créer magazine issue02 - April 2010

creer for designers who blog

PROJECT

featured illustrator

Ricardo Gimenes

DNIHEB

SETISBEW

the the photography photography of of

web web designer designer

M

Jackie Brown Darren Hoyt

The ALAD Project

the the illustration illustration of of

Pencil Rebel

Neil Ford

student student profile profile

Mike Galore

Lukes Beard

Grzegorz Kozakiewicz #2 april 2010

creer PROJECT

DNIHEB

for designers who blog

SETISBEW

M

featured illustrator: Ricardo Gimenes

Neil Ford

p16 illustration

p28

Videocake

p4 photography

The ALAD Project p42 By Lukes Beard

WTBp40 What The Blog

Darren Hoyt

p62 web design

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Mike Galore

p68 student profile

Pencil Rebel p54 By Grzegorz Kozakiewicz

We have some great freebies this month, plus a special créer community challenge!

Pencil Rebel wallpaper www.creermag.com/special-article/pencil-rebel-by-grzegorz-kozakiewicz

A Lyric A Day wallpaper www.creermag.com/special-article/the-alad-challenge

A Lyric A Day Challenge get your work featured in créer next month!

C ha l l a n ge

See page 41 www.creermag.com/special-article/the-alad-challenge

The winner of a 1yr membership to tutsplus is –

Maria Spurgeon Congratulations!

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videocake

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Photo by Mathew Smith

I am Jackie Brown (aka videocake) and I actually kinda liked that movie. I am a working photographer, award winning video DOP and video artist based in Toronto, ON. I have been behind a camera for 15 years, and on occasion, in front of it. I graduated Sheridan College from the Applied photography program in 2000.

At the time I enrolled in Sheridan, I was torn between moving and still images and therefore “tried out” for both the Media Arts program as well as the Applied Photography program. I was accepted into the latter and spent 2 years engulfed in learning how to be a commercial photographer. During that time, I dabbled in film production on my own time and as such, feel both forms of story-telling are merged into the work I do in each of those respective disciplines.

You could say my creative time is spent in 3 ways…Still Photography, DOPing videos and VJ-ing self-produced video content.

For the past few years, my still photography has been centered mostly around events – from live music, to parties, to conferences and conventions. I also do portrait, editorial and the occasional wedding. What I am most passionate about though, is urban exploration and documentation.

I have worked on a few film productions, as a still photographer and DOP, the most recent piece, “Fear Itself” (produced by Blindline Pictures) won me “Best Cinematography” award at SFWFF 2008. I use all of my knowledge of still photography and apply it to films, which apparently works pretty well.

The name Videocake was adopted in 2004, and came from having to make up an email address to use for VJ related correspondence. Incidentally, it stuck, and was assumed as my monkier for video performance. I have worked with a ton of local and international collectives, DJ’s bands and artists.

I am/was also a core member of the multimedia collective project3media, where I learned the VJ craft and cut my teeth in the interactive entertainment world. A small sample of the shows I have done will soon be viewable in my Pages directory on www.videocake.tv The end, for now.

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How did you get started? Did you study something in particular or are you self-taught?

No. I am not self-taught. I learned a lot from trial and error as a kid, but I learned quickly that each shot cost me money! I graduated from Sheridan College's Applied Photography Program back in 2000. To be honest, I'm really proud of my training. Most people I talk to these days who are "into photography too" take photos, but should not call themselves photographers. I'm dating myself here, but when I graduated, digital cameras were almost mythological, a brand new concept they were so new that no one owned one. Also, they were such utter crap at that time resolution-wise, that there was no reason to want to touch one. So, I learned the old fashioned way.

Where do you go for inspiration?

I watch a lot of movies and music videos. Cinematography is where photography really flourishes. It takes lighting concepts away from lighting a subject to lighting a scene or room and letting the subjects move through the light. It is fascinating and an endless source of awe for me.

What do you feel are the most important skills for a photographer to have/develop?

