Wordle – Create your own tag cloud artwork

wordle_tagcloud_header
Anyone in the design world has probably seen a pretty awesome design for a typographic word cloud. Well, Wordle.net has made it too simple to not try to build your own! It took me literally 2 minutes (or less if i wasn’t being picky) to build a simple word cloud from my sites RSS feed. Go ahead, give it a try. Leave me a comment to your saved gallery so i can take a peek! (or a screenshot if you’re savvy)

Full size screen capture of my “wordle” after the jump.
Continue reading

New Art: Albert Ornelas – Band of Brothers

Band of Brothers artist Albert Ornelas
Name: The Churm Media Band of Brothers
Designer: Albert Ornelas
Programs: Photoshop & Illustrator

Albert Ornelas is the Churm Media jack of all trades. Starting as a graphic designer and moving his way though the ranks to land as a web Specialist, Albert is one of “the band”. The “Band of Brothers” is the group of production guys who work in the heavily woman dominated offices of Churm Media. Over the year of the band’s inception, some have come and gone, but the brotherhood still remains. Taking the inspiration from the bond we have, Albert created his interpretation of the band of brothers. Taking the caricature drawings of the brothers and stylizing them with color, shading, and adorning them with helmets, Albert has created a flag to fly proud for “The Band”.

Full image after the jump… wait for it… JUMP!
Continue reading

Portfolio: HALFrican-american

In the spirit of the presidential election, inspiration hit me. Up until the election was over no one really heard about the “race issue”, but once Barack was crowned king (figuratively speaking, of course) of our great nation it seems like that was the ONLY thing everyone had to talk about. I understand it’s a great time for our nation’s history and whatnot, but the negative connotation places on the issue of race is just sickening… So, long story short, this little bit-o-inspiration hit me.

Please don’t flame me or send me hate mail. This is NOT a racist message, it’s an observational render.

If you’re a supporter of the arts, like Obama, hate Obama, are half African-American or just feel like scoring some sweet swag… then check out My HALFricanUSA Cafe Press store. All the proceeds will go to keeping my refrigerator fully stocked with Mauntain Dew and Dr. Pepper. Thanks!

My childhood, revisited!! Legos and NES!

Lego NES - Duck HuntRemember that whole thing about me being kind of a geek… well this is like my holy grail. As a kid i always used to play with Legos, i never bough the pre-make stuff, it was always the bucket. So i was never short of imagination (clearly short of friends though). When my fingertips hurt from pushing against all the sharp corners it was cleary time to go massage them on an old NES controller. Something about the 80′s and their block, non-ergonomic designing. Enjoy… just as i did!! THANKS GEEKOLOGIE!!

Lego NES - CastlevaniaLego NES - Excite BikeLego NES - Mortal KombatLego NES - Contra

The “Cans” Festival 2008

The Cans Festival 2008 - Sidewalk ViewHarumph! Europe gets all the fun stuff! This year’s “Cans” Festival was help under Waterloo station and was an orgy of art. Artist from all over could come and leave their mark on the walls and sidewalks. Take up a paint bruch, spray can, markers, pretty much anything you can find and go to town. There was even a guy playing a piano in the tunnel! Art is a boundless medium.

Thanks Justin for another great post over at Big Head Design. Next year we plan the trip to Euoropeville and get OUR mark on the streets… literally!

The Cans Festival 2008 - Arial Sidewalk ViewThe Cans Festival 2008 - Mindcontrol artThe Cans Festival 2008 - Piano player in the tunnel

Realistic human vector images

Here’s a small collection of what WallpaperHD.net has to offer in it’s “Vector Images” section. These are some photo realistic vector renders of people! Which means they could be lossless up to any size, IT’S VECTOR. With the use of Illustrator and a ton of time, i’ve come up with some pretty photo realistic stuff, but these look flawless to point. I wish i had contact into for each artist so we could get them on here for an Artist Spotlight, but the site i snagged them from is a bit clunky and a little tough to navigate clearly.

Photoshop Tennis, or as the Chinese call it, Photoshop Tennis

Photoshop Tennis - \"Build it\"Revolutionary! Sleek! Sweeping the nation! Call in the 10 minutes and we’ll throw in the Flickr pool Photoshop Tennis!!

