parlor tricks 1/24/21 parlor tricks 1/24/21

warning signs

*not the biggest art board mess i’ve made. yes, that is a little head illustration in the middle.*

getting into good things. making good messes. although never intended, i often end up with an illustrator art board ‘splosion. i can make sense of it, which is what ultimately matters. the days of naming files “pinup boardsfinal-final-FINAL.ai” are in the rearview, mostly. i have created “file name_versionx.ai” a time or two. harm reduction. i’m hesitant to break up design families and iterations into different files. can be frustrating looking for an element that’s similar but saved in a different file. fortunately illustrator has a limited drawing area, otherwise…

up in the left hand corner i had been working on lettering to use as a journal cover based on the hairpin turn. with more work i think it could get there, but it needed a lot of time and wasn’t the originally intended subject. saving for another day.

*worked out the spiraling curves on dot-grid paper first.*

the graphic brevity of warning signs can, at times, bely the severity of what needs to be brought to a driver’s attention. like, did a snake pave this road? why so windy? i imagined driving down a stretch and seeing a ludicrously exaggerated road sign for “winding road ahead.” a relentless warning.

“oh geez, well it’s gonna go on winding for a good ways there. be careful!”

i don’t know, that’s just what came to mind.

three main squeeze warning signs show up here: winding road, hairpin turn, and added lane. these schemes were simple and, importantly, repeatable. wanted something that could be made into an extended path or line pattern.

the original winding road graphic is more of a sine curve, and i was having a bit of a hard time re-creating it. i went off-book from the MUTCD and used half-circles instead. it’s not an exact replica. it was never meant to be.

*tested out some of the lettering ideas too.*

“hairpin turn ahead” was the first one i worked on in the series. it reminded me of a professor’s diagram on recursive design process. the gist of the pedagogical ideology being discussed was that working recursively encouraged processing ideas forwards, and backwards, yielding a more dynamic result than a linear process. each time the loop makes a turn to come back around it has to pass over a previous section of itself.

this graphic resonates with my own goals for process. hashtag goals.

the bit of yellow sign that peeks through when the loops cross-over is an overlaid path. i think that could be created more elegantly, but it worked!

*construction paper version. wrote a little about it a few days ago.*

the “added lane ahead” sign reminded me of how easily thoughts can come and go. although i’m finding mine rarely go. my noggin can bottleneck.

i like that this sign is diamond shape, like the others, but the design is also on the diagonal. made for a fun opportunity to exaggerate the sign diagonally. imagine a sign like this jutting over a road, ha! aside from the obvious obstacle it would create, it would be a funny sight.

tried a version of this were the sign was vertically plumb. it just didn’t hit the same. there’s something about the angle to the graphic that gives the impression of the lanes coming from and going off the sign, “lanes are longer than they may appear.”

also recognizing that i’ve have been altogether too protective of this series of drawings. feel like i was saving them for some sort of grand reveal. to who? anyway, i could tell that i was starting to get all “my precious” gollum-y with it. cut that out!

i think i see potential for this exploration to generate other ideas and i’m feeling guarded about marking it down and moving on. no, moving forward. there will be a time when i’m not working with these signs, but that doesn’t mean i’m done with them. just need to switch gears and tend to the other simmering pots.

*vertical version. was also trying out some graphics that would “make sense.” dropped that pretty quickly.*

almost, almost, left out the railroad crossing sign from the journal cover. this was from a little while ago, which is still not governed by the same rules of time as “the before times.” so, to be more accurate, this is from early january this year. having already gotten to work on the warning signs, i was looking to create more road sign/warning sign type GIFs. railroad crossing was another straightforward design that incorporated motion.

couple of image references i used. the diagram on the left is from the previously mentioned MUTCD, continues to be a great resource. the image to the right is a cool articulated arm that i thought i would incorporate but realized partway into creating the base illustration that i would be punching way above my weight class. for now, at least.

