Crystal Brush
 

I have created my very own website devoted to my artwork! It's still under construction, but I thought you would all like to see it anyway. :)

www.crystalbrush.com

Looks promising. I can't wait to see you stuff. :)

yes, looks very promising, great work with the site, looking forward to seeing more.

Thanks! :D

Tis a good job that neither of us go by our real names, other wise it would be confusing posting here (I'm a James too, I acquired "Jez" about 9 years ago when a load of american buddies just started calling me it - luckily, I liked it). :P

I like Reflection Rings. Very nice. DTB (DeskTop Background) potential :)

Some great stuff here. My favourite, probably because it could easily be an early Doctor Who title sequence is 'Reflection Rings'.

It's great that you already know the career that you're aiming for, because I didn't when I was about to leave school. The fact that you have your work on show in a functioning website is even more impressive.

Be wary about throwing things away though. Stick them in a scrapbook, or keep them on file somewhere. You never know what ideas they could trigger later.

Graphic Design's about designing something for a purpose, and its sometimes about compromise. That can be difficult, to force a stop on your creativity. Sometimes there will be limits on what you can do.

Have you thought about designing an avatar for yourself? That has inherent limitations. It has to be relatively small for starters, so you can't do anything that will lose clarity once it's shrunk down. It can also relate to your pseudonym on the boards. I'd be thinking: 'Dalek104', what can I do with that? What image can I come up with?

That's a great place to start for a designer.

Hehe. :P

Thank you!

Thanks! Cool idea!

Thanks again!

Well, maybe I was exaggerating a little there. Usually whenever I create something I keep it. Whenever I "throw something away", it's probably when I start making something, get halfway and then think "actually, I don't think I want this". Thanks for your advice though!

Thanks for your advice again!

I did design an avatar for myself not too long ago, but then I replaced it. :P I may consider creating another, though.

That's good, I'll keep an eye out for it.

I've put my old avatar back up now. Here's one I made quickly.

I like both of those, but the one with the Doctor half in the frame is more striking — good picture of Tennant. It'd be interesting having 'Dalek104' in place of the red text actually, maybe in the typeface you've got on your signature. It's very readable and clear.

I like both of those, but the one with the Doctor half in the frame is more striking — good picture of Tennant. It'd be interesting having 'Dalek104' in place of the red text actually, maybe in the typeface you've got on your signature. It's very readable and clear.[/quote]

Something like this?

Yeah, exactly. And even better, the blue line at the top serves more of a purpose, with the red glyphs sitting underneath it, as if it's sliding onto the Dalek's display screen to give targeting information.

Magnificent portfolio so far, Dalek! That's looking truly excellent... I can't wait to follow your site as it develops further!

Big thanks, Danny!

I love Underwater Burst it's definately the best. How long have you been working on this?

Can I make a suggestion on the site itself. I see that you've got closer to finishing it but I think it would be better if the ideal (i.e. minimum) resolution was at 1024 x 768, rather than what it is now. Just makes it easier to navigate if there's less scrolling from left to right to do. ;)

Thanks, Sam! I made some of those images about two years ago and I've only just opened the website. ;)

That's probably because I'm making the site with a widescreen monitor. I'm soon going to try and completely change the layout of it, and I'll take note of that Jez. Thanks! :)

You know, the layout's fine as it is, you just have all this kind of ridiculous padding on either side. Kill that and it'd be perfect.

EDIT: And I'd like to reiterate what a wonderful site it is... you have a lot of talent, and I hope you fulfill your ambitions to become a graphic designer! There are people worse than you that already work that job, so keep at it. ;)

The one on there now is meant to be temporary. :P I'll think about it.

Unless I change the layout, I will do that. ;)

Thanks a lot, Danny! That means so much to me!

Oh, no, I mean if you want to redo the design, by all means go ahead. I'm sure you can do better. I was just saying in order to fix the immediate problem of the horizontal scrolling all you needed to do was remove the padding -- I meant that the scrolling issue alone was not enough to warrant a complete redesign. ;)

I mean it! You've continually impressed me with your various visual works and you clearly have a plethora of talent already -- imagine what a few years of practice and a course of study at university could do for you! You'd be at the top of your field in no time at all.

By the way, is what it says on the "About Me" section of your site correct about your age? It says you're only 13 years old! I honestly had you pegged for around 16 or 17! If that's correct, then may I say you speak and act well beyond your years. Such maturity in both talent and general demeanor is a welcome change from many 13-year-olds I know.

Thank you so much. :D

By the way, I've always had a soft spot for Ice Strike, as it was the very first of those images I made. :)

Haha, you're right, it does look very cool! But then again, all of them look quite good. ;)

I find myself looking at Cool Ripple a lot. You've really done well on all of them!

Thanks again! I created Cool Ripple only last Saturday, but I'm very proud of all of my work. :)

It's kind of obvious that he's 13, by his user profile :P

Haha, Danny's been defeated by his own forum. ;)

I have to agree though, of all the 13 year olds I know (....what!), you're the most mature and pleasant one to speak with....even if we rarely do speak on a live basis. :P

I do know another pleasant 13 year old, but he had to ruin it by being overly enthusiastic about model railways.... I mean, sure, spending some time on that is fine, but I'm not interested enough in it to warrant an hour long conversation on it. ;)

Thank you, Jez! :)

I would just like to warn everyone that Crystal Brush will look really strange and messed up for the next few days (hopefully less), as I'm in the making of the new design. Thanks! ;)

And how old were you when you started? Anyone who can do graphic design on computers before their testicles have barely dropped 1 cm is a genius in my book.

About 10 or 11 years old. ;)

now that is an impressive age

Thanks, Ben!

I've updated the site with a new design but it's not entirely complete. Hopefully it will be finished tomorrow, but for now, feast your eyes! :D

I've finally updated everything! Enjoy! :D

http://www.crystalbrush.com

http://www.crystalbrush.com/images/bvwf.gif

I must say, the new design is looking fabulous. You have a lot to be proud of -- the site looks great!

uh, Dalek, can I point out that your text is quite unreadable against that dark background.

Thank you so much, Danny! :)

I don't find it very unreadable. The text isn't dark. :confused:

Dalek, I have been looking at your graphic design work and really think you are doing well. For a best friend, i dont often tell you how smart you really are. Please contiune in this great work and i truly look foward to seeing more!

Pleasure to be a friend of such a smart kid! :D

who?

Thank you very much, Who!

Very welcome! :D

You 2 know eachother in real life then?

Who? said that in his introduction post. :P

You know I never told my friends how smart they were (nor did they tell me the same). We just called each other dumb arse all the time. ;)