trant :: blog

Snow causes laziness

2010-12-03T11:20:00.000Z

Got to uni today and Stringbean realised that he'd forgotten his keys for his locker.
Instead of jumping on the metro home, he decided on the bolt cutters...

Midnight Snowman

2010-11-29T02:36:00.000Z

My flatmate, Sam, and I had a long night at the uni library, we got the metro back to our house after midnight.
But as we walked from the station to our house, we started to build a snowman.
We kinda got into it.
An hour and a half later. We had this beast.

Still nameless.

And even though we spent a good few hours at the library and had an hour hunt for food, only after I completed the snowman had I felt that I had actually achieved something tonight.

Amsterdam 2010

2010-11-27T19:48:00.000Z

So here are some family friendly highlights from our trip to Amsterdam.

Amsterdam Hair Cut

2010-11-23T17:53:00.001Z

Tomorrow I'm going to Amsterdam with a group of 14 for my flat mate's 21st Birthday.
A couple of us are taking video SLRs and we will try to document our journey!
I also had a hair cut for the occasion.

I'm so excited!

Bonfire 2010 Photos

2010-11-21T23:01:00.002Z

A couple of photos from Bonfire Night 2010.
Taken with a 550D and 50mm f1.4
Edited on Adobe Lightroom

Bonfire Night 2010

2010-11-12T18:47:00.000Z

I went out for Bonfire Night to watch the fireworks with some friends.
I took along my 550D and f1.4 50mm along for the ride.
Manual settings on the 550D make it so much better to use than the 500D.
I'll probably do a comparisons post in the near future.

Anyhow, I mashed the clips I took together and here is the result!

The track is Cigarettes by Russian Red.
No copyright infringement intended.

Also in HD.

I'm going to be doing more video's from now on so subscribe to my Youtube page to keep up to date!

Bed Building

2010-11-01T02:10:00.001Z

Here's my second DSLR video.

Again, shot with a Canon 500D and 50mm f1.4 lens.

The story to this video is that we returned home after a heavy night out and one of my flatmates managed to accidentally destroy his bed with the help of a friend. This video is the process of rebuilding the bed as best we could.

Also, I think the 550D is probably a more realistic aim for my next camera opposed to the amazing but also expensive 7D.

Video SLR

2010-10-30T11:45:00.004+01:00

Yesterday I had a play around with my flatmate's Canon 500D, capable of recording HD video.
I paired it up with my 50mm f1.4 lens as I was shooting inside in low light.

I love the depth of field and the way that I can control the focus, although I must admit, an auto focus wouldn't be missed.

I made a couple of videos last night. This is the first one.
I reduced the quality to just under 720p to help my mac process it.

It's called San Andreas.

Let me know what you think!
I really want a Canon 7D now!

Liverpool

2010-07-05T23:19:00.000+01:00

Wow it's been a long long time!

I've just been far too distracted!

I'm currently in Liverpool for two weeks with my placement at Liquid Design Solutions.

Today was my first day. It went well. Here are some snaps I took after work.

Oh noes!

2010-02-21T17:00:00.000Z

This is what happens when you go out with the graphics crew:

Just out of it's 3 year warranty as well!
It's done me proud though.
RIP my lil compact friend.

Smoking is bad for your health.

2010-02-05T01:47:00.007Z

Here's some experimental smoke photography I did.
The first image is unedited but the rest have been tweaked in Aperture, mainly to adjust hues and saturation.

I really like the random beautiful shapes the smoke creates.
I'm hooked! Smoking really is addictive! haha

Water Play

2010-02-02T14:29:00.000Z

My first attempt at ink (in this case watercolour paints) in water.

Colour Sampling

2009-12-06T18:19:00.002Z

Using logo v7.0.2

Lujo - Take 5+ 6+ 7= 18

2009-12-05T14:14:00.003Z

Take 5

Take 6

Take 7

I'm happy with v7.0 so I'm going to go ahead with that design.

Unless you can see anything that needs changing?

Now for colours...

Lujo - Take 4 (Take 3 was a disaster)

2009-11-30T15:23:00.004Z

Lujo

L is now more eligible as an L.

The way the L joins the u is altered.

The joining strokes and swashes are finer.

Lujo - Take 2

2009-11-30T02:21:00.001Z

Tweaked so that it is more uniform.

Also the O is more complete.

Still in draft form but I feel that it is improved from the previous design.

Thanks for the Love & Hate votes.

Please leave a comment if you have time! I'd really appreciate it!

Lujo - designer toilet tissue

2009-11-28T21:10:00.004Z

Lujo - designer toilet tissue.

