Pokemon Color Wheel

So I had an awesome time with this piece of crap! :D (I do like it)

Reason I say piece of crap is because I didn't really put that much effort into it. My teacher in college was extremely picky about it so I lost interest for it. I was gonna do a zodiac Pokemon style of it but having it in color wheel too was really hard. If anyone can do something like that I would love to see. Now if you noticed some spots have more than one Pokemon. I wanted where the primary colors were one and secondary had two and so forth. However certain images i loved where they had to be there by themselves (Example: Gengar).

While I was making this I got the urges to redraw these characters in my style (will work on). I love the images of people that take the Pokemon and either make them look awesome or realistic. I get the inspiration to do it myself.

Anyhow my next project is coming up soon (My assessment) Stay in tune for the next blog and I'll see you soon.

Character Coming to Life!

Hey everyone! I want to tell you a little background before I continue. I have lost my parents at the age of 12. At first, I didn't let it get to me until the realization smashed into me and hurt me greatly. For the next 2 years I wasn't doing good in school, stayed up all night on the computer, didn't have many friends or went out a lot; I was pretty much a zombie.

Then, I one day decided to try and run away and make my own new identity. This is where Sonika was born. At first she was only a pale human girl a little taller than me with jet black ,long hair and red eyes. She only wears white and holds all of my negative emotions.

As the time progressed I started to become a better person and did awesome in school and now in college on the Dean's list. However, I still hold onto her not only because she is like a sister to me but, she helps me know that it all wasn't a dream and that it takes rain to make a rainbow. From there, I decided to expand from here. She has changed many forms and now has a story to herself and how me and her connect:

There is a species called Kunaio. They all believe in a Goddess. She created a world called Kenchigen that is similar to Earth but, the animal kingdom and culture are different. Humans hated Kunaios and used them as war weapons when captured. She mated with a male and sacrificed herself to created this species. As generations go on, Sonika is born and is a striking image of the Goddess (as well as her grandmother). Her oldest brother, Troy, was jealous of this and decided to spend a lot of time with her to examine her and experiment on her as newborn. She had I, as her 'imaginary friend', in her mind so when she was with no one she wasn't alone. Her mother did not appreciate this later as she became suspicious of the activity. When she took Sonika away from him, he decided to attack the village to get her back.

Kevin, her older brother, managed to grab her and escape as everything is left to ashes. At the same time of her escaping, I was pulled from my world out into her world and had to go separate ways. Kevin took care of her till she was 9 years old when he got killed by humans. As she tried to live on her own she obtained a human friend, whom was later killed by his family because of their hatred.

Today, Sonika is traveling in search of me. Having the power of anger and hatred from me and her own to take the lives of anything in her way. She is on her journey to get revenge from Troy.

Hater hating Illustrator and Mac

Okay, so in class I was given an assignment. Take our name and make a splatter. Which at first I thought it be cool to see my name in a different way and it was cool. At first I wanted white but decided on the green cause the 3D made it look grey.

Now I did say this was really cool but, it was also a pain in the butt! Not only was Illustrator being really slow with the 3D effects, I am using a mac. I hate macs like no tomorrow. I have been raised by the windows and plan to stay that way. The macs have no buttons on the monitors, our monitors rely on one tower, and the mac is mostly about shortcuts rather than relying on the mouse.

When it comes to placing the splatter on the letters is when the hell breaks lose. It's cool that you can place the splatter on any surface there. However, when you go to place a part of the splatter on a part of the letter, apparently the image is to big so it keeps going back to the original spot.

The image is a bit messier than it was before and that is because of illustrator. Anyways though, aside from the hate, I had some fun and hope you enjoy the image. I will post the full size on my Facebook and Twitter.

KyleneMCulbert's Facebook

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Defining Value in Graphic Design

This is a summary review of section 2 in the textbook Design Currency for those whom are looking at research for Graphic Design course.

Metrics is a system everyone uses in everything. Design Businesses uses a few metric tools called ROI (Return On Investment) and CBA (Cost/Benefit Analysis)> ROI measures profits earned in an investment using the formula:

Gain of investment - Cost of investment / Cost of investment X 100 = % ROI.

