Five Figs Montville

A friend of mine built this site.
I'm proud of her, it turned out great.
http://www.fivefigsmontville.com/
Nice one Anna :)

BlueSphere Environmental

Professional Environmental Consulting and Resource Management, Melbourne Australia.
I'm quite proud of the logo i did for these guys. Great client to work with. Follow the link to see their website, just a landing page for now but will have the full site up soon.

Thanks for looking at my blog, i really need to update it at some point…
If you're interested, have a look at some of my other stuff online:

http://thebegavalley.org.au/bent.html
this is contains a gallery of artwork, some of the stuff included are my papercuts, dot pictures, sculptures and photography.

http://crystaloftruth.tumblr.com/
i have just recently started posting here.
again it contains some of my favorite artworks, this is the most likely place to find my new art.

Thanks, Ben Thompson

Stock Libraries

There are numerous online libraries that supply stock images for sale.
Such as:
istockphoto.com, shutterstock.com, fotosearch.com, gettyimages.com.au, aapimage.com.au, xe.com, sxc.hu, flickr.com, A Luna Blue, ActionBacks, Alaska Stock, American Spirit Images, Aridi, Art Parts, Artbeats, Asia Images, AsiaStock, Bamboo Images, BananaStock, Beyond Foto, Beyond Vision, Big Cheese Photo, Bigshot Media, Birch Design, Blend Images, BlueMoon Stock, Bold Stock, Brand X Pictures, Bruce Coleman, Central Stock, Classic PIO, ClassicStock, Communication Data Services, Comstock, Corbis, Crank City Music, Creatas, Design Pics, Dex Image, DG Vinyl Clip Art, Diamar Digistock, Digital Archive Japan, Digital Hotcakes, Digital Juice, DV Archive, Dynamic Graphics Value, EclectiCollections, Eighty One A, eStock Photo, Fancy Images, FilmDisc, Flat Earth, Flixdisc, FoodCollection, FoodShape, FPS Footage, fStop, GeoAtlas, Glow Images, Goodshoot, Gourmet Images, Gourmet Images RM, Health Head Images, Iconotec, Illustration Works, lusttankImage Source, Image Zoo, image100, ImageHit, ImageMix, ImageShop by Corbis, ImageState, Ingram Publishing, InsideOutPix, Inspirestock, John Foxx, Juice Images, Juniors Bildarchiv, Jupiter Footage, Jupiter Images, kill the silence, LifeART, Liquid Library, Lushpix, LushTracks, Map Resources, Marlin Studios, Matchlight, NoiseFuel, OJO Images, OmniReelLife, One Mile Up, Panoramic Images, Passport Stock, PhotoAlto, PhotoCuisine, PhotoEssentials, PhotoLibrary, PhotoSpin, PhotoVivid, Pixland, Polka Dot Images,
PureStock, Red Circle Footage, Red Circle Images, RedHot Footage, Reel House, Retna, Rubberball, SassyStock, SodaStyle, SoFood, Stock Connection, Stock Connection RM, Studio Cutz, SuperStock, The Canary Collection, The Music Bakery, Time Image, TongRo Image Stock, Toons4Biz, Transmission Digital, Triangle Images by Thought Equity, Twisted Tracks, Uppercut Images, Value Discs, ValueClips Clip Art, Visual Language, WestEnd61, Wildside Press, Zefa Royalty Free...

...and many more

The best relevant images I have found are on Fotosearch.

Below are links to some images I am interested in using for the logo application:
http://www.fotosearch.com.au/bigcomp.asp?path=UNY/UNY436/u16162121.jpg
http://www.fotosearch.com.au/bigcomp.asp?path=UPC/UPC004/pss37004.jpg
http://www.fotosearch.com.au/bigcomp.asp?path=UPC/UPC004/pss37001.jpg
http://www.fotosearch.com.au/bigcomp.asp?path=IGS/IGS868/IS829-067.jpg
http://www.fotosearch.com.au/bigcomp.asp?path=CSP/CSP048/k0483097.jpg
http://www.fotosearch.com.au/bigcomp.asp?path=ISP/ISP006/isp0801825.jpg

To purchase images from Fotosearch one first creates an account, this is a simple matter of signing up at no cost. You can browse the images whether you have an account or not, but the account allows you to keep images you are interested in in a "lightbox", this allows you to search through many images and click on the ones you like which will then be available saved in a group later. You can make as many lightboxes as you want and name them according to the subject.
Images can then be purchased in a variety of resolutions and prices vary a lot but a Medium Resolution 15 MB / 300 dpi / 15.8 x 23.8 cm / RGB image can be $250 to $600 on its own, some images can cost thousands.

There are also bundles of images available on a disk, these are usually much cheaper but you do not get to pick the specific images you want. But if you want a lot of similar images it can be a much more affordable way to buy. Some are as cheap as $200, others are much more expensive.
Images that are bought are supplied on a disk, burning of a disk costs $39 for 1 to 4 images and $69 for 5 or more images; this is on top of the cost of the image.
Payment can be made through paypal or most major credit cards.
Fotosearch acts as an agent for a wide range of Photo Libraries, as such they do not have their own terms and conditions but instead they say to refer to the licence agreement of the specific site that the images are supplied by.

