About Me
I’ve been an artist since I was real little. I remember drawing Smurfs when I was about seven or eight years old. From there, I drew more cartoon characters like Garfield, Superman, He-Man, Spider-Man, etc. I was really into super heroes so I guess that’s why I’m really into comics, today. Drawing actions scenes are a lot fun, especially when there’s a lot of movement in the scene. The images seem to flow through the composition.
It became an art – not just slopping a bunch of information down into a 4×4 space but rather taking the time to make it look good.
My graphic design career started in early 2002. I was working a seasonal position at Printlynx in Sedalia, Missouri, for their yearbook department. This is where I was first introduced to Adobe Photoshop. Before Photoshop, I had been using three other photo editing software packages because each program had it’s own unique features I needed. Once I discovered Photoshop (and saw that it could do everything the other three applications could do – all in one package) I realized it was the only software I would need.
After the yearbook season had ended, I found employment at ABC Advertising, creating ads for businesses nationwide. Here is where I really got my feet wet. I had developed an eye for appealing layouts, complimenting color-schemes and a real feel for effective, colorful compositions. It became an art – not just slopping a bunch of information down into a 4×4 space but rather taking the time to make it look good with images that really helped the piece to stand out. There were times when you just couldn’t find the images you needed for an advertisement on the web. This is where my drawing abilities would come in. In graphic arts I can merge my art skills and my computer skills together to make a finished product that both the advertiser and I are proud of.
At this point, I started branching out and using services like elance.com and freelancer.com to find more clients and start freelancing for extra spending money. After completing a couple of projects on elance for a company called Vertigo Designs, they hired me on as a contractor. After 12 years at ABC Advertising, I went into business full time as a freelance graphic designer.