Many companies use this in projects to discuss positive returns and showcase the high rates. A good way to evaluate the payoff in the end. CBA Measures the positive success in each project. Many rely on CBA to aid in decision-making and to predict profit of undertaking. Formula goes: Positive factors - Negative factors = Project viability. However, because these tools provide only one side of the performance, they don't fully work when economy gets harsh. When this happens, they have to see through and understand the goals, outputs, and outcomes in order to find out if to go with the design or project. Goals are reasons for commission; outputs are what help the success and outcomes the effects afterwards. For those new in the process, they use SMART to help set smart metrics. SMART stands for Simple, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant, and Time based.

Relying on numbers alone is not always best for projects. BSC (Balanced Scorecard) is good in measuring the numbers and effects in other parts to give an understanding of the company itself and their overall effectiveness. It can be applied to anything from a project to the organization itself.

In the Four Powers of Design Model, there are 4 perspectives in what the Design does.
There are 2 kinds of design: Functional Design and Experiential Design. Studies have shown that when focused on only one, the profit can increase by 9% but, when both is used together the 9% goes up to 20%. Understanding your audience is one of the most important aspects to have in your company or business. The User-Centered design is good in placing your audience in the center because the design you make is for them not you. All the needs, feelings, and behaviors of the audience you possess are needed to be clear to you. Unstructured interviews help explore the interests and opinions in clients and very useful tool in gaining new experience. There are 4 types of roles for the researcher. they go from observation to participation. After gaining all the information you need to organize and see what you got and need to get still. The outline strategy for researchers goes by 6 steps: Background, Research questions, Methods, Implications, Schedule, and Budget. Each step is very important. Another part in organizing is a model. The Logic model is good with timelines, events, and is very good at mapping out strategies. When gaining human experiences, the 5-Es will be a good structure. Entice, Enter, Engage, Exit, and Extend. Otherwise asking questions and taking notes are always useful. 

My Goal Towards Art Commissions

So, I have a goal in mind for this year (I know I should have done my resolution at New Years but, it's starting now since my motivation is on a roll). Now you all know I love dragons and wolves. However I'm going to start spreading my interests to many other things as well like Anime art, other Animals, settings, etc. Art has been something that's a part of me since I was young and making it grow has been hard not because I don't understand but, because I have not been putting more effort into what I do. That has to be changed.

 This is the start of how I'm going to progress in my life.

I have made this image completely from scratch using the pen tool in Photoshop. At first I made a simple sketch on paper and the scanner wasn't around at the time to help out. So, I just did it out of what I saw. I do realize that I make more dragons than other art. Dragons are one of my favorite interests and they may still in the future hold more images than other art. But, that doesn't mean I won't make more variety.

I have this dream that I will be doing commissions like many of my favorite artists out there. I have been favoring their art since I have touched a computer. The top 5 artists that Inspire me the most is:

1. BlackMysticA
2. Exileden
3. Cendrell
4. emilySculpts
5. Ironshod

Sculpting hasn't been the favorite thing for me (although it does look cool), I love the ideas behind the figure and how it was at once on paper. That's one of the major reasons why I love Emily's sculpting so much.

I know I stated this as a resolution but, I will continue this through next year and so forth. This is my goal to when I grow up, I will be doing this as a hobby and something inspirational for others out there. I will be taking photography in Scenery's to get more inspiration. I already have an album of my scenery photos I have taken through my journeys. Some are not perfect as I only use cell phones as cameras (Cameras are expensive and hard to use). I will start taking different images like nature scenes and beautiful city views when I get the chances. I will be driving out more around Palm Beach to different areas to explore. So if you wanna see more add me on my Facebook! I have other accounts as well (I actually have many now).

I'm hoping as I progress that others will enjoy what I make so I can make things for you all. I have been really looking forward to commissions but, I do know I still have a way to go. Until then, enjoy and leave a comment on your thoughts and opinions for me. If you are every interested in a commission please let me know and I will send you my contact information.