My interest in graphic design started at sixteen, when I downloaded my first copy of Adobe Photoshop. My friend Nick introduced me to b3ta and I became an active member, posting shoddy Photoshops that lampooned the celebrities of the day. I also used Photoshop to live out my teenage fantasies, by placing myself next to The Beatles or on stage with Bright Eyes.

Later, Photoshop became an important tool when designing the covers for my books and my album, or while putting together websites. My early websites showed my ineptitude with both HTML and PHP code and graphic design, but as my experience in both grew I was able to do more complex work.

Let It Bean: One of my first Photoshops

A turning point came when I put together the (now-defunct) PhotoShopPaul website, where me and my friends at college could take a variety of source photos of our classmate and compete to Photoshop him in to bizarre situations. Members were able to submit their own source and altered photos, and even to vote on each other’s uploads.

Now, I practice graphic design on a daily basis when designing and creating Facebook tabs, blog posts and web pages for clients. I also created all of the custom graphics on this website, as well as working on the coding and copy. Since Laura won a copy of Adobe CS5 Web Premium at Media Pro Expo, my work as a graphic designer looks set to continue!

Uncle Dane