Pieces of Eight

The Font Finale!

Working on the font was like finding buried treasure as each new glyph is revealed.

I found it easier to make the lower case fonts because I already had a design which made working out the elements go faster.

I like the way everything turned out.

See the results below.

Seventh Heaven

Hail to the animated 3D Pop-Up Photo Gallery. I get to show something off! I mean, I get to show some skills in Adobe After Effects!

My theme is Painting. I would like to say seven images but that isn't what is required. Eight to Ten images is the requirement, so eight to ten it is. I included my favorite paintings that I created during my time here at Pierce College.

Working in After Effects is a challenge for me. To be very proficient, I must use it every day. I have this vision that when I finish school, I will have time to study.

I do like the effects I can get with the animation and lighting. The ability to control the spotlights was a fun feature.



In retrospect, I would give my slide show more time, but it is finished and that is always a good thing.

See the results by clicking on the white triangle in the middle of the video screen.

Six of One, Half-a-Dozen of the Other

Numbers are fun as long as I don't have to math them together. I even enjoyed writing out mathematical problems because I could line up the numbers and add little swirls to the descenders. I like their shapes and curves. Numbers can be the more creative additions of a font set. I like the shape of the numbers in Baskerville Old Face. They are elegant and fine. This post has nothing to do with numbers, but everything to do with fonts.

I love fonts and was excited to finally be making a font of my own. I enjoyed tweaking all the curves. I have been wanting to learn how to make fonts and find a program that would be easy to use so I could pursue font-making in the future. I liked Font Creator 4 for it's ease of use but what I found frustrating was the way it made the font a little messy and didn't hold the detail. I am a detail oriented person and like my results to show it. 

Overall, I was happy with this contribution to the portfolio and I can't wait to get started on the next font... maybe something with some cracks in it...?

Drum roll please.... Introducing Bead It! (Six letters in Bead It, in case you were wondering.)

High Fivin' White Guys

Does anyone actually remember Almost Live? (Besides Brian Martin) These guys ran around Seattle giving each other over-exaggerated high fives for the most ridiculous achievements. Sometimes they would do a high-five and a belly bump. Fun times.

This was not the feeling I was having this week.

I love to draw and can do this very well. I have thought, on occasion, that I would love to use a drawing pad and stylus to create amazing digital interpretations of the wildly creative thoughts in my head.

Not so much.

This week, I experienced a series of setbacks in almost every one of my assignments, including but not exclusive to the Drawing Pad Assignment. I didn't really take to the stylus and it's quirky ways. I drew a line to the left and it would veer off to the right. Straight line in my head? Reinterpreted as wobbly line of questionable origins. Adding to my frustration was the knowledge that this assignment could be rendered in real life, the old fashioned way, in a matter of minutes. Lets jump ahead, shall we?

Several days... and hours later, with two stops and three new starts in my experience folder, I had a promising picture... finally.

Don't forget to save!

And then, "the unthinkable..." or more likely "the predictable" happened: "Warning: The file can't be saved because there is not enough scratch disk space." (or something to that effect)

"What a week I'm having!" Okay. Uncle!

See my results here.

And because I am feeling shallow and petty, here is a link to my deviant art site... proof I can draw: www.designerdarcy.deviantart.com

Thank goodness a new week begins tomorrow.

Four Score... and its Vinyl

Vinyl is the material of the week. We learned how to cut decals using the Stika vinyl cutter, transfer the decals to make a three-color decal and master the challenge of finding a surface to adhere it onto without devaluing anything. I haven't managed that one yet, but my expectations are loaded and ready to soar at a moment's notice.

When I worked at Kinko's many years ago, I helped an older couple make a sticker of a giant "G." When I asked them what they were up to, they giggled and said they had always talked about putting a "G" on the Orilla Road exit sign near SeaTac. They made me promise not to tell, but every time I drive by that exit on I-5, I think of that couple and the fun they must have had breaking the law just a little.

I am not going to break the law to put up my decal. Just saying.

The set up and execution of using the cutter was all very easy. What I found challenging is that I had way too much detail in my design. The cutter scored the vinyl and shredded my logo. This was what my teacher was talking about, "... detail...blah blah... scoring... blade.... simple." Actually I do pay attention and he rarely ever says blah blah. He does sing sometimes, though.

I finally took Brian Martin's words to heart and went back to redesigning my sticker with a more economical design. It worked perfectly. No little missing pieces of vinyl this time around.

I hope you enjoy the results.... now, where to stick it?

Shhhhh! We are just going to ignore the misspelling for now.

UPDATE: Now to finish up on last details that may or may not have been overlooked.

This project needed a home and it was not the easiest thing to find a good home that would be a happy place for a sticker. I have not been a sticker fan for most of my life and I don't generally stick stuff on stuff.

The solution... our garage, which is on its last legs, being held up by the contents. Our garage is the next redo project. See the lovely sticker pasted on the garage side door... plexiglass window, no less. The perfect home.

Three Players

Yes, today's post is about games. My project this week was to create the playing cards for a game about: 1. A Wall, 2. The Destruction, and 3. The Reinforcement. Final card is the back cover design.

First things first... now that you are my captive audience, I will tell you about my family hobby. We love to make games. It works out quite well because my husband invents a game, we, as a family work out the kinks, then I create the artwork for the game and voila! A game is born. (However, we haven't figured out how to make any money off our creations.)

So this week's assignment was a fun project for me. I liked the challenge of coming up with three cards in a short amount of time. The pressure can be intimidating but overall, I enjoyed the project. I usually enjoy drawing projects created in Adobe Illustrator.

I can't wait to see the final card sets.

See below for my contributions to this assignment.

Two Clicks

Yes, that is all it takes to finish up this assignment. (At least it could be up to two clicks). See for yourself by clicking on this link: http://www.youtube.com/user/designerdarcy and be prepared to enjoy the first project from DDSGN 220. Don't forget to click on Assignment 1, Cracked.

... or you could employ the "One-Click" method and click the play button below. The downside for the One-Click is that you will miss my other YouTube videos.

Only you can decide. Enjoy.

If you are interested in the details of this assignment, read on....




I love making videos. Each time I do it, I get a little more comfortable with the interface of the programs. Cracked came about simply because I wanted to use the Alpaca pictures and I thought they were so cute in the rain.

I then proceeded to mess up their world using brushes. I feel very comfortable with the Photoshop tools so it was really a nice place for me to start. I surprised myself by how easy it really was getting back into Premiere Pro. Bully for me!

One New Thought

Yes, this is Darcy Cline's new Digital Design Blog.

I have always been artistic, coming from a family with varied creative talents. My father painted details on cars and also dabbled in pastels when he was young. My mother is a crafter, always working with her hands and her father came from a family of metal artists and writers. My sister is a poet and a painter. My husband is a special education teacher and creative game-maker. As a result of all this crazy creative energy floating around we have produced two artists and two teachers in our 4 children and all of them are very creative individuals.

I like that I have found ways to express myself through art and managed to pay it forward.

The true challenge in being an artist-for-hire, is being open to helping others express themselves .

I believe designing for others is what I was meant to do. I love taking their ideas and making art that expresses the essence of their business vision or helping come up with an idea for a project that fits so beautifully there are no words. It is exhilarating.

Within the pages of this blog, I hope to show my love for all things graphic, digital, and artistically designed for myself, my portfolio and my clients. 

Let the designing continue!