Photoshop practice

In doing my job searches, I find that I don't use my regular skills all the time. When I did my packaging stuff below, I actually forgot some of my shortcuts/macro's. It was quite sad.
So I'm renewing a promise to myself to keep my skills up to date by doing at least one tutorial a day. Here's one that I worked on today. I stopped, and didn't add the fonts for this. I like what I did, and had fun, but some of the variations I stumbled upon were pretty cool too.

One post before I go go...

Quick before I go to the DMA with my son's 6th grade class, gotta post a couple of the revised designs with faux bottles(which are bad-bleh).

More tanning products

Y'know in my mind, design is design.
It's just getting your thinking around the subject matter.
I normally do printed materials in a marketing aspect. Brochures, flyers and the like.
So my package design skills are not as strong.
I did them in at previous job, but they were sloppy and fast.

Ok... so are these.
But they're better. :D
Just a couple of examples of the front of the product.

Unemployement stinks... in other news water is wet

Ok. So being unemployed is rotten. Like no one knows that...
But for me, it's getting down right depressing.
I've sent well over 200-300 resumes in the last two months. With a whopping one reply.
How?
Is it monster.com or careerbuilder.com's fault? Are they innandating the HR of the companies I'm applying for with a ton of applicants?
I don't get it.

I've got the experience, I've got the skill, yet no one is hiring.
I know the market is saturated, but c'mon, at least gimme an interview.

On the plus side, I'm working on freelance stuff and doing some tutorials for my web design. My skills are fair, I need them to be stronger. CSS is awesome btw.

Anywho... that and I'm including a image of the first round of designs for project I'm working on.

Because I can't stop

Ok...
here's another layout I did for a friend.

Bad brakes + Dallas Traffic = nightmare.

So my brakes are all but gone on my truck.

And it’s a catch 22. The truck is over 10 years old. The AC is busted, the heater doesn’t work, my door(drivers side) is not not working. Thanks to a lovely individual who wanted to try to steal my radio. He managed to crack both of the door handles on my truck. And now... the interior door won’t open. LOL
So now, I have to roll down my window to leave my truck. I can get in, I just can’t get out.

Money is tight for another month, then we’ll be in a better position financially to A) make repairs, or B) get a new vehicle.

The crazy thing is, we both need new vehicles.

I had purchased my truck after my wife and I decided that my camaro might be too small for a family of four.

She was right and we did.
New truck, more room, and great all the way around.

A month or so later, she came home with a new car. ...oy.
That’s a story for another time.

The whole reason I bring up the brake issue, is because in two months or so, my company is moving its Dallas office to Lewisville; in a consolidation effort.

Which for me means, an additional 15-20 miles of traffic. So I’ll be driving almost 50 miles, one way each day. So a 100 miles of lovely Dallas traffic each day may be the death of me.

The down side is, as much as I would love a new job, I don’t know that I want to start over. I mean, I’ve been with Houghton Mifflin(now Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) for 10 years. Wow. I’ve never worked any where for longer than 3 years. So I’m comfortable, and I’m being taken advanatge of. Hmmm.

bleh... something else to mull over on this April fools day.


And my promise to myself to post at least one image of work per post.


A book cover I designed for my daughter.



and the spine(s).

Yay! New Year, New Post

So just a quick post while I'm at work.
and some design work to show off.