Brand values: Lavish, Suave, Exclusive, Opulent, Extravagant.

Requesting feedback for this draft logo so I can fix it before I punch Illustrator in the face.

LEGO pop up book!?

2009-10-30T13:12:00.002Z

Holy moly! I never even attempted anything like this when I had all my lego sets!

Say what now?

2009-10-27T19:51:00.000Z

Feedback for my website.
Overall, the rotating frame adds a different element to the site which is a good thing.
However, the display of the content within the frame is not on the same level as the frame so it gets a little lost.
I need to redesign the content layout so that it feels in unison with the frame elements. Lose the 'gridness' and mix it up a bit.
Good stuff.

So this is the web?

2009-10-27T16:28:00.001Z

I'm at the end of my first web design module. It's been one hell of a learning curve!

At the beginning, the prospect of designing a website was just scary! I've messed with html code before, remember those myspace days? All those amazing layouts I stole aha... But this project was next level! Had no idea where to start and having never touched Fireworks or Dreamweaver before I felt like I was having to run before I could walk.

Having a few tutorials showed me how easy it all was. Or should I say how easy it could have been! I found myself forgetting a lot of the steps which left me floundering. With the help of friends I managed to get back on the task and complete my site.
Now, I would say that I am a lot more confident designing for the web and already have a few amendments/improvements I would like to make on my site.
I'm happy with what I have achieved and am grateful that we've had this module to learn these skills.
This is not the end Web.

I'm gonna keep on blogging because I do quite enjoy it!

Another Bike?!?! Que?!

2009-10-26T03:46:00.002Z

Although I love my fixed wheel bike, I thought I'd like another bike I could mess about on, generally crash and bash. So I posted an ad online, asking for a cheap old racing bike, requesting people to check their grandma's sheds.
Today, a lovely man called me up saying that he had a bike that was taking up room and that he no longer wanted. He even offered to bring it to my flat since he lived out of the city.
He brought it round and let me have it for no more than £50 (as requested in my ad).

ABSOLUTE BARGAIN!!!

This bike with it's components is easily worth more than £200, if not £300 if I were to clean it up a little!
Now I have the dilemma of deciding whether to keep it or sell it. Currently I'm thinking of keeping it as a second/winter bike or something that my flatmates can use to pop into town. It's too nice to use as a beater bike. Does that mean I'm still after another bike!? Let's hope no one else responds to my ad with another vintage gem!

More pics of it to come.
I'm well chuffed. Except that I got so excited I forgot to do any work today...

Subway

2009-10-24T17:03:00.000+01:00

Online

2009-10-23T18:23:00.002+01:00

My website is live.

trant :: home

Still needs tweaking and the all the portfolio pages are not completed yet.
Let me know if you find any bugs.

Tiny hole

2009-10-18T18:36:00.003+01:00

With a smaller hole, a sharper image but still need to try a few more out.

Digital Pinhole

2009-10-18T01:05:00.006+01:00

Experimenting with a DIY digital pinhole conversion I made for my DSLR.

Exposure times ranging from 10 seconds to 539 seconds.

And before you say; yes, I need my sensor cleaning.

Final Website

2009-10-15T20:56:00.009+01:00

Buttons

2009-10-07T19:07:00.009+01:00

An continuation from the mexico.cautious.button piece. Logo design centred around a fictional, high class, tailoring company called "Buttons".

Mexico. Cautious. Button.

2009-10-07T18:46:00.011+01:00

First year work when we had to pick 3 words out of a hat and create a poster from them.
My three words were: Mexico, Cautious and Button.
Here's what I came up with:

Old Bike. New wheels.

2009-10-07T13:26:00.005+01:00

My bike frame is old and the axel dropouts are smaller than the modern equivalent.
So I got a puncture in my old rear tyre yesterday and thought I might as well just replace the wheel with the new one I have.
Unfortunately due to the difference in axel bolt sizes I'm required to file down the dropouts. Found out that it's the hardest steel ever! I only have a crappy file :(
What should I do?

I can't live without my bike! I've ridden it everyday since returning to the toon and now I'm condemned to snail pace walking. Boooo.

New website design proposal.

2009-10-06T00:25:00.011+01:00

Wireframe models starting from top left going left to right: Home, About me, Portfolio, Portfolio with Lightbox, Contact.

And an example how they should look:

Face mash-ups.

2009-10-05T22:33:00.004+01:00

What I ended up doing when I should have been doing real work.
Sorry lecturers!

I am going to be up late doing my web design now.

Nom.

2009-10-03T21:55:00.003+01:00

Since the other ones had major flaws:

Invert:

Free Nando's for students.