To know why things go wrong, how to keep that from happening again, and how to replicate good lighting/composition over and over. If you have a digital camera, it's pretty easy to shoot 500 photos and have at least 3 of them be good, and probably one which is amazing. But if you have no idea how you arrived at that amazing photo, then you didn't learn anything. I also think it is important to look at good photos all the time and try to figure out how it was lit. I think photogs should also have or develop people skills, unless you are a landscape photographer who has a sales rep. Then I guess you don't have to give a shit what people think of you!

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How has having a blog and being social with Facebook and Twitter benefited you as a photographer?

Exposure and motivation. People who wouldn't normally see my work can see it anytime, anywhere there is Internet access. Also, having an online outlet helps keep me motivated to create images, even when things are slow work-wise.

Would you recommend that other photographers start a blog and get social?

But of course! Even your grandma has a blog. Sheesh!

Can you walk us through your process before you a begin a shoot?

It's different every time and depends if I know the client or not, but generally, I ask the following types of questions: What is your budget? When would you need the project completed? Is the final product for print or Web or both? Do you have tear sheets or Web links to shots you want to use for inspiration or do you need something from scratch? Do you have detailed requirements (in the case of weddings)? Then I will exchange emails with the client to get these answers. If we see eye to eye, we meet in person to talk more and iron out the details. Then I usually spend a couple of days brainstorming and imagineering (I love that word). Then lighting is designed in my head and props are picked up. Then a location or studio sorted out.

What is your camera of choice?

That's a landmine!

I love and use Nikon products, always have – I use a Nikon D200. But Nikon has really dropped the ball with HD video. Canon is hands-down vastly superior in that department, especially when it comes to choice and price! If I had a realistic wish list it would be: Nikon D700, Canon 5D - for its full frame photo and superb video capability, and a Canon 7D just for video. Sorry Nikon!

Do you prefer digital or traditional photography?

I think digital is traditional now, but film is still so special to me. It feels like an old lover or friend. I was never too hot on tray processing prints, but I did love processing film and darkroom printing, with an auto processor though! I have been shooting quite a lot of medium format slide film (Kodak E100SW) lately and it is just so gorgeous. So, I prefer the ease and inexpensiveness of digital, but the touch and feel of film and all that it entails – from unwrapping a roll to loading and unloading it and seeing the processed film and holding it up to the light to see your images – is unbeatable.

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Who are some of your favorite online designers/photographers?

Michael McArthur www.gorfed.net Mathew Smith He did my bio photo thanks Mathew! http://mathewsmith.com/ Tobias Wang http://www.visualbass.com/ ISO50 Scott Hansen http://iso50.com/iso50.html The National Parcs http://www.thenationalparcs.com/ not designers but an amazing AV band

What are some of your favorite online design communities?

I used to be a part of one called Project3media.com, which is currently on extended hiatus, but we were an online collaboration site for designers and artists. Other than that, I usually frequent news blogs.

If you were going to photograph me, what would you make me do?

Stand near a closed window, wearing a bear suit, holding your baby so I could shoot from the street, looking up.

If you could photograph anyone in the world who would it be?

Alive or dead? Probably Bjork for a living person, for a dead person, definitely a dinosaur family portrait.

What’s next? Where do you hope to take your work?

To be honest, I don't really know. I've been thinking of getting serious with film making and cinematography. I've been dabbling for several years. Maybe it's time I settled down. I have been getting more into portrait work and moving away from urban landscape/documentary type work, so maybe that who knows really. I just hope the economy picks up and I get more work and $$!

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Neil Ford Neil Ford is a freelance designer & illustrator working in Scotland. Neil's main business is web development, working within a new design consortium called collective59, a small team of web & print designers, copywriters & photographers operating in Scotland.

He is currently working on a solo web comic project called An Unkindness, launching in autumn 2010. He is also developing characters for a new strip

by American writer Chris Hickey. Neil keeps an online sketch pad at www.neilford.net, usually updated 2-3 times per week.

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How did you get started? Did you study something in particular or are you self-taught?

I studied graphic design at college way back in the early 1990s – seems like a different world now, hardly any computers and no one had ever heard of the Internet!

Painting and drawing, and specifically comic strip, have always been important to me, and I've been lucky enough to have had some fantastic direction along the way by some world class artists and writers.

