As I sit in front of my illuminated computer screen, clicking the keys of my keyboard and drinking Mountain Dew, I often day dream of how I got into this “line of work”. In my last entry I talked about the inspiration of graphic design coming from my good friend Adam. The endless amount of creativity and ideas caught my interest. But as I sit and ponder on the starting point or concept of my next design, I think about the journey that I’ve been on with my designing.

The very first program I used was an Image Manipulation program called GIMP. It was a very basic extremely easy to use program that I downloaded through recommendation of my good friend, Willis. He gave me a crash course on the program and because of my peaking interest; I worked in that program 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Because of my eagerness to master the program, that was quickly accomplished in a matter of a month or two. I would find photos of my football teammates and begin practicing new effects and techniques. My very first wallpaper was of a teammate of mines who played the same position I did and hailed from the same hometown. I was so proud of myself. Eager to show off my work to everyone, I never passed up the opportunity to showcase my work.

As time flew by I continued to work with GIMP. But as I mastered the program I could notice the limitations that the program had and with my research of the design industry GIMP was not an acceptable program. The next step was Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

I adopted the same method I used to master GIMP to get familiar with the Adobe programs. I’d take one technique a day and create as many examples of that technique as I could until I felt comfortable enough to perform it. As I look through my “portfolio” now, a lot of some of my work look alike. Learning how to create in

Photoshop has been a beautiful experience. The free range that I have when I design is amazing and refreshing. The effects and techniques that I have learned always seem to bring my designs to life. I look back at my work now and I hide a bit because of my embarrassment but then again I bask in the progress that I’ve made.

I believe that I’ve come a long way but I still feel very much so like a mediocre artist. While some look down on my work, others praise and support me. I continue everyday to get better at what I love to do. I’m proud of the milestones I have accomplished and I stay humblecrecollagev despite the praise that I get.

The photo attached with this is a collage of the work that I’ve done since I’ve began this journey of Graphic Design. The progress is astounding to see and its even better having witnessed it. Live to inspire. Engineer your dreams.