Artist's Statement:
The "Father's Day Blue" poster was part of a promotional series for Deseret Industries, a church-owned thrift store. My objective was two-fold: add color to the store's environment and "lure" the patrons into buying Father's Day gifts at the store. I drew the fishing lure in Adobe Illustrator using several Pathfinder options. The calligraphic brush helped with the soft feathers. For the final shadowing and blends, I took it into Photoshop. I added the diamond-plate steel pattern made of fish in the background to reinforce the masculine theme, and the pinstriping is reminiscent of men's suit fabric.

Artist's Statement:
The Chilkoot Trail poster is part of a series commemorating the 1998 Klondike Gold Rush Centennial. The foreground consists of discarded artifacts that have weathered a century at the summit of the pass from Alaska to Canada, while a modern hiker visualizes in the background the spirits of the horde of stampeders who preceded him. The image consists of six different elements blended in Adobe Photoshop using layer masking.

Artist's Statement:
The Ranger Ralph comics that appear in the delivery mouse's hand were the main focus of this assignment. They have a 1950s flavor that portrays a more innocent way of life. The challenge of this piece was to magnify that feeling for the reader through this country mouse theme and to capture a sense of the publisher's commitment to make readers feel special when they purchase the comic.

The original concept started when I saw a redwood flowerpot with brightly colored flowers in my backyard. It looked like a perfect summer place for a happy family of mice. I took a picture of it in the surrounding tall grass. As I examined the flowerpot more carefully, I noticed a small snail climbing up the side of the pot and thought it would make a great addition to the picture. And the idea was born. I created a series of drawings of the three mice. The butterfly represents metamorphosis of the soul. I included the four-leaf clovers to convey good luck and happiness. I carried the 1950s theme further with the old-fashioned TV in the background (with my picture on the screen) and the hot apple pie cooling in the window. The white picket fence finished off the perfect 1950s home scenario. With all the cool Photoshop filters available, I was able to texture the dirt, fence, motorcycle chrome, mouse hair, and even the clothes and stepping-stones. As the final touch, I added my own house address to the plate above the door.

Before

After

Artist's Statement:
Anyone who's tried to capture children in a group portrait will testify that it's difficult. In this case, the mother sent me two photos of her children and asked me to use the face from one photo and the bodies from another. She also included an image of a Christmas tree for the background.

I isolated the children, grafted the correct head onto the boy, and pasted them into a Photoshop layer with the tree in the background. The gift boxes presented a problem: The children had to appear standing next to the tree, but the gifts were in the way. So I isolated the gift boxes one at a time and placed them on a separate layer in front of the children.
Using a few red and gold gift boxes from the original Christmas tree shot, I created a variety of gift boxes in different colors and sizes by adjusting the hue and saturation of each duplicated layer. The shadows and cast reflections were particularly tricky, but without them the whole image looked fake.

A gold and beige gift box in front of the boy was fabricated from the pale original one almost covered by a branch to the right. I added areas from the top of the tree to the sides so that the tree filled the background. I "sketched" the branches in with the Clone tool set to a rough brush effect.

The original photo suffered from inconsistent lighting, so I darkened shadow areas to add depth and emphasize the colorful ornaments. Then I adjusted the overall color balance so all elements appear to be in the same room, lit by the same light. I enhanced the gleam in both children's eyes for consistency.

Artist's Statement:
OCSS stands for Ocean Communications Sensor Systems, which is a communication system being created by my employer, Harris Corp. The ocean surface and red buoy are modified photos. I drew or painted all other elements, including the satellite, undersea vehicles, seafloor, and backgrounds in Photoshop and Illustrator. I created the cabling on the sea floor by making a path and progressively stroking it with the airbrush tool while increasing the brush size and turning off rearward sections of the path as I moved to the foreground with heavier strokes. I then repeated the process with a duplicate path and a smaller brush with white on a separate layer, slightly offset to create the highlight. This illustration was used in graphic panels and brochures.

Artist's Statement:
This image accompanied a broad article, so it was important to keep it straightforward and simple while making a connection between people's personal and religious beliefs. The fruits represent the fruits of our decisionsgood or bad. Many different elements from diverse photos and environments had to come together. There were numerous layers and experimentation with various elements, masks, and filters. It certainly helps to have good photographs to work with. Photoshop is at its best when you can use several techniques to arrive at something interesting.