All my Web skills were initially absorbed from the resources provided by the Web standards trailblazers of the early 2000s and through self-directed study thereafter.

I remember feeling so pleased with myself after following the tutorials provided by Eric Meyer on his Complex Spiral demonstration that blew me away. I'd been a Dreamweaver jockey up until then; it felt like a real moment of clarity!

Where do you go for design inspiration?

What, apart from creer magazine? A successful design or illustration has to start with the client/brief/script. If that spark of success isn't there, it's going to be a tough job for you and the client! It's wise to develop a process where you and the client can quickly define what a successful project will look like, then generate the ideas and actions that will realise that vision.

Gallery sites or design magazines probably won't help you develop a winning process. That said, it's important to see what others are working on and how your work compares. Ultimately, fashions and trends do emerge and you have to be aware of them.

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What do you feel are the most important skills for a designer/illustrator to have/develop?

Planning! Jobs I've planned well have always been smoother and always had happier clients at the end. I use a customised version of The Natural planning Model. It might work for you too; just Google it!

How has blogging and joining social networks benefited your career?

By meeting a lot of interesting people and having the pleasure of being both educated and inspired by their ideas and achievements. I get the feeling blogging has fallen a little out of vogue these days, but I think blogging can still have a role to play within specific interest groups in ways the 'Top 10 Lists' sites can never hope to.

Twitter is very useful, too – gloriously distracting, but great for making new contacts and telling folks what you are up to.

How did the online sketchpad (neilford.net) begin?

I launched in January this year, primarily as a private/public space to document my duty as a painter which, of course, is to paint, and paint a lot!

I've been delighted by the response I've received even if I'm always a little surprised folk enjoy looking at my scribbles! It's been great I've made some fantastic new friends and have embarked on new creative partnerships as a direct result of the site.

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What can you tell us about collective 59?

Collective 59 is a consortium of designers, developers, photographers and copy writers working in print and Web. We are currently working on our 1st generation of projects, so it's very early days, but it's boding very well for the future.

Our collective client list includes national and international businesses, government agencies, and universities, so we are thinking big!

Who are some of your favourite online designers?

Blimey, there are so many people whose work I admire.

This is tough!

1. Paul Lee - www.paulleedesign.com 2. Krzysztof Domaradzki - www.studiokxx.com 3. Jordu Schell - www.schellstudio.com 4. Dermot Power - www.dermotpower.com 5. Tom Muller - www.hellomuller.com

What are some of your favorite online design communities?

I'm an infrequent contributor to a few Web design mailing lists and Twitter a bit , that's about it. I'm a bit too busy to “commune” much these days, what with work and family commitments. That said, I do still get a lot of enjoyment out of Flickr – very fond of that.

Twitter has also quite profoundly changed how these things work in recent years. I've seen it kill a few mailing lists stonedead as the “chatter” moved onto Twitter – not necessarily a bad thing of course. I don't like closed lists much these days; they often lead to “group think” which saps my soul.

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Can you tell us about the web comic project called ‘An Unkindness’, which you are currently working?

Well, it's a dark little story concerning the end of the world, or Ragnorak as my viking ancestors would have called it. It's evolved from an idea I had for a series of paintings, then a narrative started to emerge and I thought, "this might work as a Web comic", so here I am, writing and illustrating a Web comic, hoping to publish in Autumn 2010.

Also working on a new strip with writer Chris Hickey [www.weaponizer.co.uk/oneauthor.php?id=24] which I'm very excited about.

What are some of your favourite comics?

Now this is tough. Being a wee Scottish tattie, I grew up with 2000AD, so it holds a very special place for me. Favourite strips from that are Slaine, Rogue Trooper and Nemesis the Warlock.

I've always enjoyed Iron Man, Frank Miller's Batman, and Thor.

I'm currently enjoying Ben Templesmith's work, an extraordinary style he has.

Recently come across Pupato's Web comic strip The Bathroom – his story telling is so dynamic and the storyline is delightfully surreal. [www.webcomicsnation.com/gomezpupato]

Favourite comic book ever is The Light & Darkness War by my hero Cam Kennedy and Tom Veitch. It is glorious; the art, the story and my God the covers are exquisite. How it never got made into a movie, I'll never know. It's awesome.

