Who is Your Graphics Guy?
 
 
Hi! I’m Blake Barr and I’m Your Graphics Guy! I have been involved in the field of computer graphics since the early 1980s when I would use a friend’s Macintosh computer to design flyers for my weekend comic book conventions. My college studies included a wide assortment of programming languages, none of which where as much fun as just drawing on the thing!
 
In 1989, I was hired to assist the Creative Associate of an in-house advertising agency for an international organization. Two weeks later when the Creative Associate quit, though not because of his new assistant, I became the Creative Associate (since I was the only one in the company who could turn on the computer). And so began my “official” career which has included technical, design and managerial experience in publishing, service bureau and agency environments on both Macintosh and PC platforms.
 
My skills include page layout, illustration, image editing, presentation, multimedia, prepress, web site development, 2D animation, 3D animation, motion graphics and non-linear digital editing. I have experience consulting and training others in corporate classroom and onsite environments, and have served as a college instructor in Bachelor degree programs for Animation, Advertising, and Digital Arts and Technology, as well as Associate degree programs for Animation, Computer Graphics and Interactive Media.
 
While using a wide assortment of software for my design work, early associations with Corel Corporation in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, led to my involvement in Beta Testing Corel products, primarily their flagship product CorelDRAW! I have won honorable mentions and a first place award in Corel Corporation’s Annual World Design Contest, a contest that draws entries from countries around the world. At Corel Corporation’s invitation, I have served as a judge for the same contest. I am also one of 26 people in the world to be certified by Corel Corporation as a Premier Corel Certified Instructor for CorelDRAW! I am also a certified Adobe Education Trainer, one of the first to be trained and certified in this area by Adobe.
 
In addition to providing computer training, I was invited to be a guest speaker at Corel’s First Annual World Conference in Ottawa. I have been a conference speaker at the San Antonio FOSE Computer Exposition and the state conference of the Association for Computer Educators in Texas. I was also a conference speaker at the 25th Annual SIGGRAPH Conference in Orlando, Florida. Other related speaking engagements have included radio talk shows, user groups, high school journalism departments, and high school career days.
 
I have always tried to be active in my industry through local, national and international user groups. I was the founder of the Desktop Publishing, PageMaker and CorelDRAW! Special Interest Groups of the Alamo PC Organization in San Antonio, Texas. I have served as the faculty advisor of the Student SIGGRAPH Chapter at the International Academy of Design in Tampa, Florida. I have also served as the Chair of the Tampa Bay ACM SIGGRAPH Professional Chapter, the Senior Vice President of the Tampa Bay Official 3DStudio MAX Users’ Group, and the acting Chair of the Atlanta ACM SIGGRAPH Professional Chapter.
 
Presently I work for a computer training company in the Boston area. I also provide freelance design services to a variety of companies and have a business developing marketing and other materials for magicians and related entertainers. If you came here looking for that, please visit www.CustomMagicCards.com.