Portfolio Archives - Lee Suzanne Jordan Studio

Posted on June 16, 2017June 16, 2017 by leesjordan

Stubby, A Real Dog Hero

I recently finished the painting of Sgt. Stubby, part of the Real Dog Heroes Series. This is a new series of paintings and drawings based on real dog heroes from search and rescue organizations, every day dogs being heroic and dogs who protected soldiers. The series was inspired while writing one morning about different canines who have done amazing things against what sometimes seemed to be impossible odds. I researched for the series by reading books from different sources and various news sites online. Stubby was the only dog to be awarded the rank of “sergeant” during World War I. He was smuggled overseas to France by his owner after he was found on the Yale campus. This loyal American Pit Bull Terrier mix saved lives and kept up the morale of soldiers by providing warnings about poison…

Posted on November 30, 2016February 15, 2017 by leesjordan

Color Secrets: Vibrancy

Vibrancy is about how intense a color is, how strong the color appears to be. It is not just how bright or colorful it is, instead it is more about how pure and vivid the color is. Artists who use physical paints often use this term to describe how well a color matches the original paint out of a tube or to compare two colors next to each other. Digital artists and creatives also use vibrancy, usually as a way to compare an object’s color to a background or another element. Vibrancy can be good but also bad. Two strong colors like orange and blue hues tend to look like they are visually vibrating when they are next to each other. This is why people usually try to use a vivid color paired with a duller or desaturated color. Navy…

Posted on November 20, 2016February 15, 2017 by leesjordan

Color Secrets: Brightness

There has been a trend lately in app design where white or very light backgrounds are paired with minimal use of color and flat, simplified shapes. Why this shift when sites had been trending darker and darker? Is it the Star Wars reboot? A renewed interest in futurism? Or are we just all tired of looking at gray or black displays? As more and more sites provide lighter sites or options to choose what backgrounds we want, designers and user experience professionals will need to take another look at how people are using devices as part of their daily lives. People don’t use devices in well lit, climate controlled areas. Being able to observe and take into account the key environments where users are will then have an impact on choices about color including brightness, contrast and saturation. My personal ideas about why…

Posted on November 1, 2016February 15, 2017 by leesjordan

Five Quick Color Tips For Your Next Project

Many developers and designers I talk to are very frustrated when it comes time to pick colors for a project. It can be hard to choose the right color or set of colors for a project. I want to share with your five quick tips for using color in your next project so you can make the best user experience possible. (more…)

Posted on October 25, 2016February 15, 2017 by leesjordan

How to Find Your Artistic Style

Your world view and how you express it is your style. We edit out so many things subconsciously and make choices on what to and what not to create. What do you choose to create when you can choose? What moves you? All artists secretly long for an artistic style so different and unique from others they will be unmistakable. When I was in college, having an artistic style was a big source of anxiety. What if my work just looked like everyone else? How would I be different when we were all learning to do the same things? When you push yourself to experiment and grow every day, you will build your artistic style organically over time. Parents know this anticipation as babies grow. What will their personalities be like? They are revealed slowly, day by day.…

Posted on October 20, 2016February 15, 2017 by leesjordan

Draw Better Faster with Pencil Warmups

get better at drawing faster with warmups

Are you frustrated by your skill level? Feel like you’ve hit a wall? Do you feel dissatisfied with what you draw? Do you want to learn how to do better gradients or other techniques? Warming up with pencil drills can help you! Warm ups with pencils can help you: Become more skilled at drawing (people things whatever) Learn your tools inside and out Build muscle and hand/eye coordination Relax Focus your mind Check out this video on pencil warm ups (5 min 36 seconds) Practice doesn’t have to take a long time or be boring. Just a couple of minutes before you start drawing “for real” can help you mentally and physically prepare and grow your abilities. I like to start with circular marks to warm up my hand and fingers and reconnect my hand/eye coordination. Make the connection with…

Posted on October 6, 2016February 15, 2017 by leesjordan

Create Anywhere You Are

Have you ever gone somewhere and then realized you had nothing with you to draw or paint? Never be without creative supplies again with today’s tips. I’m going to share with you how to be ready to create wherever you are by putting together an artist go bag. I was on vacation at the beach a couple of weeks ago (Yay!). This was a great chance to sketch and create. Luckily I had packed a “go bag” of art supplies. This is a pared down kit of what I have in my studio at home. I like to carry materials that are easy to take with me and don’t make a big mess or require a lot of time to set up. TLDR: For sketching on the go, experiment and find what you like. Start with a pencil, pen, sharpener…

Posted on July 17, 2016February 15, 2017 by leesjordan

100 Days In Review

I spent 100 days this spring drawing every day and posting it to instagram. Some were awful, most of them were OK, and a few were awesome. A lot of people I talked to during the project kept telling me they thought the hard part was doing something every day. It wasn’t easy and sometimes I did not do very good work. The really tough part was posting at all. I was exposing myself as a creative every day. There are amazing creatives posting on instagram every day, sometimes multiple times a day. And there was me. I was surprised to find a lot of support for me even when I thought a post was crappy. Here is a list of good things that happened from the 100 Days project Committing to posting every day Documenting different problems I ran…

Posted on September 17, 2015October 28, 2016 by leesjordan

What Does That Color Mean?

eight common colors with different meanings

It can be hard sometimes to choose the right color or set of colors for a project. Learning what different colors may mean to your audience and matching the right ones to the goals of your project takes research and careful thought. Different shades, tones and tints of the same color can have a very different impact. Today we will explore the Western meanings of eight common colors. (more…)

Posted on September 10, 2015January 6, 2016 by leesjordan

Sketch to Finished Graphics in a Day

I had a problem a lot of designers face. I spend so much time designing other people’s web sites and assorted miscellany that things like the design of my own site tend to fall to the wayside. I had a long weekend ahead of me and a fire in my belly after seeing some of the amazing designs of other people. It was time to take action. It began with a clean up of the overall layout and template of the site, but I was still lacking an awesome hero header for my home page. After some time spent thinking about what I do and what it means, I was ready to start concepting and sketching. The full case study is available in the new case study section of this site. You can see the end result on the home…