Yup, I changed the look of the blog again. Mostly because I can't put the sorts of photos in there that I really want to. I got another issue of Before and After magazine, which really inspires me to do some cool stuff, and I can't put in things like shadows on a grey background. So.

I still don't have all my photos in order (apparently naming structures between iPhoto on a Mac and your typical PC don't bother to correspond. Sigh.), so this is the best you get. The first one came about on a wet and warm Spring day when the Magic Puddle appeared on the street. Both kids absolutely had to get completely and utterly soaked. For some reason this was like cannon law. Once they get to a particular stage, you pretty much have to strip them off in the garage before they can go into the house. (Did I mention how incredibly neglected and hideous the house looks on a regular and ongoing basis?)



The second photo was taken at the Denver Aquarium, and this is Lauren holding a blue-tongued skink at the petting zoo. She thought the lizards were grand, but David wouldn't touch them. Odd behavior, especially considering that he's pestering us for a Chinese Water Dragon all the time. (No. They're lizards that grow up to be two or three feet long; they require big places to hang out in trees and swimming pools to fall into...they like to stay submerged sometimes for 30 minutes at a time. They look cute at PetSmart because they're six inches long.)

I actually do have LOTS of news to post, but since it's 1:20 a.m., I'd rather go to bed at the moment. I must say, however, that this drawing on the left is the latest project I'm involved in, and is giving me a much grander appreciation for the nuances involved in architecture. I mean...you know there's a lot going on there, both visually and structurally, but there's nothing quite like recreating an architect's drawing to make you pay really close attention.

This one isn't done yet (but when it is, it'll be scalable to any size (vector graphic) and the color can be changed to ANYTHING...heck, we could make it look like gold or silver wire if we wanted to), but you can tell from this much that all the windows and railings and balconies are reflections of each other. They aren't the same, by any means. But the lines in the roof are reflected in the balcony railings. The doors are all reflected in the windows, which are surprisingly different from floor to floor. You'd think they're all the same, but they really aren't. There's a lot of play going on here with size. When the bottom part of the building is complete, you can see a lot of reflections of curves on the bottom two floors rebounding off the curve at the very top of the building.

I read a wonderful article along those lines in my favorite design magazine about the visual design of the BMW Roadster (slobber, drool). If you pulled out line A from along the side and measured the length, you'd find it's exactly the same length but twice the curve of line of B, which is what makes it look so balanced, etc. I like it when they tear apart and analyze this stuff. I do miss some of the articles they used to print by Seth Godin, but he has a blog I can at least read. I'm also signed up to attend some Graphic Design events through Meetup.com which is fun.