KevinKeeganPro.com Blog

Here’s a quick flyer I put together for Dan over at Batlground. Trying to get the word out for a new area of business for his company.

Update: Final Print

A little ad I put together for 4touge.com. It’s purpose could be for flyers or online placement.

My latest design for 4touge.com.  We had a little competition on our car forum to do some design work for our first hoodie.  Unfortunately, no one really entered anything, so we just went with my design.  The theme involves the fusion of certain key parts to the performance of a car; engine power, braking, and suspension.  All combine to give you the best performance while driving on twisty mountain roads.  Hope you like.

Just finished putting together Ashley and I’s wedding invitations. Thought I’d show off the design a bit.

Last quarter I took my first Illustrator class at Chattahoochee Tech.  First off, AWESOME PROGRAM.  Now, for our first project we were required to take a photo of our choosing and turn it in to a vector graphic with color.  Ok…so I decided to propose a challenge to myself and do a self-portrait.  Self-portraits have always been something that I veered away from, but this seemed to be a good opportunity to face that fear head on…when else was I going to.  I was also inspired to do so after seeing my friend Tracy’s self portrait vector project she completed at the Art Institute of Atlanta.

So here it is…I think it is pretty decent and also hilarious…a true representation of the goofy side that only a few people in my life get the privilege of seeing.

2 more issues have been done since I last posted regarding Wrecked Magazine. Many great sections and some mediocre covers. One good thing that came out of this last issue is the K&N ad that I did. While simple, it definitely nailed what they wanted I think. All I have to go on is the fact that they approved it on the first proof. (Which brings up the point that criticism is a great thing, so at least you know where to improve.) I’m sure the design could be better but how would I know. Well the client appears happy, so you can’t ask for much more than that.

Update: It’s live!

I started off using “Brushes” for iPhone, a very capable app. But coming from a photoshop background, I was still missing a few features that would make painting on an iPhone an easier transition for me. “Layers” brings some of those features to the platform at long last.

The next tool is the eraser tool. Erase on any layer, with full access to the different brushes and sizes and a transparency adjustment slider. Finally! Like I said, I come from a photoshop background where I can erase something or even better, mask it out. But with “Brushes”, I was not able to do any erasing only additive corrections meaning if you went outside the lines so-to-speak, you’d have to re-paint what you screwed up with a similar/identical color. Seemingly “adding” paint strokes on top of paint strokes. Since you’re currently limited to five layers, there is still the possibility that you might need to re-paint or paint over something on one of those layers. Regardless the eraser tool is a very welcome addition.

Much of the same tools and utilities from “Brushes” have been used in “Layers” as well. Color sampling by holding your finger down on the color you want. Also an eyedropper tool that can sample all layers or your current one. Pinch to zoom, and also double-tap to zoom to a specific area (at 200%), and 1000% max zoom (over “Brushes” 800%) allowing for pixel specific painting.

Export settings include email as flattened JPEG, PSD (yes, a photoshop document) with layers, send to your photo album on your device, or save as duplicate. So you can take you’re layered painting and edit it right into Photoshop.

While this app won’t make you magically have talent (as I was hoping for), it will give you a greater tool set in which to create your next mobile masterpiece. Add a Pogo Stylus and you’re good to go.

I’m back in school again. I ran into my editing instructor at Wendy’s a few weeks ago and we started talking about how everything was going on campus. He mentioned that there is a new program at Chattahoochee Tech in Digital Media Production/Arts. I asked if an Illustrator class was included in it and he said yes, so I was sold. Also I’ve already completed about half the classes when combined with my other degree, so this one shouldn’t take more than 3 quarters to complete. In addition to Illustrator, the degree will also require classes in Cinema 4D, Maya, Dreamweaver, and Flash. Very exciting stuff.

Sometimes all you need to make your design more interesting, is to use some kind of element or symbol to help draw the composition together. A resource is right at your finger tips. Your keyboard. Let’s take a business card for example. Maybe it’s something relevant to your email address like an “@”. An “@” that is oversized (it’s vector-based, so it won’t pixelate), maybe a contrasting color, can all help set off a certain part of your design that you want to emphasize.

A graphical element can be a very simple and powerful asset to a design. It’s something that catches the eye and can be very relevant and literal to the point you’re trying to get across or it can be a little something that ties it all together visually, or both. So, if you’re missing just a little something, don’t forget to look down.