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Can you walk us through your design process. Where does the inspiration come from for each piece?

First I'd hit the sketchpad, start kicking some ideas around – this is when keeping a sketchpad comes into its own, as you will have developed a visual shorthand so will recognise success or failure quickly. Now you are well placed to use all the happy accidents serendipity will send you!

It's usually a refining process after that, which will vary depending on the medium or final format, but an energetic sketch is definitely the foundation I base my images & graphics on.

I work mostly in digital formats these days. I use Corel Painter 11, Pixelmator, Alchemy, Wacom tablet, and Apple computers. For Web site work I'm a fan of TextEdit, Fireworks, Drupal CMS, and MAMP Pro.

Other than design, if you could have a different career what would it be?

I have a fanciful notion of having a little boat, setting some lobster pots, smoking a clay pipe and listening to a battered old radio as I putter around the coast having adventures. Nonsense, of course. In reality I'd only go out during calm seas & blue skies, cry if I got a rope burn, and moan about the lack of WiFi.

Finally, what advice would you give a young designer just starting out?

Work hard! Whatever your discipline, the more you work, the better you will get, so stay busy & enthusiastic. Keep a sketch pad or a scrap book or a Tumblr blo. They are extremely useful; even many years down the track they can spark ideas and creative thinking.

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Ricardo Gimenes I have over fourteen years of experience in design, art direction, illustration, video making, and production of creative materials in five different countries, multiple platforms (both digital and analogue), and for a variety of different clients. I have always focused in turning deliveries into commercially successful graphic design pieces, website designs, audiovisual media, digital media production and motion graphics initiatives.

I started my career in Brazil, and my international experience started in Japan, moving later to Germany, the United Kingdom, and Italy. In Japan, I lead a team of creative professionals and coordinated the creative process to give focus, work on budget and schedule, and meet client's expectations.

While in Europe, I was commissioned to produce a number of graphic materials including; web sites, DVD's, commercials, and book layouts.

In a nutshell, I would say that my main skill relies on my ability to work in multiple platforms, which is something brands need more these days.

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How did you get started as an illustrator and was this always what you wanted to do?

Ever since I was a young boy (8 years old), I liked to draw.

My dream was to draw the Coca-Cola truck. However, at the time my drawing skills weren’t great, so my mom enrolled me in drawing lessons. I was thirteen at the time and I spent 6 months learning how to draw circles, animals, mouths, hands, light and shadows… but no Coca-Cola truck. I continued for the next 3 years, during which time I learned basic paste-up skills for commercial ads. It was 1991 and I didn’t have a computer yet. It was also around that time that I really got into copying cartoon characters like Turma da Monica, a creation of Mauricio de Sousa, one of the most famous Brazilian cartoonists.

I think my interest in drawing started with examples I had at home. My mom has always painted portraits… and my sister, she was like an art ninja, painted everything from T-shirts to arts and crafts.

What motivated you start behindthewebsites.com ?

I was working on a very boring project (the project was cool but the client was terrible). After 5000 changes requested from “the art director client” I sent the final design. After I sent it I was imagining the client looking at his computer and saying: “It’s beautiful, perfect! But, I want to change the color, and the font size a little, and swap the photo, etc…” This was when I had an idea to illustrate the client behind the website, only whimsical…I didn’t illustrate the client in the end, but this idea gave birth to behind the websites. Also it happened three days before my birthday, it was a gift to myself.

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Behind The Websites popularity has grown immensely since its conception, and many great web sites have been illustrated. Today getting featured/illustrated on Behind The Websites is equivalent in many ways to winning an award! What are your thoughts on this?

Wow, I dind't know that, it's quite nice. I'm happy about it because it is a pleasure to do Behind the Websites and if it is so important to other people it is only a bonus. Should I start a business like theFWA.com? ;)

You have worked in several countries (Brazil, Japan, Germany, UK and Italy), has this had an impact on your creative style/process?

