.....I started out as an artist drawing and animating characters and backgrounds for software for handicapped children at UCLA. .I worked on other multimedia projects after that. From creating images for software, it was an easy leap to internet graphics. Many of the same principles applied. Images had to be small in file size to load quickly and animate without lag time, the colors had to look good on both Mac and Windows, and they had to fit on the screen.

.....I have a background in photography also and primarily use that now to photograph products and pictures for the web. There is an art to creating photos that retain their quality while loading quickly for internet viewers.

.....I've done work for print, but prefer the brightness of on-screen graphics. Art illuminated by light. I enjoy drawing and creating cartoon style characters as well as technical illustration. I started out to be an illustrator, but have branched out into whatever the job requires artistically. Navigation buttons, logos, photos, maps, web site design, animation, etc.

.....I began freelancing as the job market in Los Angeles changed. Fewer companies were hiring in-house artists and preferred to hire temps and contractors to cut costs. I chose the name Laughing Coyote to remind myself not to take myself too seriously. I have worked for several companies which you will find on my resume. I now reside in a small town on the Central Coast of California away from the LA buzz.

Currently, I am studying 3D computer graphics using Maya and 3D Studio Max. It's a lot of work and a lot of fun and I love it. I'm also poking around in Flash and starting to create and animate in that program. I also work with video using Premiere.

...... This is an online portfolio. It is, of necessity, graphic intensive, so some pages will take extra time to load. All the images you see here are mine. After a server crash, I decided to revamp my web site and show off some of my newer styles and images, so this is currently incomplete, or as we say,

Enjoy,

V. Forney