Author: lemsy

John LeMasney (lemsy) is an artist, graphic designer, and technology creative. He is located in beautiful Nelson County, VA, but works remotely with ease. Contact him at: lemasney@gmail.com to discuss your next creative project.

Categories
portfolio

A twitter backdrop by John LeMasney via 365sketches.org #Inkscape #background

Twitter backdrop by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
Twitter backdrop by John LeMasney via lemasney.com lemasney, design, open source, creative commons, cc-by, typography, poster, Inkscape, GIMP Look at my favorite images from this project on the My Favorite Pieces page
Twitter backdrop by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
Twitter backdrop by John LeMasney via lemasney.com lemasney, design, open source, creative commons, cc-by, typography, poster, Inkscape, GIMPLook at my favorite images from this project on the My Favorite Pieces page

It’s fairly easy to make a custom Twitter background in Inkscape. My advice is to find one you like, right-click on it and choose view background image, then save it as a starting point. If it’s anything like most of the ones I’ve seen, it will be in the range of 1000 pixels high by 1800 pixels wide. There are places for certain elements, such as a side banner, which are covered if it extends too far to the right from the left. With Inkscape, you can experiment with placements, or as I suggested, start with someone else’s. So in Inkscape, either start with a new 1800×1000 pixel image or import your saved exemplar twitter background then create a rectangle of the same size, and then use your imagination. Calligraphy tools, effects, masking, and the new 0.48 Spraypaint tool all work great! Hope you have fun with it.

If you like this image, please share it. If you use it, please attribute me, and thanks! (cc-by lemasney)

lemasney, twitter, background, design, open source, creative commons, cc-by, typography, poster, Inkscape, GIMP

Look at my favorite images from this project on the My Favorite Pieces page

Related articles

 

Categories
portfolio requests

217 of 365 is for the weighted companion cube from Portal [design] #Inkscape

Weighted Companion Cube from Portal by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
Weighted Companion Cube from Portal by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
Weighted Companion Cube from Portal by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
Weighted Companion Cube from Portal by John LeMasney via lemasney.com

So my friend Robert has been trying to get me into gaming. He alerted me to the fact that the gaming platform called Steam was coming to Mac OS a few months back, and they offered a free game called Portal as an incentive to get you to download and install the engine. I loved the game, a mix of strategy, first person play, and a manipulation of the physical world that is just amazing. One mission from the game involves having to travel with a weighted companion cube throughout the level, and without giving too much away, you end up having to do something horrible to it at the end of the level. Since it’s just a bunch of metal, you needn’t care so much, but many do. Robert asked me to do a sketch based on my feelings about this event in the game. So, here’s my note of apology to the weighted companion cube, with an acceptable excuse, I hope. 🙂

Categories
portfolio requests

216 of 365 is a Takoma Plays bumper sticker [design] #Inkscape @philshapiro @ewingnj

Takoma Plays by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
Takoma Plays by John LeMasney via lemasney.com

So Phil Shapiro, a regular commenter and visitor to this project, suggested a sketch for a volunteer project that promotes play. That’s right — an organization to make sure that play is on the minds of Takoma Park visitors. I love it so much I’d like to propose it for my own town of Ewing, NJ. I’m always looking for ways in which happiness can be increased on a larger scale; I’m deeply interested in studies and stats about happiness and how it is recorded and shared. Hint: Happiness is not usually associated/concurrent with money. I’d love to see the effects of citywide play adoption on happiness.

At any rate, Phil asked me to design a bumper sticker for the newish organization, and I was more than happy to oblige. Below is an example of their current branding. I’m hoping maybe next time I’ll get a shot at helping them to relaunch their entire brand. 🙂

Takoma Plays logo
Takoma Plays logo
Categories
portfolio requests

215 of 365 is a field of dreams [illustration] Inkscape @scarbonaro

Field of dreams by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
Field of dreams by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
Field of dreams by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
Field of dreams by John LeMasney via lemasney.com

I myself had a rough time with sports through my life. I really was a very bad baseball player, and had some success with basketball. Football is something that just escapes me. If you’ve never met me, I’m a bit of a tank. I’m not proud of it, it just is. Always has been. I earned the rage of my high school football team and earned a lot of school-wide enemies by dropping off the team after two games in my freshman year. I hated the game. I didn’t understand why I was being asked to (specifically) hurt people. I personally feel like my lack of interest in team sports was kind of a wedge between me and my dad, one of my sisters, and many co-workers for whom team sports is a kind of religion. A handful of close friends are highly avid fanatics for sports teams, though, and it’s something I ask from time to time: Why do you care about (team name)? What is it that makes you so excited? I’ve never gotten an answer that was personally satisfying. But to them, it’s a way of life that requires jacket and mug purchasing, score retweets, and spontaneous play by play monologue for everyday actions. I don’t get it, but I still love them.

Suzanne Carbonaro is a friend, an avid NY teams fan, and a long time collaborator in many projects. She recently made the request for a field of dreams with a pretty sunset, and I hope I came through for her.

Categories
portfolio

214 of 365 is lightning outside the airplane [illustration] #Inkscape

Lightning outside the plane by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
Lightning outside the plane by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
Night flight storm
Night flight storm

So, those of you who are friends of mine on Facebook (lemasney) saw a status after my recent night flight home from Orlando. I said that I had seen an amazing lightning storm outside of the plane from a distance and it has haunted me in a very good way ever since. The brilliant colors, bright lights, and bulbous clouds has a real impact on my imagination. We were far enough away that we were never in any danger, as far as I could tell. We were also close enough so that I could see the enormity of the storm. It was right on eye level and it was mesmerizing. I tried desperately three times to capture it on video or in a photo, but it just escaped my lens. It would never have matched my imagination anyway, which is why I love Inkscape. I’m able to make whatever I can see in my mind in the finest detail out of whole cloth. 🙂

Categories
portfolio requests

213 of 365 is a pentaptych about the Old Spice Guy’s #library tweet #Inkscape

Old Spice guy library sketch by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
Old Spice guy library sketch by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
Old Spice guy
Old Spice guy

Andy Woodworth, a NJ Librarian and friend, suggested a part of the response to his tweet to the recently retired Old Spice Guy (OSG), a video in which OSG talked up some of the benefits of libraries, which in turn started some larger conversations and discussions about the interactions of commercial ventures and libraries and what that means. Andy details the exchange here. The video in part stated, in typical genius, freethought OSG style:

“I’m handsome. You’re pretty. Let’s eat peanut butter. Stop throwing pigeons. Jump onto that giraffe.”

Nice work, Andy, for keeping the discussion public and going, and we’ll miss you OSG.