OnSpec Cover Summer Issue

This is the original RGB file uncropped.





This is the final cropped print version.

Resume Update for Fall 2008

Here are some of the latest projects I have been working on:


Click the images for a larger version.


I've had an opportunity over the last few months to donate some of my time and skills to R Cat Records from Edmonton, specializing in Soundtrack artists. Thus far there have been three different CD projects to which I have contributed graphic art, illustration, design or a combination of all three.

Sequent 7 is an Electronic Instrumental Soundtrack artist from the U.K. This art is for the album Transgression.




The second is another fellow from the U.K.
Jon Richards saw one of my concept paintings on this blog and thought it was perfect for his front cover. I created the back cover to jive with the front.





The last CD project was a really exciting one. It is a collaborative effort between R Cat Records and On Spec Magazine (a local quarterly magazine which publishes Canadian Sci-Fi/Fantasy writers). This CD includes various Soundtrack artists from the R Cat label whose music is geared towards sci-fi/fantasy movie scores. My involvement proved to be a very rewarding challenge.
The challenge was to take artwork from local digital artist James F. Beveridge and design an attractive cover without cropping the images. After a couple of so/so attempts, an idea came to me. If I were to render it properly, the idea would not only solve the problem of creating a frame to compliment the artwork on the cover (without trumping it), but also tell a story and create continuity for the whole project.

This is the 8 panel front insert on both sides. The two images on the right are the art supplied by the very talented James F. Beveridge. The rest of the design and illustrations were done by me, including the image on the left, entitled 'Monkeynaut vs. Spiderzilla'.



So when I created the frames for the supplied artwork, I thought it would be interesting to make each frame a microcosmic piece of a larger concept. Would it not be cool if each frame were connected together to form a SETI kind of trans-universal receptor, downloading images from across the galaxy?



These are the rest of the panels for the project.

Cover


Back


Behind the disc


Disc in


I thought I'd also post 'Monkeynaut vs. Spiderzilla' for your viewing pleasure:



Besides these projects, both R Cat Records and On Spec Magazine have both used my services in other ways. R Cat required a logo. Well, that was my opinion. One day I felt inspired to create something new for the identity of the label. When I sent my idea to them, I wasn't sure how they would react, as they didn't request such a thing. The funny thing is that it was the owner of the company that had designed the original logo. As it turns out, they loved the one I had sent and are now using it.

This led to a few other things the company needed.

Logo



Business cards



Letterhead ( I have just thrown one of my cover letters in as the text)





On Spec Magazine:

As a result of the work I did for the collaborative CD, On Spec is interested in using me for a few more projects. The first is redesigning their stationery including envelopes, business cards and letterhead. There are more projects up and coming, including promotional material for the CD as well as a cover for the magazine itself.

Here are a couple of items from my work thus far with On Spec.

New On Spec Identity

Originally when I was working on the collaborative CD, I created a little one eyed alien with a stickman body as a recognizable icon for the project. As it was before with the R Cat logo, I was taking a bit of a risk putting it beside the On Spec logo. Ultimately I truly believed in this little guy (whom I now informally call Jimmy) as a viable icon for On Spec. In the end, no one told me to remove him from the CD. Jimmy has now become more than simply an icon for the CD, he has become the symbol for which On Spec can be recognized. The reason for creating this unique character is that On Spec has had some issues with being labeled strictly a Sci-Fi magazine. Truly they are (as their name states) a speculative fiction magazine. This encompasses science fiction as well as fantasy and really anything that the human mind can conceive. The one eyed alien head speaks for the sci-fi genre of the magazine. The stickman body (as if it were a cave drawing) represents the mythylogical/fantasy side of the literature.



It started as this:




Then the icon evolved...


Business Cards


Letterhead


Envelopes



I am currently in the production stage for the remainder of the On Spec stationery.


As a side, here is another idea I had for the On Spec envelopes:



To conclude this post, I'd like to say how excited I am to have had the opportunity to work on some very interesting projects with some very interesting people. I'd like to thank Colin Lynch from R Cat Records and Diane Walton from On Spec Magazine for giving me these amazing opportunities.

Thank you.

Illustration

As an illustrator I have more than a dozen children’s books in circulation. I also wrote, designed, produced and mocked-up many of those. In addition, I have created a number of independent illustrations for clients in both the print and web industries. Furthermore, I spent quite a lot of time in stationary, working on gift bags, greeting cards and other related items.