Basically a community of folks who pick a “game” (a photo), set a couple of ground rules, then let it loose in the forums for their members and readers to pass along changing one thing at a time and handing it off to the next lucky boy or girl! I think it’s GENIUS!! I’m sure they’re not the first to do it, and won’t be the last, but they might be the best right now. With the Flickr community being so huge, it’s got some talent floating around in it’s kiddie pool. A game end when no one posts to the specific forum anymore, or the timeline is met (also can be stated in the rules). So, go follow a feed, open your photoshop or GIMP and let the tennis match begin!

Thanks Abduzeedo for the knowledge that is Flickr Photoshop Tennis. (This particular photo set is from the game “Build It”)

VIDEO: “Science Machine” – 40 hour time-lapse in Illustrator

In an effort to not litter my front page with flash plugins of videos, i’ve moved this until after the jump. But it’s an AMAZING video. Time lapse of a 40 hour project by Chad Pugh. The detail that goes into the illustration is stunning, and if you really like ti you can order a full size print. Once you watch the video you’ll be considering it, i know i was. It’s truly an inspiration!

Watch the video after the jump, give Chad Pugh some love!
Continue reading

Artist Spotlight: Arnold Gustavo Lopez Mañas

Arnold Gustavo Lopez Mañas - Experimental 1Arnold Gustavo Lopez Mañas - Experimental 2Arnold Gustavo Lopez Mañas - Experimental 3These images just happen to be a VERY small portion of what this artist has to offer on his website. They just ended up being my favorite of his series, which is a VERY tough comparison with so much captivating artwork.

With one of the sickest portfolio design websites i’ve seen and some killer artwork, Arnold Gustavo Lopez Mañas is by far one of the most talented artists i’ve seen. His style reflects the type of art and visuals that muse me and drive me to create. Great find thanks to Why Me? via Pristina.

Surely to become a frequented artists page that i keep up to date with!

In a different series, pictured below, is hands down my favorite piece from Mañas. Must be those birds. HA!
Arnold Gustavo Lopez Mañas - Rockmantic

Creative advertising: concept to execution

Creative Advertising - Use only what you needEvery designer has heard the tired old expression “form follows function”. Well, the following designers took that and tossed it out the window. This is more Function follows form. Every one of these was designed with surroundings in mind, materials accounted for and logistics calculated. The agencies that produced these must have made a buck or two in their days of glory.

To read more about these advertisements check out Big Head Design and Toxel. Thanks again for another great post Jusin at BHD.

3 more images after the jump. Continue reading

Artist Spotlight: Scott Wade

Scott Wade - Dust Car Art - Pet FestScott Wade - Dust Car Art - Ford Escape 1Scott Wade - Dust Car Art - Ford Escape 2Scott Wade - Dust Car Art - Ford Escape 3Scott Wade - Dust Car Art - Birthday Bob

“Uhhhh, yeah… das dustgusting” – Leon Phelps, The Ladies Man
c’mon…. anyone… anyone get that reference? haha

So, growing up in the desert and delivering pizza for the latter years of my high school career (and, cough cough, a couple college years as well) gives me a little bit of knowledge on the accumulation of dust on the back windows of cars. Dirt roads were no stranger to me. Mostly we’d just write obscenities on our fellow co-workers back windshields in mirror, so they could get a nice “how do ya do?” when they go to check their rearview, but this is ingenious! Scott Wade uses his artistic talent to “paint” murals on the dusty windows of cars… apparently living down a dirt road was some sort of inspiration for him as well! My inspiration was mostly dirt bikes and jumping the “doodle bug” out in the sticks… but who’s really quantifying talent here… wait, i am… fail!

