Overview Diagram & List of Contents for Sanstudio.com

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Page or SectionQuick SummaryComments
Home PageFirst page of this Sanstudio.com website.

The Sanstudio home page highlights key sections of this site, but isn’t the best way to get around here — this site map is. (See comments about the logic of this lower down in this page.)

You might also be curious to see the former Sanstudio home page. It drew many compliments for its design, but it turned out to be too tightly designed — not allowing for future expansion as this site grows.

Illustration by San

Click Moe and go!

Portfolio of illustrations by San.

The illustration section is primarily for the benefit of art directors, creative directors, editors, and other creative professionals who need illustration. The rest of you are in the official category of “peanut gallery,” but are welcome to peek in too.

Graphic Stories by San

“Graphic Stories for Thoughtful People” that you can read on this Web site. My drawing style for these stories has evolved over the years (it has become less cartoony); but even my most recent graphic stories aren’t in the same style as my illustrations, because the requirements of sequential-art storytelling for the Web are just too different.
Radnor Wentworth's Theory of Friendship

The original Radnor Wentworth graphic story.

Not as elaborate or well drawn as the newer Radnor tale (below), but it’s best to read this first for an introduction to the character.

Here’s some hot questions for ya’:

  1. Do you think theories about reality help us, or just confuse us?
  2. If you’re a nerd, can picking up women be conducted as an intellectual activity?
  3. Why do we lose friends, anyway?

There's also an About the Story page with press reviews and ancillary notes.

The copyright on the Web version of this story says 2003, but it’s really a minor update and webification of a print story done in 1990.

Radnor Wentworth's Theory of Happiness
The second Radnor Wentworth graphic story. Somewhat more realistically drawn than the first one, but the character is basically the same.

You think you know what would make you happy? Are you sure?

This second Radnor tale makes it official: Radnor Wentworth’s Theories of Life is a series!

There’s also an About the Story page that discusses, among other things, why the drawing style has changed.

The Hurricane
San’s most popular graphic story.

This story has received the most favorable feedback from readers. (Of course it’s been around for a while.) It’s a tightly scripted tale that blends elements of Buddhism, film noir, and science fiction, which is an unlikely combinationbut see for yourself.

There's also an About the Story page with press reviews and ancillary notes.

River Journey
A graphic story in verse form.

This dreamnightmare, actuallygives new meaning to “waking up in a sweat.” If you harbor any delusions that your life has a purpose, read this and you’ll get over it. You like nightmares, misery, and existential angst, don’t you? Sure you do. Try to stay calm, and bring a towel.

There’s also an About the Story page with press reviews and ancillary notes.

Psychology Can’t Help
A brooding cartoon sequence that’s not exactly a story.

Come on, fess up: all those fancy shrinks haven’t helped you one bit, have they?

This tale may be the apotheosis of neurosis. Some readers say the story is weak, because it has no real plot. Others think it’s funnyor they just seem to, you know, relate to it. But love it or hate it, don’t tell your therapist, OK? It might not fit into their world view.

There’s also an About the Story page with press reviews and ancillary notes.

Sketches by San

Click image to see sketches.

A few sketches from San’s many sketchbooks.

Sketches often give you a more direct look into an artist’s mind than finished artwork does. These sketches are not my finished illustrations, just scans from the various sketchbooks I always carry around. I sketch while browsing the Web, while talking on the phone, while…never mind. As you’ll see, a few of them get enhanced later with a simple ink or watercolor wash; most stay rough.

Technical Resources

Graphic File Formats Chart
An annotated list of the major graphic file formats used in Web and prepress development. This is a subject I’ve taught many timesat the now-defunct Boston Computer Society; at the also-now-defunct Summer Computer Institute; at a technical college and several private training schools (of both the defunct and non-defunct variety); and most recently at a computer club meeting at MIT. (MIT is definitely not defunct.) This list (with comments, naturally) is a small bit (pun intended) of my lecture notes. It will grow.
Why Convert Raster to Vector? A graphical demonstration of the advantage of converting some raster images into vector format. [PDF file, about 89k.]

