Christmas Card 2017

3D rendering of the card

Hello everyone! Merry Christmas. I decided to create a Christmas Card that I ended up printing and also used as a digital card.

The sketch

Out of the recesses of my mind I sketched then scanned the below drawing into the computer.

Colorizing in Gimp

In Gimp 2.8 I created a gradated texture surrounding the figures. I did this by creating a circular gradient, Cubism filter, emboss, and changing the layer mode to Grain Extract. Then on another layer I painted the figures, achieving what you see below

Laid out in InDesign

I finished laying this out in InDesign. On the cover I placed my image with some text at the top. Inside I found some text in the Holy Bible and used a version of the figures without the textured background.

Front of card

Inside of card

Fake money holder for cub scouts

Highlighted in this post is a money holder for my wife's scout store. Anyone familiar who with 8-year-old boy's behavior, know they can be precocious and unruly. This is especially true when trying to teach them things they deem less than interesting. As a means of reigning in their behavior, during the 1-hour den meeting, Bronny created a scout store. She shops and finds bargains on items she thinks the boys will be interested in; Then sells them to the boys using fake scout money. They earn the money based on good behavior during the den meeting. Needless to say, the store has been a huge success, for the most part (Some boys have no price).

I have already highlighted in a previous post the money I designed for the store.



The problem has arisen, that some of these boys insist on saving much of their money. This makes using flat paper sleeves unsuited for the task. So Bronny asked me to design a paper money holder of sorts. Below you can see the design and the final result. It turned out rather well.

Resources if you want to try

If you're interested in printing these for your own scout store the pdf for this can be downloaded from this link.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxeybFoTNkf2V244TGRQdjRoUVk

If you are interested in printing the money for the above holder download from this link:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxeybFoTNkf2ZlZJYnVFRlVnUU0

Design for the money holder. Was able to fit 2 to a 8.5 x 11 page

Process and construction

As is the case with any custom-made paper box, measurements had to be taken of the money. Design was executed using Adobe InDesign. Several versions of the holder were printed and tested to make sure they would work as intended. Duct tape or masking tape work well to bind them together.

Here is the Money holder. Notice we use flat tacks to pin it to the board

Here is the Money holder with money.

Money holders as they appear on the Cork board. Notice the older flat sleeves at the bottom

August Graphics in review

And the top 10 for August are ....

1. Stress in America graphic

Graphic done for a Story Written by Lois Collins.

2. Your body and media

Graphic done for a story written by Chandra Johnson. Good read for any teen or parent concerned about how the media is affecting your teen's body image

3. Teens, Tech and friendship

Graphic done for a story written by Chandra Johnson.

4. Religion in the Bay area

Graphic done for a story written by Mark A. Kelner. Story About Religion and stress at work in the Bay area.

5. Body image illustration

Did this for a feature about a series of stories on Media and Body image among teens written by Chandra Johnson and Kelsey Dallas.

And here it is in context of the page

6. Original A2 graphic

Only reason this is here is because I researched and created most of the imagery. I just pull most of these from from a news service. But this one is all me.

7. Photoshop job for Church News

I composited these elements together in Photoshop. I made some alterations to the labels of the box and calligraphic text on the book.

March Deseret News graphics in review

Here, again, is my top 10 picks for graphics done for the Deseret News for the month of March. Enjoy!

1. Big business verses local business

This graphic shows starkly how local chains stack up against national chains in how much money is recycled back into local economies. Couldnt find this story online, which leads me to believe it was only published in print. Sorry 

2. Timeline on depictions of Christ in media

I found this interesting for how many different ways in which the Master is depicted in our culture. Obviously some more accurate than others. Her is link to the story by Deseret news writer Mark A. Kelner.

3. Orthodox Jews are stalwarts

This is one of those rare times in which I was able to incorporate a visual element of the story into a graphic in a practical and pleasing way. This is a great faith-promoting story by Kelsey Dallas for the Deseret News

4. We still want better and bigger things

This really shouldn't come as a surprise to any of us. Who doesn't want to improve their quality of life? I certainly do. But where does too much become too much, and too big become too big? This is a Great story on Money and happiness by Lane Anderson for the Deseret News

5. Print! Its Alive, Alive!

Had fun with this graphic. Though perhaps a little cluttered. This is perhaps proof that books, you know, those dead tree sheets you can hold in your hands and read from, might be around for a very long time.

6. Fun Layout

Yes, I know it promotes Disney, but I had fun doing a small cutout of this air surfing whelp from Disney's Treasure planet. This is still one of my favorite Disney films from the early 2000s. Overall I think the layout turned out quite well.

7. Low pay in Salt Lake for sitters

I am not terribly surprised by this. Freelance work in general, is lower in Utah than the national average. Is this a result of savvy business dealings or just plain cheapness? I have no idea. Here is the link to the story by Matthew Jelalian for the Deseret News.

8. Death for those who deserve it, still favored in America

This graphic was published in an article that focuses on the 6th commandment. This and other articles are part of a series on the Ten commandments and what they mean to us in modern society. This article was written by Eric Schulzke.