*sketch study of sign, working out whether to include “tricks” in the criss-cross or beneath it.*

*all the GIF frames collapsed into one. turkey tail? … anyone?*

there were 20 frames in all. the arm at the top and bottom positions were 2 frames, one for each flashing light. the frames between could have been more frequent for a smoother animation. i also considered how this would look if i hand drew out the arm raising and lowering. i think there would be an opportunity to add smoothness (or, smoothnicity, as CrafsMan says). oh! or i could add motion blur between the frames in photoshop. that would double the ‘tweener frames though since i would need a motion blur for each direction… another to save for later.

parlor tricks 1/17/21 parlor tricks 1/17/21

speed hump

soooo… i’ve been working on some road signs - yes, sticking with that theme currently — and have been putting off documenting the process because… i don’t have a reason. not a good one at least. i think i was adding things to the overall project, and made myself believe that i shouldn’t post anything about it until it was buttoned up and polished.

hold on a sec…

lemme make sure this thing is plugged in…

*ahem*…

process is what you came here for!

ok? future me?! hope you remember that! or remember to come back here and refresh yourself. refresh yourself!

without further ado, or pomp, or verbose word vomit to vamp around my discomfort documenting something that isn’t finished (i’m working on it…), here are a few pieces that i’ve been working on over the last few weeks:

*from left there’s the “winding road”, “hairpin curve”, and “added lane” ahead signs.*

i’ve been using the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices to reference design standards and sign usage. i hadn’t seen the design standards before getting into the making of the three signs above in illustrator, but am now incorporating the standards into future explorations. i’m not about to mass produce road signs, so i’m adhering loosely. nevertheless, the standards provide a helpful touchstone for composition and color.

started out looking at the “warning signs” which are classically yellow with black text or graphics. big fan of the color yellow, why resist it?

*the first iteration: solid yellow base with black cut-out glued over top*

*and the second: black loops cut from yellow.*

i prematurely decided while making the recursive hairpin loops that i didn’t like the way the second iteration was going. so i got sloppy when i was gluing and ripped the yellow paper in a few places. looking at it now, i don’t dislike it as much as i had convinced myself in the making of, but i still like the first iteration better. i like the detail of the narrow strip around the border. i also cut it and remember how delicate i had to be to not rip the thin ring of construction paper.

i’ve been using run-of-the-mill construction paper. keeping that barrier to entry low, things aren’t as precious as they may be if i was using “nice” paper. i really like construction paper, actually. the cheapy, inexpensive stuff that litters elementary school classrooms. it’s no fuss and after being handled it starts to take on characteristics similar to fabric. i like that it has texture and character. i like it.

this exploration has also encouraged me to look at color using these simplified road sign graphics. that’s why i wanted to get a color wheel the other day. color is daunting, so i’m starting small.

*using colors as close as i can get them from my pack of construction paper to explore color theory.*

like i said at the top, i was putting this off after convincing myself i needed to have all of the pieces of this project completed, or nearly so, in order to document it. then, late last night, i opened an email from The CrafsMan and saw that he too was working on warning signs of his own. i felt excited seeing a creator i admire exploring something similar to what i had been. and with precision timing my anxiety walked through the door to let me know that i was un-original and anything i shared after-the-fact would be seen as a rip-off.

my head can be a mean place…

took a bit to shake those feelings away, but i have, and will continue to. this is just a pit stop along the way. a snapshot on the road trip. a whole host of other metaphors and similes and analogies that i don’t know or have the energy to corral.

alrighty, off for a morning walk to coffee and breakfast. back to the drawing board later.

fun after-the-fact: i used the phrase“without further adieu” when i first wrote this. thought it read strangely using the french word for goodbye. turns out i correctly identified my incorectness. the saying is actually “without further ado.” not this time, eggcorn!