Sure, living in several countries I could get lots of good references from different artists, culture and people. In my opinion all artists should spend a few months in Tokyo, amazing city, crazy references. In Germany the most important thing I learned was to pay attention to details, organization, and deadlines. In Italy it was fantastic, you breath art everywhere!

PROJECT

DNIHEB

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You are known mostly for your illustrations. However, your portfolio includes a lot of print, web, and motion work. How have these varied skills benefited you as an illustrator and your work with Behind The Websites?

It gives me the flexibility to make my work more interesting, I did everything in Behind the Websites from design concept to animation and I could do it in the way I wanted and in my own time.

Plus I started a new feature in Behind the Websites, ‘Behind Animated’ it's a looping illustration.

What one thing, if any, would you like people to gain from their experience with Behind The Websites?

The Internet is very powerful. Do it well, not for the money, but because it’s what you love!

I read somewhere that you are big fan of Hanna-Barbera (I also really love Hanna-Barbera) and I can see the influence in some of your characters, which is your favorite Hanna-Barbera character/cartoon?

Without doubt, The Impossibles, even today I love it.

Where do you go for inspiration?

Bookshops. I can easily spend a whole day inside a book shop just with a coffee, and, of course, the internet.

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The Tarantino Archives

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Twitter in Japan

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What do you feel are the most important skills for an illustrator to have/develop?

Be creative and experiment! Then practice until you develop your style.

How has having a blog benefited you as an illustrator?

Before Behind The Websites I spent 60% of my time working with motion graphics, 30% on art direction for print and web and about 10% illustrating. Today I’m spending 80% of time illustrating and the remainder with everything else...

Would you recommend that other illustrators start a blog and get social?

Sure. As I said, the internet is a very powerful tool! A blog is perfect for an online portfolio. There are so many great tools to start a blog, I like wordpress, it’s my favourite.

Who are some of your favorite online illustrators /designers?

Arthur de Pins. His illustrations are fantastic, amazing drawings; sexy and funny, a master of shading.

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What are some of your favorite online design communities?

Abduzeedo, Fuel your Creativity, Yay! Everyday, Mojizu, to be honest I don't have a favorite one. I'm always looking for different communities.

Other than illustration, if you could have a different career what would it be?

Soccer player ;)

Finally, what advice would you give a young illustrators just starting out?

Practice, practice and practice again. Don’t worry about finding your own style quickly. It will happen naturally by practicing. Expose yourself!

Send your artwork to magazines, sites, blogs, etc. Make your own website or blog.

Finally, even if a job seems to boring, learn from it and find the positive side. As Eric Idle says, “Always look on the bright side of life.” And if possible, go abroad and experience different cultures.

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WTB

The top 10 best blogs of the month - chosen by our readers

What The Blog

1 2 3 4 5

Heart Directed www.heartdirected.com

Yaron Shoen www.yaronschoen.com/blog

MagCulture www.magculture.com

David Airey www.davidairey.com

Motion Spire www.motionspire.com

6 7 8 9 10

Peta Pixel www.petapixel.com

Inspiring Pixel www.inspiringpixel.com

Tim Print www.timprint.co.uk

Dexigner www.dexigner.com

Gypsy Bandito www.gypsybandito.com

How to submit a blog Send your submission to submit@creermag.com include WTB (What The Blog) as the subject line.

In the email include the link(s) your name and original source (if required).

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what are you waiting for?

C ha l l a n g e crĂŠer would like to see you're ALAD Create your own A Lyric A Day piece and submit it to our flickr pool and we will showcase the top 10 in our next issue!

Make sure to tag you piece with "creer alad" Good luck!

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By Lu k e s B e a r d

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The idea for the A Lyric a Day (#ALAD) project was born during a visit to Scotland to see my father over New Year’s. His house is etremely remote and most for most of the visit it was me, a notepad, my Mac Book and a lot of time on my hands.

I had spent some time reviewing the work I completed throughout 2009, and it became apparent that my typography was lacking severely. Typography was something I had become increasingly interested in during the later part of 2009 and something I really wanted to commit more time to in 2010. My aim is to obtain a better knowledge of type, and research the history and techniques behind it over the last 50 years.

