The Beginning!
It was 1996 and the coolest trend was to have a AOL web site. Of course I never had AOL. At that time you paid per hour and my family couldn’t afford it. I ended up getting a Geocities web site. It was cool, even it they added a lot of banners on the site. My uncle had just given me a new computer and it had a program called Photoshop 4.0 and Cute HTML. From that point on I was like a sponge learning all types of things. At some point I generated my own style and made free banners for people. I called my site LiL-Js Home Page haha=) This was before online communities like MySpace or Friendsters. Everyone had their own site and people would ask 012 Productions, Peach888, Me, and other designers to make their banners to place on guestbooks.
It was hard to keep up with the demand, especially with my disability. But I did as much as I could because I really loved doing it.
A Career Oppurtunity!
In my Junior year of high school; I was buying records directly from Strictly Hits, a recording company that made remixes for DJs. One day I emailed my contact ABE and sent him a link to my site. A few hours later I got a call from him and he asked me if I could make a site for them. Surely enough I did it that same week. Next thin you know I was interning for them and got to meet some really cool people.
From there I was designing club fliers, CD cover artworks, websites, and more. Being a DJ myself helped my designs because I knew exactly what my clients were looking for. I got introduce to Vicious V and got to work in different areas in graphics. Still one of my good friends, I have to say I learned a lot from him and the opportunities he gave me.
Learning to Improve! The Next Step Forward!
Now I’ve wont art awards in the past. None that I could say where huge. In the fourth grade I did become a runner up in the KNBR Giants Art Competition. And looking back at my artwork then I realize that none of my designs are perfect or finished. Somehow I always look at my designs thinking I could do one more thing to make it better. Call it a bad habit. But because of this habit I am always looking for ways to improve my work and learning new tricks. I love learn about other people styles. Even when its a style that I will never use, I find it fascinating how people become so creative. From books to seminars, discovering a new way to be creative is truly priceless!
Sample Artwork!
Coming Soon!