Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Image

If you've been paying attention, meaning if you have nothing better to do than observe the latest trends in my pschosis, you may have noticed my recent obsession with messing around with my digital imaging program. This is not the first time I've gone through a wannabe graphic designer phase. My freshman year of college, I downloaded trial versions of Photoshop and Paintshop Pro and went crazy. I wasted countless hours morphing Calvin Klein cologne ads with pictures of my nephew, whose initials are CK; making photo collages of my friends and family; and making underwear models into superheroes. My roommate was pretty weirded out when he walked in on me zoomed in on the crotch of a man in briefs, changing the white pixels to red and the flesh-tone pixels to blue. And rightfully so. I quickly finished with Superman and started on Wonder Woman, lest my roommate get the right impression. In retrospect, I don't think painting tights on a female underwear model was any less weird.

The point of this somewhat embarrassing story is to let you all know that I'm only accepting entries in the Color Master Fob contest through tomorrow at 10 pm, at which point I'll post the winners.

11 comments:

Th. said...

.

Done.

Lady Steed said...

Master FOB
As a graphic designer myself, I must correct you on your use of the term. Your 'messing around with [your] digital imaging program' is not graphic design but actually photo editing and/or photo manipulation.

It's a little pet peeve of mine when people say they are skilled in graphic design, then show me some of their work and it's not graphic design at all! Just manipulated photos! ARRGHHH!

If you really want to be a graphic designer, I suggest you start by taking a class on typography and another on composition. If not,just stick with messing around, that's the best way to learn those crazy photo manipulation programs. Then you can be the Master of Photo Manipulation.

Hope you like my coloring contest entry.

svoid said...

I did notice the new logos on yours, Foxy's and S-Boogies blog a while back. I was curious where you got them from. They look professionally done. I thought that maybe blogger had a new feature where you submit a photo and they create a logo for you. I'm way impressed that you did that yourself.

B.G. Christensen said...

Your Ladyness,

I suspected I was misusing the term, but I couldn't think of a better one. If it makes you feel better, I did do actual graphic design, albeit very amateurish graphic design, when I worked at the Morris Center.

AND, now that I've looked up "graphic design" in the American Heritage dictionary and I see that it means, "The practice or profession of designing print or electronic forms of visual information, as for an advertisement, publication, or website," I will agree with you that my manipulation of S-Boogie's photos is not graphic design, but the banners I made for my blogs is indeed graphic design. Again, I would never claim that I know what I'm doing, but it's graphic design nonetheless, in the same way that Dan Brown's writing is not good writing, but it's still writing.

Sincerely and respectfully,

Master Fob, wannabe graphic designer

Lady Steed said...

So you're going with the dictionary over the person who studied graphic design and earned a bfa in it? ok well, if that makes you feel better, you are only an english major after all... ;)

B.G. Christensen said...

O Steedful One,

I didn't know that the dictionary's definition of graphic design differed from yours. Please enlighten me. The only clue you've given me as to your definition is that it's not photo editing (which I admit), and that it includes elements such as typography and composition (which I have studied in editing and art classes, respectively, though I admit to having little to no talent or skill in either). You are welcome to question my sense of typography and composition (but please be nice when you do), but I don't see how you would say that typography and composition are not elements of the banners I made for mine, Foxy's, and Boogie's blogs. But then I don't yet know your definition of graphic design.

Humbly yours,

Master Fob, master of fobbiness and English but not of graphic design

Lady Steed said...

oh master fob....i must apologize for my last comment as it was rather catty and only said to rankle you. please forgive. Your banners do fall under graphic design...in fact they look good. i hate them, but they look good.

Just be glad you didn't say you were a wanna be 'graphics' designer. oh that is my biggest pet peeve of all. i am very glad that it appears that you understand the difference.

Sincerely
Lady Steed
Highly Opinionated Art Critic and Graphic Design Lady.


ps I am impressed by your photo manipulation skills, what program are you using? Intense photo manipulation was never something I excelled very much at. In my intro to Photoshop class they tried to teach us such things, but it was beyond me. All I can really do is, crop, resize, duo-tone, and other such simple things. But if you were turning underwear models into leotard clad superheroes, that would have taken some real skill. Would love to see those unddie models turned superhero experiments.

B.G. Christensen said...

Your Brassiness,

I was being catty too. Cattiness is allowed on my blog.

I have been using Picture It 7.0 lately, but I believe when I did the undie superheroes I was using Paintshop Pro. I have them on a floppy somewhere--if I can find them and get them off, I'll post them for your amusement. :)

Tolkien Boy said...

If you're feeling bored, you can make ME a banner...

Th. said...

.

"Get them off...."

Sicko.

skyeJ said...

th. YOU CRACK ME UP!!!!