. This theme will also include dark colors (reds, blacks, greens).

My Artist Statement

Art has always been an outlet in my life; a means to express myself without having to hold anything back. Since childhood I have felt drawn to photography. I have dabbled in many different art mediums through the years, but I always come back to photography. Pictures have always inspired my creativity so it only seems natural to create pictures myself.

A photo takes a moment in time and tells me a beautiful story about that moment.  This is what I hope to show in my own photography. I find myself inspired by different things every day. Nature is a constant source of inspiration for my work. The vast arrays of colors found in nature constantly spark my creativity. My goal is to help those who view my artwork experience the way nature feels.

My hope is to continue to grow my craft as an artist and expand my audience. I want to share my photo stories with the world. Just because you cannot be in a particular place does not mean you should not be able to experience it. Photography can help that experience happen and I hope to be a part of that movement.