I spent a lot of time browsing sites such as: http://ffffound.com http://www.booooooom.com http://ilovetypography.com http://www.typographyserved.co

and I was inspired to start the year-long project that is now A Lyric a Day. Due to my obsession with all kinds of music and the fact I listen to an almost unhealthy amount of it (over 190,000 plays on last.fm), it seemed like a great way to get into typography and develop my skills.

Finding a style or format for 1-25 proved a challenge, and I did find myself taking inspiration from Mark Weaver (massive hat tip to you sir), Jeff Finely, James White, Scott Hansen, and a bunch of others. I also found that looking at 1970-1980, as well as recent movie posters, was a massive help.

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I tend to run sets of 4 for different styles and layouts now.

I am extremely committed to completing all 365 ALADs and I will be proud of the accomplishment.

Ideas for the future of this project include collaborations, themed weeks, and taking on board a lot more suggested lyrics/songs. I am also planning on putting together some prints of the first 100 ALADs as a collage poster. In addition to this, I hope to produce a special edition of 10.5 inch square postcards prints in a package limited to 25 (copyright permitting).

I would like to say a huge thank you to the overwhelming amount of support I have received from my followers on Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr and especially Sara Brady – massive high fives for all of you!

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P

encil Rebel is an online game where each element was physically built and later integrated into a Adobe Flash environment.

With the end of 2006 I was pretty bored with traditional Web design. I wanted to do something new, something different, desirably innovative. The Flash websites were blooming these days and to stand out from the crowd the final interactive experience had to be really, I mean really great or present a totally different approach to interpretation of current rules and creation process.

The breakout was pretty hard. There are some specific conditions which need to be available to achieve a superb website. At that point I wasn't a talented graphic designer and my actionscript skills were even worse. However, I had an ace up my sleeve – determination.

I am the type of person who has a strong belief that things can be done if we really want it to happen.

One of my initial ideas was to create a non-liner movie-based website where characters have plasticine heads placed on pencils. At this point some of you probably found out where the name came from.

The approach changed because I realised it would be quite boring to build, and not really as interactive as I wished.

During 2006, with the help of my friend, I built the first test version of Pencil Rebel, which was more like my portfolio. It was a great experience and allowed me to assemble the collaboration team for the next episode.

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Figure 1

In the middle of 2007 I started sketching the ideas.

The first popped out the Time Machine option (fig1).

Traveling in time, changing environments and cultures sounded nice but not good enough. Next was The Castle (fig2). Secret doors, backdoors, fireplaces, lot of potential for secrets and good fun. Then the final and successful idea of Rescuing Friend f¬rom Elfland (fig3) appeared. The irony is that a source of an inspiration was the old movie, and not the Web at all.

I started with The Stage (fig4) . The idea is that the player walks around the stage and enters the rooms.

Solving the puzzle in rooms gains the items, which allows you to enter the next level of game. There are also five secrets which do not affect the gameplay but show bonus materials.

I spent four days building main frame, drawers, holders, tags and lines and at the end sticking everything together (fig 7-11). These four days and nights were very busy. I was tired and happy with the results, but at this point I had absolutely no idea that this project would stay close with me for another eight months.

I slowly started to collect people for collaboration. The final core team included: Marpi – Actionscript developer, Pati – Creative help and characters design, Hisako – Japanese version, and Nick – most of the sounds.

Personally, I hate websites which are full of loaders.

That is why I decided to load the entire website (5.5 MB) at once and give player the non-interrupted experience. During the loader there is a sub game.

You need to protect flowers from snails (fig12 concept) by using a wasp (fig 13 - execution).

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

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Figure 7

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Figure 11

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Figure 13

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Figure 15

Figure 14 Figure 16

My favourite room in Pencil Rebel is the one you need to enter correct code into phone to open a gate (fig14 concept). It was pretty interesting to design (fig 15-20 – creation process) and I love the fact that there are many activities. The code can be found via secret or by listening to the radio in one of the previous rooms.

To enter the code, the player needs to open the phone by using the switch located in a different room. it.

