Nice Porfolio websites...

1) Andrea Pinchi - essential portfolio



This portfolio website is very charming. The use of illustrations makes for a very intimate and personal effect on the viewers. Torn papers and an awkward looking protagonist plunge the viewers right into the personal space of the author. I'd say this is a very nice portfolio with good use of colors. Even though the arrangement is somewhat random, I guess it was intended.

2) iDigital Emotion



Unlike the last website, this one screams techno... but it is a very well done website with a modern look. Everything is consistent, the colors go well with the graphics, the background music fitting, everything is organized in a professional manner, even the banner fits in well with the rest of the design. Again, this is a pretty simple looking website but it utilizes well its potentials.

3) APOKA Graphic Designs



If the first one is personal, the second suave, this third website is just pure magical and artistic. The graphics flow as they please, and the main image dominating the whole layout has a very liberating sense to it. It takes the viewers a while to break away from the main image, but it's worthy of doing so. The colors could have been a bit better, and the thumbnails on the left could have been made so that they stand out more, however, this is still a well-designed website in its own right.

FLIGHT comics

I didn't really read American or European comics, I'm what you'd call a die-hard Japanese manga (graphic novels) fan. However, one day I had a chance to check out the comics in FLIGHT and I was impressed. To quote from Wikipedia, FLIGHT is

A series edited by Kazu Kibuishi, showcasing young and innovative artists and writers. According to Volume One's Afterword by "Scott McCloud's Brain", the average age of its contributors was 24 years, although Volume Two features one or two older contributors. Image Comics published the first two volumes. In June 2005 Kibuishi announced that the series would move from Image to Ballantine Books from Volume Three on in an attempt to increase sales through mainstream bookstores. Kibuishi also stated that subsequent volumes would be released twice-yearly.

What really got me into reading those comics in the first place was the gorgeous illustration covers. Just by looking at the cover, one could feel a sense of freedom emitted from the flying images of magical birds, etheral airplanes, etc... Just to prove how beautiful the covers are, I present you:

The stories in these anthologies are great as well with some very amazing arts, so just go out and check out these comics because I just think they really deserve more attention. Go here for more information about the anthologies: FlightComics .

Ectype's End... interesting animated film

I just found this short animated film that was created by a relatively new studio in New Zealand called Rhubarb Zoo and thought it was very interesting and wanted to share. The story is as follow

Ectype's End is a fast-paced and visually charged ride that combines hand-drawn characters with photographed locations. Featuring a quirky soundtrack that drives and describes the journey of its protaganist, Ectype's End approaches the age-old issue of conformity with a story that is suitable for all ages.

Enjoy!!

Electronic sculptures...

Art really can be anything, it can be created from anything the mind can possibly think about. Ann Smith makes amazing sculptures out of broken electronic parts and pieces and they look wonderfully beautiful. Head over to her place to see some more amazing sculptures, most of them animals just as cute and lovely as the ones above: Ann P. Smith's Robots .

Book by Its Cover - another great book cover website!!

In one of my previous entries, I talked and linked to a website that has the image covers for the majority of the newly published books out on the market right now. Similarly, this time I'd love to introduce you to a site with similar ideas but the covers the website mentions are more artistic and art-related. It's called Book by Its Cover . It's a great website so make sure to give it a visit, I'm sure you will love it :).

Book by Its Cover

A great illustration artist - Leo Espinosa

I found the website of this great artist Leo Espinosa on Veerle's blog and was instantly struck at how vibrant and energetic his illustrations are. The illustrations are no doubt very modern with clean and smooth use of shapes. The characters have some similar qualities to Asian cartoon characters but they are no doubt very original and bursting in shimmering colors of imagination. So come give his website (which is very clean, simple yet professional looking one) a look, and give his illustrations some love :): Studio Espinosa .

(Studio Espinosa)

Dress up your desktop...

This post is relevant to the last one in term of helpfulness. I love to dress up my desktop whenever I can, and having cute pretty icons and especially free ones does the trick sometimes. So here is a very special website that let you search for a particular icon you need, and show you all the free ones that you can download for free. And they are very professional looking as well. Have fun exploring! Oh I almost forgot, here's the website ;) : Iconfinder .

Free vector graphics...

I'm not promoting copying and using others' graphics, but sometimes time restraint and designer's block make it impossible not to. I found this very nice website that has a lot of free vector graphics that obviously allows the visitors to take as they please but with credits given. This is a great site for inspiration as well in case you need it Vecteezy . Enjoy!!!