Visual Arts Journal

LA Printers Fair Saturday, October 1, 2011
If you are in the LA area you may want to catch the International Printing Museum’s Printers Fair from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. They have Live events all day and plenty of vendors. (continue reading…)

Get a Free Copy of Rockstar Personal Branding
Snag yourself a free copy of the Rockstar Personal Branding mini-book, or rather “mini-eBook”. Just go to the Rockable Press link below and register for their mailing list and a copy will be e-mailed to you! How easy is that? (continue reading…)

Photographers, Musicians, Graphic Designers, Web Designers, Digital Animators, Programmers and anyone working with digital media or products
This is a site you are going to want to check out. Envato is more than a brand or a successful business model, it’s a mindset. In a few short years Envato has changed the way freelancers and product developers (referred to as authors on their site) develop skills, market their products and build a community (aka following). (continue reading…)

Choosing the Best Art Program to Meet Your Needs
This is the first installment in a series of reviews on self-study art training courses. I’ll be reviewing programs designed for a wide range of skill levels and pursuits, from beginner to advanced and recreational to professional. All of the programs I will be reviewing are offered via PDF, or DVD and some offer online member-only communities to supplement the original content and learning experience. (continue reading…)

Kassan has Ventured into Digital
As you may have guessed David Jon Kassan on the short list of favorite artists here at VAJ Blog. So I welcome any opportunity to share what he has been creating. He is widely known for his pencil, charcoal, chalk and oil works but is less known for his new digital works. (continue reading…)

Recommended for All Creatives, Regardless of Industry

I have a great resource for you today. I’m recommending a blog that covers a very wide range of topics not only on design, but on creativity in general. The blog author has many years of experience in art, design, music and a fairly new (or perhaps very old — ) area of study called “Whole Systems Design”; boiled down more or less to — the big picture and how to get it to work.

He offers an approchable style of instruction and art directorship that few freelancers have an opportunity to experience on a continual basis. (continue reading…)

VAJ Blog Considers Marwencol a Must See
Marwencol’s creator Mark Hogancamp has successfully managed to manifest into the physical, something that once only he could experience. Breathing life into his figures and the township of Marwencol with such attention to detail and completeness that they are alive, albeit briefly, though his photography. The documentary (of the same name) was directed, produced and edited by Jeff Malmberg, and not only follows the dramas taking place in the pint-sized World War II-era town but also the very compelling personal story of the artist. At last check, this documentary had been awarded twenty-two national and international film awards. (continue reading…)

Replaces Neck Straps For Toting Still Cameras

Finally an intelligent way to carry cameras!! No more swinging cameras, neck aches or frayed nerves when getting in position for that perfect shot. Great for outdoor enthusiasts who want to keep the camera accessible yet safe and secure. (continue reading…)

Designed to Quickly Convert files to JPEG
I found this tip in Scott Kelby’s Digital Photography Vol.3 book. By the way, anything Scott Kelby authors is always recommended reading. This tip not only saves card space but potentially plenty of file conversion time. It effectively eliminates the need to shoot dual Raw and JPEGs when you need low resolution images. (continue reading…)

For all you videophiles, Tom Hanks (Actor/Director) posted this May 26th and I got a good laugh out of it.  He’s on the set of “Larry Crowne”.

If you want to view behind the scenes of a Major Production, then take a look at his Twitter page. http://twitter.com/tomhanks

Why Meditate
Many authors have recommended that artists incorporate some form of meditation as part of their creative process. Meditation has often been associated with an increase in creativity. It undoubtedly helps in terms of relieving stress and other physiological blocks, but it also holds some mystical way of unblocking creativity. Unfortunately some of us find it hard to quiet our minds and bodies. I came across a method that I not only found very easy to practice but felt immediate results. (continue reading…)

VAJ is introducing a new blog topic (or discipline) to the visual arts posts, and will now be including Adobe Flash. Some of the topics will include techniques, workflow, resources, ActionScript, links to interviews with other Flash “Creatives”, etc.

The content will cover versions MX 2004 through CS4 as I know there are a lot of older versions still in use. Most of the content will be applicable to any version, at least in part. (continue reading…)