Surrender!

Hello everyone!

So I'm passing by really quick to say hi and give notice that I am actually alive and also to show something new I completed a few months ago but have not posted anywhere until now. I was planning to post all of my new work until I had released my new website but since I don't have the sufficient time to dedicate to the new design of my website, I said - heck! why not share at least one of my newest artworks? right?

And well, here it is...
Surrender!

Surrender is a Photomanipulation. Its PSD file is over 2.6 GB (a pretty heavy file yes) It has a lot of layers! This new work actually shows some of my new acquired skills in Photoshop. And I happened to record a process video last night. Unfortunately the process video does not really show into detail the real process of the creation of Surrender.

I had initially considered to record an instructional video but since I really do not know if anyone would actually care for an instructional video I did a process video instead. An instructional video would take a lot more time to record and I would actually explain every single thing I did to pull of this work. Now, I'm still considering I might do the instructional video but I really want to know if there are a reasonable amount of people who would like to learn how to do something like this. So if you are one those people, drop me a note or an email and depending on the amount of requests I will record an instructional video for Surrender.

Here is the process video... check it out and I hope you like it. Gotta go now. See ya!

Current Status

Hello Everyone!

I have not updated my website nor my blog in a very long time. For years now I have intended to completely redesign my website and have unfinished artwork finally finished, but due to lack of time I have not been able to.

I have a new job now and feel I have absolutely no time at all for personal projects. My time and energy is consumed greatly by my new job - but I like my new job! It presents me with creative challenges and I feel I am learning new things which is always great. I have had to unfurtunately drop many outside projects and I am very sorry with those who's projects I had to let go and have asked to understand my situation. It is not that I do not want to work on your projects, it is just that I feel I have no energy left to pour into projects outside of my current job.

There is however one project which I remain working on. Not a project of mine but of a friend who I promised to create a design for his website. He has been incredibly patient (You have no idea!) His design is being handcrafted fully which means I am drawing absolutely everything from scratch (including textures) So that plus not having the sufficient time and feeling mentally tired is what is keeping me from delivering his design.

Believe me, there are days that I wish I could sit down and work on my own personal things but after a whole week putting my brain to work on designs for the clients of the company I work for, the last thing I want to do when getting back home from work and sometimes even weekends is sit down infront of a computer and open up Photoshop.

I decided to post this tonight as I have recently received an email requesting commissioned work from me and to update on my availability status. I am sorry but I cannot accept any commissioned work at the moment due to the things I have just mentioned.

I am the kind of person who isolates when is very busy and I am sure my MSN contacts have noticed that I rarely even get online nowadays. You may however reach me via Facebook - leave me a message there if you want. I am sure to see it sometime during the day and respond back. Emails sent to info (at) cristianlandero.com I check at nights.

So there you have an update on my current status. The reasons why I have not posted any new artwork on any of my online galleries. I am sure to make probably a comeback sometime in the future but in the meantime - I just can't.

I am still designing as you can read and making a living out of it so that makes me happy.

Good luck everyone!
... Until the next post when who knows when that will be.

Cris.

Elegance Speed Painting

I recently made a few minor modifications to my website and actually I wish I had more time to completely redesign it but personal work at the moment I have put to aside as I have some comissioned work to get done.

To the drawings section of my website I added an old speed painting and perhaps some of you have seen it already but I just want to share it here.

The painting I did it last year and I had done it to tryout Camtasia Studio 5. When I edited the video and speed it up I had the Smart Focus feature enabled and it went crazy! So I'm sorry if it makes you dizzy when watching the video. Note this was the first time ever trying colors on one of my paintings.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

Work In Progress

Here's a refined sketch of a work in progress. The image has been cropped for preview.

Christmas Icon Set (Preview)

Here is a sneak peek of an icon that will be part of a Christmas icon set I am working on and off during my spare time.

To be honest, I did not like the art of creating icons before but now I really like it! It is fun and challenging at the same time :-)

Personalized Icon Designs

As of late I have been doing a lot of personalized icon designs and today I am showing some of them to you. If you would like to know how I created one of these, just drop me a note as I am actually considering on writing a step-by-step tutorial on personalized icon design. Hope you like them. Btw, sorry for the watermark but the watermark is being used to protect those icons I have been paid for to do. (Click on images to view larger).

In The Light...There's A Truth

"How is one to live a moral and compassionate existence when one is fully aware of the blood, the horror inherent in life, when one finds darkness not only in one's culture but within oneself? If there is a stage at which an individual life becomes truly adult, it must be when one grasps the irony in its unfolding and accepts responsibility for a life lived in the midst of such paradox. One must live in the middle of contradiction, because if all contradiction were eliminated at once life would collapse. There are simply no answers to some of the great pressing questions. You continue to live them out, making your life a worthy expression of leaning into the light." - Barry Lopez

Note: I wish I had the raw file for this video so I could edit inmindcreations.com out. Inmindcreations.com no longer exists. It used to be a website where I would showcase my artwork only. Unfurtunately, I had to let it go. CristianLandero.com was then born.