Full title: Why do we trace raster images into vector form? It stars an ape of the species Pongidae Hollywoodus. Experienced art directors already know about this, but it provides a good visual overview for the uninitiated. [PDF file]

Graphic Image Data Types
A visual demonstration of the main raster and vector data types. [PDF file, about 480k.]

This sheet shows Daniel the dog detective (star of my graphic story The Hurricane) reproduced in three different raster (or “paint”) formats: grayscale, bitmap halftone, and bitmap line art; as well as in vector (or “draw”) format. Includes brief descriptive material. [PDF file]

General Information & Utilities

How to
Contact San
Contact information and a quick-contact form.

A list of ways that will and will not work to get in touch with me. Plus a message box you can type into if you don’t feel like using your own email program. Plus a bunch of screwball cartoons. Who says contact pages have to be boring?

About San (Professional) Brief, professional information about the creator of this web site.

A few words about what I do for a living and how it relates to this Web site. Told in the third person as though somebody else had written it. (That’s how you know it’s the “professional” version!)

About San (Personal)

Personal information about the creator of this web site.

A page with the more personal version of my biographyalthough it’s still centered on the work I do (since that’s how I spend most of my time). Explains my weird name and touches on my even weirder childhood. Told in the first person; illustrated with some of my pencil sketches.

Tell a Friend

No, it's not this small! Click the image and see.

A way to quickly recommend this website will come up in a separate small window. I created this mini-application to let you easily send someone a link to this website. Before deciding whether to send the message, you may (if you like) read my strong privacy pledge, preview exactly what will be sent, or even transfer the message to your own email program for editing. Mouse over the buttons for a quick explanation of your options. It’s really easy to use!
Site MapYou’re already here: the table of contents or “site map” for Sanstudio.com.

Studies show that most readers never visit site mapswhich is understandable, since they’re usually pretty bland. (I mean the site maps, not the readers!) However, on Sanstudio.com, this site map is the main way to get around; in fact it’s the only way to find everything that’s currently available.

Expand this section

Other Sites by San

You’re on Sanstudio.com, my graphic-arts site. Below are summaries of a few other sites I’ve built or worked on. This isn’t a complete list; I’ve been building sites or components for them since the Web was invented.
Santhology
A collection of some of my writings: short stories, short-short stories, business writing, tech writing, and some Just For Fun items that I don’t even know how to classify.

You’re currently on Sanstudio.com, my graphic arts site. Perhaps I shouldn’t admit here that I’m also a professional writer, since art directors looking at my illustrations might think me unfocused. But I decided to link to my writings here anyway because…

Read more (expand this section)

A hospital radiology siteThe world’s first website that explained medical scanning procedures to laypeople.

I can’t claim that building the world’s first “patient-centered” radiology website was my own ideait was, in fact, the client’s. But the site was certainly groundbreaking at the time, won awards, and (casting modesty aside here) helped pave the way for medical sites aimed at patients, not just medical professionals. So here’s a blast from the pastthe Stone Age of the Web.

A hospital merger siteA website for one of the world’s great hospitals.

Boston is world-famous for its hospitals, and when two hospitals affiliated with Ha rvard Medical School decided to merge, they asked me to create a new website that would showcase their newly expanded medical center. This page briefly discusses the site I built for them, and includes some pictures of how it looked back then (very different from how sites look today).

More sites by SanA composite page that highlights a few other sites I’ve worked on.

Here you’ll find brief descriptions and images from a few other sites I’ve created or worked on, such as a portfolio site for another artist (who just happens to have the same weird last name as me); a webzine I once created and ran for an employer; and bits and pieces I’ve created for other websites, such as a logo and illustration for a technical-college site.

What’s New

Illustration by San portfolio section.
Radnor Wentworth’s Theory of Happiness (graphic story), and some related notes.
Sketches by San section.
Tech Notes for Art Directors section.
Improved Tell A Friend form lets you preview what will be sent.
Improved Contact San page lets you send message right from the page.
Thank you for visiting Sanstudio.com, the art of Lawrence San.
You may also be interested in Santhology.com, featuring San’s writings.