One of the images I have selected is from Uppercut Images, some of the relevant terms and conditions of that site are as follows:

License:
Subject to the terms of this License Agreement, UpperCut Images, LLC. (“UpperCut Images”) grants Licensee a perpetual, worldwide, non-transferable, non-exclusive right to reproduce, transmit and display, in whole or in part, UpperCut Images’

Permitted Uses:
Any print media, including advertising and promotional materials, editorial publications and consumer merchandise;· Any Internet, intranet, Online or web-based media provided the resolution of the images does not exceed 72dpi;· Broadcast and Theatrical exhibitions;· Products intended for resale; provided these products are not intended to allow the re-distribution or re-use of the Image(s);and· Additional uses approved in writing by UpperCut Images. Licensee may alter, crop, modify or adapt the Images in connection with the above permitted uses.

Number of Users / Seat License:
Licensee may store the Images on a server, image library or network configuration to be viewed by Licensee or its clients provided that no more than 10 persons can access the Images.

Restrictions on Use:
Except as provided herein, Licensee may not · Sublicense, sell, assign, convey or transfer any of its rights under this Agreement, but Licensee may sell or license derivative works incorporating the Images. However, Licensee may not include the Images in an electronic template intended to be used by third parties.

Payment Terms: No licenses are granted until full payment of invoice is received.

Critical analysis of Sirens logo

The Brief:
We are required to create a logo for a sports team of our choice. The logo must reference the Ancient Greek mythological creature/hero which we were given earlier in the semester, as well as being appropriate to the sports team we select.

Sport Selection:
The sport I have selected is Women's Water Polo, since the mythological creature I was given was Sirens/Mermaids this seemed a natural choice. I propose the following logo design for the national team. Although Sirens were originally depicted as having an avian in form with the faces of beautiful women, they were gradually re-imagined as being human females from the waist up and with finned tails like fish or dolphins. What possible creature could be more suited to play the game of Water Polo than that? I felt that Sirens would be a good name for the team as the Sirens modus operandi is to use their charms to lure in prey and then slaughter them; what wonderful inspiration for a team.

The Logo:
Our class session in which the logo was developed asked us to produce brainstorming, concept sketches and developed roughs in short, measured amounts of time which I found to be a very effective way to work. The main image elements I chose to pursue were the mermaids tail and the harps which Sirens are commonly shown to be playing.
The colours I chose were an aqua blue, to represent the water in which the sport is played and mermaids thrive, combined with a complimentary gold-orange that represents the summer sun, the skin of the players, the brass of the harp strings and the gold the team will win.

First Iteration:
It quickly became apparent that the tail could be bent around to become the body for the harp (it would actually be really nice to see a harp built in this manner). One tip of the tail was then shown extended with a ball balancing on its tip, a little like a seal would manipulate a ball. Using the orange colour allowed the ball to double as the sun, as this is a summer sport. I have tried to stylise the scales of the tail and the harp elements. I liked the strong diagonal set up in this version and would carry it through to the final version. The text for the team name is applied in a curve following the line of the tail.

Second Iteration:
For this version I have tried a different approach to the depiction of the scale pattern which I ended up deciding is not as effective as my first version. The position of the ball/sun has been altered to be between the tail tips, this suggests more control of the ball than the previous version; It can also be seen to represent a globe in its stand and therefore alludes to the teams goals of world domination in their sport. The image of the tail is also now echoed in the text.
The most notable new element in this logo compared to the last is the water-drop as a container for the design; This not only brings the design into a nicer shape which is more suitable for a badge on a uniform but also places the team in their appropriate element: Water.

Third Iteration:
I feel at this point that the issue of colour is decided and so have focused on form alone beyond this point. Although the logo seems to me to be functioning well I wished to try to simplify it as much as possible, with the hope of making it a more iconic symbol. The scales have been removed entirely, as has the neck of the harp. The tail now becomes a clean loop of space, diving away from the ball and then back to it with great impact. I find now that the tail and ball suggest the body and head of a figure; Can you see the mermaid there? The logo is taking on an identity of its own, showing itself as a character, this new individual is curled around, and part of, her harp; Her mind is one with the ball.

Fourth Iteration:
The pieces have now fallen into place. All non-essential elements are stripped away. This final rendering primarily addresses the letterforms of the design; They are now used to draw the eye into the water where the Sirens play. The two tails in the text and in the image can be seen to swish back and forth; Our mermaid is alive now. The water itself is no longer a block of colour but an open expanse, simutaneously containing and setting free.

Epilogue:
It still remains to convert this image into a proper digital file; It will be executed as an Illustrator vector graphic, clean and smooth, its gentle curves flowing like water. Colour must be re-introduced. My thoughts run towards the text and the outline of the droplet in the aqua blue, showing the surrounding environment, while the image of the mermaid will be cast in the vibrant gold as she cradles her instrument and toys with the ball, her graceful yet energetic nature at the centre of everything.

Sports Team Logo

Womens Water Polo Team - The Sirens