And what exactly does Ken... do?
I was trained in traditional illustration techniques at The Savannah College of Art and Design. Sadly, I never completed college, partly due to reasons fully explained in About Ken, reasons that popped up on an MRI. However, I have never stopped being a self-learning individual. In addition to pencil, colored pencils, pen and ink, watercolor, and collage I have also taught myself a great deal of digital art skills. I currently use Adobe Flash, Dreamweaver, Hexagon II, GIMP, and Carrara 7.0 for 3D modeling. My abilities also extend to DIY film, animation, green screen techniques, and the art of motion graphics.
Indeed!
And who will Ken work for?
Currently, I have a steady gig working for a leading global railroad company doing in-house design. That means very little time left over for doing the cool stuff. And that cool stuff is... music! To be specific, I will only work for musicians who need 3D Design, CD graphics and packaging, and in certain select opportunities... animation and music video.
As for price, we're talking about musicians and that market is well... simply crazy right now. So everything comes down to good ole' fashioned haggling skills. However, make your opening offer fair and I won't decide to walk away before the fun begins.
Once we come to an offer I will take 50% upfront nonrefundable, 50% upon completion, which is both fair and professional.
Ken's Advantage
I myself am a musician. I also own my own recording studio running Ableton Live. I don't just design guitars and amps I also play them. I do cool stuff for cool people. The advantage of working with me is that I understand where you are coming from. I'll be able to listen to the ideas you have in mind and translate them into some really kick ass design work.
And that's my pitch. Look forward to working with some really cool people who make dreams come to life.
"Being a famous designer is like being a famous dentist." --- Noreen Morioka
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Here is what I do...
Let's start with some stock photography of an oil refinery explosion.
...and then, let's add some fire. Notice the water stream.
Then I jump into Carrara and create some wordy 3D elements that I match to the original photo's unique perspective. I do this by hand in order to get an element such as "propane" to sit in the foreground correctly in 3D space. There's nothing like hydrochloric acid, toulene, lye, liquid propane, and chlorine to ruin your day... er, life.
This is the master train shot. I shot this down in south Texas on a film shoot for a BRD video. Anytime I shoot video I also shoot stills to use later in print ads. I also add drop shadows and the word "HEXAMETHYLENDIAMINE." That is some very BAD mojo, as it creates a deadly gas. This is why I said pay attention to the water stream... in this context it's no longer visible as water, it looks like it's gas getting ready to explode or spread out in a deadly toxic cloud.
I take the final shot and flatten the layers and then airbrush out unwanted elements and soften hard edges. I add the ad blurb, command line, and contact data. And that's a wrap. This is a half page full color print ad that was created for the January issue of RT&S Magazine. Click the final photo above to see the spectacular destruction in all its glory!
And that's an example of what I do!