parlor tricks 12/29/20 parlor tricks 12/29/20

progress in work

*used crayola markers for this. nice to relieve fear of using expensive or unfamiliar tools while keeping room for experimentation.*

i arrived at last night’s desk appointment with every intention to continue working on the inaugural self-addressed online entry in what is my experimentation in documenting process. imagining there must be a simpler statement than that, but i need to continue working to get more familiar with what i need, and want, this space to be. this is for me and i will make it what i need and want it to be. i will make notes as it evolves, takes and changes shape. no rush to define or draw conclusions, this process is the work.

anyway… last night was also when this 10-year-old ride or die desktop announced its contribution to procrastination. it had, in fact, very little remaining storage space and could no longer execute the memory heavy tasks at hand. this is the point i’ve reached with most of my tech: balancing on the knife’s edge of obsolescence.

so, in an ongoing effort to keep the motor running, i faced months-old procrastination on another front and began revising the weather with clouds and sync settings. this unplanned computer snow day provided a getaway to escape the near crippling anxiety brought on by sitting down in front of the computer to do this right now.

but i stuck around and watched Normal People while i waited.

the series creeped completely under my radar earlier this year, and i had been reminded of it recently. four episodes into settling comfortable into my virtual waiting room i realized i’d been hooked. the troller was kind enough to bring me in 12 episodes later and i was able to come back to my desk this morning.

i rarely start a series with the intention of binging. sometimes i’ll watch a few episodes back-to-back, but not so much season-to-season. shorter half hour shows are a little harder to portion, especially when they’re good. this show is good. to prevent disrupting sam, who was working in the other room; i wore headphones. that made a huge difference i think. the sound design was top notch. and, because i watched it all in one go, i picked up on a few repeated elements: connell’s chain, hitched breathing, fringe, and marianne’s uncanny resemblance to anne hathaway and charlotte gainsbourg.

i like how this combo came out with the vector graphic sign board. used photoshop to put the GIFs together with different layers. hot tip: remember that files intended to be used for GIFs can be either 8-bit or 16-bit color, but not 32-bit in order to save/export as GIF.

among other things i also took notice of how often the term “struggle” was used. connell said it several times in the context of self critique, which is likely when i became aware of it. in part due to the frequency of use and also recognizing an internalization of that word. turning inward and thinking about what i struggle with, fear stands out most.

fear of failure stays right up there among the usual suspects. but this moment of fear was overwritten by excitement to make something for myself pure and simple. i wanted to start out making “under construction” type graphics between going “live” and actually writing something. maybe that’s because announcing something is “under construction” or a “work in progress” is a comfortable buffer between thinking and producing. however, it did provide an opportunity to test out some stuff with GIFs while tipping my hat to the OG internet days when i’d made geocities and anglefire websites that started out as a host for some “under construction” GIF. I kinda wanted to re-live the excitement of announcing, “just about, but not yet,” even if it was only to myself.

*little bug model made from toothpicks, some card stock, and scotch tape. super helpful for visualizing tricky shadows.*

the first GIF i tested out, the blinking sandwich board one, was made almost entirely in the computer except for figuring out the shadows. i had a hard time visualizing the shadows in photoshop alone, and i don’t have access to the 3D modeling software i used when i worked in architecture which would have made quicker work of it.

i started out in photoshop creating a silhouette for the sign the way i’d learned in architecture school when making shadows for entourage/scalies/people in renderings to give them dimension. but i was struggling with the sandwich board type legs and couldn’t visualize it when using a silhouette made from an outline of the image itself. sam passed by my desk and i asked him for help, not something i’m so used to doing. i don’t know why, pride maybe? pride probably… we talked about how he would approach it and tried this and that: distortion, perspective, warp, all that. we went around some quick sketches, but i didn’t really see it yet. i remembered we had toothpicks in our kitchen junk drawer and made a bug model which helped a lot.

i am pleased with the GIFs and the process making them. i am really, really happy i asked for help; and that i was patient with myself and sam when i had a hard time seeing things the way he did. this process helped me remember resources are in all shapes and that i’ll need to pick up more short-cuts in illustrator and photoshop in order to get faster at some of the digital stuff.

even with a bit of struggle, things turned out.