Easy Rider DVD Cover

This is the end product... notice any resemblance?

Easy Rider

This is a I did for GDS-108 Project 4.

This sketch is for a DVD cover. The film was produced in 1969, and therefore is not "50" years old yet... but I was thinking ahead.

Vivid Reflections

Vivid Reflections
Archan Nair
Computer Arts Nov-2010

I love the colors, what can I say. I also am challenged to try and find things in the image... shapes, objects and what have you... So far, I have found a parrot, a babies binky (pacifier), what might be a hair brush, a watch and balloons.

Am I just crazy ?

What can you see ?

Our cat "Pepper Kitty"

Our cat "Pepper Kitty." He is all black and his eyes are bright green... except his Right eye, which sometimes turns half  Bright Blue and half Bright Green.

Our D.O.G. "Candy"

My wife's dog Candy - a.k.a. "Scruffy Dog."

Images from homework #13 - Stock Images

This is simple beauty.

It represents everything that is bright, clean, and innocent. Pure freedom to relax having escaped the responsibilities of life.

Images from homework #13 - Stock Images

 

I like this image simply because it reminds me of what it used to be like to be young and free.

Images from homework #13 - Stock Images

 

Another wonderful image.

What can I say ? I love the female body... It is curvy and beautiful.

Images from homework #13 - Stock Images

This image reminds me of swimming.

Ya, I know. It's because there's a person swimming in the picture. It's more than that though... to me anyway. I love to be in the water. My friends used to say that I swam like a fish. I once tread water for 8 hours in a lake where the water was quite deep. Seeing this person diving reminds me of feeling the water hit my body, and the swoosh as I entered the water.

Ficticious Map

 

Ride for Ron "re-visited"

This is my project 3 map.

The story behind the idea to make this map is that back in October of 2007, I hosted a benefit ride for Ron ( my old boss ). He had cancer at the time and was having a tough battle with it, and I wanted to do something to lift his spirits and show him that there are people that support him.

We actually rode most of this route all the way to and around Shades State Park and Turkey Run State Park. We did stop at the listed stops too, except Longview Tap ( not sure that this name is 100% correct either ). I had raised a lot of donations, and sold tickets for raffles which we held at several of the stops. All of the items that we were able to raffle off were donated by local business. There were shirts, motorcycle gloves, hats, and just tons of various stuff that people donated. There was even a brand new cycle helmet... a real nice one too.

All in all, it was a full day excursion (195 miles ), and we didn't get back until right at sunset. Everyone had a great time, and after the cost of the T-shirts that I sold ( 50+ @ $20 each ), I was able to present Ron with $1200.00 cash to help him with necessary expenses.

This map represents my idea of a second ride that I have thought about for several years now... Ride for Ron "re-visited." If I actually put it together, it will only be for fun this time... or maybe to raise $$$ for a great cause... like Cancer or something. It was fun putting this together, and none of those who attended will ever forget that day.

 

Exercise in Contrast

Does the H look like it is lighter on the Right side and darker on the Left side ?
This is an example of how contrast effects colors... many of you, looking at the 12 step color wheel thought that the last ( lowest ) color on the left side of the wheel was Purple or Violet and therefore thought that Purple or Violet was a cool color when in fact it is not. The last, lowest color on the left side of the wheel is actually a Dark Blue. The contrast of the Purple swatch to it's right causes the Blue to have a purple tint. Cover up the purple on the right and you'll see that the other color really is only a Blue.

In this example above, the H is the same color on both sides... its the contrast of the color surrounding each side that causes it to look the way it does.

I made this example using a Gradient ( light gray to dark gray ) on the bottom layer, and then used a second layer to type the H. Quite simple actually... but I could swear that the right side of that H is lighter ?????

Blue Angel - Graphic Design of another nature.

 

 

These type of paint jobs were extremely expensive, and still are.
Back in the day, these murals were done using a combination of both hand and air brush techniques.
This picture was taken some 25 years ago ( approx. ). The truck probably cost around $130,000 without the mural painting. To have the graphics put on the truck probably cost around $10,000 if not more. Some people were really proud of their equipment... I was too, although I never had a full scale mural done on my truck... not that I didn't want to.

Shiney Hiney

Can you tell whats been on my mind lately ?

I've recently had the urge to get in to my massive photo collection. Over the years, during my trucking days, I have taken over 5000 pictures. Did you know that you can fit about 1000 pictures into a large size shoebox ?

Anyway, during my escapade into the past I have dug up some pretty cool images and I will post them here from time to time... I will also be posting some on my GDS-120 blog site too, so you might want to check up on those... I don't intend to post duplicates ( identical images on both  blogs ).

 

And finally, the third of the three sequences.

Here is another of the three sequences.

Here is one of the three sequences that I made.

A simple sketch from my project.  Designing the title sequence for a movie of my choice.
The movie is of course... The lord of the rings.

