365 Day Graphics Design Challenge

In a discussion with my eldest, he brought up the fact that with all of my skills with computers that I had no skills with graphics. Now I had to argue the point. I am a technical person and have done some graphics work but of course it is of a technical nature. So I will admit to being a rank amateur.

I have always meant to gain some skill in the graphics design arena. I have never taken the time to study it. If I have something I need of a graphical nature I can find it. Or create it. After a fashion.

I have been able to put together some nice (my opinion) bits. Most would have to be considered a montage of sorts. But that is fine. I probably only needed it to add a bit of flair or color to another project. I have never really created a graphic that was meant to stand on its own..

A lot of what I have done with graphics was something to add to a blog, or newsletter, article. And some of it was for illustrative purposes for presentations. Working with PowerPoint there are some very interesting effects one can achieve, especially with animations.

The 365 Day Challenge

So, back to the gist of this article. I am challenging myself to create a new graphic for any purpose. To do a new graphic every day. Except I know that life tends to get in the way, so five days out of seven is acceptable.

And I expect to start with “baby steps” and increase in complexity as I go along. That, or learn a new technique on a given day. So some “projects” may require more time than I have available on a given day. These projects then will consist of multiple days. I will include “works in progress” as the graphic on some days.

I also am expecting to limit myself to non-commercial tools. Looking for quality, or usable, online tools or open source ones. Some projects will be “off-the-cuff” pieces that may also be used in a project or article. Other pieces may be the results of tutorials. Have to learn from somewhere, eh?

Day 1 Graphic

The graphic for day 1 is the one at the top of this page. It was created with an online photo designer, Fotor. This appears to be a great, little program. It is free to use with a premium paid version.

I am not writing a review of Fotor here. Or creating a tutorial on its use. But I am planning on learning more about this app and looking forward to putting it through its paces.
In this instance I did a simple text on the face of the photo. The photo itself is a picture of the corner of a painting that my wife received as a gift. This is a simple graphic with the picture as background and simple white text overlaid on it.

Nothing very fancy but it serves its purpose for this article. A simple, easy graphic that serves a purpose. And the use of a freely available online app.