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PETER COSMAS SOFRONAS - PETER@EMERALDSENTINEL.COM
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PRINT DESIGNS WEB & INTERFACE COMIC BOOK PAGES 2 AND 2
An experienced multimedia design professional. Skilled in layout with attention to overall design and usability. Strength within creative problem solving, strong multitasking abilities, and extreme attention to fine detail. Works equally well in a team environment and independently.
COMPUTER SKILLS
  • Macintosh
  • Windows
  • Adobe Creative Suite
  • Hand-Coded HTML with CSS
  • Final Cut Studio
  • Quark Xpress
  • Microsoft Office
  • FileMaker Pro
EMPLOYMENT

Freelance
2005 to Present
Comic Book Flatter

Assignments from multiple artists from top comic book companies, including DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Archie, IDW, and Image, usually with a less than twenty-four hour turnaround.
  • Using Adobe Photoshop, electronically laid out base colors for inked/pencil-sketched comic book pages. Each detail of every object/character was isolated and assigned a unique solid value, so that the colorist can easily select a particular element for rendering.
  • Adapted flatting style to accommodate the workflow of each individual colorist.
  • Devised a setup that combines custom-programmed Adobe Photoshop tool palettes with a Wacom Cintiq tablet monitor and a mounting arm, effectively eliminating the need for a mouse or keyboard for most flatting and coloring tasks.
CD\Works
2001 to 2010
Art Director
  • Researched the latest multimedia technology and software to expand the in-house Art Department and to create the in-house Video Department. Continued to suggest pertinent upgrades and acquisitions throughout tenure.
  • Dialogued directly with clients to ascertain electronic and print needs for their CD and DVD projects.
  • Designed custom artwork ranging from simple text labels to fully-illustrated, multi-page booklets using Adobe Creative Suite and/or Quark XPress as needed.
  • Streamlined the creation of stock templates to better assist those clients who wished to create their own artwork, thereby ensuring compatibility across the widest of platforms and graphics programs.
  • Developed workarounds -- including vector recreation of bitmap graphics, fractal up-sampling of photos and fabrication of bleed elements -- to optimize low resolution graphics for high resolution printing.
  • Captured, edited, and encoded clients' video presentations from a variety of analog and digital sources using Apple Final Cut Pro for both DVD and online use.
  • Reverse-engineered methods for converting non-standard files into standard video formats with minimal to no loss in picture quality.
  • Programmed clients' DVD presentations and movies, including track hierarchy, custom menu design, and slideshows using Apple DVD Studio Pro, often creating custom scripts to improve playback.
  • Streamlined the order-on-demand fulfillment process for Fast Hockey, a client specializing in thousands of sporting event DVDs, effectively cutting production time in half.
  • Designed, programmed, and maintained CD\Works website to ensure maximum usability across all platforms and web browsers.
  • Designed and created all internal marketing materials, including brochures, check disc labels, business cards, and advertisements.
  • Created and maintained both an on-site and off-site archival library of client artwork for purposes of reorders and/or modification.
  • Created custom indices of client PDF CD-ROM presentations using Adobe Acrobat.
  • Tracked progress of jobs using a combination of ACT and Microsoft Access databases, often suggesting better layout and implementation of data.
  • Cooperated with production team on the duplication, printing and packaging of clients' projects
  • Repaired CD/DVD duplicators and printers to ensure client discs were bit-for-bit copies of source material and were without print errors.
Devil's Due Publishing
2006 to 2007
Freelance Comic Book Colorist
  • Electronically colored and rendered comic book line art, keeping in mind the gamut limitations of the CMYK color space.
  • Hired flatters as needed to assist with page preparation.
  • When Inkers were eliminated mid-project due to budgetary reasons, devised a method to electronically modify the scanned pencil artwork to match the appearance and style of the inked artwork.
  • Part of the design team responsible for the GI Joe 25th Anniversary Issue. Singlehandedly colored a group shot of over 250 distinct characters on the double-sided cover -- a record in the industry.
Computer Sciences Corporation
Kansas City, MO
2000 to 2001
Graphic/Web GUI Designer
  • In conjunction with Art Director, met with Fortune 500 clients to determine their web site needs, paying particular attention to intuitive user interfaces and maximum usability.
  • Brainstormed, programmed and implemented internal Flash animations to promote the Kansas City Creative Lab division both within the company and for clients.
  • Using Adobe Photoshop, prototyped multiple GUI iterations for client review.
  • Created custom style guides of finalized designs for the programmers, in order to maintain consistency in the overall design.
  • Provided custom illustrations, iconography, and other design elements to help build out the sites.
  • Maintained and cross-referenced a library of typefaces to aid in logo design.
The Thomas Register of American Manufacturers
Marblehead, MA
1998 to 2000
New Media Director/Designer
  • Singlehandedly built the in-house electronic media department for the Massachusetts/Rhode Island office.
  • Communicated directly with sales representatives and clients to determine design needs and choice of medium, often juggling dozens of projects simultaneously.
  • Designed, programmed, and maintained web sites for construction and manufacturing companies.
  • Scanned provided materials and photos for use in client web sites.
  • Photographed individual machine parts in cases where print/electronic art was unavailable.
  • Adapted the style of pre-existing client sites for use in Thomas Register gateway advertisements.
  • Custom created banner ads and full screen CD-ROM advertisements for publication in the annual Thomas Register electronic directory.
  • Kept in constant contact with print production to ensure the design integrity was consistent in both media.
EDUCATION
B.F.A. Degree, Salem State College, May 1997, graduated Magna Cum Laude.