2009-10-03T20:28:00.008+01:00

Free half-chicken for students at Nando's with this voucher: http://www.peri-perichallenge.co.uk/
You still need to buy a side and a drink but it saves you £5.80.
Yum yum.

Nimi.

2009-10-03T15:38:00.008+01:00

Self branding idea.

Developed for a business card?

Miss you.

2009-10-02T20:53:00.004+01:00

A small banner I made in memory of my friend who unfortunately passed away this week.

Liu Bolin is The Invisible Man.

2009-10-02T18:12:00.006+01:00

How awesome is this guy?
He is actually in this picture, see how long it takes you to find him.

http://v1kram.posterous.com/liu-bolinthe-invisible-man

Feeling moody?

2009-09-30T23:47:00.004+01:00

An illustrated mood board for Marimekko.

How to make a cup of Tea? #2

2009-09-29T11:43:00.003+01:00

Added some more options and also changed the "ice cube" icon to a snowflake.

Portfolio Design #3

2009-09-29T01:15:00.004+01:00

This is my third layout proposal for my online portfolio.
I am unsure about how dark it is. I'd like to have the images turn to colour when the mouse moves over them but when the mouse is not hovered over an image the whole site looks very grey and dull.

Portfolio Design #2

2009-09-28T23:30:00.005+01:00

This online portfolio layout is designed around the Virtual DJ typeface. The boarders are enlarged "O"s.
I like the continuity of the shapes but it lacks the ability to really display the work well.

Sketchy Sketch

2009-09-28T17:57:00.005+01:00

Experimental image making with Sara. Some sketches on post it notes.

Mini Munny Mario

2009-09-28T10:05:00.008+01:00

I bought this Mini Munny way back last year when I visited Amsterdam on a class trip. I did a few initial sketches and markups for the little guy but I never really got onto working on him. It's finished now.
The hair is acrylic paint but the rest is felt-tip pen (I got lazy).
It's inspired by Mario.

Portfolio Design #1

2009-09-28T00:15:00.005+01:00

This is my first draft at a layout for my online portfolio. I tired to keep it simple so that you can concentrate on the work. It works in a column view, exposing more options as you select one, eventually leading to a large version of a piece.
I think it may be a little too simple though, to the point where it lacks interest. I need something to grab the attention of the viewer.

How to make a cup of Tea?

2009-09-27T20:38:00.005+01:00

Not sure how clear it is without a key or direction, would be grateful for feedback, cheers x

I <3 Bike.

2009-09-25T16:09:00.035+01:00

This is my fixed wheel bike. Fixed wheel ie. pedal forward and you go forward, pedal backwards and you go backwards. No coasting.
It's got a chrome Carlton frame, a StrongLight 50tooth chainwheel and a 14tooth sprocket. I'm just in the process of fitting some new Halo Aerorage rims wheels on it. A bit of a pain because with it being an old frame the dropouts are a couple of mm smaller than the axels on the new hubs. So I've had to file down the hardened steel dropouts to make them fit. I did the front ones last night, I think I'll try and do the rear ones tonight and get the rear wheel fitted tomorrow with the help of the guys down at Recyke-y-Bike.

Illustrator Practise

2009-09-23T22:04:00.004+01:00

Screen Printing

2009-09-23T21:55:00.005+01:00

Leave Your Mark

2009-09-23T19:49:00.015+01:00

This piece, above, was printed onto promotional mugs. I'll see if I can find a piccy since I left the mugs at home.

My Final Major Project for my foundation course.
Self designed brief. Focusing on the idea that anyone can make a difference without that much effort.
For the design show, this project was chosen to be put in the foyer to represent the foundation graphics dept.

A Word of Music

2009-09-23T19:19:00.011+01:00

Clatterbridge Cancer Research Trust

2009-09-23T18:57:00.009+01:00

Logo design for Clatterbrigde Cancer Research Trust.
From my foundation course but it was a live brief. My selected final design was the one with the multi coloured bars.
It got shortlisted to be shown to the client but it wasn't chosen in the end.
Here's what they went with instead: http://www.ccrt.org.uk/

Whaaat..... whatever.

Ceramica

2009-09-23T14:28:00.010+01:00

Ceramic experimentation in my foundation course. First time using clay properly.
Brief was some sort of autobiographical one I think.
Not my favourite thing I've ever done but hey, at least it didn't explode in the kiln.

Where's the undo button?

Camera Heads

2009-09-23T00:38:00.012+01:00

Illustration experimentation from my foundation course. I think the brief was to personify an object.
I drew from collages of people and cameras I had put together, then used indian ink and balsa wood to draw over them.
Images were scanned and I put colour in behind with photoshop.