9. Single parenting

One of the greatest indicators, in my opinion, of a failing society is how many children grow up in a single-parent household. I have personally seen how much more difficult it was for children to grow up without a father in the home. At best many turned out OK, at worst many go off to prison or worse. While  father is no guarantee that a child will make all the right choices, fathers are an undeniable stabilizing force for boys and girls. This transfers into the greater society. This is the link to the story by Lois M. Collins

10. Making babies better through genetics

Is it morally right to genetically alter babies? As medical technology and processes advance this question will need to be answered. Being a Star Trek fan I can't help but wonder if genetic manipulation could be used to create super-humans (Star Trek II, Star Trek: Into Darkness). Would said super-humans seek to eliminate who they deem unsuitable to continue the human race. Who knows. Here is the article by Kelsey Dallas.

Here is the rest of March Graphics. Enjoy!

February Graphics in review

Following is the top 10 graphics I created for the Deseret News in February. Also included are pretty much the rest of the graphics I did in the month of February.

So without further adieu, here is my top 10 for February 2015:

1. Battleship Bismarck News in Education page

Top graphic for February goes to this charticle on the battleship Bismarck. I created all the graphics for this, and wrote all the text. Was a ton of work, but well worth the effort. I absolutely enjoyed learning more about this vessel and the conflict it was a part of. Click on the image to the image in more detail. 

2. Religious persection increasing

This is a tremendously important topic of our day. Recent violence against Jews and Christians is growing stronger. I highly recommend reading this article, by Mark Kelner, at the following link.

3. Extremely dry in the state of Utah

While everything East of the Rockies has been getting blasted by record snow, Utah, and most of the west, has had record dryness. Crazy weather to say the least. Is it global warming? Cooling? Man-made or part of the Earth's natural cycle? You be the Judge. Here is the link to the story by Emilee Bench

4. Depression among the youth

Simple graphic with tips for helping youth with depression. Not a bad read by Leslie Corbly at this link

Theodore Roosevelt: What a life!

Following is a News in Education page I recently had published in the Deseret News. I found the research of this man interesting to say the least. Looking through the lens of the 21st century it is easy to judge his positions and actions as being contradictory to modern Liberal and conservative thinking. But he lived and grew up in a far different time than any of us. He lived when the the wild west was truly wild, and DC politics were dirty in a different sort of way than they are now. He could be as mild and tender as a Teddy bear towards children, then be utterly masculine and sharp towards contemporaries. One of his

Views of Conference Center spread

The week after General conference is an incredibly busy time for the staff of the Church and myself. We are tasked with producing a 24 page version of LDS Church News, covering all talks given by General Authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

A little vacation from all the text

Most of the pages are quite templated, having only a single mug, and maybe an additional photo. As you can imagine this becomes very boring and monotonous. Therefore putting together what you see above is refreshing. It represents a pleasant break from the text heaviness of the publication. 

Love the children

Another aspect of this I find enjoyable is incorporating children into the layout. As you can see I enjoy putting any photos of children front and center.

First man to speak in his native language

One other unique item to this layout is the inclusion of the first Authority to speak in his native language over the pulpit. Yes, this will just be a blip in the grand scheme of historical things. But I am a part of documenting that one blip. I find that hugely satisfying. Here is a link to an article in the Deseret News if you are interested in knowing more about the first man to speak at conference in a foreign language.

The important aspect of Columbus you weren't taught in school

Today is Columbus day. This year I had the opportunity at the Deseret News to produce a News in Education page about the man. In school they taught about how he "discovered America." But this statement is narrow and deceptive. As a child I didn't think much of this statement. As with pretty much all history, children place the importance of such things pretty low on their list of important things. I was no different. As a teen I began thinking of the import of Columbus coming to the Americas a bit more. Again, no truly in-depth thought or study of Columbus occurred until I took on this NIE page.

As a Latter-Day Saint, an additional element to the importance of Columbus coming to the New world is found in The Book of Mormon. According to revelation given to a prophet, 600 years before the birth of Christ, Columbus was moved upon by the spirit to make his journey. I quote the scripture here:

1 Nephi 13:12

12 And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.

According to Firsthand accounts, as well as what can be drawn from his own writings, Columbus was an incredibly devout Christian. He believed unwaveringly that he had been moved upon by the spirit to seek out a new way to the West Indies. He sought tenaciously for support for an expedition because of being moved upon by the Spirit of God. I believe this. If you are interested in a more in-depth description of Columbus and his voyage please read this article published in the Ensign in 1992. The Author talks about the practical challenges, as well as the spiritual aspects of Columbus' voyages.

As for me I have a new-found respect for the man. He was by no means perfect. He lived in a barbaric time full of superstition and extreme antisemitism. He had to deal with Monarchs that held the keys to his even going on the voyage. Later in life he was branded a crazy man for believing that God had impressed upon him such a strong desire to go. Many in his day, and today discount the things he wrote about his spirituality.