My A B C's

Last evening, I was wondering what I might sketch today. I was looking at a little project of mine from the 7th or 8th grade which featured a big V for Victor.
While thinking about that V, I considered that I might just go ahead and sketch out the entire alphabet in my own kind of zanny font. So here is the start.

Bird Head

Just a little doodling going on here.

Image with Emphasis

 

 Sig Vicious
Illustration for Album
Computer Arts Magazine Feb. 2011

I think that the "emphasis" here is the image itself. It is highlighted by the fact that the corners are shaded a bit darker, drawing the viewer to the center of the frame.

And yet one more Saul Bass museum flyer sketch

Another Saul Bass Sketch

Sketch - Museum flyer - Saul Bass

Another website mock-up

Here's another mock-up of the home page for the concrete company.

Sketch from my other GDS class.

Ok. so I'm not sure if this counts or not... if not, I'll come up with something else. I drew this truck as a mock-up for a website's home page.


The entire home page of this mock-up would be a color image of a mixer truck, the bread and butter of any redi-mix company.
Conceptually, each tile in the picture would be a hyperlink opening the site to page one. Also, code would provide that when a tile is hovered over with a mouse, it would demonstrate it's click-ability by some type of action such as the tile would glow or maybe transform to an image of something to do with a concrete company ( who the site is being made for )...

More sketches

To the right I've posted a couple more sketches. One started out as just a slanted box and would up being a boat... don't ask me how, it just did.

The other sketch is actually goal oriented. I decided that I wanted to really draw something. After some thinking, I decided on drawing my wife. This sketch is the first attempt at sketching out her right eye. I intend to add on as time permits.

Comments are welcome everybody... let me know what you think. Don't worry, I can take it... good or bad.

What is Chicken Haulin?

What is Chicken Haulin'?
Well, it's really quite difficult to describe what a chicken hauler is without taking you out on an adventure to actually show you. Picture taking an entire breed of drivers, the outlaw type that is, put them all out on the big highway and let them drive "Large Cars", you know, those big Peterbilts and Kenworths that look like a million bucks and run "triple digits", (over 100 mph), pay them cheap and give them all the freight they want to haul and turn em loose.

Now an outlaw driver isn't necessarily a bad or unsafe driver, I have met many a great driver that would give you the shirt off their back and know everything there is to know about driving and do it extremely well, they just don't like the idea of being away from momma and the family to just sit around the truck stop and not make money. You see, the DOT (Department of Transportation) says that a driver can only drive a maximum of 10 hours per day and then that driver has to stop and rest for 10 hours. He still can't drive though for another 4 hours because the laws specify "in any 24 hour period". However, a truck, and consequently the driver too, do not make money unless those wheels are turning, so the outlaw drivers tend to... drive... all the time. We They drive all day... and all night too. Who can stand sitting around a truck stop or rest area for 14 hours per day doing nothing.

When I got loaded, I got in the cab and "put er in the wind". I kept the left door closed and didn't stop until I had to... period. I have been known to cover as many as 1664 miles of real estate (highways) in a 24 hour period... many times. The average truck driver is doing good if he or she drives 500 miles per day or 2500 miles per week. That roughly translates to 10,000 miles per month and around 120,000 miles per year.

An outlaw driver however, might turn 700, 1000, or more miles per day... and 4,000 - 7,000 per week. That roughly translates to around 16,000 to 28,000 miles per month and 200,000 - 250,000 miles per year, or more. Yes, you could say that an outlaw driver works as hard as 2 average drivers, and sometimes a bit more. I personally used to have a dispatcher that I had to call immediately in the morning when "he" arrived at work (his comfy little office) and report to him my location and progress. Then I had to call him in the afternoon (this used to be typical back in the day before we all had cell phones and Qualcom communications built into the trucks) and give him an update on my location and progress. Now, if I didn't cover at least 500 miles during his day "at" work and at least 700 miles overnight before he returned to work the following day, he would ask me "Vic, are you feeling O.K. ?  Are you getting sick ?

So, hear you have all these drivers out there living in these big fancy trucks and running up and down the highways every day and night, with a thousand lights on there rigs. A true "Chicken Hauler has to have at least a thousand lights to meet the "Chicken Hauler's Association" standards. These guys sometimes get bored and when they do, they tend to let their imaginations go wild. It is a form of release you might say. I've heard drivers on the C.B. radio, and I can not say that I wasn't one of them from time to time, sitting in the truck stops bored out of their mind, cause they can't drive, for what ever reason, ratchet jawing on their C.B. radio trying to sell some of the wildest things, like "Cordless" Extension Cords, Styrofoam Gas Cans, Load Locks for Tanker Trailers, Brand New Galaxy "Mirage" C.B. Radios "still in the box" (hint: the box is empty - it was a mirage!), Reefer Tarps (so that a flatbed driver can haul refrigerated loads on his flatbed trailer, and who knows what else they might come up with. Just in case you haven't guessed it yet... Extension Cords (have cords), Gasoline - melts Styrofoam, Tankers haul "liquid" loads ( there is no way to place a load lock device inside the tanker trailer). These devices are all the figments of the lonely Chicken Hauler's imagination.

