This is a big day for me for a couple of reasons. The first being, obviously, the launch of this new site you are currently on. This site is literally the site of my dreams. Ever since I figured out that what I’m good at is not just one thing, but many things, I set out on a mission to build a site that would be a sort of “command central” or a general hub where you can find out what all my projects are and where they lead to. Its been a few years since the original idea was thought of but only recently had things finally fallen into a place where I could act upon the new technology and skills I had picked up along the way to actually make this site happen.

The fact that I am a much better designer and developer than I have ever been was a huge motivating factor that led to the creation of this site. Also being constantly annoyed at myself for not really being active in the design community like I used to be had a huge impact. What I was stuck in for the longest time was a constant circle of doing everything EXCEPT design. And that bugged the hell out of me. Its been a few years since I updated my old portfolio site DesignByRaul with any new work. Even though I work full-time as an Art Director at Something Massive, to an outsider I made it seem as though I had put down the Wacom pen and Force Quit Photoshop for good.

Luckily that is not the case. I’m taking things back to how they used to be. Back when I was at the height of my game. Doing all the things I loved to do, design / illustration / photography / music, and also a new hobby I have recently picked up, woodworking! One of my main goals in life is to inspire and motivate people to do the things they love or would love to do. And one way I have figured out how to do this is by pushing myself to constantly be in a state of learning and be entirely open about it. I always try to make it a goal to fully document and archive any new skills or techniques I set out to learn or teach myself so that I set an example to those who follow my work that really, anything is possible if you just start. In the words of the mighty Jedi Master Yoda, “Do. Or do not. There is no try.”

I know I’ve done this before but needless to say this time around I’m kind of in a different mindset where I’m making it a goal. No, a mission. No, a responsibility to actively pursue and commit to practicing, learning, using, and creating things with all of the areas of skill I possess. I am one of the lucky few who actually learns things on my own for the sake of wanting to learn how to make cooler and cooler things. It really is kind of strange to explain but another one of the main reason I do the things I do is primarily to impress myself and exceed my own expectations of what the human mind is capable of doing.

And this new sense of responsibility has put me in a place where I feel comfortable with juggling all of my ongoing projects without going insane from all the stress and pressure I needlessly put myself under the last few years.

All in all, I just hope you all will follow me on this journey where I continue to make cool shit for a living. I know that sounds mega lame and cheesy but really, everything I do is all incredibly exciting to me. But like I said before, I’m here to inspire and provide a constant source of knowledge. Hope you guys will stick around for awhile and check out the rest of the site. It’s one of my proudest creations to date :]

– Raul