Thursday, February 21, 2008

Harry Connick Jr.


I did this a few months ago and
decided to put it up on the old blog. I used CS to render this image.

3 comments:

Allan Burch said...

Hi flydesign --

Thanks for stopping by my blog and for your generous comment. Your portraits are great! I can see the confidence in the marks and solid drawing skills. It's also impressive that you can achieve such a natural media texture and tactile feel with a digital rendering.

Thanks again, and I'll keep checking in on your blog, too.

Allan

Allan Burch said...

re: symbolism

Definitely one of the tools in an artist's arsenal to set him or her apart from the crowd. One of the challenges is, of course, injecting a fresh perspective and keeping triteness at-bay.

Yeah, a what a concept -- the net connecting people for the good!

Thanks for the comment and compliment.

Allan Burch said...

Currently, the only 2 organizations in which I am a member are the Graphic Artist's Guild and the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. As probably a typical member, the biggest benefit to me from GAG has been the opportunity to keep abreast of issues of importance and keeping an eye on the temperature of the industry through their newsletter and their active efforts on behalf of the graphic arts community toward educating and taking action on issues like the Orphan Works bill and reprographic rights for artists. On a smaller scale, being a member allows price discounts on certain services and items, such as a Workbook directory ad. Being a member also gives one access to other services like lawyer referral and action on one's behalf in the event of a legal case. In the larger cities, there are regular chapter meetings which offer, if nothing else, an opportunity to network. For those inclined, there are opportunities as an officer of GAG, or active representative, to more deeply affect change in our industry as a decision-maker in the organization.

NAPP is more of a service-oriented organization, giving discounts and activities to its members -- more of a business passing the savings and its connections down to you.

My affiliation with the Los Angeles Society of Illustrators is only as an accepted artist in their juried annuals and exhibition. At some point I may join, which would most likely offer opportunity to network with fellow artists and essentially take advantage of more avenues to be part of the industry that would not be possible were one not a member -- like judge shows, be part of shows, take advantage of programs offered only through these organizations, take advantage of certain discounts and benefits, and be part of shaping other things like the Illustration Conference or other industry events and educational programs.

But, I think the crux of joining any organization is, how much one is willing to give will reflect what one gets. I suspect the key is to join those organizations that have the most mainline route to the issues you are most passionate about. Doing so will then give you the best incentive and opportunity to be an active participant, reaping the benefits of the common effort, both on a small and large scale, possibly acting as a stepping-stone to something larger, and offering the ability to network with like-minded individuals, which can obviously lead to many other things.

Hopefully this has proven useful. Feel free to ask further questions. I'm always happy to help.

Allan