September 2007
It’s that time once again. Another successful client site launch. Reflections by Toni, owned by Toni Valentine, offers portrait painting and photography services. Her work is timeless and classy, and as such, she wanted a website design that would convey those same feelings.
She admitted to me that she likes “cutesy” and whimsical, and she usually adds these elements to her clients’ proofs in the form of borders. As a result, we moved in that direction for her site by exploring custom made borders to use for the site that would effectively become branding elements for her Reflections by Toni brand. The main website border is the result of our efforts. It combines whimsical swirls presented in an elegant, symmetrical fashion with a touch of color in the turquoise accents that pull in some common colors from her paintings. The final result is a website that has an elegant look and complements her work flawlessly. Also included in her package was a set of borders specifically for use on her client’s proofs. By combining the site and these brand-new custom borders, the Reflections by Toni brand will surely begin to manifest itself in her clients’ and potential clients’ minds.
On another note, not related to the design, Toni had concerns of being totally in control of her own website, without having to spend hours and hours to update content or have to worry about the design or coding of newly created pages. Of course, I had an answer to that! Toni is set up on an adapted content management system that keeps everything super simple for her to control and update, and not have to worry about the design aspect because it has already been done! Keep your eye on the Studio|chris Shop for these setups to become available in the coming days. Until next time – back to designing!
Well, I finally broke down and bought a notebook PC with Windows Vista pre-installed on it. I have been hesitant to upgrade with all of the problems I’ve seen other people having, but I’m happy to report that I’ve had relatively few problems in the two days I’ve had this machine. I did not keep the pre-installed version, Home Premium; I upgraded to Ultimate to gain some features much needed for both running Studio|chris on the road and making sure I have everything available to me [I’m not one for (too many) limitations when it comes to MY machine – another story, I know]. Aside from some HP related problems [don’t get me started], this transition has been pretty smooth. Most of my production work will still be completed on my desktop machine running Windows XP, so I have no worries of Vista holding up my production environment which gives me time to get used to the new changes and still not miss a beat.
So far, I’ve been able to install all of my software, which is a good thing, though I’m only half done. The major suites are installed and working perfectly! I can paint and design websites on the road from anywhere in the world now – look out!
The only problems I’m having so far deal with the print spooler service, which is almost refusing to run. Hopefully a visit to the beloved Windows Update site will fix that.
After I’ve had a little time to play around more, I’ll post up some “First Impressions” for those of you that may have thought about making the upgrade or those of you who have said NO WAY! With a little time under its belt, it may not be as bad as everybody’s been saying – and it IS pretty!
Anything on this page look familiar?
Premiering today to international audiences, Corel Painter Official Magazine, Issue 8, published by Imagine Publishing, Ltd. in the UK ran a feature on Paint Outside the Frame, a great forum on digital painting where I’m a member. Along with information on the forum, Painter Magazine (for short) also published a selection of art from the members of the forum, and “Pink Calla Lilies” was one of the chosen few! Also featured with the article are Carrie Woeck, Marilyn Sholin, Michael D., and Alan D. Any of you interested in digital painting and learning how to paint digitally, go check out the forum. More information can be found on Marilyn’s blog.
Also in this issue, Corel Painter Master Marilyn Sholin and I team up to tackle the Q&A section of the magazine. Issues haven’t arrived in the US yet, but should be very soon!
