Category: Behance Network

Behind The Project: A World Beyond What We Can See

In this series, we’ll look deeper into some of the projects on Behance.net that were especially admired in our community. This time, we spoke with Nathan Spotts, a freelance photographer in California who studied at San Francisco’s Academy of Art. In his project “Unrealistic Scenes,” he created stunning images of scenes that are “not-quite real, but that almost could be.”

What was your inspiration for this project?
Science Fiction and astronomy! I’ve been a rabid sci-fi fan ever since I could read, and the visuals in many sci-fi films have been groundbreaking and breathtaking. I wanted to bring that feeling of out-of-this-world awe to my photography. At the same time, these images are also a representation of what exists above us. I’ve noticed that people don’t look up very often, but I am one that does.



Can you describe your process in creating this project?
First is the concepting phase, fleshing out the idea. Finding locations and photographing them is the next step, which often can take some time due to travel and weather. Editing and development takes place in Lightroom, and then the photos are moved to Photoshop for compositing. Blending of the sky, ocean, and stars is done with adjustment layers and masks. Once the photos are blended, some global adjustments and retouching is done for finishing touches. Each image in the project tends to get more complicated not just visually, but in the layer stack as well, so the project is also a way for me to push myself technically and conceptually.

Did anything interesting happen as a result of the success of this project? (fans contacting you, job opportunities, blogs picking it up, etc).
Only the launching of my actual art career! Job opportunities, reps, magazines, galleries, and many other people have taken an interest in my work as a result of the popularity of the project. My thanks goes out to the people who helped make it happen!

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Digital storyteller connects with “dream job” through Behance JobList

As part of our mission to empower creatives, the Behance JobList helps match the best creatives with the best opportunities. So, we were very excited to hear about photographer and filmmaker Chris Battaglia who found a unique job opportunity on Behance that was a perfect fit.

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I signed up for Twitter in July 2011, but chose not to engage the tweet portal until late August. I thought it a useful tool for spreading the word on a social justice documentary that I shot with my best friend.

This is me and Ben:

At this same time I tried to bolster our film, I also found myself in the throes of job hunting. Following a whopping 10 people, I thought I’d “up the ante” and seek out productive connections. One of them happened to be Behance—and subsequently, BehanceJobs.

I came upon this site months before this moment, perusing other artists’ work, but never invested more than a couple minutes of my time on the site. It’s basically a social networking site for creative people who want to highlight their portfolios and find work. Sounded right up my alley.

Not two weeks after following BehanceJobs did I scroll through my homepage feed to find this:

When I clicked on the link (no longer available, go figure: the job’s taken!), I was directed to a job description sent directly from the Heavens.

“Pencils of Promise is looking for a badass digital storyteller who wants to spend time in NYC and in Laos, Nicaragua and Guatemala. Ideally a visionary filmmaker and recent college graduate…”

Say no more! I have been taking my little Canon zr800 (a birthday gift from my father in freshman year of college) everywhere, documenting and filming everything I could. Telling stories was a hobby into which I poured my heart. This was perfect. I immediately applied to the posting.

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After a whirlwind interview and a last-minute flight to Guatemala, Chris had secured his “post-college dream job.” He’s now telling stories through photography and filmmaking for Pencils of Promise, a nonprofit organization that builds schools and increases educational opportunities in the developing world.

Read Chris’s story, and more about his experiences with Pencils of Promise, on his blog.

Movies From an Alternate Universe

Who would be better in Drive: Ryan Gosling or James Dean?

Substituting one decade’s heart-throb for another’s, we admit that even we can’t really decide, but in these “Movies from an Alternate Universe,” by Peter Stults, you can imagine what it would be like if the superstars of “old Hollywood” headlined in recent films.

This project went viral on Behance last week, gaining hundreds of Twitter mentions, picked up by blogs, getting almost 500,000 views and a staggering 10,000 appreciations on his Behance project.

Paste Magazine: Movies from an Alternate Universe
Gotcha Movies: William Shatner in Avatar? Reimagined Classic Movie Posters
The Mary Sue: Cinema Alternatif – Movies From A Parallel Earth

Pulp Fiction and Rushmore after the cut!

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Behance is even more Browsable – Follow our StumbleUpon Channel

StumbleUpon recently launched a new feature - Channels – and we’re happy to be one of the first on board!  If you’re a Stumbler, and you follow The Behance Channel, you’ll get to see more stellar Behance projects whenever you Stumble.

