Keil Illustration

Thank you for your interest.

Having working in the printing industry for over 20 years I have gained an in depth knowledge of the techniques and processes necessary for art work to be reproduced as it is intended. From scanning traditionally created pieces then color correcting them, to creating a high quality illustrations completely digitally, I provide a technically competent finished piece ready for production.

Among the several artistic skills I have developed, I have also placed an emphasis on my ability to work with others in a multitude of settings. In an industry that is very ego driven I have found several techniques to deal with conflicting ideas and personalities, enabling me to provide excellent work for the client that we can both be proud of.

While I enjoy working with a creative team environment I am also self motivated and work well independently if need be.

Whether on a team or on my own on a project, I do my best to work very closely with the client and keep them involved with the creative process as much as possible. I find that including the client throughout the process tends to result in less corrections and a finished illustration that the client feels more comfortable and happy with.

Another advantage I have to offer is that I am also a Graphic Designer and feel that an illustration should work with the pages layout and typography when ever possible. Many illustrators forget that the illustration is not necessarily the most important part of the finished piece and it needs to support the message being conveyed not overpower the other elements.

If you have liked what you have seen here on my web site and think I may be a good candidate for a project or even a position, please contact me. I am open to any possibility.

Again, thank you for your time and interest in my artwork and myself.

2005 - Now	Vatterott College - Instructor
	instruct classes in the following:	page layout and design using InDesign & Quark web design using xhtml, CSS and Dreamweaver photo enhancement and illustration using Photoshop creating logos and vector graphics using Adobe Illustratior traditional illustration and technics traditional and computer aided typography and layout design client/customer and emplorer relations professional comunications, speech and presentation teamwork and project/resource management

2003 - Now

Freelance Graphic Designer / Illustrator

corporate branding, branding guidlines and standards, design and layout, illustration, photography, web design, practical and digital video F/X and production

Freelance Clients

TD Ameritrade - Omaha,NE

Heartland Family Service - Omaha,NE

Hamond and Stevens - Fremont,NE

Take 2 Design - Omaha,NE

The Rhino Group - Omaha,NE

NP Dodge Corp - Omaha,NE

Peter B. Hustis - Omaha,NE

Complete Music - Omaha,NE

Tommy O's Rock'n Roll Salon - Omaha,NE

Dante's Neopalitiana Pizzarie - Omaha,NE

2000 - 2003

Mutual of Omaha - Client Technology Analyst

direct contact for the graphics department and the prepress department with the responsability of making
sure their technical needs were met while insuring tecnical compliance with the companies IT standards

provided technical support for macintosh computers, periferal hardware, and network

provided application support for all software used in the graphics department and prepress department

planned and maintained the budget for all Macintosh hardware and software

tested technology and organized CAT testing prior to its deployment into a production environment

implimented comparitve techology testing of similar technology for client

worked with other IT areas to document and streamline processes to ensure that Macintosh technology was planned for in the company’s infrastructure

trained other IT support staff in supporting the Macintosh computer and customer's requirements

worked with internal and external licience complience group to bring all Macintosh hardware and software
into licience complience

planned and implemented the multi-system transition from Mac OS 9.2.2 to Mac OS 10.2

researched, tested and implemented the direct to plate output system for the prepress department

1995 - 2000

Mutual of Omaha - Senior Graphic Designer

design and layout, illustration, photography, video and web graphics
worked with Agent Promotions department creating and managing multi-month promotional material including newsletters, catelogs, and other printed and video support material

designed visual look for new products and corisponding promotional material

created the visuals for several agent promotional contests, including event logos, posters, and multi-piece event packages

involved with the initial re-branding of the company

designed direct marketing packages for several products and regions

provided all technical support for Macintosh computers, applications and network prior to the support being brought officially under the control of the IT department

1992 - 1995

Bingo King - Senior Graphic Designer / Graphic Department Night Manager

as night manager I was responsible for the work-flow and its schedulaling through the art department and maintaining the press schedule

as manager, supervised four graphic designers and three prepress production artists

designed tickets and collateral marketing material such as posters, flyers, and flares

created the visual look of tickets and illustrated graphics for both the fronts and the symbols

worked with my direct report to create a process that enabled the company to internalize the creation of the ticket backs and save the company at least 1 million dollars yearly, by not out sourcing production

helped install and then maintained a direct to negative, Purip multi-media imagesetter

provided all technical support for Macintosh computers, applications and network

1991 - 1992	Oriental Trading Company - Product / Graphic Designer
	designing and illustrating product mock-ups to be sent for manufacturing creating illustrations used on various items produced and sold by the company all product design and illustrations were done traditionally with out the aid of a computer catelog page layout using QuarkXPress

