This is a great little movie about the truth of logo creation.

I recently got an iPhone and suddenly I am swishing this and tapping that to get to this and that and that and that!  So fast!  So Effortless!  Ah, such wonderful changes, all i have to do is swish and then… its time to think about an logo.  Su dddenl yyy things slow down – false starts – great ideas that don’t pan out graphically – great graphics that are trying to get by on their looks alone, it looks like a tornado of tracing paper and funky jpgs hit the studio. Not the same tidy process I am getting used to on that lovely iPhone of mine… Hum.

What path do you naturally take when evolving your logo?  Lots of ideas like Mr. Lubalin?  Mind mapping?  Sketching vs. computer? Looking? Talking? Writing? Whatever your style, remember: don’t rush the process, take breaks to play with the ideas and always keep the early versions!

Click On!

New York fashion week started yesterday! If you can’t get in the know on the colors for Fall 2012 in the big apple, Click HERE to get the report.

I’m thinkin 70′s… For instance 1975

Or the brown and ocher…

And this vintage fabric covers most of those colors…

Any thoughts on using these colors in your designs?

If you are interested in the color of the year (and all of my students should be!) connect with this lovely hue HERE

Another great color related site:http://www.colourlovers.com/

Amazing Horse Citrus Lemonade by Mz. Millea

The Basics Illustrator CS5 is coming to a close and we have another bottle of wine to share!

http://photoshop4artistsworkshop.com/Wordpress_PS4ART/BLOG/illustrator-student-page/

Ah Summer, DON’T go!  But it does… So many people make a big darn deal about the change of seasons, the fall colors, the chill in the air… Don’t meant to be a curmudgeon here, but I simply didn’t get enough summer this year!

Not looking forward to winter yet, but I am looking forward to the new classes at the University of Akron this fall.  Why not join us?  All of my Basics students,  join us for the first Intermediate Illustrator CS5.  We know you are “first adopters” and this will be another first for you, Yahoo!

The info for the next Adobe Illustrator Basics

Instructor: Li Hertzi
CEUs: 1.5
Course cost: $299.00
Price discounted: $289.00
Location: Polsky 451C
Prerequisite: Proficient computer skills with Windows.

Dates and times

Number of classes: 5
Day of the week: Saturday
Dates: Saturday, September 10, 2011 – Saturday, October 15, 2011
Class times: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

SIGN UP PAGE: http://www.uakron.edu/ce/classes/classes-detail.dot?id=2120533

The Intermediate Class

Instructor: Li Hertzi
CEUs: 1.5
Course cost: $299.00
Price discounted: $289.00
Location: Polsky 451C
Prerequisite: Proficient computer skills and Adobe Illustrator basics or equivalent.

Dates and times

Number of classes: 5
Day of the week: Saturday
Dates: Saturday, November 12, 2011 – Saturday, December 17, 2011
Class times: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

SIGN UP PAGE: http://www.uakron.edu/ce/classes/classes-detail.dot?id=2120563

Enjoy these lovely summer days!

Many of you will remember getting your class student sheets from the belly of my favorite thumb drive… THE PANDA… of “Respect the Panda”, and “Where is the Panda Butt?” fame.  He is cool, but I may have to upgrade…  Because other than anything APPLE or BERNINA, I love, love, love PANTONE.  Check out their Back-to-School drive!

PANTONE is all thumbs

You can pick your fave color as well as your desired plumpness and the prices are not out of line either.  Click here to get all the goods.  http://www.pantone.com/pages/flashdrives/product.aspx.

They really should pay me… or at least send me a free pink one, eh?

Enjoy these warm and muggy days, later, LI

Best Practice Suggestions for the pen tool from Vector Tuts!

• Drag handles from the first anchor point when beginning a curved path.
• Drag your handles around just one third of the curve you’re creating for a smooth path.
• Position anchor points on a curve where the paths begin to change direction, not in the middle of it’s curve.
• Be sparing with your use of anchor points, fewer points = neater path.

Visit the site for more great stuff!  http://vector.tutsplus.com/

First of all, ALL of my students should subscribe to this daily Newsletter. Go to this Address:
http://layersmagazine.com/current-issue and scroll to the bottom to sign up for Layers Tip of the Day.

You can go here to learn more about the author of the tips, Jeff Witchel by clicking here.  http://home.comcast.net/~witcheladv/index.html

And Now for the tip…

Layers magazine Tip of the Day
Adobe Illustrator CS4 Tip – A New Twist on an Old Tip.

I wrote a tip quite a while ago, called “Re-Siding a Polygon on the Fly,” which said the following. Click and drag with the Polygon tool. If you press the Up Arrow on your keyboard while dragging, the number of sides will increase. Press the Down Arrow and the number of sides will decrease.” After playing with some of the other drawing tools, I discovered the same shortcuts work with a lot of drawing tools.

To see what I mean, try the following. Select the Spiral tool, which is hidden under the Line tool. While clicking and dragging with the tool to create a spiral, press your Up Arrow to increase the number of segments, so the spiral winds further into the center. Or if you want to decrease the number of segments press the Down Arrow while drawing. More drawing tool tips to come.

Tip provided by Jeff Witchel, Adobe® Certified Training Provider. AdobeAce@comcast.net