Smith Creative Design Blog

I guess I’ll call this Patriotic Chair? Eh, whatever.

admin — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 01:00:14 +0000

Here’s a look at a sketch I did of a chair with a giant feather behind it. Why? I wish I could tell you. But I thought the chair looked very meaningful, so I put a bunch of revolutionary stuff behind it to try to tell a story. Your critiques and thoughts are more than welcome. More to come. Thanks -Chad

This is my revolutionary chair.

I love this stuff, December 14, 2009

admin — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:52:06 +0000

So I was digging around on Abduzeedo, and I found myself drooling at the work of an artist named Rogier de Boevé. I followed him to Deviant Art where he goes under the tag of chemical-nos, hinting that I was about to have a “What the hell was this guy smoking?” moment.

Well, I was right. But I was also pleasantly surprised to find some really cool textures, use of color and masterful composition. I don’t know much about this guy but I’m gonna be borrowing a lot from him in the future…visually I mean. Have fun checking out a few of his pieces below. If you want to see more of his work, here’s a link.

Here I am. Seriously, I’m the link he’s talking about.

I love this stuff, December 9, 2009

admin — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:57:04 +0000

I found some awesome inspiration in these vintage posters. All of these were created before the days of photoshop, so there’s still that human edge to them…like a realness that’s missing from a lot of commercial artwork these days. *tear* Oh well, its for the best. Enjoy!

Go Che, Go!

Cosmo Chick and Smoking Guy

admin — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:59:41 +0000

I’m releasing a series here of sketchbook entries I’ve done in the past. I’ve always wanted to get really good with digital painting…I mean, really good…so that my illustrations can come to life and take a more professional edge.

With that in mind, I’m going to be scanning in old sketches and posting what I come up with right here, lucky you! Enjoy. Here’s the first couple.

A metropolitan with plenty of attitude and her dog.

Another sketch of what seems to be a smoking surfer.

Flexing my Photoshop Muscles and an Ad

admin — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:08:50 +0000

Well, it was kinda a boring Monday. So I played around with some photoshop and slapped an ad around until it looked alright. Please leave any questions or comments. The first three works were made with the help of tutorials from Abduzeedo Quick Tips.

Here's a planet I made in Photoshop just for giggles. Have fun looking at it.

I took a coudy background and slapped some lightning on it...looks pretty real.

Here's a guy giving the stink eye. I made it look all dramatic and yellow...zombie-ish really.

Bradley Ashton Holiday Ad - They'll love it, it has a cardinal and EVERYTHING.

The Incredible Work of Patrick Brown

admin — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:49:41 +0000

Its like Disney on Crack. Everytime I look at Patrick Brown’s work I want to drop what I’m doing, grab a 6B pencil sketch my face off. His expressive lines exaggerate reality and make his works look like they are always in motion. He is definitely a rockstar of comic and illustration design.

As a bonus, you can tell this guy loves videogames, movies and basically everything that would make your inner 15-year-old squeal like a geek. I always come back to his gallerys on Deviant Art. Here’s the link if you want to check it out, you won’t regret it. http://patrickbrown.deviantart.com/.

Here are a few of my favorite pieces:

Hair Studio/Salon Ads

admin — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:17:50 +0000

Surprisingly enough, every hair studio seems to be completely different from the rest. Its not that their services are entirely different, but because they depend on differentiation to reach their target customers. Since a lot of folks see their hair as an extention of their identity…go figure right?

Anyway, just to show you how these ads can run the gamut with design, I’ve left a couple of my own designs here for you to critique and comment on.

An insert I did for Hair Setters, a little place in Baltimore for Women and Men's haircuts...although I'm under a sneaking suspicion that it's just a good place to get a rockin' perm.

An insert completed for Salon by Julian, a hair salon primarily for men in Canton/Little Italy area of Baltimore. I was given some artistic freedom with this one, so I'm proud of the way it came out. Any suggestions?

Here's an insert I did for M Salon promoting their services and Gift Card deals. They already had a branding theme going on their website, so I had to completely recreate (and extend) all of the effects you see here in Photoshop.

Here's an insert I designed for Ritchie's Barber Shop in East Baltimore. Turns out it was a small place with a loyal clientele (i.e. They didn't need us). Oh well, I'll use the design somewhere else. The artwork is an original creation by yours truely. Critique and comments please.

Ritchie’s Barbershop Art Detail:

Here's a detail of the art. Once again, the only way I get better is if YOU make comments on the work. Please do so...don't be shy...I don't bite....always...

I Love this Stuff, December 3, 2009

admin — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:23:01 +0000

There’s nothing wrong with taking some time to dig for inspiration. I love this stuff because it pushes me to be better, plain and simple. I hope you can get something from it, too. Please comment!

Cool Ad

Work by Adam Spizak

Art by Dan LuVisi

More work by DanLuVisi

Diesel's Work

ranhwang

True Happiness by Vladm

Sometimes its manly to be girly…sometimes…

admin — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 19:45:47 +0000

Getting in touch with your feminine side is never easy, but when it comes to designing targeted ads for women, its absolutely necessary. Instead of walking around the office looking at my nails and talking with a lisp (sorry, I couldn’t resist), I picked a very girl-like color scheme for these ads. Its also good to add a lot of organic, curvy shapes with a very neat and clean design. Think about patterns that got Mom excited and remember, lots of little extra “cute” stuff (like leaves, flowers, hearts, clothing, patterns, etc.) can turn the corner from burly to beautiful. Here are some examples.

my flower box insert front

The Back of the My Flower Box Insert

Massage Envy Insert

M Salon Insert

Edible Arrangements

Jimmy’s Famous Seafood Ad

admin — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 02:01:25 +0000

Here’s a fun spec advertisement for Jimmy’s Seafood. They loved the ad and continued to run this design with different information for the events and food.

Jimmy's Famous Seafood