Maricopa Home and Garden Show

Every year I go to a few of these home expo shows - some cater to the contractor, while other target the private consumer, and others still exhibit all of the bells and whistles that money can buy (those are my favorite). The show over this weekend (April 25-27) was a massive show held at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix, and every imaginable item for your home was represented there. I go to there shows not to shop, but to try to drum up business for my company, Lone Wolf Drafting and Design. I offer AutoCAD services, design services, photo rendering, and consultation, and to be honest, it just seems to be getting harder and harder to interest people in what I do. Many companies have simply hired in house people to create there AutoCAD drawings, which isn't to shocking of a development. However, what did surprise me was the relatively low quality of drawings and presentation being displayed to the customer. Many companies seem to be taking speed over pride of product, and that mentality troubles someone like me because I produce high end images, projects that can take up to 50 hours to create. I know many other freelancers out there have difficulty finding and maintaining work, and recently it has been due to the recession and outsourcing to cheap labor overseas. However, if that wasnt enough, designers seem to be content with just cranking out cookie cutter images with almost no character, and even less attention to detail. My question to you the reader is this, how do we as freelancers, make the principals of these companies realize that the better your sales presentation, the better your product will sell? In other words, (and this is not to toot my own horn in any way) if I saw two companies, one using basic line drawings, and simple low render graphics, and the other using the type of photo rendering I do, I would be much more inclined to go to the company with the prettier picture - and here is why: If a company is willing to spend that much time on conceptual planning, then I have a pretty good feeling that they will spend as much, or more time, during the actual installation of that design. Furthermore, the better the sales materials (like photorendering) the greater the "wow" factor - you can use that eye popping image to attract future clients. My other concern is this - many of the vendors I spoke to use programs like 20/20 for cabinetry planning, and Chief Architect for plan layout - again, programs that offer tailored planning and drawings for specific industries, but sacrifice the imagary that I (and many of you) create. I fear that services like mine will no longer be needed, and companies at large will settle with half hearted imagary. What are your thoughts out there? Please feel free to comment - I look forward to your responses.......

Sneak Peek....

Hello All - I hope there are those out there checking out my blog and viewing my website and enjoying what you see. I have just completed a rather ambitious project - a high end French Country/ Traditional European style kitchen. All of the images will be posted on my website in the next week or so, but I figured I would post a small "sneak peek" of the final product:

Please remember to check my website at http://www.lonewolfdrafting.com/ for all the images for this project, and to check out other projects, news and updated links. As always, comments are welcome.

Lone Wolf Drafting and Design - Photography.

Hello All - I have been trying my hand with photography on and off for about a year or so, and it is something that I enjoy doing. I am thinking about expanding my company to also include photograhic services. I decided to post a few, and I hope I get some feedback.






I have decided to shoot what some may consider "odd" subject matter - but I think there is interest in this sort of thing. I love mechanically and architectural unique objects - for instance, the lower left image is the wheel truck for a frieght train, and the bottom right is a photo of the Hayden Flour Mill in Tempe AZ - it is this amazing, monolithic structure that stands empty near the Salt River. The upper photos are of Grand Central Station in New York (where I am from). Grand Central Station is one of the most amazing structures in New York, and I highly recommend seeing it. If you like what you see above, then please feel free to look on my Photobucket Site at: http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/lonewolf1211/

Thanks again for stopping by.....

Welcome to Lone Wolf Drafting and Design

Hello all, and thank you for visiting my blog spot. This is the first of what I hope will be many blogs. My purpose here is to promote my company, Lone Wolf Drafting and Design, however, I would also like others to post comments and images that relate to the photorealistic/ design field. With a recession currently hitting the country, and outsourcing to cheap labor pools in India and China becoming more and more acceptable, it is becoming increasingly more difficult for companies like mine to survive. Lone Wolf Drafting and Design is my start up business that I have worked very hard to create, and I suspect that many of you out there that are also in this field work just as hard. It is also difficult to find groups or forums that specifically allow designers like us to post our work and advertise for our companies without it being expensive or lame. So, here is what I want to do: I will post my company information, and some samples of my work, and a link to my Web site below. I want to encourage others in my field to comment on my work, or add their own work, Web site links, and any relevant information pertaining to your line of work, or products and services that you may offer. I really hope this becomes a place where like-minded people can help each other out, offer work to others, and put their names and reputations out there. Good luck!

Here are some samples of my work:

Art Deco Library - Mezzanine Art Deco Library - Seating and Windows

Vintage Library - Sunken Reading Room Vintage Library - Fireplace and Mantle

Modern Office Design - Reception Modern Office Design - Small Break Area

My Contact Information:

Lone Wolf Drafting and Design

Email: lonewolf1211@hotmail.com

Website: http://www.lonewolfdrafting.com/

Again - I encourage readers to add comments, and if you would like to have your work displayed on this site, along with your contact information, then please email it to me, and I will post it to the site. Thanks again for stopping by!