Mark Khaisman is a Ukrainian artist based in Philadelphia who creates artwork from brown packing tape. Khaisman works on a light easel, applying translucent brown packing tape to clear plexiglas panels, the layers are built up to create varying degrees of opacity.
I find his work very inspiring and was absolutely shocked to find that his works are created entirely with packing tape. Each “line” is made by twisting and molding the tape to the plexiglas. I love when artists find new ways to use materials that were never “intended” to make art.
I enjoy doing illustrations with simple blue ball point pens, which are a less than common drawing utensil. I have found that using untraditional mediums can lead to some very amazing outcomes that would have never been achieved using traditional materials.
If you would like to see more of Khaisman’s work you can visit his portfolio.
Scott Hansen is a California-based multi-disciplinary artist who has produced work for a broad range of clients from Barack Obama to small label musicians. He also writes, records, and produces music under the name Tycho.
I first came into contact with Scott’s work a few years ago in an issue of Communication Arts. I was immediately drawn to his vintage and organic style.
I think what impresses me most are his use of color and strong sense of composition. My eyes always seem to know exactly where to go. I really enjoy looking at his work on his portfolio site because he pairs his work with his recordings and the two mesh nicely.
If you would like to see or hear more visit Scott’s portfolio, blog, or music sites.
I had to laugh when I came across these posters the other day. I read them once and it took me a second glance to see that they were actually design shortcuts. I simply read them substituting the correct word in for each of the shortcuts. Being a shortcut junkie myself, this concept definitely spoke to me. I guess I know a second language, even if only subliminally.
I have decided to start a series of things that inspire me. I am starting with artists and plan to branch out into more general categories such as: colors, typography, etc.
Si Scott is a graphic designer from the UK who specializes in rich, hand drawn illustrations that often involve type. He uses fineliners to create the illustration and usually works about 25% bigger than the final size so the illustration looks more crisp when scanned.
I am mesmerized by the skill hat he displays with a pen. I usually do my illustrations in ball point pen, so his style immediately spoke to me. Seeing mainstream hand drawn type makes me smile all over.
If you would like to see more of his work check out his portfolio here.
I also dug up this short video of him at work. Take a look!
I really liked the way that this piece turned out, so I thought I would post it. I was experimenting with making my own custom brushes in Photoshop. It is a very simple process and can yield some pretty fantastic results.
To create a custom brush in Photoshop:
Make a shape or group of shapes to serve as your brush. (I used a simple tall rectangle for mine.)
Make a selection around your shapes.
Go to Edit>Define Brush Preset, and create your brush.
Open the Brushes Engine (Window>Brushes) to see and edit your newly created brush. There are tons of options that allow you to customize your brush to your hearts desire, so play around with the settings for a bit.
I then painted a basic shape with my newly created brush and used the Warp Tool (Edit>Transform>Warp) to bend the shape. Finally, I applied several layer styles to get the final effect.
For a more detailed tutorial check out the original post on PSDTUTS.com. This site is a fantastic way to fine tune your Photoshop skills.
Yet another great item from I Love Typography.com I didn’t do nearly as well as I thought I would, but I had fun none the less. It reminded me that there is always more to be learned.
This is an amazing tool that allows you to quickly test 3 different fonts, sizes, styles, etc. all at once. There is a wealth of options that make customization a breeze. You can even export out the CSS of your tests. I’m passing along the link because it has really saved me some time in the early coding phase of my web projects.
Check out this wonderful tool when you have a chance.
I came across this video the other day and was amazed at the detail and skill of craft that must have gone into making this. I’ll never look at a pop-up book the same again.