For those not familiar with StumbleUpon:
StumbleUpon is a discovery engine that helps you discover new and interesting stuff on the web. Tell them what you like, and they’ll introduce you to amazing web pages, videos, photos and more that you wouldn’t have found on your own.

By following a Behance Channel, for example, you’re letting StumbleUpon know that they should show you content from Behance when you stumble.

Enjoy!

Your Portfolio In Your Pocket: Introducing The Behance Network iPhone App!

You’ve been requesting it for years, and it has arrived! This month, we launched the Behance Network iPhone app, which will allow you to keep the creative world at your fingertips, and carry your portfolio in your pocket. Key features:

  • Sync your own Behance portfolio for future display without internet connection.
  • Search and explore millions of projects on Behance.net.
  • Access your profile, collections, and portfolio statistics.
  • Explore portfolios for creatives on LinkedIn, AIGA, AdWeek, SVA, and other Behance-powered sites.
  • Browse the award-winning “Served” Galleries for Fashion, Typography, Photography, Digital Art, and more.
  • Follow the work by top creatives on Behance and manage your connections.

12 Creative Inspirations From The Behance Network on Get Addicted To

Get addicted to features a daily dose of inspiration ranging from beautifully designed analog synths to hand-knit fonts, alongside a wide variety of other international visual treasures. That said, it’s only natural that several Behance projects end up on get addicted to! Here are a few of their recent favorites:


Logo interpretation for Wired Magazine.
In each issue of WIRED, a graphic artist re-interprets their classic logo. Here’s a close-up of one take by Piotr Buczkowski.

Get Addicted To also noticed this incredible chalk-drawing project (that’s been at the top of Behance’s “most appreciated” list in recent weeks). VIB is a life sciences research institute, based in Flanders, Belgium. For their fifteenth anniversary, Coming Soon did the entire event branding, for which they used only chalk and a huge blackboard. The agency also designed a box with nine books with more then 200 large chalk drawings in it.

Read Full Article: 12 Creative Inspirations From The Behance Network

The Top 10 Most Appreciated Projects of 2011

Before making the leap into an even more productive and creative year, we decided to celebrate with some Behance highlights from 2011. Check out our roundup of the top 10 Most Appreciated projects from the year and congrats to all the creatives that made the list:


#10: Minimalist effect in the maximalist market

by Mehmet Gozetlik (Istanbul, Turkey)

Mehmet Gozetlik redesigns the packaging for well-known products like Red Bull and Nutella with a much more simplistic approach. The outcome is a new series of clean and simple packages.


#9: Pictogram music posters

by Viktor Hertz (Uppsala, Sweden)

Viktor Hertz, the only Behance member to have 2 projects in Behance’s top 10 most appreciated list, makes his first appearance with this series of Pictogram Music Posters. From 8 Days a Week to Peace on Earth, Hertz gives these songs new life with his simple graphics.

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Find your Facebook & Twitter Contacts on Behance

Guess what? Now you can find and follow even more creatives by syncing your Behance profile with Facebook and Twitter. Discover which of your contacts are already on Behance, and connect with them using this new feature. It’s time to start sharing your creative work with the people you already know.

Here’s how to set it up:

Step 1: When you’re logged in to your Behance profile select “Find Creatives to Follow” from the Connections drop down.

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Celebrating the Art Center Gallery: A Video Shout-Out

At Behance, we passionately believe that having your portfolio online and accessible is the most important thing you can do to advance your career as a creative professional. For design students, this is especially important. We recently began powering a gallery site for Art Center College of Design; now, students and alum can showcase their work using the gallery. Our Behance Campus Ambassadors talked to some key professors and administrators at Art Center to get their thoughts on the new gallery and the advantages it’ll bring to their students and network.

We’re thrilled with this video they put together. Enjoy!

A few of our favorite quotes that you’ll hear:

“Everyday, people call us with something they want to hire someone for, and 9/10 times, they ask, ‘So where can I see the work and the portfolios?’ Now we can direct them here.” - Courtney Striklin // Associate Director, Career Development

“Behance becomes a megaphone. You take the efforts of a single department, and you give that power to students.” - Jered Gold // Directior, Public Relations and Communications

“Prospective students from around the world can now see the caliber of work that our students are doing.” - Jered Gold // Directior, Public Relations and Communications

“If you’re not online, you don’t exist.” – Nik Hafermaas // Department Chair, Graphic Design