Selection of Client Based Illustrations

Digital Art

This is the science of art. Here the boundaries of modern illustration techniques are washed away, leaving the inner constructs of the human mind open to run free.
In this section, Corel Painter, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator are my preferred mediums. I have devoted the last ten years to mastering these programs. Hunting down ways to achieve the look and feel of a traditional painting using only digital paint, photo’s and texture. I have found that using digital media to achieve a traditional looking piece not only saves time (no clean up required), but money as well (less supplies). This can cut down on overhead and gives an artist more time for creativity and increases efficiency.
In a later section you will see some examples of art using traditional mediums such as acrylic and watercolor paints.

Concept Sketches

Photo Manipulation

Traditional Art

Without question, the most beautiful pieces of artwork throughout the world have come from traditional media. Find a slab of bark, some crushed berries and some horsehair. That’s all you need to go anywhere and paint anything. The simplicity of it is artistic in itself.



*The first painting, "The Torn Hat" is a reproduction of Thomas Sully's original.

Graphic Design

I like this part. This is the area where I get to build something with the tools I've acquired. Here are a few examples:

Children's Book Design

My experience in children's book design encompasses more than just text layout. Logo design, illustration, color, pop-up's, board game design, templates, etc. If you wish to know more about my skills in this department, contact me. I'd also like to give credit to Mike Boldt, Michelle McBride, Mandy L Paproski and Michael Csokas for their illustration work on these covers.











Logo's

Logo's are a very exciting part of design. It can be extremely enjoyable because you can explore so many creative avenues and see results in a short amount of time. Here are just a few:




Commercial Design



Web Design

Creating websites is the ultimate way to incorporate design and interactivity with the greatest return. Gather important information about your consumers, provide unlimited comprehensive information to your customers/clients, generate online sales
and the list goes on. Here is one example of my work, this being a Macromedia Flash website.

http://www.survivalonsnow.com

Paper Engineering

In my time with Transglobal Communications, I learned a lot about in-house publishing and what it takes to make a quality product before it goes to a potential buyer. Here I was relied upon to make sure the quality of the mock-up’s produced were of the highest grade. If there was a special feature to the book which required special measurements, folds, add-on's, plastic parts, moving parts... it would often be my job to create the pilot product. Pilot products are sent to potential buyers or clients therefor they need to be of factory quality.
We produced a wide variety of different pop-up products. From simple single-layer pop-ups all the way to multi-layer, multi-piece advanced pop-ups. In this area I have been relied upon to be innovative in creating the most dynamic, cost efficient paper engineering products. Everything from kids books to gift bags, product packaging and other marketing material, they've all seen a pop-up or two.

Writing

Cool comes the mountain mist,
To me without a sound,
Gently passing the sleepy trees,
Softly slithering down.

Bringing with her whispers
Of ten thousand year old souls,
All with heralding stories to tell
To be heard by the young and the old.

Am I the pen and the ink in the hands
Of those wise and ancient voices?
Asked to revive the ashes of old
Adding fuel to the fire of our choices.

At times we can all be story tellers or poets in our own way. I enjoy using the written word to inspire conversation, creativity in young hearts and minds, visual art and music.

Within the children's book industry I have a number of published works which have featured my stories as well as the illustrations. I currently have a number of stories nearly ready for production in genre's including children's, young adult as well as for adults. For more information on these, please contact me.

In addition, I found a niche at Transglobal for writing the small bio's, catch phrases and marketing scripts which get printed on the back of their books. Maybe it's just that I have a knack for stating the obvious... hmmm.

Audio Engineering

I would tell you that my first love in the universe is the creation of music.
I also have experience making full children’s audio/visual books, including narration, character voices, musical scores, sound effects and final production.

Personal Music

I debated whether or not to include a sample of my personal music on my resume. However, I do feel it's important to include the skills I have attained as a music producer. You can judge in private as to the song writing quality, but I think you will find that the recording sounds quite professional. I use Garage Band on my Mac to mix real instruments with various kinds of midi tracks as well as vocals on most songs. Here's an example of what I do when I make a song on my own...  

 Galaxy Fighter

Children's Music

Here's a few children's songs which have been distributed with a variety of read along Children's book CD's and DVD's from Transglobal Communications Group, Inc.

Here is my music profile on MyJonesMusic.com


Other Audio Engineering

In addition to making music, I have had a passion movie production. Along with that comes soundtracks, mood music, sound effects... the list goes on. I've dabbled in a number of things which fit in to this category, including a project at Transglobal where I fully produced a narrative Read-a-long CD/w books package. Children's Narratives are only available upon request. Send requests to jmdirks@gmail.com