Creativity in Motion
Art Director Robin Dick

The holidays are a happy, hectic blur of candy canes, parties, and a good excuse to shop, but the new year is what I’m looking forward to. I don’t do “resolutions”—too much artificial pressure; anyone who knows me will agree I don’t need more of that. But as 2009 gets closer, I do have intentions, both professional and personal. As Mac|Life’s art director, I have the luxury of working with some of the smartest tech whiz kids in the business, not to mention access to the latest and greatest state-of-the-art gear. With an eye for design, plus the right hardware and tools, we can make multimedia magic.

 

Robin's gifts for giving...

Pricier cameras may have more bells and whistles, but I still love the D40.

For the friends at the top of my list, I’ll be wrapping up my favorite tools to open up their photographic possibilities. First, the always-dependable—and affordable—Nikon D40 ($499.95, www.nikonusa.com) comes with an ultra-compact 3x Nikkor lens, can shoot up to 2.5 frames per second, takes beautiful 6.1-megapixel images, and is easy to use, thanks to the intuitive controls and in-camera editing.

My friends’ will turn their living rooms into art galleries with archive-quality prints from the R2880.

For gallery-quality prints, I’ll toss in the Epson Stylus Photo R2880 ($799.99, www.epson.com). It uses Epson UltraChrome K3 pigment inks for smudge- and fade-resistant color prints in tons of sizes, and even supports printing on rolled photo paper for gorgeous panoramas. The possibilities for their creativity are endless.

 

Robin's gifts for getting...

My life is cluttered enough without DV tapes—I’ll archive footage from the flash-based HF11 onto a spare 1TB hard drive.

I have a very creative job, but my art generally lives on paper. Lately, I’ve wanted it to move, so this year I’ve got my eye on Canon’s Vixia HF11 Dual Flash Memory Camcorder ($1,199; www.canon.com). This baby has a 32GB flash drive, plus a slot for SDHC cards, and records full high-definition video, 1,920 by 1,080 pixels. With my trusty Mac Pro, I can edit the AVCHD video clips in iMovie 08, or step up to Final Cut Express ($199, www.apple.com).

 

In 2009 Robin resolves to...

After Effects will let me add snazzy motion graphics and special effects to my movie projects.

If I have to make an official resolution, I resolve to get moving! Inspired by the title sequence of the film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and a home video of a sassy 4-year-old, I’ve decided to pursue my interest in motion graphics, combining my passions for art, typography, and design with my love of film and video. To help, I’ll be leaning on Adobe After Effects CS4 ($999, www.adobe.com), a powerful tool for playing with 2D and 3D animation and compositing. A Wacom Intous3 9x12 tablet ($449, www.wacom.com) will help my hands keep up with my imagination.