Designing Holidays

Don't expect me to always be this sentimental. But this post calls for it. Last year, just seconds before the Fourth of July, I became an aunt to the most amazing little niece, Shea. She has a bright smile that shows off her dimples, is wonderfully cheerful, and likes to play with my hat. She's all sorts of special, so from the day she was born I decided to use my design skills and make her greeting cards to celebrate each of her major "first holidays". I'm hoping someday when she's older, she can look at them and know how much she means to me (and maybe think her aunt is awesome).

This past Saturday we celebrated her first birthday, and as such I think now would be a fitting time to show off these cards.

Ready, set...

...go. So this is my first post, and, well...I'm not quite sure how to formulate a proper introduction.

I'm just another one of the millions of bloggers out here in the big expanse of the internet, but still. I don't know why, but it seems kind of overwhelming.

Which is funny, considering I wanted to create a blog so I could feel a bit less overwhelmed. Really, I just wanted a space where I could sort of feel unrestrained--spread my wings, I suppose. I'll primarily be using this as an art/sketch blog, as well as a venue where I can discuss things like art and design in video games and topics along those lines. My official design website never felt like an appropriate venue for such things. I've been thinking about setting this up for quite a while now...as in probably over a year. And I finally just went for it.

Maybe I should give a little disjointed background on myself. I'm a(n aspiring) graphic artist who is "addicted to aesthetics." Hence the blog name. I love art,design, and photography, and I find inspiration in everything. Though I'm not much of a musician (an amateur guitarist at best), music is a massive part of my life--it has pushed me through constant late nights and near-insurmountable obstacles. I also love video games and enjoy discussing elements of their design, especially in their visual and narrative qualities. Oh, and cartoons. Go ahead, call me immature, but Adventure Time is awesome. Besides, I can always say I'm "studying the visual medium of cartoons" as an excuse, though it is partially true. I prefer to not sit still for too long, I'm a night owl by nature, and I'm always disappointed in the low marshmallow-to-cereal ratio in Lucky Charms. I'm not a very interesting person, or at least I don't think I am, because anyone who mentions cereal ratios in their introduction can't be all that interesting. Maybe it would help if I wasn't eating Lucky Charms right now.

I think that's it. There is a lot I would like to post and share and discuss...but first things first, I have to sort through a few hundred photos I took of my friends at ConnectiCon. So many photos. In the meantime...Hi! And if you're reading this and still plan to stick around, thank you! Get addicted to aesthetics with me!