One thing i love about art is spontaneity. i know as a graphic designer, this is probably one the last things i should say...i should know that design is about many thumbnail sketches, research, and providing the best solution for your client. but honestly, sometimes it's fun to push all of that aside and just have fun playing around with the many tools that are at your fingertips and see what exactly they can do. the purpose of this post is to show just how simple it can be to create complex design.

The image is above started out with me practicing with the pen tool in illustrator, which led to a copy, paste and resize, use of the blend tool, live paint, and distort filters. After messing around a bit, i noticed that the objects resembled guitars, so i put some basic rectangles in there to give them a "neck". Vwala!!



i just want to challenge everybody to take a little time every now and then to be spontaneous. Life doesn't always have to have an itinerary.....so have fun and step out of the box every once and a while!

It's another hot day here in Panama City Beach, so don't think i'm kidding when i say i'm taking full advantage of the God given technology of air conditioning!! After a liza's lunch delivery to the new Vue studio, baby B and i are back at home enjoying some Noggin and a warm bottle of baby grub.

Above is a design i have been working on in my free time. School is back in full swing for me, starting out with a digital illustration course....hopefully i'll gain some more inside into the world of illustrator.

Well, here it is....my very first blog. I never really imagined myself doing this; not because I think it's unnecessary, but to be quite frank, I'm not much of a writer, so maybe I should hire somebody to do this (?).

So i guess with the first post, i will tell a little about myself, my intentions and goals, as well as what to ex[pect] from this blog:

My name is Jared Knetzer. i'm 26 years old, currently enrolled in the Graphic Design program at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh online. Growing up, i had quite the imagination and fascination for art, even though at the time my own personal art didn't get past doodling in class. My older brother was the artist of the family, literally able to draw anything he saw or imagined. Rather than using him as a resource or tool, i became discouraged of what i wasn't able to do and turned from art for quite some time. As i neared the end of high school, i was introduced to the world of Photoshop. The more i messed with the program, the more i realized how much i missed my creative side.

After graduating from the Florida State University with a BA in criminology, i soon realized this was not the field i wanted to be in. As i was discouraged and depressed from the thought of paying student loans to something i wasn't using, my wife suggested going back to school for something i would enjoy. At first i thought she was crazy....i had been looking forward to never going back to school again, and when i finally got to that point, she was asking me to turn back around and do it over again....but it's a choice i will never regret.


Although i'm not 100% sure what i want to do in the graphic design field, i have many aspirations, obsessions, and interests. Since designing, i have fell in love with print design, whether it's screen printing, books, magazines, cd covers, or invitations/announcements...i'm there! I have a love for learning new things and find myself constantly searching the web for new resources, tools, and tutorials, so one of the goals of this blog is to be a resource to others like myself who have a desire to learn and expand their knowledge and talents.


This blog will also second as a portfolio for myself as an artist. Although i've been researching web design, i'm not too savvy with websites, so i will periodically posting projects i am working on for feedback as well as inspiration to others.


i am all about collaborated efforts, that's why i believe hiding lessons from others will only hinder yourself as a designer. If it weren't for the many tutorials i found online, I'm not quite sure where I would be as a designer. There are of course trade secrets that are preferred to be left to yourself, but I would also like this blog to be a community resource where designers can discuss and use each other as resources for their lives and careers.

i hope you find my blog to be of some use and/or interest. I will leave the floor to you to tell me what you would like to see/talk about and also leave you with some projects I have currently been involved in.






This is a save the date template...images, fonts, and colors are editable by the client. Photos by VuePhotgraphy.















Another save the date template. Photos by VuePhotography.

















Another save the date template. Photos by VuePhotography.












A Christmas greeting card i created for my family in 2008. Photos by VuePhotography.















Girl birth announcement...