A Space to Work

So I went MIA for a week because I needed to work on my work space. I occupy two rooms and during the semester, I just worked and slept in one room, while the adjacent room was filled with boxes of my past books and art work that I hadn't had a chance to unpack. I decided to spend the week moving my desk and design books from my room into the adjacent room to have everything in one room, thus making it my studio space.

Although I felt bad about not really producing anything for those days, I decided that it was important for me to actually have a space that would encourage me to design, paint and draw and not feel so cramped and always digging for my materials.

So now that the space is done, I am back on track! I have the space to spread out my art work, a place to store pieces and have access to all my tools. I feel really fortunate that I'm able to have this space and I can't wait to design everyday.

Here's a photo of the space:

Wedding in NYC

Spent the day at work. Edited some wedding photos I attended in NYC this past summer. This is one of my favorite shots and the bride and bride loved it as well. These two are some of my closest friends and I'm happy I got to witness their union.

Tomorrow I have more free time and will either be shooting or working on some lettering.

New Year's in Big Sur

This photo was taken New Year's day at sunrise by the Bixby Bridge.

Two days in a row of photography. Tomorrow I'm going to work on designing my New Year's Cards.

Happy 2014!

A Happy New Year to you! What a year it has been and I wish I had been more diligent with documenting it on this blog. Nonetheless, it's a new year and I have much to do.

Here's the first post for 2014, and this is a photo I took this morning on the way to Big Sur. I opted to stay in for New Year's Eve to get up extra early at 4AM and head down the coast to Big Sur.

It was such a treat because the stars were still out and I was able to try out long exposures with my camera on a tripod. I've never photographed stars before and it was so wonderful to see it come out!

We spent about 6 hours in Big Sur photographing various spots and enjoying a lunch. What a great way to start 2014!

Cheers!

Pinhole Image

Taking two photography classes this semester. One is traditional black and white, complete with dark room time and the other is digital color photography, using Lightroom. For our first black and white project, we made a pinhole camera using an empty oatmeal box, painted it black inside, using blackout electrical tape we designed lightproof box to expose paper.

Here is one of my prints from the 5 picture series. I exposed 7 papers, and this one I liked the most.

The photo had just finished being washed and was on its way to the drying rack.

Really enjoyed this project, I hope to do some more throughout the semester as I'm working on my semester long project.

To A New Age, A New Year. 365 Days of Design.

 

Quote: Sammy Hagar

Type: L850 Slab

Quote of the Day 3

Quote of the Day 2

Colors: Pantone 7421 c, 711 c, 100 c.

Font: Myriad pro

Quote of The Day

I know I didn't post anything all last semester, but this new year calls for more uploads and use of this blog. I'm challenging one layout a day of quotes I find and like. The designs could be as simple or as complex as time allows. The whole point is for me to just practice designing.

Cheers to a new year, everyone.

Font: Bebas Neue

Colors: Pantone 3285, Pantone 192 M, Pantone Warm Gray 1 M

Thank you, Hillman Curtis

Yesterday, Hillman Curtis passed away at age 51 after a long battle with colon cancer. What a great loss to the film and design community, and most importantly to his family.

Besides his art and filming, what really inspired me about Hillman Curtis was the way he embraced all his endeavors. He wasn't afraid of starting over or learning something new at any age. This has and always will inspire me to keep going forward with my journey.

Thank you, Mr. Curtis for your artistic ambitions, we are all better for it.

"Be prepared to reinvent yourself. Be prepared to go out on a limb occasionally, and be prepared to do things that you feel strongly about and maybe other people don't; that maybe don't have an immediate source of income or revenue." 

P.S: This is the layout I did last semester in which I did research on Hillman Curtis. http://lannynguyen.wordpress.com/2012/01/08/editorial-layout-hillman-curtis/

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/johndavey/3946481982/

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/38130536]

I Think I Am Loving Life Drawing Even More

This week we did another six hour sitting in life drawing class. The model was wonderful, she did not move AT ALL, truly a professional. I struggled for a bit with the shadowing around her collar bones and I still feel I need to lighten the shadowing on the final drawing. I wish we had more time so I could get more detailed on her facial features. Overall, satisfied with the drawing, just gotta manage my time better and get to the face next time. Three stages of the image:

Life Drawing

The class that has been one of the most challenging this semester has been Life Drawing. Here, I will be sharing some drawings from the beginning of the semester, middle to recent. [gallery order="DESC" columns="1"]

I have a long way to go, but I feel as though I've gotten a better grasp and understanding about the process of it all. What really held me back in the beginning was the fear of not getting it perfectly in accordance to standards and rules that have been set. I didn't allow myself to fully see what was in front of me, instead I just drew analytically. This was frustrating and at times, I wanted to give up.

