What's been going on this summer?

Not doing too much really. Watching many movies. Sleeping.... well not really that much more often. Trying to work when i can. BUT just to fill you in with a bit more detail, i'll bullet-point the basics.

• Just got my first smartphone. It rules. Am i one of those people that say  i now can't live my life without it? Not yet. Although I know it will make me more available to do some broader networking, so thats a plus. Also having the fat booth app is the best thing ever.
• My wife just got her first full time job! She graduated in May, so we're happy that she was able to land a job fairly soon. I'm ok with having a sugar momma for a little while, but i'd like to get my own career going sooner than later too!
• In light of my wife's aforementioned job, we may be moving into the city! Not fully decided yet, but its where we initially wanted to move when we got married and it didn't really work out, plus an apartment we really like is available to move into.
• Gonna be a counsellor at my church's high school camp in a couple weeks. I got to design the logo for the theme this year:

You might be wondering if i've done anything in the design realm this summer. The answer is yes. Not too much, but enough to keep me occupied. One project was of that mentioned above. The most recent thing i designed were a couple father's day cards for my dad and father-in-law:

(My dad's is the bottom one; my father-in-law's [Dan's] is on top)

My big project this summer has been my sister-in-law's wedding invitations. How exciting! This has been a tough but very fun project. I'm still working on the formal invitation so i can't show you much, but the save the dates have already been sent out so i'll show you that to give you a little preview of what the feel of the formal ones should look like:

oh yes... it's coming...

So that's about it for now. Hope your summer is going good!

BTW i'm on twitter now! follow me! @lileseric

I guess its a poem...

I was standing in church Sunday, listening to the music, when my friend began to sing. She has such a beautiful voice its almost unfair to the rest of the world. Well anyways, as i considered this, i also thought about the fact that she is also a Spanish teacher. It was amazing to consider the fact that God has gifted her mouth in so many ways to bless other people. I started to wonder, "what has God gifted me with?" To be honest, i'm not great at much of anything; I'm good at a lot of things, but not great. Fortunately it didn't take me long to figure it out- God has given me gifted hands. I play drums, and i am a developing graphic designer. Some may argue whether or not graphic design is a gift of the hands, but i definitely think it is (its a big factor, at least). Sadly though, i pop my fingers all the time, will probably have carpal tunnel within the next decade, and have quite recently developed a recurring twitch in my thumb. So i'm not sure how long these hands will last, but i'm hoping things will pan out. In light of my gifted hands revelation, i began developing a collection of thoughts on my hands, which has turned into a poem of sorts. I'm no poet, so i don't know why i wanted to make this a poem, but i did, so here you go.

These Hands

These hands aren't much, are they?
They are big and long and boney.
They are calloused.
They ache.
They twitch.
But they can palm a basketball....I guess that's cool.

These hands bow to the right side of my brain.
These hands create.
They drum.
They design.

These hands wish they could do tons of other things.
Like play the piano.
Or the guitar.
Or draw better.
Or do that pen-flip thing.
Maybe one day...

These hands love.
They hug.
They shake hands.
They high five.
They pat backs.

But these same hands sin.

They lust.
They hate.
They steal.
They envy.

These hands get lazy.
They love the remote control.
They waste time.

In the end, I think God still loves them, though.

Now they work.
Now they praise.
Now they love.

Fine Art

Just a few pieces I did for drawing class this last semester that I didn't think came out too bad.

This was more comical to me, but it was actually a good nose study. There's some friends and family noses as well as some notable celebrity noses (Michael Jackson, Jay-Z, Adrian Brody, etc..)

I just like how this one came out in the end.

The goal of this piece was to take and "old master" sketch (in this case, Leonardo's "Condottiere") and make an abstract collage. I sort of went outside those boundaries a little, because there is a theme to the piece- war. I didn't try to communicate any personal stance on war, whether I agree or don't agree with it or whatever. I just wanted to show the characteristics of war. What is war? How does it make people feel? There is no one-sided opinion, just the facts of war. War is messy, its violent, its dark, and sadly seems to be the only way that anyone can resolve an issue over the past 5000+ years. I used paper cutouts, acrylic, charcoal, coffee, pen, and a wood burner to create the final image.

Color pastels- I like how the colors came out for this one. Just so vibrant!

lieulls.com is live!!

My official website is now up!
just click here

I'll still be posting designs/blogs on here too, though, so check here and on my site to see what's new!

Minimalism

I love minimalism. I am craving the skills to create many minimalist pieces. Seriously, it takes some skill. Skill, wit, and an understanding of layout and placement. In my opinion its really easy to mess up a minimalist piece- its a double edged sword!

This is my first attempt, and I like how it came out. Its a little text-heavy because I'm making this for a "theater poster" assignment for my design class. but still, the idea communicates.

All About T-Rave

I have a good friend, Travis Geary. Many know him as T-Rave. In short, T-Rave loves tech stuff, loves multimedia work, and loves coming up with cool, new ideas. Seriously, if you've got a tech service needing done, he's your guy. Anyways, over time he's asked me to design some logos for some projects he has started up. Another thing about T-Rave is that whether he has a project that is big or small, he likes to go all out (because you never know what the next big thing will be, right?). Through working with him I've been able to work on project that are on both ends of the scale, but still equally awesome! Take a look at some of what keeps T-Rave busy-
                                          
Red Beard Brew:

One of T-Rave's more playful projects, Red Beard Brew is T-Rave's homemade brews! I've tried it myself, and its not bad :D

Content: The New Drug:

This is T-Rave's most recent project, and its definitely something you'll want to look into. The purpose of Content is to show aspiring bloggers/vloggers/ etc. how to effectively and creatively produce/learn about web content. Ultimately, the goal is to create a one-stop how-to place for all your content-related needs. You might say, "What is content? That's a big generalization." Exactly. This project aims to cover whatever your need might be. Here's a breakdown of the project from T-Rave himself:

 "We as humans make what the internet is. Yes, there is big business but for the most part we flock to our easy connectivity to view the content that our friends, family, and even strangers produce. Whether it's a product review, status update, blog post or other form we are contributing to what the internet is. We have the power to share. Some might not know how to do that or want to grow in how they share their world with the world, so that is where this project comes in.  

Follow me as I prepare, and live in Taiwan for 3 months producing such content and in turn I will take the view behind the scenes to see how it is produced. Sharing my experiences and techniques so others are encouraged to share their story as well. 

We are the producers of the internet and we all have a story. The purpose of this campaign is to produce content revolving around my journey in Taiwan but also encourage others to do the same by sharing their world with the world. "

Currently T-Rave is raising funds to help get this project off the ground. I'm sure he'd appreciate any donation you could give to help him out! Plus he's even offering perks for different denominations donated! To find out more info on the project and to donate just go to this site. There's only a few days left to donate so don't wait!

The 6th Degree

This is a little logo design a did for a site my friends and I are working on- The 6th Degree. Its a site dedicated to reporting on the lives of us and our friends (think The Onion, but more local). Its just a fun way to take the mundane events of our lives and making them funny and witty. There are news reports, a "Deep Thoughts" section, and even a developing dating section! Here's a couple of the logo banners i came up with- and check out the site too:
The 6th Degree