Now, I get to create art for a living as a graphic designer.  I love what I do.  Each day I wake up excited to get to work and start designing awesome new graphics, fun prints, and much more.  If you have a serious love for art, then maybe graphic design could be for you.

Of course the world has not always been so visual.  There was not a huge need for graphic artists up until the last thirty years ago, but graphic design has certainly come along way.  Take a look below to see what I mean.

It’s not something we may consciously pay attention to:  Spider-Man’s classic red and blue webslinger suit and Thor’s red, blue, and gold — versus the visually disturbing purple and green combination used to represent twisted, insane evil villains like The Green Goblin or Batman’s archenemy, The Joker.

In the following infographic, we will explore the color pallets and how those are applied to help mold and shape comic book characters’ identities in our minds.  I was surprised to notice that red is the most strongly identified color with the good guys in comics.  Green and purple represent evil doers.

Most graphic designers will tell you that one way of standing out in your area of expertise is to anticipate needs before they arise and find ways to come in under budget.  This will impress your company and make you valuable and memorable.  Another way is by letting yourself be inspired by the work of others that you see in magazines, ads, on the Web, or TV.  It’s not that you are copy-catting the greats, but you can certainly learn some basic techniques from observing what they do.  Here is an infographic that will set you on the path to a happy and successful career in graphic arts design.

Spacey and Mendes claim that their most recent on stage production is based on Libyan dictator Muammar el-Quaddafi and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il, but with recent media and political shenanigans in London, the blurring of the lines between who in charge is innocent and guilty strikes a very significant chord at home. The folding of Rupert Murdoch’s disgraced The News and World due to their phone-hacking scandal exemplifies the situation, as the “where to place the blame” game has led the UK public around in circles, a game that Spacey perfects as King Richard. Looking both manipulative and innocent, strong leader and dirty dealer at the same time, Spacey brilliantly exemplifies the source of public feeling of mistrust of both the media and authority figures. As quoted by the UK Guardian “Spacey gives an authoritative account of the self-loathing in which villainy gestates.”

Richard III will be playing at the Old Vic Theatre in London through September 11th before coming to America for a New York run. Quite possibly the only poor comment about the play is that it is mainly focused on Spacey- but Shakespeare wrote Richard III to be focused on the tyrannical ruler, so this is probably only to be expected. Overall, a fantastic production- having sold out most nights already- that will be etched in the history of the Old Vic as one of the greats.Also, might I add, it was much better than other television options I had that night.

Being a very geographically and culturally focused event, and that focus being far from main stream or highly artistic, the Asian Film Festival cannot attract as wide of an audience as other compilations without American indie roots movies or edgy European art films. Most of the features come from three main countries, China, South Korea and Japan, with a few Filipino and Malaysian hits scattered in, and are typical representations of what the region produces. While you can’t call all of the films at least good, you know you are viewing an accurate representation of the kind of production that is common and popular in the region. The creators of the event, however, are getting more refined in their taste as they view more and more Asian films and delve deeper into an industry on the other side of the world.

The fact of the matter is that Asian culture is indicative of the most densely populated and fastest growing regions in the world, which is of interest to many trendy New Yorkers who want to become more globally acquainted and have an accurate depiction of what the international entertainment industry actually looks like. As the festival continues to grow every year, so do its founders, and the quality and diversity continue to boom, all while staying true to its rogue roots on the fringe of common New York society. We can only hope that after this year, the Asian Film Festival will get another ten years to continue its exposure of both common flicks in addition to adding more refined exclusives. That doesn’t mean they have to add a red carpet and fancy catering, but an Asian Kung Fu after party shouldn’t be considered too mainstream.

Create your own masterpiece. Even better, recycle or upcycle items that have outlived their usefulness and put them back into service for your own enjoyment and for those around you. You may even find that you have a hidden gift that will serve you well and bring a little brightness to the world.

If you make it, you’ll love it. It will be so amazing, it will set off a fire alarm!

The artist inside all of us needs an outlet, a way to express and release – or unleash – the inner voice and inner vision. If you have the desire you can find the ability, the tools, the time and the training to make something worthwhile.

Many forms of artistic expressions exist, from jewelry making to painting, woodwork, pottery and basket weaving.
Once you find your medium the possibilities will begin to make themselves known.

We’ve all experienced a moment of brilliance, be it finger painting as a child to the handmade greeting card for mother’s day. Once you put your heart, your mind and your hands to work the finished product that sits before you is your passion and it shows. If it’s pretty or less than perfect it’s the expression of your passion that will shine through.

Several sites have come along over the past few years that specialize in handmade or homemade art, crafts and gifts. Some of these sites give artists many more opportunities for expression and commerce than would not have been available only ten to fifteen years ago.

Some notable arts and crafts web sites are:

Etsy (Featuring handmade items from clothing and jewelry to paintings and musical instruments.
Some vintage items are also allowed. Tutorials are available in the actual production of goods and the basic business concepts of online marketing)

Artfire (A bit artsy and crafty, Artfire is an online community that allows its members and artisans control over their own marketplace.)

World of Good (Emphasizes the empowerment of traditional artists from around the world who create everything from paper beads to fine jewelry. World of Good practices the principles of Fair Trade.)

Some auction sites such as Ebay also offer marketing opportunities to artists and craftsmen to display their passion. As well as being one of the biggest online sites for trade and commerce Ebay presents the opportunity for the small artist and the mom and pop shop owners to display their wares.