After a few weeks of this, I was up late one night  doing sketches. The answer came to me so easily. I was caught up in my head! I finally decided to just say, "The hell with it all! I am going to really draw!"

I will continue to learn the guidelines and styles, but use those as tools, not as constrictions. Once I stopped worrying so much about restrictions, I felt much more free during class. I enjoyed class far more, and I could see a change in my drawings.

One important thing this has taught me is that, patience really works! I took time to learn and implement guides that were taught to me. From gesture drawing, to carving out the figure and finding shadow shapes. Everything is vital and important.

Many times we just want to jump in and draw, but as with anything, we need tools, and these teachings are all tools to use with our intuition. I used to dread this class, but now I am disappointed when time is up and we have to pack up our things. Even when the semester is over, I want to keep working on my drawings and am more confident about attending other drawing studios.

How have you overcome roadblocks in your creativity process?

Word Cube

 

Using a poem, song lyrics, story exempt or any body of copy, our third final project of typography class was to incorporate that with making a 3d object expressive. In this case, it was a clear cube. This pushed us to think of type beyond being a form of communication, but as symbols for expression.

To create a side to appear darker than the others, the kerning of the words can be tighter, and the opposite to create a more open space.

The hardest part of this project was creating a flow and allowing each phrase to stand on their own.

This was one of my favorite projects from last semester and I keep it on my desk. The copy I chose is from The Holstee Manifesto. This manifesto was a great inspiration for me when I was debating between continuing on with a job and career I wasn't happy or passionate about, or taking a risk and going for a BFA in Graphic Design.

If you've ever felt stuck or dissatisfied with what you're doing, but you're fearful of change, I recommend you get this manifesto, hang it up  and look at it everyday. Then, set out a plan and go for it.

THIS IS AMAZING!

Have you heard of Paul Cadden? I just discovered his work recently and am blown away by it. He is known for his Hyperrealism, drawing beautiful images that look like photographs, similar to that of Chuck Close. 

This is amazing! His medium of choice is graphite. It's amazing what this man can do with a pencil. This is so inspiring and beautiful. The time and dedication to each of his pieces is admirable and I would love to have this kind of discipline. 

For more of his work, visit: http://paulcadden.com/

My Entry for The 8th Annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration

May is Asian Heritage month and every year San Francisco has a wonderful street celebration. It is the largest gathering of Asian Pacific Americans in the nation (according to their site) and offers an array entertainment, food, educational sessions -- a great place for families and friends to attend to learn more about all the different cultures. In addition to the celebration, there is always a poster contest. The fun part is that if you are the winner your design would be used for all marketing materials. The challenge is to create a design that incorporates the year's number, like this year was 8.

I've always wanted to enter the contest and decided to go for it this year. I submitted my design with my fingers crossed. I didn't end up winning, but I'm happy I actually went for it and not just sit back and wonder if I could go for it or not. There's always next year!

Congratulations to the winner, Klaudiusz Madej. You can see the winning design here: http://asianfairsf.com/2012/03/origami-flowers-blossom-as-ahsc-poster-contest-winner/ 

Also, you can see the other 50 submissions here (Pretty cool to see mine up there!) : https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.369753716391507.91798.107575025942712&type=3&l=ca7da01791

If you're in the Bay Area during the celebration, stop by the event and hang out!

The Grind.

Remember when you were a kid and people told you "You can be anything you want to be if you just put your mind to it."

They forgot a little footnote that says: "Well, first you put your mind to it, then you will need to sacrifice a lot for it and never give up, no matter how difficult it may be. There will be tears, there will be low points, there will be times you will question yourself and skills and there will be times when you feel like it's all for nothing, but you have to keep going."

I am quickly realizing all this and more as the semester is progressing forward. My applications are in and I'm waiting for acceptance or rejection letters. I'm preparing my portfolio all while trying to stay focus during school all while trying to live my old life. Then I had a few weeks of low, low points in which I thought, THIS MAY NOT BE FOR ME. After a lot of back and forth, I understood what the problem was, it was me. I was trying to do everything I needed to do, while still trying to maintain my former life.

