Napkins & Pens…Where would I be without Napkins & Pens?

“If you think my painting section is big, the digital portfolio is absolutely gargantuan. I love coming up with designs and ideas, either for clients or myself, and most of the time, believe it or not, most ideas begin with a napkin and a pen. I’ve done design work for a variety of final output mediums ranging from print, to HD video, web or 3D print or machining. With each output format, they each have different constraints which can and do affect how the work is produced. If you want something for print, you go down slot A, if you want something that appears inside a dynamically rendered environment like a game, its slot B, if you want it manufactured, its slot C. My first computer was one I shared with my first roommate, it was a 486 DX4-100 and thanks to another buddy, he taught me the basics of web design of click here to go there, click to go back. Since my journey began, I’ve not only produced work across the entire spectrum of output formats, I’ve learned their idiosyncratic details and overcome countless issues because cerebral problem solving comes with the turf.”-Joe Green

Today’s software suites have become so immensely powerful, most people, by virtue of their career choice, tend to stay within their hemisphere of work and never venture out beyond using those tools. Given how complex the software is, its understandable.  Green has made it a point to “close the loop” so to speak, by learning all the software to not only produce regardless of output formats, concept design all the way to finished works within print, web, 3d, games and printed/machined pieces. In his quest to build the Super Arrow, he’s had to enhance his skills by spending an immense amount of time learning how to use these formats, learn their limitations, overcome them and produce a beautiful final piece.

“With my military book for example, not only did I have to do all the contract negotiations for permissions to use various images, I had to ensure the gallery within the book looked as beautiful as it could. I built a website for it, equipped it with e-commerce and sold it to raise funds for a non-profit which promotes women’s rights and literacy in the middle east.”

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Never Stop Learning. EVER!

In one form or another, Green has used all of these tools at one time or another. Each of these software suites have their own way of doing things, some are good, some not so good, all of them are complicated and the worst is when a decision is made to eliminate a software suite one has come to use often. When Green first started out, many within the field made insulting and dismissive remarks towards him, all of which threw into overdrive, his passion to master these ultra-complicated suites. Now nearly two decades later,  Green has mastered the various suites which enable him to close the loop, coupled with the fact that he is an elite-level digital artist, when he ventures directly into the engineering world for rapid prototyping and manufacturing, he is able to bring his wealth of art experience into that world and do, essentially what these technicians and engineers can’t, produce, magnificent and inspiring pieces of digital art to life, using tools that technicians use, but lack the creative spark he has. With his tenacious drive and work ethic, having one foot in the high end digital with one foot in the high end analogue, he’s been able to experience the finest qualities within those he works with and can bring to bear a creative solution, normally only found within the artistic lunatic community Green, lovingly refers to as his art friends. Thanks to the wonderful blessing of experiencing Emily Carr, with the friends he made while in the crucible which forges artists, being able to literally be thrown a simple idea, by sharing viewpoints with others, brainstorming really insane ideas, adding them to a process which would deliver a fully blown story line, when Green is approached with a problem within the aerospace or other world, that process learned at Emily Carr, kicks in WHAM! The ideas flow, flow freely, fast, the model in the minds eye naturally finds its level it needs to be at and sometimes its like watching a process take place in front of your eyes similar to how when a painting seizes you and you are its master. The painting knows what it wants to be and uses you as its tool. Its that addiction of that process which has become so fused into Green, if each atom in his body were a coin, the obverse side would be that process.

Tools are Tools.What Are you Making?

Time is by far the most precious tool you have. In life, you use tools to make tools to deal with life. They come in the form of emotional tools to process hardships or in the process to plan a party for a loved one. Its how you think at an ultra basic level. What is it that you are doing, making, communicating with, inspiring or something else? Investment wealth tools…what are you funding, building, researching, developing or something else? Tick tock. What are you doing? “I cannot begin to convey to you how truly important it is to always do right by people. It is part of my deep personal philosophy. What are you doing to inspire and build? What does the embodiment of this process represent? This process of hyper critical analysis was also part of my training: to always examine the significance and meaning in behind absolutely every project, idea, every element and aspect of each idea and repeat the process until the end. If this process was similar to a diamond with 100 facets, this hyper-critical deep analysis would occur 100 times. ‘So I ask you, what are you doing?‘”

With his strict adherence to this doctrine, placing all the emphasis on the human/soul condition, money and profit, will never displace those values of always try to do right by others, inspire, create, be gentle and kind, but ruthless in the self expectation of absolute excellence. Money is a tool to make it right, but it is simply in its intrinsic form, is a brainless tool for the expression of the individual or group. These tools have served Green right with his deep respect for public service.