The original approach was focused on building everything from cardboard, patterned papers, and plasticine. Over time the approach changed. I created the room made of leaves, wood, and bits I found in a park. The extreme version was to use pasta and I'm sure I will not use this material in the foreseeable future.

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Figure 17

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Figure 20

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Figure 20a

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The Kitchen was definitely the funniest to build. We had a great time playing with vegetables and fruits to make them look like real objects (fig 21-25).

I did not really need sophisticated hardware to build this website. I used a lot of scalpel blades and cardboard but from a technical point of view Sony Vaio and Nikon D50 were good enough to do the job.

Stop motion, which I used to create animated Bert, was nice to play with. It required a lot of patience but very cool effects can be achieved pretty easily and it does not look so artificial as CGI. Week by week the project was getting a shape but I still could not see the end.

With the eighth month approaching, a couple of deadlines were missed and I just wanted to push this project out there. I did set up the final deadline to enter May 1st in the reboot competition and informed the team that we have two weeks left.

The last two days were a pure nightmare, and working with Marpi, who was a couple of thousand kilometres away in different timezone, or Hisako, based in the Japan, did not really help either. Pati was in studio so she oversaw about the missing graphic elements like comics introductions when we could focus on fixing bugs and making Pencil Rebel work.

I had to cut corners a little bit and cancel the implementation of rooms made out of different types of pasta which was a gallery where players could place their photos on the wall. I was not happy with it but I had to be realistic to meet the deadline.

Eventually we made it. We were fixing some minor hard-to-replicate bugs during next few days but the happy baby was born.

Due to the fact of a good response I decided to do The FWA Award submission. A month later Pencil Rebel was the Site of the Day and that was just a beginning.

Traffic was quite huge for a couple of days until it became hilarious after a link spread around games portals. Later that week when traffic reached 500 hits per minute my provider warned me that they would have to suspend service. Unfortunately, it did not, and I was quite happy about it to be honest. At 700 hits per minute, service went out.

Luckily I had a spare Media Temple server I won in May 1st reboot. Twenty minutes later Pencil Rebel was reborn and ready for action. But it wasn't the end.

With this level of traffic, the bandwidth was dropping with a rate of 250 GB per day. I temporally reduced the quality of graphics and removed some sounds, which helped a lot.

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During the next couple of months I received hundreds of email with mostly positive feedback and asking about the next episode. The good news is there will be a next episode and there is already some movement in this direction.

Thanks for reading and I hope you found it inspirational.

If you would like to hear more about the Pencil Rebel please attend my speech at FITC Toronto this year. http://www.fitc.ca/events/speakers/speaker.cfm?event =102&speaker_id=12772

For my latest projects, visit my website www.modelno1.com or join the facebook group http://www.facebook.com/pages/ModelNo1/78073977910

Grzegorz Kozakiewicz is an accomplished art director, designer and craftsman.

His ability to physically build mixed media art into digital experiences has garnered him international awards for various interactive mixed media, stop motion and film projects.

Most notably, Grzegorz’s Pencil Rebel project has been featured on a large list of publications and websites, including Disney. He has also been recognized by FITC Awards, Golden Joystick Awards, Webby Awards and also FWA. He currently holds the position of Concept Director at fuse8.com digital agency.

Check out the special blog post on crĂŠer for a FREE Pencil Rebel giveaway! http://creermag.com/special-article/pencil-rebel-by-grzegorz-kozakiewicz

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Darren Hoyt - an interface designer and developer based in New York. In addition to client work, I release my own products and writings on the side.

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Can you give us a little background of your training in design and how you got started?

I dabbled with web stuff in the mid-90s, but didn't make a go of being a designer until '98 and '99. My brother in law was a fine artist who made the jump to graphic design and then web design. I studied over his shoulder for about a year while building the HTML for his sites. Over time I started designing more, reading more, and making a career of it.

Not only are you a designer, you’re an accomplished developer as well. Was it difficult developing both skill sets? What made you decided to become a ‘hybrid’?

At a point around 2004 I got tired of making static sites. I realized they weren't very efficient and I got interested in the work of developers around me. Coding by hand didn't go so well, but I got into frameworks like CakePHP and platforms like WordPress. It was a powerful feeling to use templates and forms to build my own stuff.

