Response to Haley Sosnoff's Post on Mary Engelbreit

Response to Haley Sosnoff's Post on Mary Engelbreit

I agree with Haley. Mary Engelbreit has such a great style. I love the fact that she adds such minute details to everything, even the tea pots above. It has these great details, but also this cartoony style that works so well together. I hope one day I could be as good as her. I think her style is something I want to work towards and that was one of my original reasons for choosing her as one of my three designers. 

Response to Grace Pritchett's Post on Website Inspiration

Response to Grace Pritchett's Post on Website Inspiration

I love the website inspirations on Grace's post. They are completely different from the design examples I had. I especially loved the one pictured above its so simple, but unique at the same time. All three websites are great forms of inspiration. I agree with Grace on the fact that the photo galleries are really well done and interesting. 

Princess Jellyfish Appreciation Post

Princess Jellyfish Appreciation Post

This is an anime that I think is a great form of design. The story and characters are well done and the backgrounds and details of the overall animation really add to it. One thing I especially loved about the show is the flow from the more realistic "serious" style to the humorous more cartoony form. It really is a great tool in breaking up the sense of suspense and keep the audience's attention. Also, the plots use of Japanese culture is well done, but is easy for a foreigner to comprehend and understand. Another aspect I love about the show is the color palette. Many of the characters have more of a pastel or softened look. Nothing sticks out to predominantly. 

I also love the attention to detail on each character. The main protagonist pictured above goes through a style transformation periodically through the eleven episode series. You can tell the creators really thought-out her designs and outfits as well as the drastic difference of being stylish and unstylish. It's a great character development tool and gives her a more well-rounded personality as she hates to dress-up. Also, this anime reinvents the usual Cinderella cliche. Especially with the male fairy godmother, who constantly cross dresses. The humorous tone comes across by the fact that this cross dressing man usually looks more beautiful than the main female protagonist as well as their interactions. This show is incredibly engaging and makes the viewer interested in jellyfish and teaches them a valuable lesson about inner beauty.  

Website Appreciation Post

Website Appreciation Post

One of my all time favorite website designs is for the web comic My Cardboard Life, which I have written about prior. The overall look fits perfectly in the world the comic takes place in. Not only is the background cardboard, but everything has that cut or ripped look, like the comic itself. For those who don't know, My Cardboard Life is a comic about Cardboard Colin and Paper Pauline as well as their friends and family. Everyone is made of physical everyday objects, which include bandaids, paper clips, etc. Philippa Rice beautifully portrays their unique world into the website's design. It's just as individual as the story itself. 

In general, I really love the design of web comics. I feel the designers really think about what they are trying to convey to their audience. Especially in the web comic Ava's Demon. The design is so well executed. Instead of having pages of dialogue, the author lets the images tell the story and it does a great job. It's more like a storybook and the times that they use flash animation, makes the story come visually alive. 

Another website that I have actually mentioned before is the one for the Pixar animated film Monsters University. I love the details of this website. The whole site is essentially made to advertise the film, but has the authenticity of an actual university website. You can tell that it was well-thought out. There are even products you can purchase to show off your MU pride. All in all a great "fake" website. 

Response to Sydeny Lenz's Post

Response to Sydney Lenz's Post

I love how Sydeny's final manual came out it looks great. The best quality of her manual is the fact that I could see it inside a car or attached to a car battery. This manual flows well and for a non-car specialist like me, is very easy to read. Also, the visual images are simple, which makes the information instant and understandable. 

Rise of the Guardians Appreciation Post

Rise of the Guardians Appreciation Post

 After almost being released about a year ago, I finally saw Rise of the Guardians and actually really loved it. I feel this movie gets a lot of crap that it really doesn't deserve. Not only was it amazingly designed, the story was heart felt and sweet. I love Jack Frost's background. Also, the details in each character's design made it hard to choose a favorite. The plot was well done. These intimidating guardians protect the children of the world, but have lost their true connections with them. They work hard to protect children, but don't have time for children, as Santa says in the film. 

What made this film well designed were the small details like the frost on Jack's hoodie and the sandman's use of sand pictures to talk, since he can't actually talk. The Toothfairy's outfit was so detailed with all its feather's and Bunnymund's fur looked extremely soft. I especially loved Santa's arm tattoo's of the naughty and nice lists. One thing that does bug me about this film though is why can't adult's dreams be protected too? I mean seriously, what's the deal? Are we so corrupt that these guardians just drop us like a hot potato? Anyway, the well designed characters is what makes this film so good. Also, the fact that Dreamwork's animated these detailed etchings of frost. Besides the minor criticism, I truly loved Rise of the Guardians and will definitely be watching it again soon. 

Response to Ben Newark's Alex Ross Post

Response to Ben Newark's Alex Ross Post 

I agree about Alex Ross's painting work. It looks amazing. It really makes me want to paint better and learn everything I can about it. From the images on Ben's post I'm surprised how detail his pieces can be from painting and at times the colors almost look like water colors. Alex Ross is definitely an artist to aspire to be like.