Visit Scott’s web page to see more of these amazing artwork pieces. Discovered through Studio 83 (Beta) via Neatorama

Sucker for the birds…

Amuneal - Laser Etched Bird ArtAmuneal - Laser Etched Bird Art 2Maybe there’s something wrong with me, but i can’t get enough of art containing shilouette birds (Hence the branding of my logo). I’m not even a fan of birds, the live ones, but when i see the artwork of a knocked-out, black dove or crow (or any bird for that matter) i can’t help but stop, stare and analyze. NOW this company, Amuneal, has gone and made wall art and laser cut metal shelving, coat racks, etc. WHAT AM I GOING TO DO NOW!? Too poor to afford the stuff, not smart enough to not want it. haha. Thanks life, you’ve won this round! ….. quick, staring contest… you and me… GO!

“…It was a beautiful space, and with the right lighting the shadows were gorgeous… equally fascinating were their business card holders where the birds were popped out and bent as you pleased to hold the cards between them. See images of the booth on the next page…”

Artist Spotlight: Art & Ghosts

Art & GhostsClick… oooh. Click… Ahhh. Thank you NotCot! Taking an evening break on Memorial day to check what the web has to offer, and to my surprise it’s been a very busy day. I Guess some people never take a holiday!

So, through the blogs and the superbad, a little sliver of dismay caught my eye. (via Art & Ghosts) The series, Séance, Can be found through Art & Ghost’s Photostream on Flickr for better resolution and to catch an eye on all the fascinating textures. This beautiful artwork is darkly inspired by the book ‘The Other World’, as the artist states.

On a personal note, i love when an artist can find inspirations and turn them to a reality. Working for the magazine that i do, i’m constantly looking through any publication for the smallest bit of inspiration, and today i found that on a cover of SPIN magazine. Keep your eyes peeled, you never know when your muse is going to give you the cattle prod you’ve been waiting for.

Vibrant. Art. Street… it’s HDR Graffiti

Graffiti already has a special place in my heart. I’m not going to lie and say that i’m from the streets, but i was quite the minority in a city filled with Graffiti’d walls. There was no way a new construction site could build a wall without it being tagged on within the weed, most of the time days to hours. So, i’ve come to appreciate the art that is graffiti. It’s colorful, captivating, and more of the time, impossible to read… but it sure looks pretty. From Abduzeedo, by way of Big Head Design, i came across these HDR images of a BUNCH of graffiti artwork. They’re stunning! Anyone who appreciates art AND photography will definetely get what they’re looking for out of these images.

Fact: HDR pictures are totally cool. HDR makes colors pop-out, they appear really vivid and shiny. And what kinda art uses lots of vivid and shiny colors? That’s right, grafitti! And the combination of these two will blow your mind!

I appreciate good graffiti art as much as the next guy, but when you throw the HDR aspect onto these vividly colored murals, they transcend into a surreal form of artwork that serves to enhance these awesome murals. Definitely some of the most amazing photos I’ve seen.

Many more pictures after the jump.

Continue reading

Artist Spotlight: Albert Szukalski

My parents recently took a trip for their 31st (i could be wrong on this, great son, i know…) anniversary through california up into Nevada. On their trip they passed through a little ghost town in the middle of nowhere, in Death Valley, and got some amazing shots of some artwork that, unknown to them and myself, had a series of sculptures to follow up the series. Artist Charles Albert Szukalski (Born April 4, 1945, Furth im Wald, Poland — Died January 25, 2000, Antwerp, Belgium) Had a sculpture of “The Last Supper” (Pictured Above). When my parents were showing me the photos i was blown away by them; one, that my folks were savvy enough to capture such great photos (i kid, i kid), and two, that something so amazing would be set up in the middle of the desert, without graffiti, intact and seemingly unguarded. When i got near a computer again i started to do a search for “Death Valley Last Supper” and discovered the other sculptures in the series.

UPDATE: After doing a little bit of research, i found out that this isn’t just ome random little ghost town in Death Valley. It’s actually called the Goldwell Open Air Museum.

Watch the video of the artist and a little of how he made these sculptures.
Video after the jump… JUMP!

Continue reading

Lions and Tigers and Fontbots, ohh my!

Well i’ll be damned if these aren’t the best use of typography ever! And clever to boot. Helbotica, who comes up with this stuff?! Ohh, wait, this guys does. Seemingly a college student with possibly too much time on his hands, or design genius… i’ll leave that up to you, but i choose the latter. Two more “Fontbots” after the jump…

Continue reading