The Betrayal with the Reward - Part I

Being that I work with most things graphical professionally, I'm no stranger to using Photoshop or Illustrator on a daily basis these days.  When I was first hired however, I'd never before used Adobe Illustrator.  In the days that followed, I avoided that program like that creepy dude who talks too much around the water cooler at work, because the task of learning it seemed too daunting.  I can do that in Photoshop, I thought.  I don't need Illustrator.  Vector-shmector.  My PSD file in Photoshop might be 500 megabytes when I'm done, and take up more hard drive space than the entire HD capacity of my old Macintosh II, but by golly, I'd make it work!  I'd stick out my tongue and tilt my nose upwards at the thought of using Illustrator.  Don't tell me what I can't do in Photoshop, dammit.  I'll show you.       

At some point in the months that followed, my job slowly, eerily, and blindingly moved towards the more frequent of use of Illustrator.  Those irritating vectors.  Who's idea was this anyway?  I was not comfortable with this, but strangely intrigued.  I was not happy at all that I was gradually allowing this program to nestle itself in my life, like a cute stray dog I had taken in, at an emotionally weak and absent-minded moment.  Crap.  I'm turning to the dark-side.  The Emperor would be proud.  Him and his wrinkles.  And his finger-lightning-baddass-ish-stuff-I-wish-I-could-do. 

I couldn't betray Photoshop.  Or, at least I thought I couldn't.  Or, could I?  Could I learn both and not offend the other?  Could I use both in harmony?  Screw it, I thought.  I'll be the one that brings the gun to a knife-fight and see what happens.  Photoshop's got my back, right?  Right?

More time passed and I grew more comfortable with using it.  

One day, in the Summer of 2008, I had an idea.  An idea that would not only change things, but help others to see this infamous vector-shmector program as the brilliant, loving stray dog that it is.  Only then, I thought my idea was small and minute compared to the huge-ass world known as the Internet.  And it still is.  Really.  Slow your roll...my idea wasn't that big.  My idea was actually more of a question than an innovation, at first.  Why couldn't I use Illustrator as a means of digitally inking artwork?  Black ink over pencil drawings, but digitally.  In other words, I can make a mistake on my linework, erase it, redo it, all without having to apologize for it.  Change the line thickness (stroke) in one click?  Re-size without having to worry about resolution?  Someone's doing this already...has to be.  I'm just not that cool or innovative.  And so I searched.  Google told me nothing.  Yahoo said even less.  Youtube had a few faithful Photoshop inkers at the time.  But not like my traitor-ass was about unveil.  If I was going to betray my world known as Photoshop, which I've been using since version 3.0, I was going to do it with my boots on.  Illustrator style.  With a smiley face.  And boots.  

After experimenting with different stroke weights, brushes, and probably a few curse word combos, I discovered that it could in fact be done.  Holy shit.  Someone needs to know about this;  Someone needs to see how this could help things, I thought.  This result led me to one conclusion: Youtube.  Use a screen capture program, record myself doing this, upload the video to Youtube and save an inker's day.  And his boots.

On November 22, 2008, I uploaded the video to Youtube.  Little did I know where my delicate betrayal of Photoshop would land me.  And I still don't, really.  It's officially out of control.  Spinning.  Unraveling, yet soothing.  I'm buried, yet resting on the surface in the sun.  With my sunscreen on of course, or my wife might just kill me.  Her wrath is worse than cancer.  Believe me, I would know.  

Fast-forward to October of this year.  At time when many inkings, photographs, videos, and curse words had passed, I receive an email from a publisher.  In a nutshell, the email asked, I'm publishing 3 childrens books, would you be interested in inking all of them?

I'm pretty sure Coke came out my nose at one point.  


To be continued....tomorrow. 

ThanksForGiving Life

At time of year when families get together for turkey, potatoes and those awful cranberries, we often need to be reminded of gifts we have in our lives.  When I say gifts, I don't mean bags with streamers hanging off of them;  I don't mean glitter-ridden, wrapped boxes either.  And I certainly don't mean the score you brought home last year from Macy's Black Friday sale.  


I mean life.  The life(s) that are in your life.  Not lives.  Life(s).  One of the many definitions in our dictionary under the word life, defines it as 'the animate existence or period of animate existence of an individual.'  Well, we all have people who exist in our lives.  That's not a new development.  What we have few of, is people that bring life to our lives;  People that bring light to areas of darkness;  People who won't walk the path for you, but show you the clearing through the forest to get there;  And people that pick you up when you've fallen down.  Each of us have an amount of people in our lives that do that for us.  It doesn't matter how many you have, only that you do.  


A friend of mine once said, 'It doesn't matter how much wealth you have or had;  but rather how many people showed up at your funeral.  That says what kind of a person you were.'  I don't truly believe in this statement, but it does hold some validity.  Are you more likely to be remembered as an asshole?  Or, are you more likely to be remembered as the person who'd do anything for anyone, regardless of personal benefit?  You choose.  Because at the end of the day, it's your actions that people judge you from, and your own conscience that you have to go to bed with.  


I present a challenge to my readers.  I wouldn't normally do this, but I'm in the spirit of Thanksgiving, so deal with it.  I challenge you to do something uncharacteristically nice for someone.  It can be a random someone, friend, wife, husband, family, etc.  No monetary gifts.  Just a simple act of kindness.  Why?  Because you DON'T have to;  Because it's NOT required;  Because everyone needs a little life brought into their life once in a while.  Gives them hope.  Reason.  Even humility.  Once you've completed the challenge, you must post what you did here on the blog, or on my Facebook post about it.   

When you're sitting around at the family tables passing around that nasty cranberry sauce, think about that.  Think about those that have brought life to your life, and wonder to yourself about how to pay them back for it.


Have a great Thanksgiving.  

~Jonathon