Most of your work is done in WordPress.

Can you name a challenge that you encountered while building a large scale website with WordPress?

How did you solve the problem?

Large sites often have sections that function like miniapplications and display listings and other elements that rely on custom fields. WordPress has that functionality, but the ability to group them and characterize them according to the nature of the content is really more of a strength of Expression Engine than WordPress. But, with the right handful of plugins, nearly anything is possible with WordPress.

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What are some advantages of using WordPress to build a large scale website?

Managing dynamic navigation for pages and post types is very intuitive. It's something EE lacks.

You also build premium WordPress themes. Can you walk us through your design/development process when building these themes?

I have enough faith in my partner (Ben Gillbanks, BinaryMoon.co.uk) that I can have an idea, mock it up in Photoshop and show it to him and he can begin coding it. There's never been an idea I've sketched where he's said, "I don't know how to do that" or "that can't be done in WordPress".

What should one consider when deciding to build a premium theme?

Consider the audience. Don't try to build a theme that does everything for everybody. The result will be a burden for both developer and user.

If the end-user is a business client, design a control panel accordingly.

If it's a theme for other developers, stuff like action hooks can be useful. Just try to do whatever is appropriate.

What are some of the challenges involved in supporting premium themes?

I have paid forum moderators these days, but for the past few years when I did more support I had a hard time drawing the line on where to extend support for people who were doing major customizations.

The main point of support is helping people who are having trouble getting the theme to work or finding their way around it. A lot of forum requests ended up being about CSS, often only tangentially related to the theme itself. I tried to answer all questions, but in some cases, I would refer them to a WordPress consultant for further advice.

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Who are some of your favorite online theme designers?

Woo Themes, Obox, Templatic, Elegant Themes... there's plenty of good stuff out there these days.

What can a designer learn from a developer when it comes to theming?

Efficiency. Working with Ben, I've learned how to make a theme that's powerful but you'd never know it from working in the templates.

I've also learned from working with talented developers that nearly anything can be built on top of WordPress, so don't be afraid to try.

On a somewhat different topic, what was the motivation behind starting WPQuestions and WPTopics?

They were both built just to see if it was ossible, but also to fill a need in the community. I'd heard lots of people say it was hard to keep track of all the best WordPress sources out there. I'd also overheard people wishing for very quick WP consultation they couldn't get on the WordPress.org forums.

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You are a successful interface designer and developer, well respected in your industry, and looked up to by many. Your articles have been featured on SitePoint, Smashing magazine, and your work has been showcased on Mashable and Best Web Gallery. How has this success and recognition benefited your personally and professionally?

Hmmm, I'm extremely happy with that recognition but I also feel like I have a long way to go before I can look back on work I've done and be happy with it. Recognition can only take you so far. You have to keep raising the bar, too, which is tough, and also stay on your toes creatively without getting burnt out. More visibility does definitely lead to bigger projects which is awesome. It also becomes a lesson in when to say Yes and when to say No.

What advice would you give someone who wants to start building larger scale sites with WordPress?

Experiment with any/all CMSs and pick the platform that's best. I love WordPress and have found almost anything can be done with it, but that doesn't mean it's a one-size-fits-all tool for everyone. I know talented, respected developer who won't touch it. In fact, I wouldn't mind conducting my own interview to find out more about their reasoning.

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Mike James a.k.a Mike Galore Student Profile

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I am a graduating senior at Eastern Washington University in Visual Communication Design. As a designer I'm interested in print, digital media, and interaction design. Some of my inspiration comes from growing up in the Pacific Northwest, and designers like Paula Scher and Scott Hansen. I am also very excited about companies like Google who hold a strong interested in pushing the boundaries of how we interact with the internet.

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Compost Recycling Campaign

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One World Spokane Community Kitchen

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Design Addiction PSA Personal promotional ad created after the Montana/Idaho Meth Project PSA www.montanameth.org

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Tour de grove 2009

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Camera app GUI design

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creer for designers who blog

Thanks for Reading!