When I moved to Portland, Oregon, Michael James Schneider was one of the first friends I made after I tagged along with a mutual friend, to his Friendsgiving Dinner. I knew right away that he was a passionate artist, and watching his career grow since 2015 has been really cool. Even better that I get to contribute here and there while he's on his adventures setting up art installations, participating in art residencies, taking hilarious photos, filming puppets, and fighting for social change and equality.
I'm so honored I get to be one of the team! https://www.blcksmthdesign.com/
Photo Retouch
Over the years I've had all kinds of requests -from changing the colors of the balloons, to fixing/smoothing the deflated/crunchy ones, sometimes there are letters missing (they do tend to fly away), sometimes there's a glare, unwanted item, weird sign, graffiti, boring sky, not enough flowers, weird pose/facial expression, etc.
I'VE SEEN AND FIXED IT ALL!
Photoshop is my happy place, so these photo retouch/manipulation challenges have been a lot of fun!
Logo Animation and Patch Collection Design 2024
I altered Michael's previous logo design, by illustrator Nick Fauble, by changing the valve at the bottom. I came up with 4 different concepts before we decided on this animation. The patch designs were a lot of fun -Michael had them made and gives them out to volunteers at his various art installation photo shoots and events.
City of Music Collage Animation 2023
Why is Nashville called "The City of Music"? Michael had a residency in Nashville and wanted to do something special for his social media!
I had been dying to play around with some collage animation, so he gave me the green light and I loved how it turned out!
MERCH Designs 2022
I designed some of the images for Michael's merchandising, based on his Insta-famous balloon quote posts!
A portion of the proceeds go to SMYRC, a trans and gender non-conforming youth resource center!
Check out the collection here: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/blcksmth
Social Distancing Text Animation 2020
During the pandemic, Michael created his own inception with a puppet video series called "Social Distancing", reflecting on his own life, thru the dolls and doll house that he transported around the city of Portland. I got to design and animate the texting graphics, the title animation, and a few other scenes for the series.
Check out the episode "stories" HERE on instagram!
ACLU of Oregon Fundraiser: "Box Wine Boyfriend" Wedding 2019
The "Box Wine Boyfriend Wedding" was an event Michael created to raise money for the ACLU of Oregon after his Box Wine Boyfriend posts went viral. The reception was a carnival-like experience, with performers, photo ops, face painting, and tarot card readings with Box Wine Boyfriend-themed cards, designed by me.
See the tarot card designs and read more about the event HERE!
