My name is Reena Jacobs. I am an author of several works and the owner of Ciquette Media. My experience with graphic design comes from a very humble beginning.
Before the turn of the century, I started my journey toward becoming a computer program. I became quite deft with Microsoft Office products. As a result, I became the go-to person for designing church brochures and event flyers… not because I was especially skilled, but rather because I knew how to bend the software to my will. And when I say software, I’m talking MS Word.
When I was ready to publish my first work, I realized I needed a bit more umph and knowhow than my simple Microsoft Office skills provided. I picked up some nondescript, generic graphic design software and began playing around with it. Later, I received a copy of Photoshop Elements with a tablet I purchased and started to understand the concepts of photo manipulation.
Online tutorials, tips and tricks from other artists, lots of experiments, and plenty failures… I was having a blast. Then I landed a SWEET deal on Adobe Creative Suite. For a few years, I continued to explore photo manipulation. However, I just couldn’t get into the other products in Adobe CS… until I took some formal training. Wow! Illustrator… InDesign… Boy had I been missing out.
Years later, and here I am. The tools of my trade include a combination of a Adobe products, a nifty Intuos tablet, and DAZ Studio.