I started gaining my graphic computer skills when I started attending the College Of Geographic Sciences (COGS) in 1997. The school focused on both traditional and computerized map-making, and I very much enjoyed the artistic side of map-making, and enjoyed the broad range of graphics a computer could achieve. At COGS we were limited to Corel products, and it was not until I left that I was introduced to Adobe products, which I have stuck with ever since. Reason being that it is more globally accepted. For more on my work at COGS, please go to the Cartography section. Due to the nature of map-making, I also gained a lot of knowledge in printing and the history of printing.

After COGS I found myself wanting to explore more in the artistic side of computer graphics, and was afraid I would get stuck with a data input type of mapping job which interested me far less. A friend of the family had gone to McKenzie College's animation program, and this struck me as very interesting. I attended the 10-month course thereafter in 1999. It was where I branched out more - experimenting much more in Adobe PhotoShop (map-making of course is much more vector based). It also allowed for much more experimentation - both in course work and in dealing with 3D computer animation (textures would have to be edited or created in PhotoShop). Please Note: the Halifax branch of McKenzie College closed a couple years after my graduation, so there is no webpage directly portaining to the college I went to. The above links are to the remaining branches of McKenzie College in Moncton and Sydney, which still offer versions of the courses in which I took.

Due to a few bankruptcies in the Halifax area in the film workforce, jobs in film (animation) locally were scarce, and I was hired on at EastLink Advertising a month prior to graduating in July, 2000. My field of work here was solely graphic arts. However, my knowledge in animation and television formatting was also a plus due to one of their fledgling advertising products, Digital Video Animation (DVA). A DVA is simple animation created in Adobe Premiere, where still imagery is put to motion using simple effects to simulate a full motion ad. Simple animation can also be used, but is not often due to the quick turnaround associated with these ads. Not only has working at EastLink extended my knowledge of the programs themselves (Adobe PhotoShop, Illustrator and Premiere), but also brainstorming ways to create realistic effects in simple ways. And also gave me valuable knowledge of limits of television advertising (I also got to do various print projects here as well). I currently work for EastLink Advertising - going on 4 years.

Continue to examples of my work...