1989 - 1991	Admar Agency - Graphic Designer
	layout and design using traditional methods and a Macintosh for typesettinge projects included, company branding, menues, newsletters and outdoor signage illutrations using; pencil, ink, airbrush and markers paste-up of camera ready artwork photography and set up for ads and brochures

Prior 1987

The Print Shop

various printing experiences, including paste-up, darkroom, stripping, and running various presses, stitchers and folders

I list this experience because it has influenced me troughout my career. I learned an enourmous amount about how the print industry works and what it takes to produce good quality printed material, that I have used to this day to make sure I produce excellent quality work. It also helps tramendously when working with printers/pressmen and when you find yourself working through a problem.

1987 - 1989	Associates Degree - VTI
	studied various techineques in layout and design, illustration, photography, typography

2000 - 2003	Apple OS/Server X and Hardware Certification - Apple

the following software listed are those that I have a thorough working knowledge of, but my knowledge is not limited to only those listed

Adobe PhotoShop
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe ImageReady
Adobe Acrobat
Adobe DreamWeaver

Adobe After Effects
Adobe Premier
Adobe SoundBooth
QuarkXpress
Corel Painter
Apple Final Cut Pro

Apple Sound Track
FileMaker Pro
Microsoft Word
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Excel
XHTML / CSS

HR Friendly Resumé

Photography
•all Digital
•Portraits
•Fashion / Hair and Make-up
•Events
•Product
•Character / Staged
•Digial Restoration
•Digital Coloration
•Digital Manipulation / Enhancement

Video
•HD Digital
•Events
•Commercials
•Training Video
•Pod Casts
•Video Editing
•Special F/X
•Presentations

Props and F/X
•Film and Theater
•Character Design
•People
•Creatures / Monsters
•anything else you can imagin
•Costume Design
•Creature / Monster Make-up
•Make-up / Prostetics
•Props: Three-Dementional
•Custom Weopons and Tools
•Set Design and Set Dressing
•Practical Special Effects (F/X)
•Gun Shots
•Wounds
•Events / Gags
•Dismemberments
•Disembowelments
•other Messy Moments
•Digital Enhancements

3-Dimentional (Non-Computer)
•Sculpture and Modeling
•Painting
•Organic and Mechanical
•Diaramas
•Scale Modeling
•Articulated Figures
•Charaacter Marquettes

Writing
•Creative Writing
•Scripts
•Headline and Ad Copy
•Instructional / Educational
•Presentation

Music - I Love practically al kinds of music and it is for me as important as breathing when working. I have no musical talent worth mentioning though, but I do love it. I play Rock Band with my wife and/or friends at least once a week. Yeah, it's scary but a-hell-of a-lot-of fun.

Film Making - I have always enjoyed movies. Together with two like minded friends, I have been involved in creating several low-budget indypendant short films. It's been a mixed bag as far as the end product goes, the experience I have gained from creating props, working with actors, and having to solve production problems on the fly has been invaluable. The actual films however are a bit of a tough sit, but not altogether unwatchable.

Animals - I have always enjoyed wild-life and have been blessed in my career to have been able to work with several critters ranging from a Spider-Monkey to a full grown Bangle Tiger. For the last 16 years I have lived with no fewer than three giant breed dogs, currently it's 2 Female Saint Bernards and a 145 pound, one-year old male Newfoundland.

Comic Books / Graphic Novels - I grew up reading, then collecting comic books. Spider-Man, X-Men and the Were-Wolf by Night were the beginging that lead to a collection of comics, that unfortunately was widdeled down over the years to pay the rent. I still read select titles and try to follow some of the stand-out artist of the industry but as I get older and the characters and storylines wander all over the place, I find my interest waining more and more. However, books like Kirkman's "The Walking Dead" and "Invincible", and a few others, have kept me from abandoning the medium completely. By the way, what the hell happened to Miller and Lee's All-Star, "Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder" Series? It just seamed to vanish... What's up with that.

Provided upon request.