No, there is very little socializing to be done when you have 30+ hours of homework and projects to do. No, you cannot buy new and beautiful things because you are saving money for school and rent and eating $.29 ramen. No, you cannot participate in fun things all your friends are doing because they have full-time jobs and can afford it. No, there is no way you can just stay out late and relax because there is no time to just relax. And no, you can't keep socializing with everyone because it gets exhausting trying to reach out to people who don't respond and it will only make you feel inadequate.

Things have changed, because I have changed and this is exactly what I signed up for.

I signed up for late nights of practicing my sketches. I signed up for working on my 10th draft of a design. I signed up for the excitement of finally feeling more confident about life drawing. I signed up for the thrill of finishing a project after hours upon hours. I signed up for all the lows and the highs and I can't waste time questioning it.

I lost sight of this for a while. I felt left out from social activities. I compared myself to others and felt suffocated by my own grievances. I forgot that this was my path, my journey and my pace. I will get there. No good comes from rushing. I want to be the best designer I can be and that means constant learning, studying and practicing. I can admire, but I should not let it be muddled by envy. Let my admiration be my fuel for motivation. Let envy be just a fleeting moment. Let me push forward because there is no going back.

So I'm here to tell you, in case you didn't know, some friends and people may mot be there at the end of this, but those who matter, will. You may not get to do many fun things, but in the long run it will all be worth it and there will always be other things to do in the future. There will be low moments, but you have to push forward because nothing will beat that deep breath you take when you've finally reach your goal.

Yes, put your mind to it, but don't forget what that means. It means fully investing yourself into it. Sacrifice what you can. Trim the excess and push to always be better. Your future self will thank you.

Artist Book

Update: I've found an amazing artist to work with! :) Hello artists!

What: My semester project for my Prepress class is to create a 40 page book about an artist or art show. In it I will be showing my capabilities of layout. It will be a 10 week progress and by the end I will have a professionally printed and bounded book.

Who: I would love to work with an artist who has a substantial body of work to be featured. This book can serve as your portfolio for any upcoming show. What I'm envisioning is about 10-12 pages of copy which can be filled with essays written by you, your colleagues and fellow artists about your work. The rest of the pages will be filled with images of your work with short descriptors.

When: I would like to begin research and collaborating as soon as possible. So, let's talk!

How: They layout will be done through InDesign CS 5.5.

Why: Class assignment and portfolio piece for you and me.

If this is something you are interested in, please email me at: nguyen.n.lanny@gmail.com Looking forward to hearing from you! 

It's A New Semester!!

Horray! I was always that kid who got uber-excited about the first day of school with my brand new notebooks and freshly sharpened pencils.

This time around, I have my new drawing pencils to replace the ones I worn down last semester, sketchbooks for all my drawing classes and drawing pads. I've cleared out my portfolio and I am ready for this semester.

For this semester I am taking six classes. Some may call it crazy, and I agree, but I love being pushed to the limit with all the assignments.

I've gone to 4/6 classes already and I can already tell it's going to be an extremely challenge semester, but I'm ready.

So these are my classes this semester:

Life Drawing - The instructor is intense and I'm looking forward to what I'm going to learn.

Drawing 2- This class is set up to be more of an independent studies class with more research of artists and working with color in my drawings. Excited about all the new projects.

Art 2D- The catalogue best describes this: The course in the visual organization of the elements and principles of design as fundamental concepts in visual problem solving, composition, and color theory. Emphasis will be on the underlying nonobjective and abstract structure of visual art.

Photo Lab Practices- I'm excited to get back into the dark room and learn more techniques in developing and printing. From learning the old adage, over expose and under develop to trying different developers for a variety of film. I've been wanting to take this class for the past 2 years and am ready to dive right in.

Art History- The book is huge. Ready to go to the museums though.

Pre-press - This is the only class that involves a computer this semester. We will get to use all the programs and learn about working with printers and getting images color ready to go to press. I hear we get to visit a few printing studios to learn about the process.

So these are my days:

Monday: Work 6am-10am, class 2pm-5pm

Tuesday: Classes 9am - 10pm

Wednesday: Work 6am-10am, classes 2pm-9:30pm

Thursday: Classes 9am - 10pm

Friday- Sunday: Work and homework!

I value my breaks in between and there will definitely be no time to procrastinate. Coffee will be my best friend and sleep will be a luxury. EXCITED!

Here's to a new semester! Cheers!

Expressive Word Book Cover

This is the final product from my last project, Express Words. The assignment was to search for a book with the same word title and redo it with more emphasis on the word more than an image. For this design I used illustrator and photoshop for the mock up.