Now, factor in some of the wonderful pharmaceuticals that find there way into the outlaw drivers blood systems and you have a bunch of guys ( and ladies too) that just don't sleep, are way over worked (usually by our  they're own choosing) and have wildly wonderful imaginations.

I have run many a mile with some of the best of the best out there, and I wouldn't change anything about my life. I have a lot of wild (but true) stories about my life on the road. If you want to skip ahead though, and not wait for my stories to pop up here and there, there is a fella by the handle of "FishHawk" that's keeping a blog about some of his travels.
The blog is named "As the Crackerhead Crumbles". We'll talk about "Cracker Heads" another time.

I have personally read some of his stuff and besides thinking "WOW", I was busting over laughing through a lot of the reading. You see, I have lived that life too, for many a year, and I can really relate to everything that he is telling about, including coming off of Wendover Pass and letting er roll... seeing the speed-o-meter wind up to where there ain't no more numbers in the guage (140 mph in his case)! I didn't mention the part about the radar detector (bird dog) going off in full force half-way down the hill either... but it's happened!!!

Like I said, I've got a lot of my own stories. Go ahead and check out some of FishHawk's.

O.K., so there you have it. Chicken Haulin' is what we... they do. It could be summarized as "Haulin' Ass". We also call it "Trailer Truckin'". The outlaw driver is called a "Chicken Hauler". When you've mastered chicken haulin', you graduate to being a "Rooster Cruiser".

P.S.
Don't let any truck driver try to sell you a set of genuine "Sky Hooks" for hauling a load of fresh chickens on a flatbed trailer.

Be cool in your stool,
and neat in your seat.

Yours Truely,
"Mozzi"

Assignment for CSC-121

Well, today I have been battling the issues of a corporate produced illustration manual that was designed by someone that didn't bother to check and see if his or her methods of operation actually worked before they printed the book. Adobe... I'm glad that I took CIS-152 last semester. I'm even more glad that I payed attention.

Now, I know that these sketches don't have anything to do with my GDS classes, but they are sketches just the same. I figure that they will be acceptable demonstrations of the fact that I'm at least trying. The first two sketches are of the plan and wireframe drawings for a website that I will mock up for this weeks assignment in CSC-121.

The other sketches are just some elaborations on the "No more Trucking" sketch. I'm trying to twist it around into something that points toward my future away from trucking. I'll call them "Shifting Gears" because the circle with the small knob on the top/left is actually a rendition of the chrome shifter knob on a 13 speed Over Drive transmission in a big truck. That was the first manual transmission that I, and a lot of other "older" drivers) had learned to use and the old knob style is a "classic" to a lot of us older drivers (not to mention expensive - over $200 bucks just for the knob).

The assignment calls for a plan & wireframe drawing to present to the client for approval.
These are just the sketches to rough out an idea. I intend to draft them out on the computer in a professional, organized manner for presentation. I'll try to post that up when I get it done.
Right now, it's 1:30 am and I think that I should just give it up for today and go to bed.

Devorah Sperber's After van Eyck, 2006

I was just reading in our text book and noticed a very interesting piece of work.
Sperber used 5024 spools of various colors of thread to construct this image.
The image (of a man's head) is actually inverted. The image can be seen properly when viewed through a crystal clear sphere, which by way of refraction, inverts the image.
Very imaginative, and when viewed in this manner the individual spools of thread are not perceived.

I particularly like this type of art.

The statement on page 71 of Launching the Imagination, "When the viewer completes the image in his or her mind, it is often more memorable than an image that leaves no room for participation" is so real and down to earth. I will forever remember this image now.

Image taken from the book Launching the Imagination: Mary Stewart Forth Edition.

Hi, my name is Vic and this is my blog.

I am a student at Parkland College in Champaign, IL. I got interested in web design a few years ago while setting up my first blog. While doing so, I found myself analyzing and experimenting with the code to get a different look. I had no idea what I was doing back then, but my fiddling around with the code was successful and I achieved what I was looking for. I was very intrigued by what I had done and soon decided that I wanted to pursue this further.

I enrolled at Parkland to take CSC-152 (Web Design I) back in 2009 just to learn a bit more about HTML coding so that I could build my own websites, but shortly after mid-terms had to withdraw from the class to care for my wife who had broken her leg. Now I am enrolled full-time. I have completed one semester, including CSC-121, and am starting my second semester. I'm learning so much and I am discovering that the more I am exposed to in my classes, the more I want to keep on going.

Although I am taking a lot of Graphics Design courses,  I am focusing my studies on Web Design. This is a very huge field, so I'm not sure just yet where my degree will take me. Where ever I land, I am sure that I will enjoy my work.