Who is Daniel Pitner?
Overview
I am a contemporary artist working mainly in digital media. At Southwestern Assemblies of God University I received my basics peppered with a few bible courses, and then decided to pursue a career in art. I then got my degree in 3D Computer Animation from the Art Institute of Dallas. However, most of my work is for the web, but recently I've begun delving into new types of art. I am a Christian and so I'm putting my faith to practice and have been producing print art for homes and offices.
A Texan born and raised, you can see the influence of my upbringing in this new-found passion for print as it exhibits a certain rustic quality merged with a message of hope, grace, peace and love. Jesus is at the center of these pieces of work, and my hope is that He's also at the center of everyone's heart.
Web site design and Flash development encompass most of my portfolio. My freelance is where most of my work has been derived. Churches, dog rescues, and other non-profit agencies are among the list of many clients. I discriminate a bit when approached by potential clients. I want to help people and make the world a better place, so that's the kind of client I try to help build web site.
Technichal
Visual Design Skills & Experience For over five years now I have worked to sharpen my skills applicable to graphic and web design. I've grown with each project I complete and have become more and more efficient at using the programs necessary for this line of work such as:
- Dreamweaver
- Flash
- Photoshop
- Illustrator
- ImageReady
- InDesign
- AfterEffects
- Premier
- SoundForge
- Vegas
...and many others.
My current position at Fidelity National Financial has afforded me the opportunity to polish up my ability to design slick corporate styled websites. There I've been designing web portals for intra-office communication that have to abide by certain corporate standards that the company regards highly. However, I have still been given certain creative freedoms for giving the sites just a bit of an update to more functional ways of designing such as sleek glass-type interfaces that give a site that extra pop.
Experience Desiging Websites My formal training is in 3D Computer Animation, however I've actually been able to leverage that knowledge and apply it to my Flash capabilities. Flash is my favorite *toy* because it gives me so much room to play in design, development, and programming.
Working at AdvoCare I was responsible for designing HTML email campaigns, again working closely with IT to make sure it was perfectly optimized and ready to go before delivery. Although many consider it "cyber junk mail", HTML emails are vital for any company into today's modern era.
I believe that at this moment in time there are three distinct types of web design of which I am proficient in all three:
- HTML Table Design
I learned basic table design while at The Art Institute of Dallas where I had to construct an online portfolio using Dreamweaver and ImageReady. This was how I was able to explore the options of web designing, even though my degree was in Animation.
- Rich Flash Interactive Experiences
Then I was introduced to the wonderful world of Flash which I've made my bread and butter. It was with this application and the abilities it gave me on the computer screen that helped me make my mark on the World Wide Web.
- Web 2.0 Design
Now, with everything shifting toward combining sleek design with functionality I have begun designing and developing some of my sites as Web 2.0 compliant. This includes (X)HTML 1.0 Transitional verified sites that are laid out with div tags and verified CSS rather than tables, giving me the designer a much more powerful grasp to make the site visually pleasing while being functional and optimized for the best loading times and content placement.
These three "models" of design are in my repertoire of work which I use on a daily basis. I believe having these skills has given me the ability to build a four star client base for myself which includes Johnson & Johnson out of Pennsylvania, Imaginuity Interactive, Inc of Dallas, Texas, talks with Rapp Collins Design Agency of Irving, TX, and others I cannot name due to contractual bindings. I was also mentioned with special thanks in a White Paper Case Study by Charles Kim for Oracle Maximum Availability Architecture which you can view by going to http://www.oracle.com/technology/deploy/availability/htdocs/FNF_CaseStudy.html where you'll see my name listed toward the bottom.
On a Personal Level
In my spare time I'm an artist, a drummer, and a gamer.
The Art
The art I like to create in my off-time coincidintally is the same kind of art I like to create in my on-time; digital media. I want to be the best artist I can be, and I don't think you get there by simply wanting it, you have to do it. That's why when I'm not at work creating websites and other media I'm at home on my Mac Pro playing with my software toys and doing everything I can to get better and better. I crave more knowledge in the area of new design and love finding creative ways to implement it.
The Music
I've been drumming since I was 11. At the moment I'm 27 so it's been a reasonably long time since I started. I've been in a couple of rock bands and since I was about 16 have played for my church, Foursquare Family Church. This more like a hobby that becomes an obsession every now and again. Much like my art, in the same way I like to better myself at this 'hobby'. However, the idea of doing it for a living sounds pretty cool, but I'm afraid I'd get burned out pretty fast and wouldn't enjoy it the way I do now. Nope, I just like playing for the Lord.
Gaming Junkie
There's nothing like playing a first-person shooter after a long day of desiging websites. I have both an xbox360 and a PS3. Both bring me comfort and joy but the 360 has xbox live which I thoroughly love. Yes, the Playstation has an online 'network', but it's nowhere near the breadth of the xbox network. My favorites on the 360 include Halo [1, 2, & 3], Gears of War, Rainbow Six: Vegas, GRAW [1 & 2], BioShock, and I know I'll love Mass Effect simply because I've loved everything BioWare has produced up to now. On the PS3 I really liked Resistance, and loved Heavenly Sword. That's about it for now until they start putting out some better stuff. Ratchet & Clank is an awesome franchise and the Lord knows my wife can't resist it, so I'm sure it'll be awesome.
In Conclusion
As you can see I have had a prosperous 5+ years of web & graphic design. With each new project, each new client, and each new job, I have pushed myself further making sure never to get left behind and made obsolete. I will continue on as I have, to better myself and improve my design skills; and with the new CS3 release, the first since the Macromedia / Adobe merge, I'm hungry to get working at the creative end of things. This is not just my job, it is my passion!
