Detangling ...

I continue to press on in my relentless Dreamweaver-y pursuits!

I did a lot of reading and trolling about re: what's hip nowadays, and the overwhelming trends are:

- Large, full-page images
- Photorealism & sense of perspective
- Textures (again, largely photo-real)
- Graphic navigation
- Animated navigation

I've seen some really inspiring sites out there along the way, here are some notable screenshots:

AgencyNet.com

It's extremely engaging; I might even deign to say overly busy.  But full of simultaneous animations, and definitely a fun treasure hunt for links to the rest of the pages!

Pastorant:

Cleaner, and very very simple, but this restaurant's page showcases many of the themes I mentioned above.  It's calm and inviting.

Rolf Reichardt:

Again, clean and simple, dare I say architectural, but maintains the same principles of large image, high-quality photo, and engaging perspective.


To that end, I've edited my little page a bit, (again, and again, and again ...):

Miles to go before I sleep, of course.  It might be getting prettier, but the links still all lead nowhere!

Getting Graphic

Just as I was getting over my Photoshop contest obsession (see Worth1000.com to drink the KoolAid yourself), I stumbled upon Threadless.com.

It's a brilliant little site that allows the community to vote on each other's art work, and for the lucky winners, it prints the stuff on Tshirts and pays the artist - $2000 per accepted design!





I immediately became wildly optimistic and inspired. I sketched for days, I made myself chuckle with my own brilliance, I photoshopped like a fiend, and finally sent off a couple ideas ...
Both designs tanked.

Because it's a stupid, stupid popularity contest. Which I would feel fine about if I were popular. Or more talented.

But I still love the site and am impressed/tickled by the other kids' work ...

Graphics by people who are not me, and who are therefore more popular and talented:



Sigh ... I will press boldly on!



Sketch for possible future submission, as soon as I finish up the battle-wound licking: